[inline:LD]Getting into college is an intimidating experience for any high school student, but for student athletes hoping to get recruited by a major (or not-so-major) program, it's even more nerve-rattling. It's no wonder many turn for help to the various recruiting websites that have popped up over the past decade or so. For former Wesleyan lacrosse teammates Chris Meade and Matt Wheeler, however, their beloved sport needed its own recruiting website, which could link up high school laxers with college coaches. The duo founded LacrosseRecruits.com in 2008 and are preparing a site overhaul this fall. BroBible caught up with Meade and Wheeler recently to discuss, among other topics, the latest site developments, the importance of game video, and the emergence of players from outside the Northeast. BROBIBLE: What are your lacrosse backgrounds? Have you played your entire lives? CHRIS MEADE: I was fortunate to grow up on Long Island around the corner from a bunch of lax families. Like most other people, I played Little League until I burnt out at age 11. Lacrosse was more fun and it was considered cool to play. At that point, I fell in love with the sport and have been devoted ever since. MATT WHEELER: Like Chris, I grew up in a town (Darien, Conn.) that is very serious about lacrosse so I started real young as well. I actually switched from attack to goalie between 8th and 9th grade because my speed was just too much for people to handle so they made me jump in net. What was the inspiration behind you guys starting LacrosseRecruits.com?

CW: The biggest inspiration was helping high school lacrosse players have the opportunity to play the sport in college. Being a part of a college lacrosse team was one of the best experiences of my life, best memories, best friends, etc. I managed to find something I loved and help players and their families navigate a daunting process and have the opportunity to have those same experiences. MW: When we did our research about how kids were being recruited, we were amazed that kids still had to do the same mundane things we did in 2000 like put DVDs in the mail to coaches and look for mailing addresses and email addresses. At the same time, everyday people were using tools like Facebook.com, Monster.com, and even Match.com to make tasks that used to be difficult easier. Why was there not a Facebook for lacrosse? What is your competitive edge in the market place? Why should I choose your service over the countless other college sports recruiting websites that are out there? CW: There are a few things -- we had extensive cooperation from the coaching community in developing features that cannot be found in other recruiting applications, so coaches use the tool. It incorporates video, which is growing in importance due to the growth of the game. It makes it easy to communicate with college coaches. And most importantly we feel that we had an inside track when compared to other recruiting websites since we played, coached, and also spent endless hours of our lives on the computer. MW: I think our biggest advantage is the fact that we literally had spend hundreds of hours on social networking sites. You know when you go to a website and think to yourself, "This is all wrong, this button should be here and not there. The way this is set up is confusing"? Although we had marginal tech backgrounds, we were very good at making a site that is functional and extremely easy to use. Who is the ideal candidate to sign up for your service? Do I have to play at a certain level? CW: That is one of the best things about LacrosseRecruits.com. It offers something for players at every level. The top-tier recruits will be able to distribute their information and video to coaches in the summer after their sophomore year to try to secure early communication and exposure while lower tier recruits will be able to market themselves after their junior year. [inline:lr]What are three things that guys going through the college recruitment process fail to take advantage of? CW: 1. Buckling down and working hard in the classroom. Your GPA is an indicator of how hard you work in the classroom and most coaches believe that players who are committed in the classroom will be committed on the field. 2. Reaching out and contacting college coaches with LacrosseRecruits.com. Being proactive and making first contact will enable you to gauge interest and see where you fall in the recruiting process. 3. Game video -- get some! UPenn didn't see you over the summer but you think you could play there? You need something that proves you are on their level. Your coach telling Coach Murphy that you are a stud isn't going to get the job done. MW: Well, if they are not using LacrosseRecruits.com, that has to be the number one mistake they are making. Joking aside, the players we see that are successful work hard at it. You cannot just go play at camps and tournaments and just hope it happens because unless you are a stud, it is not going to turn out how you would like. Have you noticed that lacrosse is gaining popularity down South and out West or is it still predominantly Northeast and Mid-Atlantic dominated? CW: It is still very strong out on Long Island, Upstate New York, and Maryland, but each year the sport is growing more and more in untraditional areas. California, Florida, and Texas are going to be strongholds in the near future. MW: Just this past summer we were sponsors at events in Atlanta, Denver, and Vail. This fall we are going to Florida and Texas. The teams at these events this past summer were all from that region and the parents and kids were really into it. At a girls event we attended, we heard from a lot of parents that once their daughter picked up a stick, she stopped playing soccer. In 10 years, we will most likely see schools like University of Texas, USC, and University of Florida have varsity programs for men and women. It is really exciting stuff. Is it tough telling a kid that he should look at Division III schools versus Division I? How has your eye for talent evolved? CW: I have personally watched hundreds of hours of game tape and feel that I have a pretty good eye for where players will end up. The top tier players (D-I, 1 to 15) are easy, they are usually outstanding athletes and possess a very high skill level. You look at a player and say, "Wow, he is a beast." As you move into D-I programs that are on the cusp and the top-tier D-III programs, things get murky. Once you get to the D-III programs outside of the top 10, it is usually easier to tell that a player belongs in D-III. MW: The toughest thing I have seen is trying to figure out how good a player is that is from a developing area by looking at his game film. Since he is playing against competition that is developing, but looks like a stud, how will he actually be when you put him on the field with the big boys on the East Coast? The good news is that more and more of these players from "new" regions are holding their own and if you look at D-I rosters, the number of players coming from California, Texas, Colorado, etc. is growing. What's next for LacrosseRecruits.com? Any exciting new features coming out? Any plans to move into other sports? CW: We are working on a number of improvements for LacrosseRecruits.com. We look forward to a front page revamp as well as a number of feature upgrades at the request of college coaches to make it easier to find more players from untraditional areas. As for the growth into other markets, we have a few things on the burner that we can not disclose at this time. I promise BroBible.com readers will be among the first to know when the new sites launch. MW: After such a long summer, it has been great to start a number of projects that we had been kicking around for a few months. I can tell you one thing: the new front page is going to be awesome. Oh, and we are producing a commercial and my mug will be in it. Stay tuned...