Recruitment Strategy For Student Athletes
Athletes get to go to the front of the line in the admissions process. They also have to start visiting and communicating with colleges earlier than other students because many coaches finalize their list of recruited students in the summer before or early during senior year. Although there may be some sight differences among various sports, the basics of the process works the same for most athletes who are trying to get recruited to play on the college level. Andrew Herman, who has spent forty five years as an athletic director and fifteen years advising students on the recruiting process for student-athletes, worked with me on developing these ten basic steps to get the proverbial ball rolling.
1. Be Good At The Sport
What do I mean by this obvious-sounding piece of advice? Most athletes who get recruited aren't just playing their sport in school; they're also playing in camps and tournaments and investing time in off-season training. For most sports, it's also important to begin weight-training program because college athletes are bigger, faster and stronger than high school athletes.
2. Become Familiar With Four Important Letters- NCAA
The national Collegiate Athletic Association is the Walmart of college sports; they basically have everything you need. NCAA teams are divided into three classifications: Divisions I, II and III. Each of these divisions have different regulations for how and when coaches can communicate with students, so check out the rules for both your sport and division. The NCAA (www.ncaa.org) also provides a list of colleges with teams for each sport, where those teams are ranked, who coaches those teams and which coaches win games. Finally, the NCAA is responsible for regulating and providing information on academic requirements, so review the requirements for yourself as well. Although the GPA cutoff for most college teams is a 2.0 (a C average), B students need to familiarize themselves with NCAA course and standardize testing requirements to be sure that they meet all of the requirements.
3. Find Role models
Because every sport is different in terms of how much outside training is encouraged, it;s important to do research about how other student athletes in your sport got recruited. If you're on a competitive high school team that has sent recruited athletes to colleges in the past, ask your coach for advice or talk to the more senior members of the team who are going through the recruiting process. Some colleges also have athletes' biographies online, so do some digging and see if you can spot some themes. Did all of the lacrosse players at your top-choice school play for a particular travel team or attend a camp? Did the rowers place in a certain high school regattas? Did the gymnasts train at a certain gym? See what the athletes you admire have done to get them where they are.
4. Get A head Start
Most athletes commit to a college before or early in the fall of their senior year. Most coaches begin recruiting athletes in their junior year of high school, especially for spring sports. Since athletic recruiting process is earlier than the regular college admissions time-line, you should start considering colleges by the end of sophomore year or beginning of junior year. This doesn't mean that you need to run to every college campus you've ever heard of. You can start by putting together a list of potential colleges that might be a good fit for you and athletically and academically by doing some research online.
5. Get The Best Grades You Can
Although athletes are favored in the admissions process, you still have to meet the colleges minimum GPA and SAT requirements to be accepted. Student-athletes can cast a wide net in the beginning of the process because you still have time to improve as an athletes and a student. It is fine to keep your options open and have a working list of about twenty colleges at this point, even though you will end up applying to fewer schools.
6. Create a Resume To Send To Coaches
Don;t wait until coaches track you down and ask you for this resume; take the initiative to send it to coaches at the schools that interest you. A good resume will have the following information:
Name & contact information
Relevant physical characteristics (height, weight and so on)
Athletic experience (include teams you play for, positions you play, time you spend training and son on; also put future tournaments and camps that you intend to play in.
Academic experience (basics like GPA and SAT; if you haven't taken the SAT yet then put the future date)
You can also include things like outside hobbies and other extracurricular interests. Don't be afraid to put your own personality in their.
7. Write A Cover Letter
When you send copies of your resume , you;ll want to attach a brief cover letter introducing yourself to the coach. Keep the letter short and sweet, remember to show enthusiasm for the school by including one or two details about the college.
8. Make A Video
The purpose of an athletic video isn't to show off your film making abilities, it's to show the coach what you look like in action. So ask your parents or friends to get out their androids and Iphones or video cameras at your games or matches and start filming. Then you can use the video to put together a short segment of a game or a series of clips that showcase your abilities. Don't worry too much about the video production aspect as long as a viewer can see your skills in a variety of situations. For example if you play softball you should probably have some shots of you fielding the ball as well as hitting the ball and don't forget to show it to your high school coach or a trusted, knowledgeable friend for feedback. People who have seen you play can help you elevate whether the video clips capture your abilities.
9. Send Out Packets
Now that you have a list of colleges , the coaches' contact information, as well as your resume, cover letter, and a video you are ready to start communication with the people who will eventually decide if you are a good match for their teams In addition to your resume, cover letter and video you should include a copy of your transcript in the packet because coaches cant recruit students who does not fit their college's academic profile. It is advisable to send these packets out by the winter of junior year. This gives you enough time to communicate with the coaches through the spring of junior year and the summer before senior year. Getting these packets out early is also an advantage if your considering playing certain summer tournaments or attending sports camps where colleges coaches like to scout for recruits. They may remember your name and credentials from your packet before they meet you in person at one of these events.
10. Follow Up
Some time after you send your packet to coaches , you may receive a response over email or the phone. If a coach writes to you, be sure to follow up with a polite response indicating your interest in learning more about the college team. This is also a good time to ask questions about certain camps or tournaments that you are considering attending over the summer and if the coach will also be there. Limit your questions to a couple of important ones because this is still early in the process and you want to make a good impression by respecting the fact that the coach is busy. If you don;t hear from a coach within two weeks after you sent your packets, you should write an email to inquire whether or not the coach has received the packet and restate that you are excited to find out more about the school. Do not be discouraged if you do not hear from any coaches right away. It may be that the coaches are just busy.
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