So over the course of the past year, what I have written, dabbled in and out of the college athletic recruiting process for my daughter. Recently, the journey came to and end for her. She was offered and committed to her first-choice college. There were no words – just tears. I was so happy and proud of my kid. Like me, she is far from perfect, but she is an effort kid and a grinder – something that I think was appealing to coaches. She showed she loved the game, is enthusiastic, and is a good teammate. I think this also had an impact. That said, and I heard a college coach say this at a camp earlier in the summer – all these intangibles are good but there is a talent bar a kid still has to jump over first.
Looking back on the athletic recruiting journey, there are some lessons I learned along the way. First, cast a wider college net than you think. I think my daughter started with 13 colleges – some division 1 and some division 3 – some reaches, some maybes, and some likely’ s. She was interested in a smaller college that had a rural setting in a small town. I think we stuck to this criterion too rigidly and could have cast a wider net initially – a little larger student body in more suburban towns that could have been good matches.
Next, the importance of self-promotion cannot be overstated. Her travel coach was great – a huge advocate. First and foremost, he cared. Again, something that should be a given but is harder to find than I thought. My daughter’s due diligence in sending texts, emails, and videos on a weekly basis to the coaches for her schools of interest made a difference. Showing genuine interest and providing personal attention to an institution and program mattered. In the land of higher ed lingo – demonstrated interest made a difference – both on the athletic and admission side.
Attending camps. These are a must do. Some are hit and some are miss. I will say, given my kid’s academic background, attending high academic achieving camps as well as the camps at specific colleges for which she was interested, made a difference (again – demonstrated interest). Looking to see if the coaches for the colleges to which she was interested were attending a camp was important web sleuthing.
Academically, I do believe curriculum and not just grades mattered. My kid took the most rigorous curriculum her school offered. While mostly an A student, she had some B’s in AP courses but challenging herself, I believe, made a difference.
I do believe social skills played a role as well. My kid was able to engage with and interact with adults/coaches in a conversational manner. She was able to look adults/coaches in the eye and have engaging enthusiastic conversations about professional interests and experiences. She does say “like” to the point where it makes my skin crawl but not to the degree it makes her an outlier amongst peers. Take the good with the cringe-worthy.
Be patient in the athletic recruiting process. You cannot force the timeline. You can subtly nudge or influence it but forcing it can send a bad message to college coaches. Tied to this, the kid has to lead the effort. As a parent, you can facilitate and provide guidance, but coaches are most interested in the kid (who will actually be competing) and not the parent. An over involved parent also sends a bad message to coaches that they would have to deal with the parent during the kid’s college experience.
Assess if the coach is a good match that truly seems to care about your kid. This is a tough one because it is largely based on first impressions and your kid may not have the luxury of choosing. I also recommend not choosing a college because of the coach as they could leave at any time. That said, it is important to assess whether your kid is valued and has a chance to compete at the institution. As your kid develops a relationship with a coach, as a parent, you will reach a point where you want to engage the coach and ask some questions. These can include:
- Talk about your coaching philosophy
- What are your short term and long term goals for the program and where does my kid
fit?
- Talk about your projected longevity at the school
- If finances are a factor, learn about financial aid, academic merit awards, and athletic scholarships and if these can be stacked or paired together.
While cliché at this point, the process is a journey. There is a “trust the process” element to the journey relative to the timeline but my counsel is to keep as many options open as possible for as long as possible as the process twists and turns. The athletic recruitment process is far from linear but should be directional. Being persistent and resilient are must haves.
Comments