💭 FCL Weekly Thought: 08/15/25

Prospect days. New deep dive. FCL Athlete D1 workout. Men's 2027's to watch.

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Hey everyone,

We hope you’re enjoying some well-deserved August downtime… Today’s issue is directed more towards our 2027s as they approach September 1st and covers a topic that gets a lot of questions: prospect days.

Prospect days, used strategically, can be very beneficial. This email is not meant to inspire FOMO or the need to do one of these prospect days, but just to unpack them a bit.

If you have questions or topics you’d like us to cover please let us know! We always do our best to reply.

Let’s get into it. Happy Friday ☕️,
Matt & Deemer

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THIS WEEKS CONTENT AT A GLANCE

🔒 FCL Deep Dive - Premium
Unappreciated Benefit of Switching Picks

Our FCL Online Community has great resources for coaches, players and parents. Check out our most recent deep dive here!

🔒 Premium Members Read Full Post Here → Deep Dive: The unappreciated benefit of switching picks 🔄

💭 WEEKLY THOUGHT
🥍 Rising Juniors - Prospect Days Ahead of September 1…

As we hit the middle of August, the hope is that everyone has used the last couple of weeks to recharge and reset. The last few weeks of August have become an increasingly popular time for programs to host one final prospect day ahead of September 1, particularly on the women’s side.

In this weekly thought, we wanted to discuss the coaches purpose for hosting end of summer prospect days, the benefits of attending them, and how to approach it.

Prospect Day Purposes
For coaches, there are two main reasons why they might host an end of summer prospect day:

  1. In-Person Evaluation: First and foremost, it is another chance to evaluate players & get them on campus. Prospect days provide coaches with an opportunity to place players in drills they want to see them in, and interact with them in a much more personal, 1v1 setting. Maybe you’ve been seen, but not enough to move up the board (yet).

  2. Interest from Athlete: Second, it helps coaches get a better sense of where student-athletes have them on their own list, which can help them make more informed decisions come September 1. With this being said, the majority of coaches and schools are aware that conflicts exist - competing prospect days, high school sports, among many others.

Should You Attend?
While it has been a busy summer for all student-athletes, there are still benefits of making one final push at the August prospect days. In addition to showcasing your interest in the school and getting evaluated again, one thing that stands out about the time of year these prospect days happen is that it comes off of a break.

June and July can get busy - it is challenging to pick your head up and think about what you are doing well and what you can improve on. As we have written this summer, the hope and goal is that during this stretch of downtime in early August, players reflect and self-evaluate on things that they can improve.

Our challenge to you is to be honest with yourself - you know your game and recent summer performance better than anyone else. If you do decide to attend a final one, be targeted, put your best foot forward, and let the chips fall where they may.

Han Solo Good Luck GIF by Star Wars

Trust yourself and put your best foot forward.

Final Thoughts
At this point, this likely isn’t a 2027’s first prospect day. This is one of the final chances to showcase who you are as a player, person, and competitor. A common trait that men’s and women’s coaches have commented on this summer is competitiveness.

When highlighting players they love, they often refer to how competitive he or she is. When commenting on what players need to improve upon, competitiveness is almost always in the top three categories. So as you approach your final events, make sure that when you get into the car or onto the plane to travel home, you have no regrets about your effort, attitude, or competitiveness.

Best of luck to everyone and finish strong!

Coach Rehfuss

🔥 RECRUITING COVERAGE

This week, we’re spotlighting three 2027 attackmen who could be in for big Septembers. A reminder for everyone, as I told one of our FCL Athlete families recently: This is just a point in time. The real goal is to be playing your best lacrosse, and earning that ranking, as a senior. Then carry that momentum into college, where you want to make an impact, not just be on the roster.

George Caldroney | 2027 | Attack | IMG Academy | Maddog National

George is one of the most dynamic players in the class. Reminiscent of a Michael Sowers/Grant Ament type dodger, Caldroney makes too many plays to be overlooked for his size. He’s explosive, can create off the dodge, and is a dual threat scorer and feeder. We got to evaluate him in person over the winter, when he attended the BIC Winter Showcase, and his summer was filled with highlight reel performances. Watch his summer highlights here.

Caldroney at our Best in Class Winter Showcase 2025.

James Holbrough | 2027 | Attack | Berkshire | Sweetlax

Though James couldn’t attend BIC this summer, we got to watch him the past two summers at our rising freshman and rising sophomore BIC events and he has continued to ascend. He’s slick, smooth, and has great poise. His creativity as a scorer and a passer is next level and I’ll be eager to see where he lands! Watch his summer highlights here.

Holbrough at our Best in Class Men’s 2027 event in 2024.

TJ Shaw | 2027 | Attack | Boy’s Latin | Baltimore Crabs

TJ is a slick lefty who can operate from the wing and from below GLE. He’s crafty and intelligent, a staple of a Boys’ Latin attackman, a program that has been producing high level attackmen for years. TJ is tough and has a driven work ethic and always looks to get better. He showed out at Best In Class with a next-level IQ and playmaking ability. He reminds me of 2024 Luke Miller (McDonogh/Hawks/Notre Dame) and I think we’ll be seeing him fill up the net on Saturdays to come. He might be a 4 star now, but he’s a guy whose best lacrosse is yet to come. Watch his summer highlights here.

Shaw at our Best in Class Men’s 2027 event in 2025.

🎥 VIDEO OF THE WEEK
MCKENNA DAVIS D1 WORKOUT

Check out former Boston College attacker Mckenna Davis’ D1 workout!

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