Lacrosse College Coaches Contact Date For Class of 2022 Recruits Stays at Sept. 1st Through Covid-19

The Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association voted to keep the first contact date with potential recruits at September 1st this year. Now as that date approaches, how will that decision impact players trying to get recruited during a pandemic?

When Covid-19 initially shut down the 2020 lacrosse season, many people directed all of their initial sympathies towards the high school and college graduating classes of 2020. Rightfully so, seeing as in both cases, many of these athletes' last chance to chase a championship with their teams came to a screeching halt because of something that was entirely out of their control. 

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Now after a few months have passed, and as the pandemic unfortunately continues, other classes are beginning to feel the effects of the pandemic on their sports careers as well. A great example: the class of 2022. For lacrosse high school athletes, the summer heading into their junior year is one of the most important of their lives. At that point, these athletes are trying to make a name for themselves, create their highlight reels, and find ways to stand out from other prospects. This preparation is so that come September 1st of their junior year (the first date that college coaches are allowed to contact them), they are the lucky ones that get to hear that phone ring—once, twice, or in some rare cases, all day and night. 

However, being in a pandemic throughout the entire duration of the summer has made it more difficult for these high school athletes to get their names out there. Many college tournaments were canceled this summer, which means fewer opportunities for players showcase their talent. Additionally, a mandatory recruiting dead period was put into place back in March and has been extended through at least September 30th. According to the NCAA's official definition, a dead period is a period of time where "a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools." This means that for the few tournaments that did take place, Division 1 college coaches could only attend them virtually (if they were being streamed) or check out the film of the games afterwards. 

The problem with those two options, though, is that many college coaches don't want to make decisions on players unless they can see them play in person. This makes sense: players would be foolish not to send in videos that showcase their best moments; consequently, college coaches are hesitant to accept these videos as truly representative of the players' talent. Therefore, it is understandable why college coaches would be weary to commit recruits based off of highlight reels alone. In seeing how many additional and unusual challenges the class of 2022 had to face this year in attempting to get recruited, the question becomes: is the September 1st contact date too soon this year?

The answer: it depends who you ask. For Joey Spallina, the number one ranked recruit in the nation by the National Lacrosse Federation, the September 1st date can't come soon enough. There are a handful of schools that Spallina is interested in, and Syracuse is among them. For someone like Spallina, the date brings with it a feeling of pure excitement. 

"My coaches let me know that there's a lot of interest from a bunch of schools, so I'm pretty excited and I can't wait for it," Spallina says. 

Even though Spallina acknowledges that there were some additional difficulties that his class faced in getting recruited because of the pandemic, it is clear that he and his coaches have put in the effort to ensure that he is still getting looks. For example, even though there were no Division 1 colleges allowed at the summer tournaments, his coaches came up with a creative solution for his team to continue to get exposure. 

"Luckily my coaches made a YouTube channel with all of our games that were filmed and put them on YouTube so every college coach in the country can watch those games," Spallina said. "My coach also sent those games to the schools that I'm interested in."

Spallina is also doing his part to ensure he is making up for the exposure he lost. He is currently creating an updated highlight reel that will allow coaches to see all of the aspects of his game that he considers his biggest strengths—scoring the ball, moving the ball, and being the quarterback of the offense. 

While Spallina's incredible talent has provided him with a solid foundation and a sense of security heading into September 1st, he acknowledges that for those who were not getting as many looks, this Wednesday may bring with it some uncertainty. 

"Coaches really haven't seen them [some of his high school teammates] play as much," Spallina said. "They  haven't been able to see their speed or size, so it's kind of hard for them to tell [who they want to recruit]."

Another thing to think about in the controversy surrounding the September 1st date is that if it would have been pushed back, it would have been taking away from college coaches' focus in recruiting the next incoming class: 2023. This could be part of the reason why back in July, the IMLCA made the decision that they did: voting to keep the contact date as September 1st. 

Whether players are bursting with excitement or feeling overwhelmed and anxious, one thing is for sure: this Wednesday will change the lives of many lacrosse players in the class of 2022. A special shoutout and good luck to all of those who are hoping to receive that special phone call this upcoming week.