A Conversation with Will Pilat from Wesleyan University

Introduction

We caught up with Wesleyan University Men’s Lacrosse Coach Will Pilat for a discussion about the Wesleyan lacrosse program and what he looks for when recruiting student-athletes.

You can find our conversation below.

Thanks to Will for taking the time to educate those interested in Wesleyan!

Wesleyan will be in attendance at the D3 Winter Lacrosse Showcase this January. Click Here To Learn More and Register to the D3 Winter Lacrosse Showcase.

The Conversation

What are you most excited about with regards to your program?

Getting to work with highly motivated students who are just as motivated to be lacrosse players

How would you describe your coaching style?

A young coach who is eager to learn more about the game and pass on my knowledge to not only players on my team, but any players I interact with around lacrosse

What jumps out at you when recruiting? What do you look for in a player?

I look for team players, guys that are athletic but can also employ team concepts in their gameplay

What are your “pet peeves” when recruiting?

When players don’t come off the field, try to do too much, or play selfishly in a recruiting event to be “seen”

What is the best way interested student-athletes should get in touch with you?

Our questionnaire is a great way to get in touch with us so athletes can see what is going on with Wesleyan lacrosse, emails are good as well, the best is to come to our Prospect days on campus to get a feel for our coaching staff, play in front of us, and see the campus itself

What should student-athletes avoid in their messaging to college coaches?

Long messages, putting too much into a message, messages to college coaches should be relatively simple, some statistics or info on your play on your high school or club team, as well as info on yourself as a student

What kind of players succeed at your program?

Highly motivated athletes who want to work for the good of the team

Walk us through your timeline when recruiting a student athlete?

Contact from us or the student athlete, expressing interest from either party, potential visit to campus/prospect day/seeing them play in person at a tournament or showcase, checking to see if things line up academically as well, and then going from there if we feel as if a player could succeed here at Wesleyan

Tell us about your transition from lacrosse player to lacrosse coach

Still making the transition as I am a young coach, I find it a bit challenging as I wish I could go out and play still but am just as excited to pass on my knowledge to guys that I coach so they can have the type of positive experience I had when I was playing

What’s your recruiting strategy going into an event?

Going into an event I try to watch players that have expressed interest in our program, and after an event I evaluate my notes on who stood out to me and try to go from there in terms of contact, etc.

Once again, thanks to Will for his time, and best of luck to Wesleyan this season!

Wesleyan will be in attendance at the D3 Winter Lacrosse Showcase on January 15th (MLK Day). Join Coach Pilat and other college coaches at D3 Winter Showcase.

Coach Pilat is one of the many coaches to recruit at our premier showcases. Click below to see the full list of coaches attending our events. Register today!