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How We Got SPARQ’d by LacrosseRecruits.com

LacrosseRecruits.comLast weekend, Mr. Blue Sky & I took on our first ever excursion into Long Island to check out “The Lacrosse Combine”. The following words portray our experience. In short, Nike SPARQ got us pumped up, but it was the guys at LacrosseRecruits.com who won our support.

The Lacrosse Combine:

Saturday was the day. Fast Edge Performance Center in Hauppauge, NY was the location. 12:30PM was start time. Watching some of LI’s best high school talent in action was the reason to be there.  LacrosseRecruits.com gave us an all-access pass.

Your LAS founders – Striding Man & Mr. Blue Sky – showed up fashionably late, entering the event amidst the excitement of high school girls throwing 15 lb. medicine balls 30 yards (note: maybe I’m exaggerating, but I was definitely impressed). This was the first event of its kind because it featured Nike SPARQ Testing, and the guys from LacrosseRecruits.com were the brains behind the operation.

LacrosseRecruits.com

Up to this point, Nike has never facilitated SPARQ testing for lacrosse players. In this case, LacrosseRecruits.com teamed up with Fast Edge President Kory Angelin to create “The Lacrosse Combine” and brought in certified SPARQ Trainers to test elite players in lacrosse specific drills. The data collected was then sent back to Nike so they can further develop their lacrosse-specific SPARQ regimen. So, the high school laxers who participated Saturday are setting the bar for Nike – and their involvement should truly be appreciated by all of Lax Nation.

According to Matt Wheeler, President of LacrosseRecruits.com,

“Using these drills as a measuring stick to determine “elite” athletes will help both players and coaches in the recruiting process.”

Wheeler and his counterpart, Chris Meade (CEO), orchestrated the event and made it an opportunity to share their powerful web software with the 35 recruits in attendance. The software, all web-based, helps high school kids get to the next level by providing them with tools to communicate with coaches.  LacrosseRecruits makes it easy for players to market themselves easily and helps gain key information on camps, the recruiting process, and finding the right fit for college. Wheeler believes that SPARQ training standards will knock down barriers and allow teams to find “elite” lacrosse athletes regardless of geography. As soon as Nike finalizes their lacrosse training program, LacrosseRecruits.com will integrate the stats into their system.

Here at LAS, we love it when people are forward-thinking…especially when it comes to lacrosse AND technology. Imagine how much this standardized testing will help level the field for players across America? All of the sudden a kid from Virginia has little or no more appeal to a coach than a kid from New Mexico with the same SPARQ scores. Combine those scores with a kickass web-platform for both coaches and players, and every kid in Lax Nation has an equal chance to play at the highest level. Idealistic, I know, but it’s happening whether you like it or not.

 

THE VERDICT: “The Lacrosse Combine” was yet another example of the extraordinary growth of the game, and if we were still in high school we’d pay up to $800 dollars a year for the LacrosseRecruits.com services. Well, we’d beg our parents to pay. That, or we’d run an illegal gambling operation in the teacher’s lounge.

Luckily for Mom and Dad though, Meade & Wheeler charge a fourth of that. You can get an all-access pass to LacrosseRecruits.com for 200 bucks a year. When asked why they’re charging so little, Meade simply looked at me and said, “It’s all about growing the game.” … True sign of an innovator if you ask me.

El fin.

This Saturday, look for an in-depth look at LacrosseRecruits.com, the service they offer, and how they got to where they are today.