Understanding the Recruiting Game
Every winter, I am bombarded with questions from parents about recruiting. I've grown up around college football my entire life and have seen how it works from the coaching standpoint through my father's various coaching positions. I have also seen how excruciating it can be for the players and families who want nothing more than to receive a scholarship. Thus, I felt it would be a positive thing to spend some time on my editorial space writing about the recruiting process.
First let me say this, the recruiting process can chew you up and spit you out if you aren't educated on the intricacies of how it works. It's a game that features some unfortunate tactics that can lead to feelings being hurt, and dreams being shattered. On the flipside, if you are one of the fortunate players who receive a scholarship offer, it can make for an exciting time that you will never forget. Hopefully after reading this column, you will learn how to play the game, and more importantly, realize the odds that you are up against.
The first thing every parent and player must do is set realistic expectations. It never amazes me how many parents really believe their kid should receive a scholarship to a Division I program. Being a great high school football player doesn't always mean you are destined to play big-time college football. There are hundreds of thousands of high school football players in the country, but only about 2,500 will get that opportunity. In addition, when a parent gets their unrealistic hopes up, it can make the reality of the recruiting process even harsher for the player if a scholarship offer doesn't come to fruition.
The next thing to remember is that college coaches recruit multiple players at the same position. They put together their wish lists for the upcoming senior class, and in case they don't get the player they want, they establish multiple back-up plans with players who could fill the same role. However, it's the players who are on that back-up list that face the most excruciating reality in the recruiting process. They must wait for other players to make up their mind before they receive the call of their dreams. Sadly, often times that call doesn't come at all, and players who were told by the coach that recruited them that the team was interested, are left to wonder why.
The recruiting process is filled with misleading information and sometimes lies. College coaches will tell your coach and your family that you are on their wish list, but what people don't understand is they are saying the same thing to multiple players and families. That's why I believe it is best to let your high school coach take the lead in communications with the college recruiters.
College coaches know that they can't treat the head coach wrong or any of his players wrong in the recruiting process because at some point in the future, that coach may have the best prospect in the state or country. They must establish a good track record of being honest with the high school coaches, because lets face it, the high school coach can be even more influential in the process of selecting a college football program than even the parents.
Parents who take it upon themselves to call college coaches are often times ignored, and even in some cases lied to. The reason is simple, the college coaches don't fear losing future recruits from the parents, only the high school coach.
If your coach doesn't take a pro-active approach to helping you get recruited, then you must make a determination on how you want to proceed. Getting highlight DVDs made or sending game tape is easy to do and can help put you on the recruiting list. However, most college coaches will still want information from the head coach, and much of their recruiting interested will be based on what they see during a full game tape, and what they hear from the head coach or other head coaches in the area.
The final thing to realize about the recruiting process is that even if you don't get that scholarship offer, you can still make it. All coaches and programs love walk-ons who come in and earn playing time with hard work. Just because some expert says you aren't big enough, fast enough, or smart enough to play college football, doesn't mean it's true. I walked on at Virginia Tech and earned the starting nod at first base for the baseball team in my sophomore year. It was a long road to find playing time, but nonetheless, it happened. And it can happen for you too.
The best part about giving it a try is, you will never look back on your athletic career and wonder what if?
Things You Must Do By Your Junior Season:
1. Get A DVD made to send to scouts and coaches: This is a great first step in introducing your son or daughter to potential colleges.
2. Sit down with your head coach and ask them the tough questions: What level can my son play at? How do you plan on helping him get recruited? What can I do to help?
3. Get your test scores and grades as high as possible:
This is the biggest thing that keeps players from making it on the next level.
If you would like to comment on Andy's editorial, please send an email to Andy@tccsports.com.
