Recruiting Video for Men's Lacrosse: A Family Guide | RosterWise™

Why the video matters more than families often realize

Per USA Lacrosse magazine’s “Inside the Recruiting Funnel” published guidance:

College coaches typically begin the recruiting process with a large group of athletes — sometimes hundreds, sometimes thousands. Through evaluations, video review, and direct contact, they narrow that list to the smaller group they’ll ultimately recruit seriously. Video is one of the central tools in this narrowing process.

This matters because:

• Coaches don’t have unlimited time to attend every recruiting event
• Coaches don’t have unlimited budgets for travel
• Coaches need efficient ways to identify which recruits to invest serious time in
• Video is often the first impression — sometimes the only impression before coaches make decisions about whether to keep recruiting an athlete

For men’s lacrosse families, this means the recruiting video isn’t a checkbox to complete — it’s a primary marketing tool that can substantially affect which programs decide to recruit your son seriously.

How long should the video be?

Coach preferences on video length vary meaningfully. Different coaches have publicly shared different preferences:

• Dartmouth Women’s Lacrosse Coach Danielle Spencer (her guidance applies generally to lacrosse coaches’ preferences) stated families should keep videos to “1-2 minutes max” per published coaching guidance via 2aDays
• Other published guidance suggests 3-4 minutes with 20-30 well-selected clips
• Some recommendations land at 3-5 minutes depending on position and footage type

The honest framing for families: err on the shorter side. A 1-2 minute video showing your son’s best plays clearly is almost always more effective than a 5-minute video with filler clips. Coaches who want more will ask for more. Coaches who watch a 5-minute video and lose interest at minute 2 rarely tell you.

A practical guideline: front-load your best plays in the first 30 seconds. If a coach is going to stop watching after a minute, that minute needs to be your strongest material.

What college coaches actually want to see — by position

Men’s lacrosse has more specialized positions than women’s lacrosse, and the evaluation criteria differ significantly by position. Per published coaching guidance and direct coach quotes available publicly:

Attack

Coaches evaluating attackers want to see:

• Scoring ability in competitive game situations
• Two-handed stick skills (this matters enormously — see Coach Pressler’s quote below)
• Vision and feeding ability — making the play that creates the goal, not just scoring it
• Dodging and change of direction that gets past defenders
• Confidence with the ball in pressure situations — leading the offense
• Communication and offensive organization — even visible from highlight clips
• Ride and pressure — defensive contribution from attackers matters

Midfield

Coaches evaluating midfielders want to see:

• Two-way play — both offensive and defensive contributions
• Transition play — running the field, finishing breaks, defending in transition
• Ground ball play — possessing the 50/50 ball wins games
• Stamina and athleticism — the midfield demands the highest fitness level in the game
• Scoring versatility — outside shooting, dodging from up top, inside finishing
• Communication and field awareness

Defense

Coaches evaluating defenders want to see:

• One-versus-one defensive technique — body position, footwork, stick discipline
• Stick skills with the long pole — clearing the ball, making outlet passes
• Ground ball play in transition — converting turnovers into offense
• Caused turnovers — the defensive equivalent of goals
• Communication on team defense — coaches watch for verbal leadership
• Slide and recovery work — how the defender works within team defense

Long-Stick Midfielder (LSM)

Coaches evaluating LSMs — a specialized hybrid defensive midfielder — want to see:

• Defensive presence at the midfield — taking the ball from offensive midfielders
• Ground ball play in transition — LSMs are often the players who convert ground balls into transition opportunities
• Stick work with the long pole in space
• Athleticism — LSMs are typically among the most athletic players on the field
• Defensive midfield endurance — running the length of the field repeatedly

Face-Off, Get Off (FOGO)

Coaches evaluating FOGOs — face-off specialists — want to see:

• Face-off win percentage in competitive situations
• Face-off technique — counter moves, clamp work, exits
• Ground ball play after the face-off scrum
• Athletic ability when the face-off doesn’t go as planned
• Specific face-off rule compliance (the position has unique technical rules)

For FOGOs, dedicated face-off footage is more critical than for any other position. Coaches need to see face-off mechanics in detail. Some FOGOs include specific face-off-only video segments with high-quality close-up footage of clamp work and exits.

Goalie

Coaches evaluating goalies want to see:

• Big saves — and not just the highlight-reel save, but the consistent save technique
• Clear-game ability — outlet passes that create fast-break offense
• Athletic positioning — both in the cage and outside it
• Communication and leadership — coaches want vocal leaders; highlight video should capture this
• Body and foot positioning that demonstrates fundamentals
• Save consistency across shot types — high, low, off-stick side, inside, outside

Direct coach guidance on what to include

Coaches who have publicly shared their video preferences offer specific guidance worth taking seriously:

On two-handed players (a defining differentiator in men’s lacrosse evaluation):

“A two-handed player will always have a big edge on a player that is one-handed.”

— Bryant University Men’s Head Coach Mike Pressler (via 2aDays)

Coach Pressler’s emphasis on two-handed dexterity is widely echoed across men’s lacrosse coaching. Two-handed players — those who can receive, carry, dodge, shoot, and feed with both hands — separate themselves from one-handed players in the evaluation process. Highlight video that demonstrates two-handed competence stands out.

On when to send updated video:

“I prefer [seeing] the end of the season and then one from their summer club season that can be updated with fall recruiting club tournaments as well.”

— Wesley College Men’s Head Coach Bill Gorrow (via 2aDays)

Coach Gorrow’s seasonal update cadence is consistent across many programs. Coaches want to see current play — late-season high school footage, then summer club, then fall recruiting club.

General qualities coaches evaluate (from women’s lacrosse coaches but with universally applicable principles):

“Two-way play (not just being good at one thing), energy, hustle, athleticism, and good sportsmanship. Being a good teammate and a team leader.”

— Duquesne University Women’s Head Coach Corinne Desrosiers (via 2aDays)

“Intensity (how hard they go), competitive drive, fundamentals, and type of teammate.”

— Quinnipiac Women’s Head Coach Tanya Kotowicz (via 2aDays)

While these quotes are from women’s lacrosse coaches, the qualities described apply universally to men’s lacrosse evaluation. Intensity, hustle, sportsmanship, and being a strong teammate are evaluated regardless of position or division.

Game footage vs. skills footage

The clearest published consensus across coaching guidance: game footage is the primary content; skills footage is secondary at best.

Why coaches prefer game footage:

• Game footage shows how your athlete performs under pressure against real opponents
• Game footage demonstrates lacrosse IQ — the decisions made in the flow of competition
• Game footage shows how the athlete handles adversity, mistakes, and competitive situations
• Skills footage shows what an athlete can do in a controlled environment, but coaches need to see what he does in real competition

That said, skills footage has a limited role for some positions:

• Goalies may include some controlled-environment save technique footage
• FOGOs benefit from dedicated face-off close-up footage that’s hard to capture during games
• New or transferred positions may need skills footage to demonstrate fundamentals

The honest reality: a highlight video that’s 80%+ game footage with optional supplementary skills clips is almost always stronger than a video built primarily from drills and individual workouts.

What to include alongside the clips

A complete recruiting video should include more than just the highlight clips:

• Your name and class year clearly displayed at the start and end
• Contact information — your email address and phone number, plus your high school coach’s and club coach’s contact information
• Your position(s) clearly identified
• Jersey number identified in each clip so coaches can find you immediately
• Height, weight, and key athletic measurables if appropriate
• High school and club team affiliations
• An identifier in each clip (an arrow, a circle, or a brief highlight) that shows the coach exactly who to watch — especially important for defenders, midfielders, and LSMs where finding the recruit in action can be difficult

For attackers, midfielders, and FOGOs, an identifier in each clip is usually essential. Goalies are typically clearly identifiable without one.

What to avoid

Several common mistakes weaken otherwise strong recruiting videos:

• Excessive slow-motion — coaches want to see the play at full speed. Limited slow-motion replays can be useful, but heavy use signals inexperience
• Inappropriate music — if the video has audio, keep it professional. Coaches don’t want to hear lyrics they wouldn’t want their own kids hearing
• Heavy editing effects — flashy transitions, color filters, and overproduced graphics make videos look amateur. Clean, simple edits perform better
• Long career retrospectives — coaches don’t need to see your evolution from 8th grade to senior year. Recent, current footage matters most
• Out-of-date material — coaches care about what you can do now, not what you did three years ago
• Filler clips — any clip that doesn’t actively showcase a strength is detracting from the video
• Mistakes that aren’t acknowledged — a missed shot or a turnover in the middle of a video raises questions

Position-specific footage approach

For attackers, midfielders, and most field players: Build the video around dynamic offensive plays. Lead with scoring, work in feeds and assists, show dodging and stick skills, demonstrate transition play, and conclude with ride and defensive contributions.

For LSMs: Build the video around ground balls, transition play, and defensive midfield work. The LSM position is hybrid, and coaches need to see both defensive technique and offensive transition contributions.

For FOGOs: Build the video around face-off competition. Include close-up footage of face-off mechanics where possible. Then add ground ball play after wins, athletic ability when face-offs don’t go as planned, and any field play (since FOGOs increasingly need to be capable of staying on the field after the face-off).

For defenders: Build the video around one-versus-one defense, takeaways, caused turnovers, and transition play. Stick work with the long pole — particularly clears and outlet passes — should be featured.

For goalies: Build the video around saves of varying difficulty and shot types, clearing-game ability, and athletic positioning. Communication and leadership should be visible even in highlight clips.

When to update the video

Practical guidance on update frequency:

• End of high school season: Update with the strongest plays from the recent season
• End of summer club season: Add standout clips from elite tournaments
• Before fall recruiting events: Refresh with the most recent material to send to coaches you’ll see at fall events
• Whenever you have meaningful new footage: If you have 1-2 minutes of new content stronger than what’s in your current video, refresh

Per Wesley College Men’s Head Coach Bill Gorrow’s guidance: coaches generally prefer “the end of the season and then one from their summer club season that can be updated with fall recruiting club tournaments as well.”

Technical considerations

• Resolution: Shoot in 1080p or 4K if possible
• Frame rate: 60fps is the modern standard for sports footage
• Camera position: Elevated views from midfield provide the best perspective
• Avoid heavy zoom: Wide-angle shots that show the full field context are usually more useful than tight-zoom shots that lose context
• Audio quality: Ensure any included audio is clear

The pre-September 1 reality

Per the 2025-26 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Recruiting Calendar (published directly by the NCAA at ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com) and discussed in detail in The September 1 Junior Year Rule, D1 college coaches cannot initiate substantive recruiting communication before September 1 of an athlete’s junior year. This includes responding substantively to athlete-initiated outreach.

What this means for recruiting video:

• Pre-September 1: You can still send videos to coaches. Coaches can watch them, save them, and add the athlete to their tracking. Coaches cannot respond substantively beyond limited communication.
• The video should be ready by August before junior year: Coaches who watch your video in the lead-up to September 1 are evaluating whether you’ll be a priority on the day communication opens.
• The video matters most in the September 1 through fall of senior year window: This is when active recruiting decisions are being made.

Special considerations for Canadian recruits

For Canadian men’s lacrosse recruits considering NCAA programs (see International Recruiting in Men’s College Lacrosse for the broader context):

• Include both box and field lacrosse footage if both are part of your athletic profile
• Box lacrosse footage demonstrates skills (creative offense, tight-space stickwork, two-handed play) that NCAA coaches actively value
• If your primary experience is box lacrosse, field lacrosse footage matters even more for NCAA coaches who need to see the transition to the field game
• The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League, BC Lacrosse Association events, and other Canadian competitive contexts can produce strong highlight footage

How to share the video

Practical sharing guidance:

• Hosting platform: Hudl is the industry standard for college coaches. YouTube is acceptable
• Privacy settings: Allow direct link access (unlisted or password-protected — not public, and not strictly invitation-only)
• Sharing format: A direct link in your email outreach is ideal. Don’t attach the video file — coaches won’t open attachments
• One link, easily found: Don’t make coaches search for the video
• Coach’s email subject line: “2027 Attacker, [Name], MVP — Highlights Inside” is more effective than a generic introduction

Every recruit’s video journey is different

The recruiting video is a tool, not a guarantee. Some recruits with average video work create exceptional outcomes through tournament play, direct outreach, and program-fit matching. Some recruits with exceptional video work struggle to find the right program fit. The video is one piece of a recruiting puzzle that also includes academic performance, athletic development, character, communication skills, family financial situation, and dozens of other factors. Use this guide as context. Build a video that honestly represents your son’s current ability. And remember that coaches who are interested in your son will work to see him play in person — the video’s primary job is to get him on coaches’ lists, not to substitute for everything else in the recruiting process.

Coach preferences on video length, format, and content vary. Families should verify specific program preferences directly with the coaches at programs they’re considering and treat published guidance as context rather than rigid rules.