It is the most common complaint in the recruiting game. That a high school or club coach, did not do their job and help an athlete get recruited. Athlete’s get screwed over all the time in recruiting, and that is probably not going to change, but at the professional level, it is the agent’s job to make sure that does not happen to their client. But high school aged recruits aren’t allowed to have agents… so who is looking out for them? 

Basic Level Recruiting

Historically coaches have helped some of their players get recruited. Imagine a football coach at “Northeast Central High school”, of a perennial state powerhouse. To win championships you need talented players. And college coaches know that. So as the team continues to win, coaches will line up to recruit their players. But the reason why has little to do with the coach, or his connections. College coaches want the best athletes on their teams, and they know that cream often rises to the top. It’s pretty basic logic really. If you recruit the best players from the best teams, you will find the best recruits available.

The coaches at an SEC school don’t come to talk to the Coach at Northeast Central because of their relationship. They do it because they want something he has. If the starting running back has broken the state single season rushing record as a junior, that is the real reason they came to town… And college coaches at the highest levels in any sport, are not looking to take a chance on any recruit. They want to see unquestioned dominance out of their recruits. If a coach can’t google you and find high level ranking reports, and film of you competing head and shoulders above your peers, those schools will likely not be too interested. But every other college in the recruiting game, who will have to be a bit more advanced when they recruit in order to get talented players in their uniform.

Believing the Lie

Many recruits believe it is their coaches job to help get them recruited. A process that is called ‘steering” where a coach recommends an athlete for recruitment by a college. Unfortunately the average club coach or high school coach is severely underpaid for what they do, so much so that is a labor of love for them to even lift a finger to assist with athlete recruiting. But that’s not the biggest problem, steering is often a bad thing for you as a recruit. And here is why.

Looking for a high school or club coach to connect you to a college program for recruiting is based on a lie. That the word of your coach matters more than your actual talent level. College coaches always know what types of recruits they want. And in most cases, but especially when scholarship dollars are involved, they cannot afford to miss on a recruit. If an athlete is referred to them, they will still have to evaluate them before moving forward. And typically the only times that steering works, is when an athlete is steered to a school where they would potentially become a star athlete. In other words, that athlete is headed to a school that is below their level.

If a recruit with the potential to play at a Top 25 D1 program is steered to a D2 school, of course they will recruit them to their team. But a recruit who belongs in D2 cannot be steered into the ACC. The lifeblood of a college coach’s job success hinges on recruiting. So taking a recruit who is not up to par, can quite literally send them to the unemployment line.

If you are not considered to be one of the best on your team, or one of your coach’s favorite players, especially by a high school coach, it is unlikely they will be able to offer much assistance in your recruiting. But you shouldn’t really want them to anyway. Steering often times backfires on the athlete, and the transfer portal is proof of that.

Becoming your own agent

So the solution to the recruiting problem of getting college coaches to notice you, is to become your own agent. Because nobody will look out for you better, then you will. Professional athletes do have an agent, but that is someone they hire specifically for that job. Steering will in most cases result in you getting under-recruited. But as you own agent you can maximize your college options to choose from multiple offers.

The role of an agent is simple, to know what options exist for their client, determine which one will offer the most value, and then present it to them to make a decision. So becoming your own agent will start with learning the recruiting game. If you don’t know how college coaches recruit for your sport and what types of offers are available, you are unlikely to get the best one. All the time athletes look for full-ride scholarships. But the typical full-ride athletic scholarship is only available in a few sports, at specific types of schools. A track and field athlete will have a very hard time finding one for example, because it is an equivalency scholarship sport, which has a tendency to be underfunded, even at the D1 level. So only first team national elite athletes will typically have a shot at getting one. And as you may have guessed, that is not most track and field recruits.

Once you’ve learned what types of offers exist at your talent level, and have an idea of what colleges will likely provide you the best value for what you want, recruiting is just about reaching out to schools. It has never been easier than it is today to fill out a questionnaire on a college team’s website, and send your information directly to a coaching staff. If you are a fit for what they are looking for, then you will probably get recruited by them, it is really that simple. And if you are not, well no amount of phone calls from a coach looking to steer you was going to get the job done either.

Only the top professional athletes, like a Kevin Durant can essentially demand a maximum contract from whomever they want, regardless of who their agent is. But when Timofey Mozgov signs a deal worth almost 50 million dollars, a player who isn’t even in the NBA anymore and still collecting a check in 2022, that is some good negotiating. Professional athletes hire an agent because without it they are likely going to get screwed over.

So remember that If one coach knows about you, and wants you, then there are likely other coaches at that same level, if not even a little higher who will also want to recruit you. But most recruits are not going to get found. The simplest way to help expedite the process of getting a college offer is to be able to tell another coach you already have one. And since high school athletes aren’t allowed to hire an agent, you becoming your own is the only option you really have.

KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.

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