CAMPED OUT | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

That's because the Maryland men's lacrosse coach has spent the past two months traveling up and down the East Coast to a never-ending series of camps and club tournaments. This is a critical recruiting period and Cottle cannot afford to miss any major event that attracts top Division I prospects.

"From late May to early August, me or my assistants are always going somewhere to scout players," Cottle said. "It's just the nature of the beast. There are a lot of big-time camps and tournaments during June and July and we've got to be there."

College basketball, baseball and football coaches tell a similar story. Whether it's amateur Athletic Union basketball or club lacrosse, there is a cottage industry for every sport created to give high school athletes increased exposure. Of course, the explosion of summer events has forced college coaches to spend even more time criss-crossing the country to evaluate and recruit top prospects.

As a result, a Division I head coach such as Cottle, who is married and has three children aged 11 through 16, is away from his family for most of the summer. Although the kids are out of school with plenty of free time, Cottle cannot take them anywhere for a nice vacation until late August.

"There are a lot of moral dilemmas involved with all this. You spend more time watching other people's kids than your own. Instead of taking a break to recharge the batteries after a long season, you roll right into two and a half month recruiting season," said Cottle, an Edgewater resident. "By merely attending all these events, the college coaches contribute to a climate in which kids feel obligated to play all summer."

For men's lacrosse coaches, the summer circuit begins with tryouts for various all-star games - the Freestate team in Maryland, Empire State Games in New York and Under Armour Classic on a national basis.

Then comes the invitational-only camps for elite recruits, such as the Top 205, Blue Chip and Rutgers MVP. Shortly thereafter, club season begins and leads coaches to such tournaments as the Gait Cup (Gettysburg, Pa.), Champ Camp (Baltimore, Md.) and Battle of the Hot Beds (Newark, Del.).

Somewhere in between, most Division I head coaches direct their own camps. Dave Cottle's Lacrosse Camp is held in late June at the University of Maryland. Cottle also directs the Ocean City Lacrosse Camp in early July.

"Frankly, those types of camps, which are more about teaching than recruiting, are the enjoyable part," Cottle said. "For the most part, you're working with kids who just want to have fun and improve their skills."

When Missy Holmes-Doherty was a standout three-sport athlete at St. Mary's High in the early 1990s she didn't spend her entire summer kicking a soccer ball, dribbling a basketball or cradling a lacrosse ball.

"I remember spending half the summer at my grandparent's place at the beach," said Holmes-Doherty, who is now head coach of the Towson University women's lacrosse program. "I might have gone to one or two camps, but for the most part I just enjoyed summer vacation."

Those days are long gone as a burgeoning club season keeps girls lacrosse players busy from June through October. Major tournaments such as the Champions Cup (Downingtown, Pa.), National Draw (Marlton, N.J.) and All Star Express (Crofton) cannot be missed by any underclassman hoping to get a Division I scholarship. There is another lengthy slate of events during the fall such as the Skyscraper (Randall's Island, N.Y.) and Turkey Shoot (Annapolis).

"There's no question the club scene has grown exponentially. It all boils down to competition. Coaches want to recruit and players want to be recruited," Holmes-Doherty said.

Married for just two years, Holmes-Doherty would prefer spending summer weekends with her husband and 1-year-old son instead of evaluating sophomore prospects at Bell Branch Park in Crofton. However, she cannot afford to skip All-Star Express when Loyola head coach Jess Adam or Johns Hopkins head coach Janine Tucker certainly would not.

"It's nuts, it's crazy, but I don't know the solution," said Holmes-Doherty, who led Towson into then NCAA Tournament two of the last four season. "As long as these tournaments are out there, coaches are going to go to them in order to see and be seen."

No self-respecting Division I men's basketball coach would be anywhere but Las Vegas during a week-long period in late July. All three major shoe companies - Adidas, Reebok and Nike - simultaneously conduct national AAU Tournaments in Vegas. Nearly 1,000 teams featuring most of the finest prospects in America attend the tournaments, held at some 40 high schools around Sin City.

Naval Academy head coach Billy Lange had been watching AAU ball nonstop for three straight days when contacted on his cell phone earlier this week. By the time Saturday rolls around, Lange will have put 500 miles on the rental car while furiously driving around to games.

"I've been inside a gym, a car or a hotel room ever since I got here. I don't even know what day it is," a weary Lange said. "I have breakfast at 6:30 in the morning and I won't eat again until 9:30 at night. It's all basketball, all the time in between."

Nevada is just the latest stop on a recruiting tour that has also taken Lange and his assistants to Kansas, Texas, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida during the month of July.

"There is no such thing as a summer break in this profession," said Lange, who spent most of June directing a series of five Navy basketball camps. "Recruiting is a nonstop process. There is not a moment of relaxation. Fortunately, I really enjoy the recruiting aspect of this job. I relish the challenge of evaluating players and developing relationships."

Lange sometimes worries about the toll such a hectic schedule and abnormal lifestyle can take on one's health. Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser died of a heart attack last summer after spending 18 hour days on the road recruiting.

"We're flying and driving all over the place, cramming as many events as we can into the summer recruiting period. It does begin to wear on you after a while," said Lange, whose family vacation will consist of a mere five days at the New Jersey shore.

May, June and July used to be among the few relaxing months of the year for college football coaches, whose regular season runs from August through November. A bowl berth takes away December while recruiting hits a fevered pitch in the months leading up to National Signing Day in mid February. Spring practice takes up most of the month of March.

However, the summer has now become a critical time for recruiting as rising high school seniors are making verbal commitments earlier than ever before. Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen and staff must hustle during the off-season in order to keep pace with the competition as most Division I programs work to secure as many commitments as possible prior to the start of August two-a-days.

Maryland now conducts two sessions of summer camp and invites all its recruiting targets to attend. The Terrapins put campers in shoulder pads and helmets so the coaching staff can better evaluate potential recruits during full contact drills.

"There are just certain things you learn from seeing a player live and in-person that you cannot get from a highlight tape," Maryland recruiting coordinator Dave Solazzo said.

Friedgen routinely tenders scholarship offers based on a prospect's performance at camp. Defensive back Eric Franklin (Archbishop Curley), defensive end Ricky Mackall (Edmondson), linebacker Marcus Whitfield (Northwest) and all-purpose athlete Dave Stinebaugh (Perry Hall) all raised their stock at the Maryland camp last month. They are among 17 recruits to give early verbal commitments to the Terrapins.