Every week there is another program announced to help your son be in the best spot to be recruited for the college of his choice. As a result you may be faced with a bewildering array of choices with each touting the number of visiting college coaches, the quality of the athletes participating and so much more...
After 15 years of running Blue Chip 225 Lacrosse I have come to a conclusion that in chasing the holy grail of a college lacrosse scholarship, we run the risk of doing our sons and athletes a disservice.
From an early age our young children find they are cheered for the success on the lacrosse field, valued by friends and praised by adults. As time goes on the size of the crowds is larger; the newspapers add to the strength of the praise, peers lionize him for his sports prowess and promise a bright future.
Enter coaches who paint pictures of rosy college carers, images of campus status, camaraderie, and scholarship support, frequently a portion of tuition, room and board, and rarely a "full ride" while seldom guaranteeing a four year term.
To pursue the dreams promised from an early age our sons (and face it ourselves as parents) are bought into the college dream, success, heightened self-image, social success, and more. In one way or another, we support the pursuit of the dream
If I'm honest with myself as a parent, I know that I don't cheer my son's violin progress, his strong report card, his new Boy Scout merit badge, his debate contest medal. Our conversations about college start with majors and devolve quickly to which lacrosse team offers the shortest route to a starting role, the best scholarship offer, the most supportive coach and the friendly coach is a valued contact.
When we think about it we know that the future of our son's will depend on the items we've paid scant attention to: grades, group participation, values education, music and art and other items. We pay more attention to the lacrosse record than the feel of the college, its values, and atmosphere.
We are all victims of this dynamic to a greater or lesser extent. At Blue Chip 225 we have recognized the danger of becoming an unwitting part of this process. We have chosen to commit to live up to our values of helping players make the most of their lacrosse skills and interests in achieving their life's goals.
We are using our regular mailings to help players and families examine how to balance sports and other elements of developmental activities, how to learn life lessons from sports such as self-discipline, goal setting, commitment, teamwork, and how to work to establish life goals with an appropriate and balanced place for lacrosse.
Additionally we commit to educate and inform players about the process of making the most of their lacrosse skills to become part of their goals in finding, being admitted, and finding success at the college of the choice.
You will find as the year passes on that we will work on meeting what we believe is our broader responsibility to your sons along with the specific skills development and process awareness.
Please feel free to ask any questions. We truly wish to see our alumni become successful men who have enjoyed lacrosse and benefited in many ways from their commitment to the sport in their lives.
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