4 Quarters in College- 4 Questions with a College Coach about what they look for in players.

Josh Hamilton is an Assistant Coach for the York College Men’s Lacrosse team. He graciously agreed to a phone interview. York is a Division III school located fittingly enough in York, Pennsylvania about an hour’s drive North of Baltimore. In our interview we asked Coach Hamilton questions about what he looks for in players they recruit as well as how they locate these players.

Homegrown: What areas in the country does York traditionally recruit from?
Coach Hamilton: With our school’s location we have traditionally drawn players from the Philadelphia metropolitan area, as well as many players from Maryland and to a lesser extent Long Island. These are all areas where our location is convenient for our players, but we do end up with players from all over.

Homegrown: How do you locate potential players from areas that are either far from your campus or not traditional lacrosse ‘hotbeds’?
Coach Hamilton: We do a lot of recruiting from the traditional big recruiting camps such as the Top 205 (for Seniors and Juniors) and Champ Camp. When players send us their information before they attend these camps it makes our lives a lot easier. If we know a kid is interested in our school and they email us what camps they are going to and even what team they are on it really lets us go and see what kind of skills they have. Knowing that number 13 on team 5 is interested in our school and when and where he is playing really makes him stand out in the crowds of the camp. Also if a player does send in a tape sending a whole game where it is easy to identify him is preferable to a highlight reel. All highlight videos tend to look very similar and we don’t get a chance to see the hustle and other important aspects of a player’s game.

Homegrown: Do you have any advice for younger players who are thinking about playing lacrosse in college?
Coach Hamilton: Keep those grades up; college players are called student-athletes for a reason. If a player doesn’t have the grades to get into a school, there is no point in recruiting them. Lacrosse-wise the most important thing is to keep a stick in your hand as much as possible and don’t forget the fundamentals. When players leave a stick in their garage for months at a time their skills regress and they lose everything they learned the previous season. Go to camps in the off-season, play catch with your neighbor, play wall ball. Tournament teams are great but make sure you keep that stick in your hand throughout the off-season.

Homegrown: What do you look for in a recruit?
Coach Hamilton: In general; character, work ethic, hustle and coachability. In terms of specific positions, for attackmen we look for strong dodgers and riders because they can create offense for themselves and their teammates. Midfielders we look for players who can run up and down the field and be a presence in between the box lines. We are very aggressive on defense so we look for defensemen who are assertive and fit into our style. Goalies we look a lot at footwork and stance, and we try and recruit guys who not only can stop the ball but also lead a clear and a defense.

Homegrown: Thank you very much for your time Coach.
Coach Hamilton: You’re welcome and I’d just like to add that I hope I have been helpful and to tell the readers to maintain a good work ethic and be ready to learn something every time they step on a lacrosse field.

Asst. Coach Hamilton, York Men's Lacrosse

If you are interested in the York Lacrosse program check them out at: http://www.ycpspartans.com/sports/mlax/index