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We’re a sports-crazed nation. Right or wrong, we’re addicted to both watching and playing sports. Tens of millions of students play youth sports each season — many with the dream of playing at the collegiate or professional level. While playing at the professional level will happen for a very select group, playing at the college level is a dream that comes true for more than 460,000 athletes each year. Getting there typically requires athleticism and tremendous commitment. It also requires a solid understanding of how the college sports recruitment process works, and commitment to navigate that process. Here is an overview of how it works — and how to manage it successfully — in the digital age.
You can learn about the basics of the process and complete the necessary registration process for all athletes on the NCAA site, but true success in the college recruiting process requires more than filling out forms and staying academically eligible. Here are 13 steps in a three-part series to help you “win” in this process.
“Pre-Game Preparation”
1. Start early
Never forget that you are entering the college recruitment “process.” It’s not a one day, one week, or one month thing. It takes time. It takes persistence, just like developing excellence in a given sport. In your first or second performance in front of a college coach, you may feel more pressure than if you’re competing for a state championship in your sport. Starting early will allow you to work through jitters and perform at your best in these situations over time. It can be a little intimidating to show up at a showcase or camp and compete against a large number of great athletes, so starting early will allow you to learn to manage your jitters before you’ll be competing at a camp that will impact whether or not you will be a school’s choice for a role.
In some sports, coaches now make offers to athletes as early as sophomore year. If you don’t engage in the process until your second semester junior year, you’ve already missed out on many potential opportunities. Jack Swarbrick, Athletic Director at the University of Notre Dame suggests, “As the process starts earlier and earlier each year, particularly in the Olympic sports, an important first step for most student athletes is to get yourself playing at the right competitive level. Allow yourself to be seen competing against the best talent in your sport.” He added, “Football recruiting is still grounded in high schools. In other sports, club and travel teams have taken on an important role.”
2. Understand the landscape
There are more than 460,000 athletes who play 23 NCAA sports in any given year. There are 347 Division 1 schools. They typically compete at the highest level in a sport and have the ability to offer students scholarships for participation in athletics. There are 300 Division 2 schools. They are often smaller schools, and also have the ability to offer scholarships for athletics. Finally, there are 450 Division 3 colleges. They do not offer athletic scholarships, but, like Division 1 and Division 2 colleges, some offer academic scholarships and all offer financial aid packages to students.
D1, D2, and D3 all offer highly competitive play, compelling conference rivalries, and the excitement of representing a school and playing the sport you love. Williams Women’s Soccer Head Coach Michelyne Pinard, who took her team to the D3 national championship game last year, commented, “There are huge assumptions that people make in terms of the level of competitiveness and ability between D1 and D3, which are often not correct. Many, many people watch our games and say, wow, this is a very high level of soccer – in terms of both athleticism and competitiveness. If you are interested in being a true student athlete, you should be looking at D3 schools, as the soccer experience combined with the academic experience is likely beyond what you would have ever imagined.”
3. Define your targets
Do not wait for schools to approach you. They likely won’t. The myth that you’ll be “discovered” is for most students simply that – a myth. If you are a true standout at a large school or well-known club in a revenue sport, it could happen. However, for most NCAA athletes, you will need to be proactive in pursuing colleges of interest. Every student will choose schools of interest based on different factors, but remember, you’re not just joining a team, you’re selecting the school that you’ll attend that will launch your career – or not. Look at which schools are the best fit for your career interests and schools that are a good fit for you in terms of academics. You’ll want to start “broad” with a diverse set of schools. Look for diversity in terms of both how competitive it will be to land a spot on the team, and how competitive the academics will be at that school.
ESPN contributor Jamie Kohl, owner of Kohl’s Kicking, the premier camps for kickers, punters, and long snappers, suggests, “Consider some dream schools, some realistic ones, and one or two fallback schools. Try to find the right fit – athletically, academically, and socially based on your specific athlete. Try to be realistic and don’t just shoot for the top schools in the nation in a sport, or you may miss out on great opportunities.”
And remember, the concept of fit runs much deeper than athletic abilities at some schools. Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick added, “Fit is paramount for us, and this is just not generally understood. Some think colleges simply pursue athletes with the physical dimensions and skills they find impressive. Our coaches look at values, academic preparation, and whether an athlete’s talents will fit into our system.”
4. Identify relevant contacts
College coaching staffs can be quite large. At a minimum, you will typically find a head coach, multiple assistant coaches, and full time graduate assistants on the staff. In some sports, there are position coaches, and regional recruiters who are responsible for specific parts of the country. That said, in most sports, one coach is the recruiting coordinator – make sure you know who that it. You can typically find the names of these coaches on the school’s website. In many cases, you’ll even find their email address and/or phone number. The head coach is typically not the best starting point to initiate contact, as he or she will be the most difficult to reach and the least willing to engage you – as they are incredibly busy (and may not even read their own email. At smaller schools and at D2 or D3 schools in sports where they do not have a large coaching staff, you may have success reaching out to a head coach.
Patrick O’Brien is a business executive, author of Making College Count, a weekly columnist for USA Today College, a professor at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University. He co-founded a company which has delivered success programs at more than 10,000 high schools and colleges nationwide. His son is currently attending Cincinnati Country Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Filed under: SPORTS Tagged: college recruiting, college sports, NCAA sports, Patrick O'Brein