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Want to know how big lacrosse has gotten? Pull up a web browser, enter the url www.laxpower.com and click the link for 2009 recruits. But beware, you might get carpal tunnel syndrome scrolling through all 2,458 commitments.

It's a relatively new phenomenon; according to the Web site itself, participation in the sport has grown 528 percent since 1990, and high school scouting has advanced by roughly the same ratio. But as opposed to long-established sports like football and basketball, lacrosse recruiting is done much more quietly.

So how did Montgomery County's top prospects make their commitments? A combination of old school self-reliance and new school technology.

"The schools I was looking at, I would just e-mail all my coaches to let them know I was interested in their school," said Bethesda-Chevy Chase senior Chris Pappalardo, who will play at Kenyon College (Ohio) next spring. "A lot of players send their highlight tapes to schools and you just want to get your name out there. But a lot of this stuff is the recruiting camps, too."

According to Pappalardo, getting your name out there is one thing, but getting scholarship offers is a totally different animal. For that, participation in various summer camps and tryouts is often necessary.

The reality is that college coaches have neither the time nor the motivation to scout high school lacrosse games, meaning they need to gauge a player's talent against other top-level players.

Fortunately for local players, the state of Maryland is a hotbed for such showcases, ranging from rising high school freshmen through soon-to-be seniors.

There are dozens of them, starting with the Maryland Free State Team Tryouts beginning in late May, with players only eligible via coach recommendations. Among the other important cattle calls are the Top-205 camps at the University of Maryland-College Park in June and the Under Armour All-America Underclassmen tryouts at Towson University in July.

Just as important are summer tournament teams that tour the country to play the nation's best. One of the biggest is Team Madlax, which fields a staggering amount of collegiate prospects.

Its 2009 team, for example, has already produced Wootton's Mark Jutkowitz (Maryland) and Matt Canter (Gettysburg, Pa.), Good Counsel's Tyler Nechanicky and Patrick Durkin (both Navy commits), Gaithersburg's Ren Tydings (St. Mary's) and Churchill's Griffin Farha (Lehigh, Pa.).

"I think the more you had a kid play, the more exposure he's going to get," said Wootton coach Colin Thomson, whose team has won four consecutive region titles. "We have sent a lot of players to college. ...I do as much as a player needs me to do. Obviously these coaches are doing their homework and if they hear a guy is doing really well, and maybe they hear something about another of your kids, I'll give them my opinion of the player. ...We're no different than any other schools, not even the private schools. The recruiting really starts for a lot of these kids sophomore year."

Of course, becoming a state power like the Patriots, who won their fourth straight regional title this year, gets players noticed, as well. On the other hand, for private schools in the Interstate Athletic Conference, much less legwork is required. Playing in one of the top leagues in the country, IAC schools like Bullis, Landon and Georgetown Prep perennially send graduates to the best schools in the nation.

Prep's reputation certainly precedes it; the Little Hoyas usually send much of their roster to Division I programs. To most, like Gazette Player of the Year John Kemp, the recruiting process begins and ends much earlier. Kemp, whose brother Joey was a three-time All-American at Notre Dame, committed to the Fighting Irish by the end of his junior year.

"I mean, [Little Hoyas head coach Kevin] Giblin knows a lot of college coaches over the years, so he can just come and tell you who's interested in you," said Kemp. "He has a lot of connections for a lot of other players on our team, and for me, because my brother went to Notre Dame, their coach saw me play as a sophomore. Then I went to camps, like the Jake Reed Blue Chip Camp that's supposedly the top 100 in the country, so there's probably at least 40 D-1 coaches noticing if you make a good play. …

"But I don't think that you have to go to summer camps. For the most part, if you're a really good player anywhere, you'll get noticed."