Many recruits have expectations about the recruiting process that just don’t match reality. Recruiting is nothing like it was even a few years ago. If you are getting your advice from someone who isn’t staying up to date on the changing trends, you could be getting incorrect advice. In no particular order, here are some of the most common misunderstanding I see from families and recruits.
Common Recruiting Misunderstandings
- Coaches are traveling the country and watching athletes at tournaments or showcases to identify prospects.
- Coaches will recruit you if you play on the right travel team or in the right league.
- Your high school/club coach is actively contacting colleges for you.
- If my video is online and I have an online profile with a recruiting website, coaches will find me.
- I will get a scholarship if I am good enough.
Having worked with thousands of athletes in the recruiting process, I have seen every one of these myths dispelled hundreds of times. Just this past year, I worked with a young hockey player who to me epitomized what the recruiting process is like for the majority of recruits out there.
Feel free to connect with me. Google+ is where you can find my email and phone number.
Ross Mauermann was a very talented high school player in Wisconsin. He finished with 156 points in high school, first team All-State, conference player of the year, and a Wisconsin Mr. Hockey 2008/09 finalist. He had caught the attention of many notable programs including home state powerhouse Wisconsin. Ross started his NAHL Junior A career with his hometown team the Jets, destined to be receiving NCAA Division I scholarship offers . . . or so he thought.
I got in contact with Ross toward the end of his second year of junior hockey where he was going to finish his career with 100 points (50 goals and 50 assists) and two consecutive years playing in the NAHL showcase. He had a very successful junior career, had excellent grades coming out of high school, and played well in all the right showcases. Despite all of this, Ross didn’t have a single Division I offer although he had been seeing Division I coaches at his games for nearly two years.
When I spoke with Ross, I explained the three things I thought were holding him back from getting the Division I offers
- He was playing for a lesser-known team and despite great numbers and great performances against the best competition, this was holding him back.
- He didn’t have prototypical size; at 5 feet 9 inches 170 pounds, Ross was on the small side of Division I forwards.
- Coaches simply didn’t know he was interested in their program because they figured Wisconsin was recruiting him.
With thousands of players to choose from, Division I coaches are picky and can afford to begin the search for players based on size and teams they know. This leaves out thousands of athletes from ever being discovered by a coach. In addition, coaches probably only recruit 50% of the players on their rosters; the other 50% of the team is filled with players who sought them out. I immediately put together a plan for Ross to begin e-mailing Division I coaches with his remaining game schedule and career stats. In addition, Ross began calling coaches to let them know he was interested. To his credit, he jumped into these tasks wholeheartedly and never gave up despite initial setbacks.
The Two Things That Lead to His Big Break
Two things happened that led Ross on the path to playing Division I hockey. He began hearing from coaches who said, “Thanks, we know who you are and have seen you play, but we just aren’t interested.” This message came from his top choice schools like Wisconsin. That can be hard to hear, but you need to remember to stay positive. I told him “you can now move on to programs that you know have an interest in you.” Second, he found a few programs that were still considering him but were waiting to hear from recruits they had ranked above him. Again, not the ideal news, but at that point he knew where he stood with particular programs.
Ross never gave up and continued to follow up with programs for months despite being the fourth or the fifth ranked forward recruit for teams that were only going to offer one or two scholarships. Finally in a late season coaching change Ross found the program that was going to recruit him.
An assistant coach at a program that had Ross on their recruiting board was given the new head coaching job at Providence University. As soon as he got the school and took stock of his team, he contacted Ross and extended an offer to play for the Friars. Now, the undersized forward, too low on the recruiting boards for other programs, was on a Division I team and playing on the third line as a true freshman. Ross has gone on to be the leading scorer on the resurgent Providence team; his all-freshman line is the best line on the team, and he even scored an overtime game-winning goal in a major upset against then top-ranked Merrimac.
Nothing was given to Ross; he has earned every opportunity in the recruiting process. Here are the most important lessons for your to remember from Ross’s story.
- Never assume because you see college coaches at your games you are being recruited.
- If you give up in the recruiting process, you will 100% not get a scholarship.
- Contact coaches every few weeks to check in and see if anything has changed.
Do you think you are prepared to work hard on your recruiting? Are you willing to call coaches, e-mail coaches, and never give up in the face of setbacks? Contact us in the comments section below.
My son is working hard to play at the highest level of soccer he can…What do I need to do early, as he is about to enter middle school in the Fall of 2013. Are there any steps I can do before time? He is 10yo now, and has played since he was 3yo..to include a national team. He is playing FC Alliance league now in Knoxville, Tn. What should I do to help him get noticed early?
There isn’t anything more you need to be doing while he is in middle school. Each year you need to look for the best possible travel team and competitions. In addition, you want to make sure he reaches out to the coaches and programs he likes to let them know where he will be playing. Here is an interesting blog post I wrote about travel teams and soccer recruiting you might find interesting http://www.athleticscholarships.net/2012/02/14/us-soccer-development-academy-college-soccer.htm. Please continue to ask questions as they come up.
My son has a 4.0 GPA and is currently a Sophmore in HS. If he wants to wrestle at a Div. III School, if the Head Coach wants my son on the team, can he do anything to help him get accepted to the School since they donot not offer scholarships? Or does my son have to get accepted on his own merits then join the team. Thanks.
Usually the coaches can help athletes in the admissions process. This is an excellent question for your son to ask the coach. He should try to find out what it will take academically to make it through the admissions process. Then he can have a goal for his GPA and test scores. Best of luck.
Ive been on varsity since ive been a sophomore at a high school big on football and Ive havent had too much play time Ive been going to some college sites finding the coaches emails but I never get a respond ive made a small highlight film the alot of D2 colleges like but now that im approaching my senior season which ill be starting im just wondering what more can I do being an undersized OT
Attending camps is always a really good idea if you can. Also, work with your high school coach, let him know you want to playing college and put together a plan with him in order to do that. Last, don’t stop attempting to reach coaches. Continue to call an email them every couple of weeks.
I’m 16 years old from Israel and I’m playing American Football .
I want to ask if there is a chance to get a scholarship from a Division I school without the coaches see me ?
You will not be able to get a scholarship without coaches being able to watch film on you. You can try and walk-on if you are able to get into a university on your own.
My son is a senior this year and played football as safety and was the number one in the division but we are having a hard time getting him into a college to take it to the next level only thing that is offering is D3 schools and they are way too much and not giving much of a scholarship and we just can not afford $26000 a year for school at this time can you please give any advise will he be able to get in somewhere next year since most have already recruited. Thanks
Right now the options for DI are almost all gone and unless you have applied to a school, it is going to be very difficult to get an application in. What I would suggest is going to a Junior College and immediately begin contacting coaches at four year schools once he is ready to transfer.
I’m a 5’9 185 lb, corner back (sophomore) and I was wondering if I’m D1 material? I played my freshman year but couldn’t play this year because of funding. I was also wondering do I have time to show D1 coaches my talent? If so what do I have to do, to make that happen.
You have the size to catch DI coaches attention. There are too many factors that go into deciding if you have the talent and potential to play for me to answers. There are three things you must do. 1) Make sure you find somewhere to play in high school. 2) Find the camps and showcases where you can compete against the other top recruits. 3) Make sure you email the coaches you want to play for and share the link to your highlight video once it is posted online.
My name is Dion Jones i am a junior in high school i am 6″3 and 204.5 pounds all my life coaches put me as a big man..but now things have changed since the doctor told me im done growing…basketball is my life and i plan to go far with it im not that known but im willing to go as hard as i can my dream college is syracuse…how do i let them know i am interested and how can i get them to be interested
The best thing to do is get a highlight tape online. Then introduce yourself to coaches with an email and a share a link to your highlight video. Without a doubt this is the best way to start the recruiting process. Another good thing to have is an online profile so coaches can see all of your athletic, academic and video in one place.
Im am a 6’3 junior in high school and I have missed every basketball season so far in my high school career and now I’m finally on the Varsity team. I have not yet found an AAU team but is there a chance I can be recruited by D1 schools at the end of my senior year next season?
It is going to be very very difficult given the limited game tape you will have to share with coaches. It is important you try and find a travel team this summer as well. Don’t assume you have to go to DI right after college, it is okay to try and contact DI coaches but you should also look at JUCOs or NAIA and DII schools. Good luck.
I’m a 5’5 sophomore libero for volleyball and my club team isn’t stand out but many of my coaches in the past have told me I’m a stand out player and I am captain for my team. I made an all star FL camp which was a tryout for the all star FL team but was cut from the final 15. It’s half way through our club season, is now the right time to start emailing coaches? Also would it be smart to show some knowledge of their team or roster in my email or would that make the email to wordy? Thanks.
Now is a great time to begin emailing coaches. Make sure your email includes a link to a highlight video of you posted online. It is a great idea to show you researched their team before you emailed them, just try to keep it to 1 paragraph in your email. Please let me know if you have more questions as you move through the process.