Whenever we talk to high school lacrosse recruits, we always say drop the D’s when researching schools. Meaning, when doing your research, don’t worry about whether a lacrosse program is Division I, II, or III.
Lacrosse recruit: But, I want to play for a Division I lacrosse program?
FLG: Why?
Lacrosse recruit: I want to travel across the country to play games, I want a more serious lacrosse experience, I want to play with talented players…
At this point, we must interject. It’s fine for an athlete to want all these things. However, it’s wrong to think you can only get these things playing for a Division I program.
Today, I got a chance to attend the Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) Men’s Lacrosse practice. This group flew from Delaware, Ohio to Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island to compete against Messiah College for a non-conference game. Tonight they go to Black Stone steak house, one of the finest restaurants on Long Island. Tomorrow they play a game and fly back on a chartered plane from Republic Airport.
When I first arrived at practice Head Coach, Mike Plantholt, handed me a practice plan with a minute to minute break-down of drills, description of offensive and defensive concepts, offensive and defensive depth chart with positions, last names, and jersey numbers, a complete list of injured players with job descriptions for each guy, reminders for the team, and freshman duties.
During practice, I saw nothing but athletes with speed and quickness. OWU’s style of play…fast!
Ohio Wesleyan is a Division III University that competes in the NCAC for Conference Championships year after year, this group experiences playing in NCAA playoff games, and they look to compete for a NCAA National Championship.
An athlete that only wants to play DI doesn’t know about OWU.
Advice to lacrosse recruits:
- Drop the D’s
- Do your research
- See what OWU is all about ↓
For more photos from OWU’s practice today, check us out on facebook.
