5 Recruiting Requirements: Step 1 – Evaluation
January 17th, 2008 - byOne of the most common questions we receive from parents who are guiding their son or daughter through the recruiting process is this:
“What can I do to help my child get recruited by college coaches?”
While the answer is not always simple and usually requires far more work than any parent ever expects, every family needs to understand what they need to do.
After working with thousands of student athletes and college coaches, NCSA has been able to answer that question through a list of Five Recruiting Requirements that every student athlete and family must posses in order to be successfully recruited.
Here are the Five Recruiting Requirements:
- Evaluation
- Verified Website
- Highlight / Skills Video
- College Contacts
- Guidance
Over the next five issues of our newsletter, we will focus on one of the steps in this process beginning with the first thing that must happen: Evaluation.
An objective third party evaluation of a student athletes’ athletic and academic ability about what colleges and universities they might qualify for must be the first step every family takes. Without that knowledge, the recruiting process will lack the direction needed to find the right fit.
Often parents and student athletes are unsure of what level of play their abilities might make them a good candidate for. Unfortunately, many families tend to overstate their abilities which can lead to unrealistic expectations of DI scholarships offers.
85% of the opportunities to play collegiate athletics fall outside of the DI scope which means that the vast majority of collegiate athletes are playing at the DII, DIII, NAIA, and NJCAA level. These schools offer not only wonderful academic experiences, but also attractive financial packages for serious student athletes. Many families discount DIII opportunities simply because they do not offer “athletic” scholarships. A study done about NCSA’s graduating class of 2008 revealed that our DIII athletes received an average of over $21,000 in financial assistance. If you understand how DIII recruiting operates, you will quickly realize there are other avenues for financial assistance that can make these schools more affordable than the in-state alternatives. If you are only pursuing DI colleges and universities, you are hurting your odds of playing at the next level. Here are three simple steps to follow:
- Listen to an expert - Speak with a trusted source who has knowledge of what college coaches at each level are looking for athletically and academically and listen. You can find sport specific recruiting guidelines from NCSA that will help you begin that process.
- Be realistic – If the trusted source indicates that you are a DII or DIII athlete at that point, then it is time make sure your expectations are aligned with your athletic and academic ability.
- Research - Once you have received an honest and accurate assessment of your ability and have acknowledged the proper level of competition that fits that evaluation, you should begin to research those schools. This will focus your search and save you a great deal of frustration.
Sending athletic information to a DI college coach when your academic and athletic qualifications dictate you might only be a DII athlete is a no win situation. The college coach will not spend his limited resources recruiting that student athlete and the families will waste time, effort, and money pursuing the wrong opportunities.
Next week I will discuss the second Recruiting Requirement: Verified Website.
