When former NCAA D2 Basketball Head Coach David Julien was asked “how would you feel if the type of player you were looking to recruit e-mailed you with their information, highlights, and expressed interest in your program?” He said, “that would be a game changer! I really wish that I could find my starting five that way!” Like most college coaches Julien would spend countless hours of each day searching through recruiting databases, traveling to tournaments, talking to club coaches, and losing sleep throughout the process. Recruiting high school athletes is incredibly time consuming for coaches, a challenge that has only gotten harder with even more databases and recruiting services coming out every year.

The biggest misconception for most high school athletes bleeds into everything they do to get recruited. Athletes continue to believe that if they are good enough to play for a program, college coaches will come and find them. But with hundreds of thousands of high school athletes, it is just not possible for coaches to find every athlete who might be a good fit for them. The most competitive college programs throughout Division 1 have great resources to recruit but are looking for a specific type of athlete that is easily identifiable at all the top tournaments, camps, and competitions. Coaches of smaller programs “and there are a lot more smaller programs than bigger ones”, do not have the resources to find every athlete that might fit on their team. The recruiting game for most athletes will be about targeting the right schools and learning how to promote yourself to get offers you are happy with.

Here are 14 tips to help any serious recruit attract interest and get offers that will set you apart from the rest.

1.     “If you are a freshman in high school you are in the best place to start the recruitment process” - Beth Mosch (Lindenwood University Women’s Lacrosse) (http://instagram.com/bethmosch) (https://twitter.com/BethMosch)

When you start high school sports your recruitment journey has begun. Sport participation that occurs prior is supposed to prepare student-athletes for high school sports success. This means that accomplishments made before that point will hold little weight with college coaches. Coaches will often not consider a recruit until they are a contributor on the varsity level. In fact, most freshmen who are able to excel in varsity sports are typically on their way to consideration at the higher levels of college sports. If you are not yet on the varsity as a freshmen do not panic. It is still time to learn as much as you can about the recruiting process, and set goals for your training and performance. Most high schoolers don’t begin thinking about how to get recruited until at least their junior year. However, by that point, most college coaches have already identified many of the athletes they will be recruiting, and you will be playing catch up.

2.     “Learn your sports recruiting structure, because different sports have varied models for recruiting athletes” – Mary Jane Erving (University of Oregon Women’s Soccer) (http://instagram.com/mjerving) (http://twitter.com/mjerving)

Many players miss their opportunity to get recruited for college sports for reasons that go beyond their talent and academics. Although recruitment is the same at its core, each individual sport has details to it that will impact how recruiting functions. Football is a sport where high school performances hold a lot of weight, and coaches know that players will likely develop a bit later into their high school careers. However, basketball is a sport that typically identifies standout players earlier through the travel basketball circuit. Some sports have a heavy club influence like soccer and volleyball that makes it incredibly challenging for a player to be recruited at the highest levels without competing on those circuits. Even still there are sports that are more analytical like track and field or swimming where game film is less important than the times and performances recorded. In your given sport learn the structure of how most players get recruited so you don’t miss out.

3.     “Don’t choose a school based only off of athletics” – Jacoby Sims (Reinhardt University Women’s Volleyball & Basketball) (http://instagram.com/jacoby.sims) (http://twitter.com/jacobysims)

Watching college sports on television has made many teams into household names. However, athletics is still only one piece of the college experience. Colleges have different academic offerings, locations, costs, sizes, student demographics, and other features that must be considered. Many high school students choose a college based only on the athletic program only to find out that sports alone may not fulfill you. There is no guarantee that you will be the star of your college team, or that you will win as much as you might like. It is best to look for a college that you would still feel comfortable attending even if you did not play sports there. Many college athletes look to transfer when their sports experience is not what they would like, but for most athletes, transferring will be very costly. Also be wary of committing to a program because of its coach because every year the coaching carousel spins and college coaches take new jobs, leaving you and the campus behind.

4.     “Learn to approach your sports career with a business mindset” – Eron Gordon (Valparaiso University Men’s Basketball) (http://instagram.com/erongordonpodcast10) (http://twitter.com/erongordon1)

To get recruited for college sports, you will essentially engage in a never-ending job interview. Coaches talk to recruits for almost two years prior to their commitment and follow them for even longer throughout their high school career. Consider that coaches do not just recruit talented athletes but rather someone who can fill a role on their team. Approach your sport career with a business-like intentionality behind your training, preparation, and self-presentation in order to gain and keep interest from college coaches. If you fail to plan, you will plan to fail. Sports scholarships are won during summer training, morning workouts, and evening weight sessions long before a coach offers them. In fact, the difference between recruits at the highest levels and those below, are they often have attended more camps, tournaments, and competitions and maintained a higher level of success. Coach Monica Aldama of Navarro College said that the secret to her team’s success is that they practice hard until they get things right, and then practice even harder until they cannot get it wrong. Being professional in your approach to everything surrounding your sport will pay off in the long run as success evolves into a habit.  

5.     “Be independent in your recruiting process. Advocate for yourself, and do not let your parents lead conversations for you” – Danielle Budden (Hampton University Women’s Softball) (http://instagram.com/daniellebudden) (http://twitter.com/daniellebudden)

It is great to have engaged parents, and helps most recruits to have success on their journey. But to get recruited for college sports, the process should be student driven. Students should be researching schools, they should be taking charge of their training, and engaging directly with college coaches. When a college coach sees that a parent is taking the lead on initiating contact, or developing conversations, it sends several negative messages to them about the recruit. Either the recruit is much less interested in the program than their parent, the recruit is not capable of self-advocacy, or the recruit is not intrinsically motivated towards success in general. Either way, college sports teams are about the athletes and coaches. Parents will not be involved in any day to day interactions, and if any of the above assumptions are true, the athlete will likely become a nightmare to manage in the program. If you are a recruit, jumpstart your own recruitment journey by researching, speaking up, and reaching out in order to get recruited by coaches.

6.     “Search up athletes on college teams and see how they have performed to know if you might be a good fit” – Rachel Robertson (Florida A&M University Women’s Track & Field) (https://www.instagram.com/r.ae_) (http://twitter.com/rachel2tall)

There are more than 1000 NCAA member institutions, not to mention many other NAIA, NJCAA, NCCAA, and USCAA college athletic departments. However, most high school recruits are looking to get recruited for college sports teams that they have seen on television or have only a little knowledge about. College teams are not hiding the information on what types of athletes they recruit. On their athletic websites, you can research the high school statistics and other information about the athletes currently on their team. If you play a specific position you can research the height, weight, and accomplishments those athletes had before they were recruited. If you research correctly, you will find teams that have athletes with similar high school profiles to yours. One of the biggest reasons athletes go unrecruited is because they only attempt to reach out to schools that are not a good fit for them. Most recruits will need to look beyond the teams they have heard about on television alone to get recruited for sports by a team that is looking for athletes like themselves.

7.     “In most cases it is best to assume you will not be getting much athletic scholarship money beyond what is academic” – Josh Newlin (Schreiner University Men’s Soccer) (http://instagram.com/newlinperformance) (http://twitter.com/newlinperform)

Many high school athletes have been led to believe that sports will help them get a scholarship for college. However, the harsh reality is that most college athletes do not receive any scholarship money for their sport. Those who do are often not receiving enough athletic aid to cover the entire cost of attendance for college. It is estimated that less than 2 percent of all college athletes are receiving “full athletic scholarships”. In fact the NCAA reports that only 36.4 percent of their athletes receive any athletic aid. Schools have much more money set aside for academic aid than simply athletics. Division 1 offers more sizable scholarship aid than other divisions, but they only make up less than 1/3 of all NCAA colleges. If you are a high school student with a great GPA and standardized test scores to match, you can put yourself in great position to receive academic aid. College coaches will often look for the best students because they know that if they can only offer a partial athletic scholarship, that money can be combined with other academic aid to pay for the student’s education. Always remember that the lower your grades are, the harder it will be for you to find a college coach that is willing and able to recruit you.

8.     “Learn how to promote yourself to get recruited” – Matthew Parker (Texas State University Men’s Track & Field) (http://instagram.com/mjptv0) (http://twitter.com/mjptv0)

There is a myth that many recruits believe. That if they are talented enough to play, college coaches will find them. Unfortunately that will not be true for most athletes. The most outstanding athletes in the nation will be contacted by schools yes, but those are the outliers. Most college athletes will have to reach out to a school first in order to see if they are interested in recruiting them. Once you are a contributor on a high school level sports team, athletes should be prepared to reach out to schools via e-mail and through filling out recruiting questionnaires on athletic websites to communicate with coaches that they would like to be recruited. It is recommended that an athlete create a free recruiting webpage but it is a mistake to think that any app or website will “get you recruited”. The link to the information you upload can be sent in an email to college coaches to make it easier to see who you are and help you get recruited. If you only create a profile, or worse wait for coaches to find you on social media, you will more often than not go under recruited, or unrecruited at all.

9.     “Try to attend as many tournaments and showcases as possible” – Branden Wilson (University of Utah Men’s Lacrosse) (http://instagram.com/branden.wilsonn) (http://twitter.com/wilson6branden)

The most important thing that will help high schoolers get recruited to play college sports will be showing coaches that you are able to help their team win. The more opportunities that you can get to compete against quality competition, the better your chances of showing coaches that you can help them. Traveling to different competitions both in your area and outside of it will increase your chances of getting seen by coaches and give you a better understanding of how good other athletes are at your age. There is a big difference between being the best in your county, and the best in your state. Though you do not want to risk injury or burn out, it is important to prepare yourself to be able to handle a long and challenging competition schedule. Also if you want to play college sports the demands on your time will be significant. Athletes who have not competed as much outside of high school will often struggle to adjust to the amount of training and competition required at the college level.

10.  “Film your competitions as much as possible” – Zach Cummings (SUNY College at Old Westbury Men’s Basketball) (https://instagram.com/ztc6) (https://twitter.com/ztc06)

Although traveling to compete in front of college coaches is important, the reality is that coaches will not be able to see you play most of the time. In order to get recruited for college sports you will need to show coaches what you are capable of by any means necessary. Game film is more important for sports like football, basketball, and volleyball, than it is for sports with higher individualization like track or swimming. However, it is always a benefit to the recruit. With smart phones it is has never been easier for high school recruits to film their own competitions. Do the best you can to film all of your competitions which will make it much easier to show coaches what you are capable of. Even if statistics for your high school games or competitions are not always available, the film is a quality backup to validate any performances you have. Also keep a short list of your best performances and upload them online as unlisted videos so you can share those links with any coach who is interested in it.

11.  “Make and promote your own highlight film” – Jackson Davis (Portland State University Men’s Football) (http://www.instagram.com/jaavis93) (https://twitter.com/Jaavis93)

Game film is good but highlight film is even better. Very few coaches will sit down to watch a game film of a recruit when they are unsure how interested they are in recruiting them. However, having a good highlight film can be something that a coach may watch first to determine their interest level. It is unlikely you will be actively recruited after posting them on YouTube or social media. These links will be included on a recruiting profile or even better in an email that you send to coaches so they can quickly evaluate whether you might be a good fit for their program. A good recruitment film in the eyes of a college coach is different from what a recruit may think. A good film showcases high level skill, efficiency, and dominance in under 5 minutes. Theatrical highlights are cool to watch but they do not often showcase what the coach is trying to see. Any highlight film should showcase your top 3 skills and show it in an organic way. A coach is trying to determine whether they can see you one day become effective in their program. If the highlights show every point you have scored across an entire season, they are no longer highlights. Coaches know that you are showcasing your best moments, but focus on only a few competitions from your season rather than every big play to show coaches how you can make an impact on their program.

12.  “Set up your social media account to represent you well as a student-athlete” – Kolby McGowan (Cornell University Men’s Football) (https://www.instagram.com/_.kolby6) (https://twitter.com/kmcgowan_1)

In the age of social media college coaches are now leveraging it to actively recruit. But there are rules to social media that should not be ignored. College coaches typically don’t use social media to “discover” new talent. They identify athletes they like from watching competitions, emails, recruiting questionnaires, recruiting profiles, camps, and other more efficient sources. However, if a coach is interested in  you than social media is normally much easier to find and reach out through, compared to tracking down a phone number or e-mail. Coaches who follow an athlete or engage on social media are normally not trying to watch your latest highlights, they should be able to see who you are as an athlete elsewhere. But they do want to know what type of character you have. Your profile should use your real name, and in your bio give your physical stats like height, HS Grad date, your high school, and the sport and position you play. Profile pictures should be of you playing your sport, and recruits should only use social media accounts to post content they would feel represents them in a professional manner. Social media will rarely be the reason someone gains interest from a college coach. But it can become the reason they lose interest.

13.  “Sports scholarship offers can be taken away during your recruitment journey” – Lauren Griffith (Mansfield University Women’s Basketball) (http://instagram.com/laurenkennedi_) (http://twitter.com/laurenkennedi_)

When you get recruited for college sports, coaches will eventually “offer” you a spot on their team. These college sports offers may be with or without an athletic scholarship attached. It is always a major accomplishment to get an offer from a coach to play for a college team, but these offers can be taken away. College coaches will continue following you athletically and academically after you have been offered, and if something changes, in your performance, they can rescind their offer. In fact, it is not uncommon for a college coach to offer multiple recruits the same spot and when one commits, they rescind the offers sent to the others. Knowing that offers do not come easy, and when college sports offers do come, they can be taken away should motivate recruits to take them seriously and maintain honesty and professionalism throughout the process. If a coach finds out that a recruit lied about something in the recruitment process, it is very likely that the college offer will be taken away.

14.  “Make sure you are truly passionate about the sport” – Casey Kispert (Northwest Nazarene University Women’s Volleyball) (http://instagram.com/caseykispert) (http://twitter.com/casey_kispert)

College sports is a major sacrifice. For many recruits it will become the most challenging thing they have ever done to manage being a student-athlete, while also the most rewarding. Be certain that  you want to play college sports because the hard work and dedication required is significant. Common characteristics of a good future college athlete are those who love to compete, are willing to train on their own, research how to get better, and listen to coaching. Although many high school athletes have dreams of turning pro in their sport, the reality is that only about 2% of NCAA athletes will ever do so. Even for those who do, the greatest fun most athletes will have in their career will come from being a part of a great college sports team. If you know that playing sports in college is what you want, pursue your dream because for those who are passionate, the rewards are well worth it.

Coach Rob is a recruiting expert and the Founder of SCA Recruiting. He is also the author of the book Winning the Ship: How to Win the College Athlete Recruitment Game. Available now on Amazon.

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