1) Coach Assessment
- Incorporating your coach in your recruitment is vital as he knows your strengths & weaknesses best
- His honest opinion is valued and trusted the most by college coaches
- Just like applying for a job or school, you need a personal reference/advocate (not a recruiting service)
2) College Coach Buy-In
- College coaches must frequently utilize the site
- All coaches must be validated and verified, ensuring interest in athletes is legitimate
- A range of college coaches should speak highly of the site
3) Free
- You should never have to pay simply to join
- You should be able to get recruited for free
- Avoid recruiting services, they are a conflict of interest
4) Visibility
- Know exactly which colleges view your information along with date and time
- Know when college coaches contacts your coach for further info about you
- See where you should play based on the needs of college coaches
5) Built-In Compliance
- The NCAA and NAIA compliance rules must be built into the solution
- It should proactively prevent college coaches from committing violations
- Automatically log communication and perform reports
6) Mobile App for College Coaches
- College coaches should be able to access your info from their phone anywhere at anytime
- Phone calls and emails should be logged instantly
- College coaches should be able to input scouting reports on their phone
1) Do Nothing
Some athletes simply hope that college coaches will just stumble upon them at a game or practice. They just sit around, don’t research schools, and don’t do any work to help themselves get their name out to college coaches or pro scouts.
Keep In Mind: Unless you are Lebron James, Bryce Harper, Adrian Peterson, or some other can’t miss recruit destined to be a top 5 draft pick, you’re not going to get scholarship offers or opportunities using this method.
2) Mail Letters + Videos To Coaches
Some athletes will spend their time writing letters and putting together highlight videos to mail to coaches. Letting coaches know that you are interested in playing for them, that you feel you would be a great addition to their program, and providing them with a highlight reel is one way to get your name out there and give yourself some exposure to college coaches.
Keep In Mind: Most of these letters and videos end up in storage closets, waiting to be reviewed by administrative assistants or graduate assistants.
3) Call, Text, + Email Coaches
Writing letters and mailing videos can be a little time consuming and old school. Instead, some athletes write emails, make phone calls, and send text messages to college coaches explaining their desire to play at the next level.
Because it’s easier and takes less time to email, call, and text coaches, it allows them to send more messages and provide more information than writing letters or mailing highlight reels.
Keep In Mind: Coaches receive hundreds of calls, emails, and text messages everyday and most coaches have spam filters that catch unsolicited emails.
4) Social Media
Social media is another way athletes are trying to get the attention of college coaches. Because social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others are so easy to join and have so many members (including some college coaches), athletes will try to use these platforms to communicate with coaches.
Since social media is such a new technology, the rules that regulate the communication between recruits and coaches are still being formed and can allow for more interaction.
Keep In Mind: Many coaches can’t join social media platforms because fans, parents, and the general public can bombard them with messages.
5) “Do-It-Yourself” Websites
Just like social media, newer technology and the internet has helped grow “Do-It-Yourself” (DIY) websites.
These types of sites can be found in every type of industry including recruiting. It allows athletes to sign up and create online profiles where they can input all of their information. Many athletes use these profiling sites hoping that college coaches will search for potential recruits online and discover them.
Keep In Mind: Because the information can come from anywhere and anyone, college coaches cannot trust the information and don’t use these websites.
6) Recruiting Services
Finally, some athletes turn to recruiting services.
Recruiting services are where athletes pay a 3rd party source to “evaluate” and recommend them to colleges. Athletes pay to have these companies package their information and email it to colleges in hopes of getting their name out to coaches.
Keep In Mind: There is an inherent conflict of interest with these services. Because athletes are paying them, recruiting services provide very optimistic and inaccurate evaluations.
MORE TO COME NEXT WEEK…
