How Does College Recruiting Work

Coaches Identify Potential Recruits

At the start of the college recruiting process, coaches like to build large recruiting classes. Sometimes coaches attend club tournaments to scout potential, but most often students reach out initially. They can do this by sending emails to coaches and filling out online questionnaires.;

As the first stage of college recruiting, you want to encourage your child to take initiative right away. Emails coming from a student will look much better to a coach than emails from parents. This is their future, after all. Let them take the reins while you remain beside them for support.

Early Commitments Arent Always Firm Commitments

Tennessee assistant coach Mark Elder likens committing early to a college as, say, an underclassman to getting married at 19. It might work if youve found the right person. But, more than likely, you havent had enough life experience to know if youve found the right person.

If Elder were a relationship therapist, he would recommend more relationships. Since hes a college football coach, he recommends that a prospect take as many visits as possible before settling down.

If youve got a kid willing to commit that hasnt been a lot of places and is just sort of wanting to commit to the best place hes seen to that point, its too early, Elder says. You havent seen places and you havent had the experience.

Those are the prospects, Elder says, who get cold feet though there are exceptions. Legacies and local players who grew up Volunteer fans are always welcome. It varies case-by-case; when Tennessee makes the decision whether to accept an underclassman commitment, they properly vet the committing party beforehand.

Early commitments can be very beneficial, especially if you can get a guy who can get involved in recruiting other kids, he says. The tough part is if you dont feel its a strong one if its more reservation than commitment he can be difficult to hang on to for a long time.

Unique Features Of College Golf Recruiting

Athletes who want to get recruited for golf are pretty much expected to attend tournaments year-round. Depending on a college’s recruiting budget, golf recruiting coaches will attend 10-15 junior tournaments per year. It’s at these tournaments that college coaches get a first-hand look at each perspective recruit and evaluate their ‘intangibles’. What are we talking about? Your general athleticism, the way you respond to adversity, the way you bounce back from a bad shot, the way you interact with your coach … You are advised to be on your best behavior, because you will be surprised to learn that you are being evaluated for far more than your score at these tournaments.

• NCAA rules regarding university golf have some unique features that make the recruitment process for this sport different than others. Some of the most notable features of the NCAA golf recruitment process include:

Initial contact: The NCAA allows Division I golf coaches to contact golf players with forms, pamphlets, flyers, and questionnaires during the athletes sophomore year; no personal contact is allowed until the athletes junior year. Therefore, if you see a college coach at a tournament or camp when you are a freshman or sophomore and s/he avoids contact with you, it doesn’t necessarily mean s/he is not interested. They are simply not allowed under NCAA rules to approach you. They can speak to you, however, if you visit their campus.

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Are You Ready To Discover Your College Program

I raised eight children, all of them involved with youth sports at some level. So I can tell you from experience that youth sports can become a full time job for kids and their parents alike.

My own children have run the gamut of student athleticslate bloomers, early prodigies, and highly sought after phenoms. And they’ve experienced all the adversity that comes with athletic perseverancedefeat, injury, and burnout.

But the value that athletic participation adds to student life can be enormous, and well worth the challenges that come with it. That’s why we’ve put together this helpful list of “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for those who wish to continue their athletic pursuits in college. We believe that with the right moves, you could improve your odds of advancing your athletic career and while avoiding some of the pitfalls that come along with the recruiting process.

Today’s student athletes have the opportunity to take part in numerous sports on very competitive levels. Colleges have scholarships available for both traditional and non-traditional sports. Today, colleges provide more sports scholarship opportunities for student athletes than at any other time in our nation’s history.

Before we proceed to our list of helpful tips, we do have one friendly reminder:

Don’t Expect Your Parents To Do Stuff For You

It might sound ridiculous, but when you are being recruited, the last thing you want is mom or dad bringing you a drink during the game. This seems like a small thing, but reflects a player that has not prepared for the game and is far from mature. You are expected to be old enough to manage your own hydration. If you can’t do that, college recruiters may be inclined to ask what else you can’t handle on your own.

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Head Count Scholarship Sports

All NAIA SPORTS

ALL JUNIOR COLLEGES

Equivalency sports award partial scholarships to compensate for the fact that scholarship money will be spread among many athletes. Typically, a coach divides the scholarship allotment into several partial scholarships, as opposed to giving only a few athletes full scholarships. It’s a lower risk strategy because some of the scholarship recipients will fall short of expectations, get injured, become academically ineligible, or drop out. Also, realize that the scholarships are not just earmarked for incoming freshmen, but are used for all athletes on the team. It is very difficult for a coach to offer many “full rides.”

What also may happen is that an upperclassman may have his or her scholarship amount increased in an effort to retain them. A quarter scholarship may be upgraded to a half scholarship. This means that the “extra” scholarship money has to come from another athlete. As a result, thousands of outstanding high school athletes are never offered even partial scholarships. Many don’t even receive passing interest from coaches. Also keep in mind that scholarship awards are on a year-to-year basis. While a coach cannot guarantee you will receive the same award in future years, it is normal practice that it will be renewed at the same level.

When Should You Start The Recruiting Process

As mentioned previously, different sports and different division levels recruit the majority of their athletes in different periods. Top D1 prospects for womens gymnastics or womens volleyball will likely receive recruiting interest freshman year of high school or even earlier. Track and field athletes and swimmers will mostly be recruited closer to senior year. The important thing to know about starting the process is that the earlier you plan, the better prepared you will be to get recruited for college sports. Athletes can build their target list, research schools, attend camps, edit their recruiting video and use NCSA to get noticed before having contact with a college coach. In college recruiting, it is better to be ahead of the pack in order to receive recruiting interest while a coach still has open roster spots. Its never too early to start.

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Do Use Proper English

When you are communicating with colleges or college personnel, whether by call, text or email, do your best to be professional. Be clear and to the point. Obviously, don’t use harsh or abrasive language. Allow them to lead the conversation and don’t use too many slang terms. When texting or emailing, watch the acronyms and/or SMS language. And stay away from emojis’! The person on the other end may not know the true meaning and what you mean to imply. You don’t want to be misinterpreted. It’s also important that you identify who you are on all communications. Proofread your texts and emails a couple of times before you hit send! Anything can happen. For example: A few years ago, my boss sent a text and asked me to do something for him. Happy to do it, I responded with You betcha! my phone auto-corrected it to You b______! Anyway, you get the idea.

College Recruiting Timeline For Seniors

Senior year is the time when college coaches want to get athletes on campus for unofficial and official visits. Coaches want to ask prospective recruits questions to learn more about them and gauge their interest in their program.

Visits are a great way to see if a school is the right fitfrom attending a class, meeting with admissions officers and hanging out with the team or attending a practice or game, recruits should be prepared to narrow down their focus to a few schools and get closer to making a verbal commitment or officially signing their National Letter of Intent.

Seniors who are just starting their recruiting process or havent been hearing back from college coaches need to work hardand fastto secure a roster spot.While its not too late to get recruited, some college rosters, like those at the D1 and D2 levels, tend to fill up earlier in the year, so recruits need to be prepared to expand their target lists to include schools across all division levels.

In the video below, NCSAs recruiting experts Phill Wells and Danny Koenig offer their tips for senior student-athletes who are close to making their college decisionand share their advice for seniors who still need some time to explore available opportunities and connect with college coaches before making their commitment.

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How Does The Transfer Portal Work

Student-athletes have that distinction for a reason. They are students who play sports at institutions, whether it is an SEC program like Alabama or an NAIA program in Kansas.

Because they are students, they have the right to change schools if their current fit isnt working. Universities could previously restrict which programs their student-athletes could transfer to, including preventing them from going to another school in the same conference.

In October 2018, the NCAA modernized the transfer process by introducing the aptly-named transfer portal. Many of those controversial restrictions were gone, but student-athletes had to follow a rigid system to officially enter the portal. According to;Syracuse.com, the student-athlete must first tell the schools compliance office that they want to transfer. The compliance office then has two business days to digitally register that athletes name in the portal.

Kansas DB Kalon Prunty announces his intentions to enter transfer portal; not officially in yet

NCAA Transfer Portal

Next up is the recruitment process. Student-athletes can provide their personal information for all programs to see, or they can communicate on their own using social media, connections with previous coaches, and so forth.

With all that you have just learned, one would think the portal is a great thing for student-athletes, right? Well, things are never that simple.

Scholarships By Sport Per School

Athletic associations like the NCAA and the NAIA provide guidelines on the maximum number of scholarships schools can award each academic year based on the sport. These numbers vary by association and some sports such as bowling or triathlon competitions may receive no allocations.

* Based on the 2015-2016 academic year.

Athletic scholarships arent guaranteed

Athletic scholarships are not a promise for four years of funding, but rather a type of financial aid that must be renewed annually. While it cant be reduced or canceled during the academic year, it can be for any reason at the end of the year.

Injuries could mean loss of funding

While this depends more on the individual coach and school policies, some institutions elect to cancel academic scholarships if a student receives a career-ending injury. Prospective student athletes need to research institutions and ask how they handle these situations.

You may not be eligible the whole time youre in school

The National Letter of Intent is used only at four-year universities and colleges and only for first-time freshmen students. After signing the NLI during the mandated signing period, students are in a binding agreement, regardless of whether or not they quit the team. To meet the terms of the NLI, students must stay at the school for the entire academic year.

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What Are The Benefits Of Being A College Athlete

First, lets talk about why you should support your childs goal of being a college athlete. Maybe youre on the fence about the whole college sports thing. Will it be too much pressure for them? Will they be able to keep up their academics? Is being a college athlete worth it? Most college student-athletes would answer with an enthusiastic, Yes!

Dont think that playing sports in college is primarily a road to becoming a professional athlete. For most students, this isn’t the case. In fact, only 2% of NCAA athletes make it into professional leagues. Even so, there are still plenty of advantages to being a college athlete.

• The possibility of earning athletic scholarships

• Joining a strong and supportive team community;

• Feeling a sense of purpose

• Building strong character;

• Having the opportunity to travel

Playing sports in college leads many students to have a meaningful and memorable college experience. If its something your child is dreaming of, you should absolutely be on board!

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A prospect may or may not be able to make it to Nebraska for an unofficial visit but this way, at least, hell know exactly what the school has to offer.

We do have a lot of contacts throughout the country, Els says. We develop those relationships and the trust factor and send kids as much information as possible so that they can realize just what a special place we have here.

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Focus On Your Academics

Many prospective student-athletes neglect the importance of academics in the recruiting process. Not only do you have to be eligible to compete, but also you still have to gain admission to the school. College coaches often won’t recruit students who they don’t think are qualified academically for their schools, regardless of these students’ athletic skills.

If youre being recruited athletically, you will receive some preferential treatment when your application is processed, but the school still has to determine if your academics are good enough to be accepted. Especially at top academic colleges, your academics should be on par with non-student athletes if you want to have a legitimate shot at admission.

The amount of preferential treatment you receive in the admissions process varies depending on the school, your sport, and how heavily you’re being recruited.

Especially for so-called minor sports , being recruited may only give you a minimal boost in the admissions process.

Beyond Athletic Scholarships: Financial Aid For Athletes

Aside from being accepted to a college sports team, the next biggest question student and their families often have is about financial aid. After spending thousands of dollars ensuring high school athletes get the equipment and training they need to be competitive, many tend to have blinders on when it comes to scholarships. A common phenomenon amongst these families is the idea of DI eyes, or the refusal to look at any other options outside Division I sports. The following section is meant to help students and families to learn about funding options and recognize that, although they may need to pay for some schooling, there is a place for them to play their sport, whether its Division I or otherwise. Types of Scholarships

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The Most Effective College Recruiting Strategies

When you hear college recruiting, do you think only about entry-level roles, or do you also consider your future talent pipeline? College recruiting may give you the opportunity to recruit for some of the roles you have open right now, but it also allows you to build an employer brand with college students who will be in the workforce for about another 40 years. If you dont know this by now, the best way to avoid a talent shortage is by building your talent pipeline before you need to tap into it. Today, were sharing a few tips to help you make your college campus recruiting strategy as effective as possible.

The Size Of The School

As mentioned previously, some sports are prioritized over others at many schools nationwide. However, some schools provide major resources to non-traditional and less popular sports. Ivy League schools for example all support their Rowing programs and these competitions generally are large scale events attracting large crowds. Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland boasts Mens Lacrosse as its marquee sport and is a perennial national powerhouse. With that said, the size of the school and size of athletic program may be irrelevant if the student athlete can identify the program which has the resources prioritized it to it by the institution. Size of school and size of program do not always go hand in hand, and it is up to the student athlete to identify these programs within their sport to find the program that best suits his or her desires and needs.

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Rock The Recruitment Fair

The key to any successful event is a high turnout and a recruiting fair is no different. College and university students have very hectic days , and their schedules fill up quickly. Start marketing your event early and please dont rely on posters taped up around campus.

Glen Loveland, HR Manager of China Central Television, is no stranger to campus recruitment. He regularly scours post-secondary institutions looking for the most promising soon-to-be professionals, and feels that the right event marketing tools can go a long way.

Start promoting your events several weeks/months in advance. You want to build buzz. Social media is obviously very important to get the word out. If you are looking to recruit international students, utilize social media platforms that they use. For example, Line is huge in Japan and WeChat is the market leader for China. Try to meet people on their terms so they understand that you get them.