COLLEGE RECRUITING MISTAKE. . .
MISTAKE #1. . .
According to a survey conducted with High School Coaches nationwide, 50% of all athletes that make All State never get recruited by College Coaches and more than 75% of All League, All Conference or All Region Athletes never get recruited by College Coaches.
All of them are more than capable of playing at some level of college competition.
Just because you make an All Star team or start Varsity does not mean college coaches will be able to find you. Small budgets, small staffs, limited resources and limited time all make it tough for college coaches.
What do College Coaches do during their sports season? They do practice preparation, game planning, scout opponents, and try to stay married. They are not flying around the country every weekend to find athletes. They are trying to keep their job and win games.
COLLEGE RECRUITING MISTAKE. . .
MISTAKE #2. . .
Not being open to all opportunities. Whether it be a family tradition, a favorite school etc., not being open to other college opportunities is a big mistake.
Let’s say, an athlete only wants to go to school in the state of Wisconsin. That’s it. No where else. Or maybe an athlete has a list of only 5 colleges they are willing to play for and attend. While that may seem like a great idea and a worthy goal, it can be futile. Why?
Colleges 1) recruit from all across the United States and even internationally. 2) Colleges are usually working with a current roster and recruiting new athletes.
What if the coach does not need an athlete for a particular position for the year that the athlete will be attending their freshman or junior year in college?
In short, they don’t need that athlete. Door closed.
An athlete and their family need to put as many feelers out as possible to find a college that fits the athletes academic and athletic needs. This is how scholarships are achieved. Being closed off to other opportunities, is a good way to miss scholarship opportunities.
Contact as many colleges as possible, investigate every college and be reasonable about what you can afford.
COLLEGE RECRUITING MISTAKE...
MISTAKE #3…
Relying on your high school or club coach to do the leg work for you, because they have “contacts”. This may be all good, but refer to mistake #2, what if their “contacts” don’t have a need for your position when you graduate? Take responsibility for your own recruiting efforts.
COLLEGE RECRUITING MISTAKE...
MISTAKE #4
MISTAKE: I am only a freshman/sophomore and have no idea what college I want to attend or what I want to be for a career. So, I will wait to start the recruiting process until I know.
SOLUTION: Colleges won’t wait for you to make up your mind. They are going to fill their rosters, with or without you. That is reality.
As long as you have one or two sports you absolutely love and do not conflict with each other, start the recruiting process, even in your 8th grade summer before 9th grade. WHY?
Regardless of when you figure out what you want to do, your timeline remains the same. For the major sports, colleges have their money earmarked for specific athletes by your junior summer before your senior year for D1 and D2 colleges. That means, if you have not talked with those coaches before your junior year starts, you are missing the boat.
EVEN if you are not sure what you want to major in for a career, you have two years of bonehead classes before you start working on your career. That gives you two additional years after high school to figure it out.
BUT, if you wait to start contacting coaches to introduce yourself and begin the college dating game to figure out which coach and college is the best fit for you, all you are doing is losing college opportunities. Time is going to force you into potentially going to a college that is not the best fit for you because you simply waited too long to contact coaches.
MAXIMIZING your opportunities means you start the recruiting process early, contact as many colleges and coaches as possible, and then….when you reach your senior year, you have options to go where ever you want or not go to college at all. Which I don’t recommend, but at least you used your time wisely and you have options vs no options because you waited until the last minute to make a decision about your future. Think about it.
Need help? Have questions about where to start or what to do, contact me. 208-691-8511
COLLEGE RECRUITING MISTAKE...
MISTAKE #5
MISTAKE: My family and I just hired a recruiting service to help with the recruiting process. Now, all I have to do is wait for the offers to come in.
SOLUTION: WRONG. Regardless of whether you have hired a recruiting service or are doing it on your own, it still comes down to the simple fact that YOU HAVE TO build rapport with the college coach. PERIOD.
If you are not communicating with college coaches personally, you are fooling yourself in thinking it’s just going to happen. The recruiting process is a dating game. You, the coach and the college are checking each other out to see if there is a fit.
- Does the college have the right career path? Do you like the campus? What are the dorms like? What type of off campus housing is there? Is it a safe environment off campus?
- Does the coach have the type of coaching style you like? What are their records? Does the coach scream and yell, cuss players out? Is the coach unresponsive to player needs? Do they value education over the sport? Will you learn from the coach and improve? Is the coach a teacher or are they more concerned about wins than development?
These are all questions you have to discover. This is not an all inclusive list of questions. Once the doors of communications are open, you have to work to find out where is the best fit for your needs.
BE RESPONSIBLE. TAKE ACTION.
COLLEGE RECRUITING MISTAKE. . .
MISTAKE #6. . .
MISTAKE: As long as I am a stud athlete, breaking records and being the best, every college in the country will want me!
SOLUTION: WRONG. Those grades are VERY important. I recommend all of my athletes maintain a 3.5 cumulative weighted GPA over their 4 year high school career. What does cumulative and weighted mean? It means it is your GPA over 4 years in your core classes. NOT 3.5 GPA with pottery, art, PE, teachers aid…etc..
The NCAA has an Eligibility Handbook that goes into great detail as to what is required of STUDENT athletes. Make sure to download it and read it thoroughly. It is vitally important. If your GPA is around 2.3, you can forget about playing in college. You can download the eligibility handbook off of this site under important downloads.