What if I don’t play for a big school or a top travel team?
If you play for a top travel team or big school, you might get a better chance of playing in front of college scouts, but it doesn’t mean your recruiting prospects are that much better. Despite what you think, college coaches aren’t only watching the championship games for recruits, they scout everywhere. If you aren’t playing for a name brand team (most of you aren’t) here is what you should be doing.
Overcome lack of exposure with online tools
Yes, your small team, small town or bad record means you aren’t going to play in the big state championship game. This doesn’t mean you won’t be seen by colleges. With the spread of online video and spring/summer camps, college coaches aren’t reliant on attending games to scout players. Many coaches prefer online highlight videos or the controlled environment of camps and combines because they can make better evaluations there. Get busy with getting a highlight video online, contacting coaches (email and phone) and be proactive in letting them know who you are.
Coaches are watching individual match ups not records
Too many athletes are worried if their team is losing or they are playing out of position, they aren’t going to get recruited. Coaches recruit based on talent, potential and intangibles. Potential and intangibles have very little to do with what position you are currently playing or your teams record. In fact, showing a continued ability to play hard and keep a positive attitude despite the team not being good can be a real advantage. Just remember, coaches are identifying individual recruits online, at camps or showcases then attending games to watch those recruits only after initial evaluations. They aren’t looking in the news paper for a team with a good record and going to watch their players.
Riding the bench on a great team doesn’t do any good
Many parents and athlete’s fall into the trap of trying to get on the biggest name team or school and sacrificing playing time. Coaches need to see you play and you need to be able to make a highlight tape. If you are only playing 25% of the time, that isn’t going to be enough. Playing time is a lot more important than the name on the front of the jersey.
A situation I see happen all of the time is an athlete plays on a smaller travel team that plays against bigger teams a couple times a year. Good athletes on the smaller team get great film playing against these big teams, make that into a highlight tape, send it to coaches and get on their radar. Meanwhile, an equally talented player is riding the bench on those top travel teams who play in front of coaches all of the time but they never get on a coaches radar because coaches aren’t getting the chances to watch them play.
If you are having trouble getting exposure or not sure where to start you can contact me directly on Google+ (my email is there) or create a free recruiting profile on our site and one of our national scouts can contact you.