Interview with Coach Paul Wehrum Part 4

Here is an interview I did with my former coach Paul Wehrum on how the changes in the college recruiting culture has impacted prospective players. 

How would I fair today if I were a Herkimer player now in that Division 1 lacrosse recruiting/scholarship process as changed so drastically since 1983?

“Your chances would not be that good. The Division 1 programs are signing their kids earlier, you still have the schools that are saving spots for special situations—a need for a faceoff kid, a finisher, lefty attackman etc. You’ve have plenty of chances with second tier division 1 schools, but when it came to the [top ten schools] it would be highly unlikely that you would be one of their top recruits. But that being said, OCC has a bunch of kids playing at Syracuse. OCCC has become the Herkimer that was before I left. So even with the changing in recruiting, with a player of your ability, a two time All American, they would know who you are [because] you stood out you have to remember that. But if you don’t not make the nationals that would affect [your scholarship chances].”

I want to reiterate the point coach Wehrum is making here about recruiting today. A player’s opportunity to earn a scholarship at a top tier program (and those are the schools who have the full allotment of scholarship to grant out) are "seriously dimensioned," he says, if their team doesn’t make it to the final four of their state’s (or an travel team in an elite national tournament) championship "because it’s at the final four that the coaches from the top programs come to find players to fill the holes in their recruiting classes." Coach Wehrum goes on to say, “Our goal was to win the regionals to get to the nationals where the coaches would be waiting with scholarship offers to give to players who they thought could help their programs win,” he remembers. “They came to all of our games when we made to the nationals and that’s why so many of our kids got scholarship offers to great four year schools that played competitive college lacrosse.”