14 Tips to Get Recruited for College Sports
David Robinson is the Founder and Director of Recruitment for www.SCArecruiting.com which works directly with students and families to create a roadmap to get recruited for college sports. He is also the author of the book “Winning the Ship: How to win the college athlete recruitment game”.
Many high school athletes are hoping to get recruited for college sports. However, only about seven percent of all high school athletes will make it to the next level. Many go under recruited or unrecruited, simply because they do not know how to do it. Here are the most important tips that every high school athlete should know if they want to play college sports.
- “If you are a freshman in high school you are in the best place to start the recruitment process”
When you start high school sports your recruitment journey has begun. Coaches will often not consider a recruit until they are a contributor on the varsity level. But even 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.
- “Learn your sports recruiting structure, because different sports have varied models for recruiting athletes”
Each individual sport has details to it that will impact how coaches recruit. Some like football emphasize high school sports success. Others like volleyball, and soccer have a heavy club sports influence on recruiting. Some like basketball combine the two, and sports like track emphasize statistics more than others. Make sure you learn the structure for your sport so you don’t miss out.
- “Don’t choose a school based only off of athletics”
Athletics is only one piece of the college experience. Colleges have different academic offerings, locations, costs, sizes, student demographics, and other features that must be considered. It is best to look for a college that you would still feel comfortable attending even if you did not play sports. This will help you avoid transferring or being disappointed with your experience overall.
- “Learn to approach your sports career with a business mindset”
To get recruited for college sports, you will essentially engage in a never-ending job interview. 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.
- “Be independent in your recruiting process. Advocate for yourself, and do not let your parents lead conversations for you”
It is great to have engaged parents, but overall the process should be student driven. Students should be researching schools, taking charge of their training, and engaging directly with college coaches. When a parent takes the lead it reflects negatively on the recruit and their ability to self advocate. Remember coaches will be dealing with the student alone on campus, and to feel comfortable with any recruit they have to build a relationship.
- “Search up athletes on college teams and see how they have performed to know if you might be a good fit”
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. There are well over 1000 NCAA colleges and college teams are not hiding the information on what types of athletes they recruit. Use college athletic websites to research the high school performances of the athletes currently on their team. If you keep searching you will likely find coaches who seem to be looking for athletes like you.
- “In most cases it is best to assume you will not be getting much athletic scholarship money beyond what is academic”
Most high school recruits hope to win an athletic scholarship, but the harsh reality is that most college athletes do not receive any scholarship money. For those who do, only a small percentage will receive a “full ride athletic scholarship”. Many college coaches will often look for the best students because they know that they can combine a partial athletic scholarship with 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.
- “Learn how to promote yourself to get recruited”
There is a myth that if you are talented enough to play, college coaches will find you. Though some athletes will be contacted, most recruits will have to reach out to a school first to start the recruiting process. Once you are contributing to your high school team, athletes should reach out to schools via e-mail and their athletic websites. 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 links to those profiles can be sent in an email to college to help you get recruited.
- “Try to attend as many tournaments and showcases as possible”
To show coaches you should be recruited you will need opportunities to show them. Traveling to different competitions will increase your chances of getting seen by coaches and give you a better understanding of how good other athletes are at your age. 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.
- “Film your competitions as much as possible”
The reality is that coaches will not be able to see you play most of the time. To show coaches what you are capable gather game film as much as possible. Film is more important for some sports more than others like football, basketball, and volleyball. However, it is always a benefit to the recruit. With smart phones it is has never been easier to film. From all the film collected, determine the top 3 games you have played and send them to coaches who are interested.
- “Make and promote your own highlight film”
Game film is good but highlight film is even better. Coaches are very busy people and will watch a highlight long before a full game. Coaches will not often find your film, but these links can be included on a recruiting profile or even better in an email sent to coaches. A good film showcases high level skill, efficiency, and dominance in under 5 minutes. It is also best to 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.
- “Set up your social media account to represent you well as a student-athlete”
College coaches are now leveraging social media to actively recruit. But coaches typically don’t use social media to “discover” new talent. They identify athletes they like from other sources. But when interested coaches may reach out through social media first because it is easiest to locate a recruit. Your profile should use your real name, a sports photo, and present your physical and academic stats. Remember to always post content 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.
- “Sports scholarship offers can be taken away during your recruitment journey”
College sports offers may be with or without an athletic scholarship attached. It is always a major accomplishment to get an 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.
- “Make sure you are truly passionate about the sport”
For many recruits it will become the most challenging thing they’ve ever done while also the most rewarding. 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. Most college athletes will not turn pro, but for those who are passionate the fun and excitement of pursuing your dream is a reward that is well worth it.
For the complete article go to https://www.scarecruiting.com/sports-recruiting-blog/tips-to-get-recruited-for-college-sports-an-athlete-approved-guide-for-todays-recruit