How High a Price?
August 12th, 2009 - byYesterday, there was an interesting post on the New York Times Quad Blog describing the high price paid by players who receive TOO MUCH recruiting attention.
My recruitment was going according to Coach Wootten’s master plan, with all the calls going through the basketball office, until I was invited to the Adidas ABCD basketball camp. There, my address and home phone number were sold in a packet detailing the players’ information for $75.
That weekend my parents were out of town, but when they got back the tape on our old answering machine was full. Over 40 college coaches had called, leaving messages. Next to our answering machine, my mother stacked a series of note cards. Each one had the name of a college coach, the university, a phone number and the time he called. My mother informed me that I was to call each of them back in turn.
The worst part about these phone calls was that most of them didn’t indicate that the school had any serious interest. They were calls from low assistants filling out profiles so they had files on a wide number of recruits.
It wasn’t hard to spend hours on the phone with different schools answering benign questions.
One of the calls I remember best was from U.N.C.-Wilmington. The man on the other end was clearly tired after a long day of phone calls, and had a questionnaire in front of him.
“What’s your height?”
“What’s your weight?”
When he came to SAT scores, my answer made him pause. He apparently didn’t hear 1,570 all that often as a college recruiter.
“So you’re getting recruited by a lot of Ivy League schools,” he answered.
Another pause.
“Here at U.N.C.-Wilmington our Marine Biology program is ranked top 25 in the country,” he offered.
He promised to call again to check in. Of course, he never did. But when shoe companies are selling your home phone number, and assistants are trying to be friends with your mom, having one less coach on the phone isn’t always a bad thing.
The author may have a point about it being difficult to answer a lot of phone calls, but think about the opposite. What happens if the phone never rings? Players need to worry first and foremost about getting a coach’s attention early in the recruiting cycle.
Once student-athletes have been identified, they can responsibly go about the recruiting process. Part of that process is managing your contacts and communicating with them in the least stressful way possible. Having the proper guidance to navigate your contacts is a big part of finding the right fit, while not losing your mind in the process.
The author has a point that the recruiting process is stressful, but its important to remember why its so stressful. You will never have another chance to get recruited!
