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Alex Weber, the former standout attackman at the University of Pennsylvania who now coaches the varsity team at Harvard Westlake High School (Calif.), produced and directed “COMMITTED,” a documentary on lacrosse recruiting videotaped this past summer at Maverik Showtime National Lacrosse Recruiting Spotlight. You can watch the trailer here. Lacrosse has taken Alex Weber to a lot of places. After being named an All-American at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y., in 2005, the attackman went on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a three-year starter, finishing his career with 41 goals. Weber, who started playing the sport at age 5, is now the head coach for Harvard Westlake High School in Los Angeles who received coach-of-the-year honors by US Lacrosse after the team’s championship run. Weber landed in Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He’s made appearances on NBC’s “Tonight Show,” CBS’s “The Young and the Restless” and also been cast in several commercials. Weber’s love for film — and lacrosse — is evident in “COMMITTED,” an examination of not only the recruiting process, but the growth of the sport itself. The mini-documentary was produced this past July at the Maverik Showtime National Lacrosse Recruiting Spotlight, where four players participating in the event were spotlighted.”I love this sport, and I hope this film can show people an insight into this amazing community,” Weber said. “Also, for any player who is serious about lacrosse, it is incredible to hear the honest feedback and thoughts directly from these top college coaches.” Now, here’s a Q&A with Alex on “COMMITTED”: When did the idea for “COMMITTED” come and how did it grow into the project? This past spring was my first season as the head coach of Harvard Westlake High School. It was a pretty special year. We won our Los Angeles championship, had players earn All-American, and I was fortunate enough to be named coach of the year by US Lacrosse. In helping my players with recruiting, I noticed just how intense the stage has become. It was always my dream to play college lacrosse, and I wanted to share the stories of kids who share that same dream. Are you planning on doing any other productions on lacrosse or sports in general? One hundred percent, yes. I’ve always loved filmmaking, and the collision of worlds between making films and lacrosse is still a bit surreal to me. We just filmed with John Grant, Jr., who is a guy I’ve looked up to since I got pegged as a lefty attackman. We’re going pedal down. Why did you decide to spotlight Maverik Showtime? Steve Jobs has a great quote about how you have to have faith that somewhere down the road, your dots will connect. Paul Carcaterra, now ESPN analyst and founder of Showtime, was my high school lacrosse coach at Fox Lane (High School). He pulled me up onto the HS team in eighth grade, and quite literally changed my life. We sat down a year ago, and were laughing about our roads in lacrosse together and how we’re now both in entertainment. We thought there might be something worth sharing at Showtime, and it proved to be right. How did you decide on the four players you wound up following? Gut. That first day we ran around like madmen talking to each and every player we could. These four players were just being so honest and open about everything in their lives and how badly they wanted this dream. College lacrosse was my end all, be all dream since eighth grade, and I saw that in these kids for so many different and terrific reasons. What surprised you the most during the production regarding the showcase and the comments by players, camp coaches and college coaches? First off, how mature and focused these kids are. They’re just great kids, flat out. Lacrosse has had a mixed reputation in the past, but with the level the game has risen to, you simply can’t be successful if you do not possess a strong character. It’s really a great thing to see. The word “relief” kept coming up. I had asked players to describe the moment they commit to their dream school. You’d expect “ecstatic” and “bouncing off walls,” but I kept getting “relief.” I think that is very illuminating of just how intense recruiting has become in lacrosse. It is a very, very competitive sport right now. There have been enormous changes in recruiting since you played, particularly with the early commitments. Where do you see the recruiting landscape headed? What changes do you envision? The simple truth is that there are just too many good players for not enough spots. The game exploded in America so quickly, and the college game hasn’t caught up. In the words of the UNC coach (Joe Breschi), you have thousands and thousands of kids competing for about 650 spots. It’s very competitive and with that is incredibly intensity and pressure. The answer is to start more college programs, but that is expensive and further complicated by Title XIV. The short-term answer is that if you have a dream to play in college, there are three things in your control: 1. Do well in the classroom. 2. Be a great kid. 3. Work harder than you ever thought on your game. You can watch “COMMITTED” now at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/Committed. In the words of all-time NCAA leading scorer, Rob Pannell, “If you want to play college lacrosse, watch ‘COMMITTED.’ ” For more info, visit COMMITTEDthemovie.com. * College lacrosse coverage story archive Have a recruiting commitment to report? Send an email to info@laxlessons.com, contact Joe Lombardi directly at joe@laxlessons.com or send a Tweet to @Joe_Lombardi or @LaxLessons. Get in the Zone: The HS Zone High School Zone: Long Island High School Zone: Hudson Valley High School Zone: Connecticut High School Zone: New Jersey High School Zone: New York City High School Zone: Upstate New York High School Zone: New England High School Zone: Pennsylvania High School Zone: Maryland High School Zone: Canada High School Zone: Beyond the Northeast More LAXLESSONS Links LAXLESSONS Links Top 25 tristate preseason team rankings Top 100 tristate preseason player rankings LaxLessons.com Video Specials 5 in 5: Tristate Top 25 preseason team rankings 5 in 5: Tristate Top 100 preseason player rankings stories 5 in 5: Top 2013 offseason tristate stories Recruiting coverage * Updated tristate recruiting commitment rundown for Class of 2014 * Updated tristate recruiting commitment rundown for Class of 2015 * Updated tristate recruiting commitment rundown for Class of 2016 * Updated tristate recruiting commitment rundown for Class of 2017 * Class of 2013 commitment rundown by high school/prep school * Recruiting commitment story archive

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