Team 24/7 Player Spotlights
Getting to know Aidan McAvoy
Player Name: Aidan McAvoy
College Commitment: Connecticut College
High School: Portsmouth Abbey School (RI.)
Position: Attack/Midfield
Graduating Class: 2021
What other schools did you consider?
Trinity, Hamilton, Babson, Bowdoin, Kenyon and Skidmore
How did the school you chose separate itself from the others you considered?
The main thing that separates Conn College from other schools is the energy around the program right now. The brought Coach Nagle in last year and he has a great vision to build the program and a really impressive resume of success. Coach Nagle was brought in last March, and had a late start to his recruiting process. He expressed great interest in me right away as one of the top players on his list. He also expressed his aspiration to take Conn to the next level and be a dominant force in the NESCAC. Coach Nagel offered me one of the first spots in his first recruiting class as the new head coach, which truly showed his desire to have me on his team and at Conn. This desire by Coach Nagle to have me be a part of his new program and to turn Conn into a dominant team, coupled with the fantastic academics, unique community, and beautiful campus made Connecticut College stand out from the other schools and made me want to attend.
How would you describe your recruiting process overall?
I would describe my recruiting process as successful, and overall I enjoyed most parts of the process. At times it can be stressful and there is a little bit of anxiety involved, but having a positive attitude made the difference for me. Having all kinds of opportunities in front of you and having the ability to control it is a really unique and important experience for a kid. The process taught me a lot about what I wanted for myself in the future, and also about having an optimistic attitude in these kinds of processes.
What was your favorite part of the recruiting process?
My favorite part of the process was going to visit all the schools I was looking at for the first time. Being able to see all the different colleges for the first time and discover their unique communities and opportunities that they provide was truly a special experience. Getting to meet the coaches and some of the players on my visits made the whole experience more special and meaningful to me.
What opportunities and information assisted you during your recruiting process?
The opportunities that assisted me most was Coach Flanagan and also my school coach at Portsmouth Abbey. Both coaches were proactive in reaching out to coaches for me and finding the best prospect days to attend. Also having an open dialogue with coaches that were recruiting me helped me learned where I was at in the process and also where I stood as a recruit in their eyes.
Did you feel like you had support from the Team 24/7 Staff during your process? If so, how?
I feel like I had great support from the Team 24/7 Staff in many different way. Coach Flanagan has been an instrumental part of my process as a lacrosse player from the start, as have many of the coaches who developed me early on in my career(Coach Jay, Coach Baryn, Rush). Coach Flanagan was very helpful when I started out looking at schools, and he was able to assist me in creating a realistic list of schools to look at. He then was able to help me narrow it down and focus on my target schools. He advised me to attend the smaller recruiting prospect days at individual schools so I could gain more exposure and more interest from the colleges I most wanted to attend. He was also able to reach out to schools for me and was able to gleam information from coaches at schools that I most wanted to go to. And when I finally received an offer from my top school, Coach Flanagan helped me to make the right decision in not wasting anytime to take the offer. The fact that I got into one of my top 2 schools is a testament to the help and support I got over my 9 year career here.
What individual or showcase events, if any, did you find the most beneficial during your process?
I found the most beneficial showcases for me was going to individual schools prospect days. I gained the most exposure and interest from going directly to a schools individual camp and playing in a small group directly in front of the head coach and his staff. It also was easer to talk to coaches during and after these prospect days because you are able to meet them on a personal level, and they are much more approachable at these smaller, individual camps.
What would you tell younger players or parents to help them prepare for the recruiting process?
I would tell young players to not worry so much about the process and don't get anxious about it. There are a ton of great schools out there with great programs, and everyone finds a spot for themselves. Just worry about improving your game and having fun on the field when you are out there, and coaches will notice. Go to the prospect days and play your game, be proactive in the recruiting process, and you will set yourself up for success.
Coach Flanagan on Aidan
Talk about a lifer. When I was walking up to Davie Park for the first ever day camp I did in Charlotte, a young man and his mom walked up. She said that he had played some hockey and was excited to play lacrosse but didn’t have any experience. They weren’t even sure what equipment he would need but borrowed some from a friend and were excited to be there to play.
Over the next 9-10 years, the McAvoy family supported us in everything we did! Our first summer day camp turned in to a small instructional program the following Fall. That next Summer, we had a small group of kids that wanted to try playing in a tournament, so we threw together a team that spanned 3 different age groups with Aidan being a part of the youngest group. As the years went by, their support never waned. If we tried to start a new training program, they supported it. If we tried to start a new league, they supported it. If we said we were going to bring the guys to some far away tournament, they supported it. They never questioned anything that we were doing or why we were doing it. They never questioned or criticized our coaches or how we did things, they just supported us in every way they could.
The quiet and supportive characteristic of the McAvoy family can also be found in Aidan. While he is a really fun kid to coach, Aidan was usually one of the quietest kids on our team each year. We would move him between midfield and attack and you would never hear a word from him about having a preference between playing either position. It didn’t matter where you put him, he was just going to play hard and try to get better every day. With how much time we spent together over his 9-10 years playing for us, he knew exactly when to crack a joke and when it was time to get serious. He made our jobs as coaches extremely easy and it was always fun to be on the field with him.
It’s been a pleasure to watch Aidan grow from a kid picking up a stick for the first time in to an impressive young man headed to a NESCAC school!
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