Subscribe to the NCSA Blog4 Ways To Get Crossed Off a Coach’s List – Inside the War Room
April 7th, 2009 - byLast week Coach Randy Taylor took us behind the scenes of how a college coaching staff begins the process of putting together their recruiting boards. If you were unable to read that article, I encourage you to check it out here. This week Coach Taylor will take you inside a room that very few people ever get to be a part of, “the war room” and explain how college coaches make the decisions about prospects that will affect the future of their program…
We left off last week at the point in the process when the Recruiting Coordinator officially places a recruit’s name on “the list” in the war room. As I mentioned, the war room is a highly secure office that contains the official list of recruits that all the coaches have spent months and years gathering and evaluating. It is in this room that some of the most important 
decisions coaches ever have to make will be determined.
The centerpiece of every war room is “the list” which is essentially the official recruiting board that will be analyzed and vetted exhaustively by the entire coaching staff until the recruiting class is finalized.
“The list” is typically organized by position first. Below each position is usually a list of 25-50 names or more depending on need and the number of quality players available. The position needs are determined by the staff and next to each position will be a number dictating the quantity of prospects desired at each position. For example: Quarterback (1), Running Back (2), Full Back (1), Defensive End (4), etc. This outlines how many commitments they would ultimately like to receive based on position out of the 25-50 total prospects listed. When the dust settles, most “lists” have between 250-500 total names on them.
Within each position listing is another level of sorting by rank. For example, the offensive line list will have groupings distinguished by color based on the coaching staff’s evaluation. If I were coaching at Indiana, the top ranked linemen might be separated with a crimson color nameplate, the second tiered linemen in cream color nameplates, and white nameplates for the lowest ranked linemen of the 25-50 prospects at each position.
Once a list is done growing (which usually happens during a student-athletes junior year), the real battles begin as names are moved up or down the board and in the worst case, completely removed from the list. Recruiting meetings can be all day marathons and often times can become contentious.
Why would a recruiting meeting with a staff become a source of disagreement?
There are a number of reasons for this:
- 1) Need. In order to determine how many players will be recruited for each position, some coaches are forced to make concessions. For example, a defensive coach might challenge an offensive coach on the number of wide receivers on the board which will take away from the number of linebackers he can have. The head coach might let these discussions become heated before making the final decision after hearing arguments; the head coach has 51% of the vote.
- 2) Pride. Often times, an area coach will place the name of a prospect on “the list” only to have a position coach criticize the selection. This can elicit a defensive response from the area coach feeling the need to fight for his prospects. It is important to realize that an area coach is responsible for a certain geographic region and the more players that are signed from that location; the more successful that coach is considered.
- 3) Decisions. In an effort to narrow down list, the head coach will ask the area and position coaches to defend their recruits or risk having the prospects they have spent months recruiting taken off the list…this is when a coach must jump on the table for a recruit. With that in mind, the area coach better be prepared with transcripts, tape, etc in order to provide evidence of why their prospect should remain on the list. Some coaches are more prepared than others and the head coach might schedule these meetings last minute which can make for some heated discussions.
Recruiting is a large portion of the livelihood of a college coach and when you are behind the closed doors in a war room; you are sometimes fighting for your career, so you can imagine how passionate those meetings can be.
“The list” is narrowed down as a prospect’s magnetic nameplate is removed from the board. For a recruit, this is the worst possible thing that can happen. There are a number of different reasons why a recruit would be removed from “the list,” but it usually happens quickly and unceremoniously. After the decision is made, the nameplate is tossed into a box that the Recruiting Coordinator possesses and for the most part, the recruit is removed from all mailing lists and the game invite list, etc. by the recruiting secretary. Essentially, the recruit is no longer discussed as a prospect.
Randy’s advice: Pay attention to communication patterns from the college coaches who have been recruiting you. Recruits are rarely notified when they have been removed from “the list” and if mail and phone call patterns change, it means something!
Many of you are probably wondering, “What are some of the factors that coaches consider when moving names up, down, and off “the list?”
Great question! Some of the topics are more obvious than others, but let’s run through a few:
- Academics. A thorough academic history is very helpful in determining the staying power a recruit’s name has on the list. The more prepared academically in regards to fulfilling core course requirements and core GPA, the better
chance the prospect has to remain on the list. Even if a recruit has struggled in some of the core classes, it does not mean they will be immediately removed. However, if the coach is unable to gain access to proper documentation or notification that a recruit has intentions of improving their academic standing by taking summer school, etc. the student-athlete will not be given the benefit of the doubt. Do not ever hide or hold back the transcript. It is a red flag and can earn your nameplate a spot in the dreaded box of discarded recruits. Even if you are struggling, show the coach you are aware of the problem and have a plan to fix it. Make your academic information easily accessible. This will also give a college coach time to work with a recruit to put a plan together to stay on “the list.”
- Evaluation. Of course a significant portion of the decision to keep or remove a prospects name from the list hinges on the recruits athletic ability. With that in mind, make sure to have a quality highlight tape and at least one full game tape available for all coaches. Note – college coaches watch highlight tapes to decide if they want to watch a game tape! This film provides the area coach ammunition to defend an athlete’s place on the list. Without the film, a
recruit is far more likely to be removed.
- 3rd Party Evaluations. An evaluation by a trusted third party can go a long way towards keeping a prospect’s name on the board because it serves as a reference. Again, as an area coach puts his initial list together to bring before the rest of the staff, he is basically gathering evidence to state his case. This third party evaluation can add to the support and help the area coach defend the prospect.
- Parents! Believe it or not, a parent can be a main reason for a prospect getting dropped from the list. I recall one year that we were recruiting a top QB when we received a comment from the high school coach that the father might be a problem. Apparently the father was questioning play calling, challenging the conditioning, complaining to other parents, etc. We watched the father (almost as closely as the athlete) and ended up removing the recruit from the list because of the father’s actions.
These are just a few of the issues that can cause movement on “the list.” While families do not often times agree with the decisions made by a coaching staff (especially when their son or daughter is taken off the list), I can assure you the process is not taken lightly and countless hours are spent debating and discussing prospects.
While having the magnet with your name removed from the recruiting board is never an optimistic sign that you will receive a scholarship from that school, there will be a deliberation at some point about which dropped players could be valuable in a walk on capacity for the team.
One of the most difficult situations a head coach can put an area coach in is when he asks that they “keep the player alive.” This happens when a recruit is placed at the bottom of the board and might be needed if other commits go elsewhere. The area coach is forced to maintain contact with the prospect despite losing the help of the head coach or assistant coaches in the recruitment of that athlete. The prospect will likely start receiving fewer letters and almost zero handwritten letters or phone calls from a college coach, but the area coach cannot lose the prospect in the off chance they are needed. Much like the reason that recruits should cast a wide net of college programs, college coaching staffs need to keep a number of viable options available throughout the process.
The reality is that every staff has a unique approach to the process of narrowing down their board, although most are relatively similar. The key for every recruit is to put themselves in the best position by having everything a coach will need (transcript, video, measureables, etc) readily accessible and connecting with as many of the right schools as possible in an effort to ensure a place on an ample number of final recruiting boards.
April 7th, 2009 at 10:50 am
I played D1 college football (1980 – 1983) and can absolutely confirm this process and these decisions as I witnessed it first hand. I’ve seen the board and seen the names on the magnetic strips. I’ve seen them move back and forth and up and down. I’ve seen the tapes come in and see the names move around. Acedemics are #1 at many smaller D1 and D2 schools. I am impressed to see that “Parents” are on this list as I know from experience that college coaches see this decision as making a long-term commitment in a person and their family. My family became very close to the coaching staff in my 4 years and these coaches remain dear family friends to this day.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Great stuff. I think that the kids in high school today can use all the help they can get. Competition is getting tuff. Comming from a former student athlete and dad that has 3 boys who will all play football through school and hope they can get a scholarship to any school. We are not picky.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:48 am
I played football and lacrosse in college and helped my oldest son get several D1 college offers. In my experience, due to the competitive nature of athletics, both academic and athletic, many D1 colleges keep very large lists of recruits. For instance, a major college D1 lacrosse coach had a need for a goalie for his recruiting class. His board had over 60 names for goalies, ranked from 1-60. He was looking to get at least 1 for the next year. Realizing that many of the top recruits may pick another school, or be academically deficient, he kept the 60 in the loop, until he got a written commitment.
Having experienced being a parent of a D1 athlete, I was amazed at how a few parents tried to influence the coach regarding strategy, who should play a specific position, and playing time. I thought this behavior stopped in high school.
The team’s head coach recruited a parent manager for the team parent club, usually from a parent of a senior player. The manager’s main responsibility was to hear parental issues and complaints.
The coach made it very clear at the start of each season, that he would not address issues directly with parents. However, many tried during my tenure and some times things got really ugly.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Does any of this happen at the D-3 level? If not, what is their common process?
April 7th, 2009 at 11:59 am
This does happen at every level. The biggest difference between sports and division levels is the time frame coaches take to eliminate potential recruits. But understand, it does work like this!
April 7th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Does a father working hard with the faculty and recruiting coach, by means of phone calls, assuring son gets accepted, constitute “trouble” parent?
April 7th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
PM – Not necessarily, but it could. My question would be why isn’t the student-athlete doing this work? If a parent doesn’t trust his/her child to work through these issues, why would a college coach trust the child to be a contributor to their program?
April 7th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Randy –
Could you comment on what happens the first day a coach can call potential recruits. For example, a D1 football coach can call a junior football player on April 15th. Does that call happen on that day? If not, does that mean a prospect is not very high on “the list”? How many kids on “the list” get calls on that day? Thanks for your great information!
April 7th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Yep, this is somewhat the way I imagined the process to be. Sophomores if your serious about sports GET YOUR GRADES because it’s a tough gig if you miss your junior year.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Keith-
The elite prospects on a college’s list will most likely get a call from the head coach the first week (they’re only allowed to make 1 call per prospect in this period between April 15 and May 31). The next level prospects will get calls from the assistant coaches sometime during the period depending on several factors. Examples of these factors are – when the assistant coach will visit the prospect’s school as he may want to talk to the kid about his visit, he wants to be the first coach to call the young man, the coach may want to find out more about grades or off field issues, the prospect is down the list but important enough to keep warm or the staff feels the prospect is leaning somewhere else and he doesn’t want the head coach to be disappointed, to name a few.
The number of calls that are made during the first day depends on how many they can get to with or without the head coach.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Great information. It’s important that the kids understand that alot of their success is under their control, I.E. Academics (performing in the Classroom), Performance (working hard on every play) and in some ways third party evaluations as well because if a kid carries himself in a positive way and promotes a positive image, others will take notice and be willing to pass along good information to coaches, administrators and other key stakeholders involved in the process.
April 7th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
My first coaching job was at a local Catholic HIgh School during the football season of 1970, so I’m an old guy. I’ve been a head coach, a co-ordinator and just a regular old assistant coach over the last 39 years and I’ve loved every minute of it, even going 0-10 (I wouldn’t want to do it again).
I’ve seen college recruiting change as limits have been placed on the number of scholarships the colleges can give so there are less marginal kids given a chance (that’s why you see D3 and D2 kids in the Pros). Not many D1 assistant coaches are going to stake their careers on a kid with great character, great academics and good athletic ability. They are looking for the Great athletic ability and most are ready to look the other way when it comes to character and academics. Yes their speeches will talk all about how their looking for great character and grades, but the reality is they have to win games to keep their jobs.
The thing to remember in recruiting is D1 is a business and as a player and a parent you need to approach it as a business. If you approach it as anything else you are in for a rude awakening. This is not a slam at the coaches, their families rely on them to bring home a paycheck to pay the bills no different than a mechanic, salesman or doctor. Their job is to get the best athletes in their program so they can win and keep getting paid. The fact that they don’t offer your child a scholarship is not personal, it is business decision.
And for most kids D3 is where they will land and they’ll enjoy their college experience more than most D1 kids on scholarship, because it won’t be a job it will be a game. And isn’t that why they say “Play Ball” not “Work Ball”!!
April 7th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Great comment, Neil. Thanks for sharing your years of well-earned wisdom. I will mention that in the last 5 years, academics have become more important. The reason is the APR – Academic Progress Report. College athletic teams whose athletes don’t make acceptible progress toward graduation will loose scholarships. For example a California D1-A program is down to 67 scholarships instead of the normal 85 because too many players weren’t making progress toward graduation. As you can imagine, a college coach will begin to lose football games if he has significantly fewer scholarships to offer. If a kid is a D1-A prospect, the transcript is a very important part of that prospect’s evaluation by college coaches.
April 7th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
What can you tell me about 1 Day Camps at Colleges and Universities vs 3-4 Day Camps at the same College and/or University?
April 7th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
My child is a junior this year and has been playing basketball for a number of years, she is on varsity at her school. Question: Will the decision on if a scholarship is given base on the coach.? While playing in a summer league and the summer coach and the school coach has different views on a player , will this cause problems in being on “the list”. Her gpa 4.0 and rank 60 out of 674. We are not picky D1 D2 D3
April 8th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
My child is a sophmore.Plays football and baseball. He has a 4.3GPA. He goes to a very small public school in S. Cal. and would love to play either sport in college D1 D2 D3. Should I start the college recruiting process with him now because his school is good but not a conteder with the enormous schools all around us?.
April 8th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Laurie,
If your son wants to play in college, the time to start recruiting is now!. Many families start taking steps as freshman.
April 8th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Thanks! Can you give me one BIG suggestion. He started Varsity in both sports. He is the QB. I kept all DVD’s of his games and all the paper press, as he personally broke long standing school records as did hid team. In baseball, his all around stats are high in his league. I feel confident he will keep his grades high. What is the next step? I played D1 volleyball in college 20 years ago, and feel much has changed.
April 8th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Laurie – You’re so right, much has changed in the last 5 years, let alone the last 20 years. The best place to start is education. Go here and follows these 5 steps: http://www.ncsasports.org/the-recruiting-process/five-things-you-must-do. If you need help on those 5 things call 866-579-6272.
April 8th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
I’m in my junior year at a big school in the Kansas City Metro, so competition is high. I really want to play baseball at college, but I am sitting behind an all conference senior, and almost everywhere else there is to look on the field a senior is playing. How can i make this lack of playing time not affect my recruiting process with college coaches?
April 9th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Matt – If you’re starting on a high level of travel baseball team that plays 40-60 games in the summer, that should allow you to overcome your high school situation. Don’t give up. One of our scouts was told his senior year of high school that he was cut from his high school team. He had great grades, got an academic scholarship at a major D1 baseball school, walked-on and started his junior and senior year in college. (Imagine what he told that high school coach!) That probably couldn’t happen in any other sport. I have another colleague who played D3 baseball and then was drafted into the major leagues, playing 2 years in The Show. If you need more answers, call 866-579-6272. Good luck.
April 12th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Thanks Coach Taylor. I will give the note about D3 being fun and D1 work to Sam. Also keep him on his grades as well as his game. Bob
April 14th, 2009 at 10:12 am
I wanted to know if it is inappropriate to ask the coaches their level of interest
at this point before attending their camps. I’ve been invited to attend several that overlap and i wanted maximize my exposure at the camps. Also when to the coaching staffs begin to make their decisions about the final recruiting class.
April 14th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Absolutely not Mitch. Asking ahead of time makes sure that you are attending camps where you have a REAL chance to get evaluated!
April 21st, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Interesting read. My son is a junior being recruited by low-mid majors in basketball. 4 teams have come to workouts and attended season games. He gets quite a bit of ‘propoganda’ mailings from others. My question is, since he is only still talking to assistants does that mean he is down on the list? Is his time running out for an offer?
Thanks!
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:36 am
Dennis,
Yes, it could be. Be sure to use the next few weeks to determine where your son is on the recruiting board. Your son may have to ask the coaching staff some tough questions or start expanding his search.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:19 pm
My son is a pretty talented athlete who as a junior, was not a starter but substituted in to games, and as a result does not have the best stats to offer & highlight video that does not showcase his ability. He had great film prior to this & he also made the Under Armor all-american team at their event & received a SPARQ rating of 102 at the Nike combine. He will definitely be a starter as a senior as a WR, DB & special teams. Assuming all goes as planned will a good season as a senior be in time? He has gotten lots of letters & a couple of phone calls.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
27.
My son is a pretty talented athlete who as a junior, was not a starter but substituted in to games, and as a result does not have the best stats to offer & limited video. He had great film prior to this & he also made the Under Armor all-american team at their event & received a SPARQ rating of 102 at the Nike combine. He will definitely be a starter as a senior as a WR, DB & special teams. Assuming all goes as planned will a good season as a senior be in time? He has gotten lots of letters & a couple of phone calls.
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June 23rd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Hi Bob:
It sounds like things are going well for your son. Has he had a conversation with those college coaches who called, since they called the first time? If not, he should get on the phone. He should ask where he is on their recruiting board. You didn’t mention the level of the schools, but if they’re D1-A level, the majority of those schools have offered the vast majority of players already. There are very few slots left at that level. Have your son call those coaches and see where he stands with them.
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
HELP!
I have a strange problem. My son is a rising Senior. He has a 3.93 GPA and .481 batting average. He is getting a lot of calls from college scouts who want him to play baseball at their schools and talk “scholarship”.
I want the best for my son, but am very unfamiliar with negotiating the best opportunity for him with the recruiters.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
June 24th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Hi Alan:
Only a college head coach has the authority to offer your son a scholarship. If your son is not talking to any college head coaches, he’s no where close to getting a scholarship. Make sure your son (not you) is talking to college head coaches. Then make sure your son is getting all scholarship offers in writing. Make sure that it breaks down the cost of attendance and what is being covered by the scholarship. In addition to the financial aid package, your son needs to determine if the school has his preferred major, if he likes the location, if he likes the facilities, if he likes the entire coaching staff, if he likes his future teammates, if the school fits him socially, if he has a chance to play right away, etc, etc, etc. Through considering all of those things, then he’ll find what’s best for him.
If you want the very best for your son, get him professional help. He gets to go through this process one time. One time only. If you provide him with knowledgeable, professional help, then he’ll have choices and will be able to make a competent decision. As a parent, you’ll have great peace of mind that all potential opportunities for your son were explored. Good luck!
June 24th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Hi,
This is Bob again & I thanks for your previous answer to question 7 & 8. The coaches that called my son earlier were from D-1 colleges (Fresno & Cornell). He also got an e-mail inviting him for I guess what would be an unofficial visit. He e-mailed the coach to say he would be interested in visiting. And how does this time line fit into the July 1st deadline for receiving calls? Is this a waste of time if you think most of the scholarships are gone or do you think there is still time. He still has to take the SAT again. This is for the 2010 class. Thanks for your reply.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Hi Bob:
I noticed that you have access to the NCSA recruiting tool box. The answers to your questions are found there. If you need help, call the recruiting help desk at 877-849-6272.