Team 24/7 Lacrosse Player Spotlight
2020 Dylan Bedell
Learn more about some of the top High School lacrosse players in the Carolinas this Spring with the Team 24/7 Lacrosse Committed Player Spotlight
Getting to Know Dylan Bedell
Player Name: Dylan Bedell
College Commitment: Marist College
High School: Charlotte Christian
Position: Faceoff Midfielder
Graduating Class: 2021

What other schools did you consider?
High Point, Jacksonville, Towson, Mercer, Army, Delaware, Rutgers and Lafayette. 
How did the school you chose separate itself from the others you considered?
The coaching staff is what set Marist apart. They are focused on relationships and push all the players to be their best, have a strong work ethic but also have a good time. All three coaches stayed with our family during the visit and went out of their way to introduce us to players during and outside of practice.

How would you describe your recruiting process overall?
The recruiting process was exciting, stressful and eye-opening. It made me aware of schools, programs and opportunities I did not know existed when I started originally.

What was your favorite part of the recruiting process? 
The opportunity to go visit schools and see their facilities, meet active players and each program's coaching staff.

What opportunities and information assisted you during your recruiting process?
Before the process started Coach Flanagan helped my family and me understand what I was looking for in a school. He also helped us see what each school brought to the table. Doing research ahead of time helped me know what questions to ask and how I should look at each program when visiting schools.

Did you feel like you had support from the Team 24/7 Staff during your process? If so, how?
Yes in many ways. Team 24/7 held one on one parent meeting, helped promote me on social media and made sure we attended challenging tournaments where plenty of colleges were represented.

The 24/7 coaching staff networked with NCAA coaches before, during and after games and held opportunities for specialized training at their offseason Elite Academies. Coach Flanagan's vetting of programs before them reaching out and recommendations for showcases all were extremely helpful.

What individual or showcase events, if any, did you find the most beneficial during your process?
Midnight Mania, Inside Lacrosse showcases and NXT showcases were very beneficial. Prospect days also gave me an idea of what coaches were specifically looking for when I was displaying my skillset in front of them.

What would you tell younger players or parents to help them prepare for the recruiting process?
Don't ever close a door on a coach, be open to schools you have never heard of, keep detailed notes and remember that you are a student first. It should be a school you would want to attend even if lacrosse wasn't involved.

And lastly, for you parents, my family recommends reading The Complete Parents' Guide to Men's College Lacrosse Recruiting by the lax dads. 
Coach Flanagan on Dylan
The theme with so many of our committed guys is similar, they work extremely hard.

Dylan may be the best example of that yet. He is obsessed with developing his craft, works at it relentlessly and has become one of the best players in his class because of that.
Dylan has had a roller coaster of a ride with us but his approach has never changed - work harder. When he first joined us, he was a two-way midfielder that we put on a "B" team. He was a good athlete that got up and down the field really well but we weren't sure if we should be using him on offense or defense. While he didn't specialize in face-offs early on, it was something that he excelled at whenever he was given the opportunity and he continued to gravitate towards it. He never said a word to us about being on the "B" team during that first season. He just started to work really hard at taking face-offs and before long, he was pretty good at it. There was one problem though.... we had a few guys at 2021 who had specialized in face-offs already. However, we didn't have any at 2020 so we asked Dylan if he would be open to playing there. Without hesitation, he jumped at the opportunity with a great attitude. While he was always up against older players and would take a little bit of a physical beating at times as a face-off midfielder, he never complained about it. He developed a bunch of friends on the 2020 team and just kept working to get better and better. When the time was right and the recruiting process was about to start, he moved back to playing with the 2021s and became one of the top face-off specialists in the class.

There are two things about Dylan that always stand out when a coach sees him play. The first is that he has clearly worked really hard at developing his game. He is clean in his movements and does a great job getting the ball out to a place where he can pick it up himself. The other thing that always stands out is how fast he is. He not only wins the whistle but he gets out of his stance and gets to the ball quicker than the opposition.

My favorite thing about Dylan has always been his attitude and his approach. There are no excuses or complaining, just work to get better. The other thing that I have loved with Dylan is how he has grown as a leader. He is the guy that is getting to practice early or staying late to work on his game. He is at every practice and every Academy session working not just on his skill at the face-off X but as an all around lacrosse player. He also gets his teammates involved. We often here about guys who work really hard on their own. He makes sure that if he is going to the field to workout, he is calling teammates to work with him. That goes a really long way in developing a winning culture and improving the entire team.

I'm excited for Dylan's future not just as a lacrosse player but as a leader. His work ethic and "no excuses" approach will allow him to be successful in anything he does while his ability to pull his teammates is something that will allow them all be successful.
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