HPLC 2018 High School Parents;

As we wrap a successful fall season, plans for our spring season are already in full motion. Below, we outline the schedule for our high school lacrosse players and discuss our philosophy on tryouts, team placement and team expectations from JV through D1 Varsity.

December: Strength and Conditioning

On December 4th, our strength and conditioning program starts for all athletes who are not currently involved in other sports. This includes all athletes who have completed a fall sport including football players who have not been called up for playoffs. These sessions are at D1 Sports on Walnut Hill from 7:00-8:15 pm. This program runs for 2 weeks, 3 days per week, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Our goal is to create a conditioning foundation for our athletes, to address any residual injuries or imbalances, and start getting into lacrosse shape. Those players coming out of other fall sports will have an evaluation done by D1 staff to get a baseline of their fitness. We will test all athletes at the end of the December sessions. We fully expect our athletes to train and improve their fitness over the holiday break. As we start our season on January 8th, we will test the athletes again.

January: Strength and Conditioning and Tryouts

Starting on January 8th, we will begin to train 5 days per week. For the first two weeks of January, we will have three days of workouts at D1 Sports (7pm start) and two days of drills and on field skill development and evaluations (5pm start). During the second two weeks of January, we will move to two days of strength and conditioning and three days of on field skill development and evaluations. We believe getting sticks into our players’ hands early is important for their development as well as the evaluation process.

ALL players will start together in January. As we get to know and evaluate the players, we will start to determine the appropriate team for players. Each week, we will begin moving players to their designated teams. After we start to move players, the head coaches will continue to evaluate the players that are still vying for spots. This process will continue until the end January and full rosters for all three teams will be announced by January 29th.

JV, D2 and D1 Placement and Philosophies

We are constantly developing our athletes (and coaches for that matter) from the moment they walk on the field as freshmen until the day they graduate as seniors. Winning championships is a byproduct of development, and it is a process that never ends. During your son’s four-year career, we will always stress forming the proper habits to become a champion on and off the field. Below, are the general structures and philosophies for our high school teams.

Junior Varsity: The JV team is comprised of freshman, sophomores and juniors. The primary goal for our JV team is to foster a love for the game and develop the player’s skills and lacrosse IQ. JV plays a major role at Highland Park to get our players ready to play for our two varsity teams. Many of Highland Park’s best players came up through the JV ranks. A great example is Chris Hipps. Chris began on JV as a freshman at Highland Park and eventually became a captain at Duke and was drafted in the MLL. As recently as last season, we had 3 juniors starting on D1, who played their freshman year on JV.

D2 Varsity: D2 is a full on varsity sport and gives our players the opportunity to compete for a State Championship. D2’s roster is comprised primarily of sophomores and juniors; however, the D2 roster may include freshman in certain situations. D2 is an amazing opportunity for young athletes and one Highland Park takes very seriously and with great pride. The Highland Park D2 team does not carry seniors. This is a self-imposed rule, not a THSLL rule. This makes playing for D2 extremely challenging as we play against teams that are junior and senior dominant. Our goal at D2 is to win State. Along the way, we will continue to develop our players into serious competitors who are ready for the next level.

D1 Varsity: D1 is our most competitive team. This team consists of mostly seniors and juniors; however, the D1 roster may include sophomores in certain situations. Our goals at D1 are to continue the development process and win a State Championship. These goals are not mutually exclusive. In fact, you cannot play at the highest level if you stop developing as an athlete and as a team.

Thank you and Go Scots!

Rich Moses

Head D1 Varsity Coach

Charles Wills

High School Director

Registration is now open:

http://www.highlandparklacrosse.org/page/show/843673-highschool-registration