Every so often I will talk to a player or a parent who let’s me in on what schools they are considering or would like to go to and they sometimes ask my opinion. I tell all that ask the same thing. It’s not about the lacrosse. It’s about where you want to go AS A STUDENT . . . not as a player. One of the issues I have today with the lacrosse community is that I want kids and parents to stop believing that all the money spent on this sport is somehow wasted because they didn’t get into a top D1 lacrossse program, or even any D1 school at all. This thinking is backwards. If you truly believe you can make it in Division 1 then apply to the school as a student . . . and go out for the team as a WALK ON. Calder Alfaro walked on to Duke and made the team Alex Bartzokis walked on to Johns Hopkins and made the team And the biggest success story is Sergio Salcido, who was told by the Syracuse staff ‘don’t waste your time, you’ll never play’ . . . he’s now on the 1st line midfield and is second on the Orange in points for the year. It can be done. But you don’t rely on it. You choose your final destination because you WANT TO BE A STUDENT THERE. That’s the ONLY reason to pick a college.   Here’s a cautionary note. Here’s a list of the 2012 Inside Lacrosse Power 100 freshmen – I’ve limited this to the Top 25 names to make it easier to work with.  Remember, this is the list of what IL.Com figured was going to be the best 25 incoming players . . .   Top 10 Case Matheis A Darien (Conn.) Duke – currently starring at Duke Bobby Duvnjak D Manhasset (N.Y.) Harvard – starts at Harvard Will McNamara M Haverford (Pa.) Virginia – redshirt junior backup at Virginia Devin Dwyer A Garden City (N.Y.) Harvard – starts at Harvard James Pannell A Smithtown West (N.Y.) Virginia – starts at Virginia Pat Kelly A Calvert Hall (Md.) North Carolina – starts at North Carolina Spencer Parks M St. Paul’s (Md.) North Carolina – transfer to Towson – starter Dan Marino G Garden City (N.Y.) Virginia – suspended for 3 games, has not played Bradlee Lord A Conestoga (Pa.) Maryland – transfer to Cornell, played one game Deemer Class M Loyola Blakefield (Md.) Duke – starts at Duke 11-25 Evan Connell D Calvert Hall (Md.) North Carolina – starts at Maryland Mikey Morris A Salisbury School (Conn.) Johns Hopkins – transfer to Tampa – starts Steve Pontrello M St. Augustine (N.J.) North Carolina – starts at North Carolina Tanner Scales D Regis Jesuit (Colo.) Virginia – starts at Virginia Ryan Palasek D Rocky Point (N.Y.) Syracuse – not playing this year, still a student Miles Thomas D Conestoga (Pa.) Drexel – starts at Drexel Henry West M Darien (Conn.) Cornell – transfer – starts at Maryland Jake Froccaro M Port Washington (N.Y.) Princeton – starts at Villanova as a senior transfer Jamie Ikeda D Conestoga (Pa.) Duke – starts at Duke Michael Tagliaferri M San Ramon Valley (Calif.) North Carolina – starts at North Carolina Connor Reed M Gonzaga (D.C.) Johns Hopkins – starter – out for the year with injury Ian Ardrey A Deerfield (Mass.) Harvard – 2^nd line middie at Harvard Sammy Davis M Governor’s Academy (Mass.) Penn State – transfer to BU, no longer on roster Kieran Burke G St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) North Carolina – student only, no longer playing Sam Llinares A Hauppauge (N.Y.) Hofstra – starts at Hofstra   The ones noted in RED are starters at the school they matriculated to. 14 out of 25.  56% . . . a failing grade if this were an Economics class in high school. 6 transfers – 24% 2 backups – 8% 4 no longer playing – 16% (Davis is both a transfer and non-roster)   There is no real professional lacrosse for even the top kids going to college. Interesting note . . . 3 of the 25 were Launch draft picks in January.  Seven of the 25 ended up being drafted.  If you look further down the list of the Top 100 you’d see a lot of names you’d recognize if you watch a lot of college lacrosse.  Congrats to IL for doing a really good job of picking the kids.   So remember, parents and kids, it’s all about being a student. The lacrosse is the gravy, the frosting, the _______ whatever you feel like calling it. Even if you are so good that you are one of the 25 best freshmen in America, there’s no guarantee you are going to be in the perfect situation for you 4 years later.