💭 FCL Weekly Thought: 08/8/25

The importance of playing different sports. New deep dive. BIC highlights, standouts and applications.

AuthorAuthor

Matt Dunn & Deemer Class
August 08, 2025

Hey everyone,

We’re diving into a big topic this week: the value of playing multiple sports. Whether you’re a parent thinking through fall schedules or a player trying to balance it all, this one’s worth a read.

We’ve also got info on our fall training programs and a reminder to get your Best In Class applications in if you haven’t already.

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
🥍 🏀 🏈 Why Multiple Sports Matter…

There’s been a lot of talk around specialization vs. playing multiple sports. We hear from parents who want their kid to be a multi-sport athlete, but feel pressure to focus year-round on lacrosse. We get it… if the goal is to play in college, it can feel risky to take time away from your main sport.

But here’s what often gets lost in the debate: other sports build traits that lacrosse alone doesn’t.

Movement literacy. Spatial awareness. Decision-making under pressure. Competitive edge. These are hard to coach and even harder to simulate in drills. But they develop naturally through exposure to different environments and game patterns.

Soccer teaches spacing and field vision. Basketball teaches angles, deception, and footwork. Football teaches leverage, contact and anticipation. Hockey teaches quick reads and body control in tight spaces.

It’s no surprise that many of the best lacrosse players in recent history were also excellent athletes in other sports growing up and beyond. Pat Spencer is now in the NBA and Jared Bernhardt playing in the NFL before returning back to lacrosse are two great examples on the men’s side, but those are just the extremes.

Pat Spencer won the Tewaaraton award at Loyola, and now plays for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.

Data Supporting Athletic Exposure at an Early Age
The more sports a kid plays, especially before age 12-14, the more reps they get making decisions, adapting to chaos, and seeing patterns that translate across sports and environments.

There’s real data behind this. Long-term athlete development (LTAD) models show that the sensitive period for developing these skills is typically between ages 7–13. That’s when kids are most adaptable and neurologically primed to build coordination, balance, and spatial awareness. Miss that window, and it’s harder to make up for it later.

“Children who do not develop their fundamental motor skills by age 12 are unlikely to reach their genetic athletic potential.”

Lacrosse-specific skill work is still important, especially if you are in high school and serious about wanting to play at the next level. But don’t underestimate what other sports are teaching young athletes.

If you want to read a piece we just wrote about basketball, check it out here. We strongly believe in this as we both were multiple sport athletes our whole lives growing up. There is little doubt these experiences formed the foundation to have success in lacrosse.

Best,
Coach Class and Coach Dunn

P.S. here are some old high school pics in case you wanted some proof 😉 

Deemer playing high school football

Matt playing high school basketball

🔥 RECRUITING COVERAGE

In this week’s recruiting section, we are highlighting some 2027 highlight tapes that we have enjoyed lately as the Class of 2027 prepares for September.

Church Salathe | 2027 | A/M | Philips Exeter | Laxachusetts

Mary Ebeling | 2027 | Attack | Rye HS | Primetime

Justin Bossolina | 2027 | Defense/LSM | Don Bosco Prep | BBL

Nick Martinelli | 2027 | A/M | Bronxville | Express North

Rowan Dias | 2027 | Midfield | Deerfield Academy | Eclipse

McKenna Shea | 2027 | Midfield | Darien | Sound Lacrosse

Henry Gilroy | 2027 | Midfield | Rye | Primetime

🎥 VIDEO OF THE WEEK
BEST HIGHLIGHTS FROM BEST IN CLASS MEN’S 2027

These rising juniors are LEGIT. Check out the best highlights from our Best in Class Men’s 2027 event back in June!

📚 FALL TRAINING REGISTRATION
SPOTS STILL OPEN!

Some spots are still open for our Fall Training sessions starting soon. Use the link below to learn more and register now.

🚨 BEST IN CLASS APPLICATION REMINDER
Apply for BIC Below!

Remember to submit your application below if you are interested in Best in Class! The invite process has begun. We are using a new system, so it is important to get everyone logged in the new system via the application.

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