Your High School Coach and the Recruiting Process
August 4th, 2009 - byQ: My son will be a senior for the 2010 class. Some colleges came to the school and talked to the coach about him during spring practice. He has over 30 letters and received a call from a school this summer, and the head coach informed him about other schools that were interested. However, the coach controls the recruiting at his school and he does not give his players access to highlight film. However, he sends their information out and does a good job selling his prospects to colleges from what I have heard. What should we do if the High School coach is in control of the recruiting of his players?
A: We have received numerous questions regarding the role of the high school coach and while all of them vary slightly based on individual situations, they all essentially come down to, “What should we expect from our high school coach and who is responsible for recruiting?”
We have touched on this subject a great deal and you can check out our past articles here and here.
However, the responsibility to get recruited ultimately falls on the student-athlete and the family. Your family should be in control of the recruiting process…no one else. The high school coach certainly could play a valuable role, but due to limited time and resources cannot be expected to get each of their student athletes recruited. Successfully navigating the recruiting process requires significant effort. I suggest you meet with your coach and ask these questions:
What specific type of assistance will you be providing our family with the recruiting process?
Which college programs do you have relationships with?
Which college programs have expressed interest in me?
Why do you not allow families to have access to the highlight films?
Can we borrow your film to duplicate or film our own video in order to send to colleges?
If you are unhappy with the answers, then you are not out of luck, you will just have more work to do as a family or might want to look into seeking professional guidance. Remember, regardless of who does what, everyone needs to take these five steps to get recruited.
