Back in the fall of 1974, I was tasked by Philadelphia Wings general manager Jack Beonda, one of the five greatest box lacrosse players of all time, and our director of player personnel, Ken Wood, to begin assembling information on every draft-eligible box and field lacrosse player in North America.
I gathered stats books from across Canada and the U.S. college ranks. My desk was buried in books, clipboards, and notepads. We did not have computers in 1974, so for the 1975 draft, I was doing by hand what technology can now do in seconds: organizing player information, comparing performance, analyzing trends, and building a draft picture for the team.
And yet, even with all that work, decisions could still go sideways when your GM tanks the draft.
That is why today’s moment is so important. Scouting no longer has to live in silos. It no longer has to depend on scattered notes, incomplete film, word-of-mouth recommendations, and the limitations of travel budgets. It can be smarter, faster, and far more connected.
The future of scouting is not just more data. It is better intelligence. That’s why, when I read about the NHL’s Scouting Combine, it brought back memories to my office at 301 City Line Avenue, in Bala-Cynwyd, PA. Back then, we didn’t have a combine for box lacrosse. Everything was by “what you saw, heard, or who told you what.”
Imagine one connected system where pro teams and colleges can evaluate athletes across sports, compare performance, organize recruiting boards, track roster needs, verify profiles, and uncover overlooked talent from anywhere in the world. Imagine reducing the administrative drag on coaches and scouts so they can spend less time chasing information and more time making better decisions.
This matters even more in emerging sports, where talent pipelines are often fragmented and visibility is inconsistent. The right technology can level that playing field, helping organizations discover athletes they would have otherwise missed and giving players a clearer path to opportunity.
Drafting and scouting have always gone hand in hand. The difference now is that we finally have the tools to do both with greater clarity, speed, and impact.