TRAVEL, ALL-STAR & SELECT TEAMS

Research needs to be done to determine which travel or select teams will provide the best experience and the maximum exposure. Research also needs to be done regarding which camps and tournaments attract the types of schools you are interested in. 

There are many “all-star,” “traveling,”, and “select” teams, for instance, but many of these teams don’t attract coaches to their games. The same holds true for showcase camps. Some of these camps may be expensive, but don’t provide an effective showcase for the athlete. It’s imperative to do your research before you invest your time and money.

All teams are not created equal. In recent years, their numbers have grown enormously, diluting the talent base. Just about anyone can create such a team.

It pays to do some research to determine if a particular team is truly made up of above-average players and if they compete against the kind of competition that college coaches view as superior.

One test to see if the team you’re considering is a true select team is to gauge the competition they play against. If it’s mostly local and their schedule is fairly indiscriminate, chances are they’re not a bona fide select team. Some parents may pick teams that are “Select” only in their eyes.

Also, just because a team “travels” does not mean that the team is an elite one, composed of superior players. A true select team is composed of the caliber of players and plays the level of competition that regularly attracts college coaches to their contests.

If college coaches don’t normally attend at least a few of their games to see the players on that team, it may not be the best team to play on to get noticed on. It doesn’t really count if the coach of such a team claims that there have been scouts at their games in the past, if the only reason the college coaches and scouts were there was because they happened to be playing a team that is regularly scouted.

That would be relying on lightning to strike and the odds aren’t in your favor if you hope to get noticed by accident on such a team.

What Is Their Focus?

Is it primarily to prepare players (the younger aged teams) for high school ball? If so, that might not give you the exposure you’re looking for. A true select team very likely takes the assumption, based on the quality of players selected, that your high school tryout will most likely be the easiest tryout you’ll have.

A true select team should focus on your development as a college player. Teams that truly have that kind of focus are ordinarily the teams that college coaches are interested in watching as they know the talent level on the team is more likely going to be what they’re after.

Who Do They Play?

Is their competition high-level competition or are you aware of other teams that play much tougher teams regularly?

Who Coaches The Team?

Is it the father of one of the players? Many of the best select teams don’t allow parents to coach their own offspring. Also, is the coach paid or does he or she work on a volunteer basis? Many of the best select teams pay their coaches. Also, what are the coach’s qualifications? Did he or she play college or professional lacrosse?

What’s The Team Practice-To-Game Ratio?

If it’s all games and only a few or no practices, it may still be a quality team, but many times teams that don’t practice much don’t really teach the players much, either. It is important to ensure that participation on such a team will help the player develop as a college level athlete.

How Many Players Make The Team?

If the number is so large that it’s obvious several players aren’t going to get much playing time, then that team might not be a good fit. A lacrosse team carrying 25 players means that at least 5 players will be seeing a significant amount of pine time.

What If I Can’t Make A Select / Travel Team or Can’t Afford One?

Don’t worry about it! It does help for most players, simply because as a rule you’ll compete against better competition, have better coaching and get more experience, but sometimes it’s just not practical or possible to be on such a team. If, for any reason, you can’t get on a select team, then make up for it in other ways – more practice individually, private coaching, etc.

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