How a College Golf Coach Recruits
November 10th, 2009 - byI had a chance to talk to University of Indianapolis women’s golf coach Ken Piepenbrink to get his thoughts on the recruiting process. He has turned the U of Indy into one of the Division II national powers. One of his golfers, Lindsay McBride, was the individual National Champion not too long ago. Here is what he had to say:
“Charlie, I am getting recruiting letters from freshmen in High School. They tell me what tourneys they will be in and get me video, which is very helpful. I see where they are skill-wise. When I go to Junior Tour events and see a list of who is competing, their name jumps out and I watch for them.
Recruiting has accelerated. Here in Indiana, the girls State Tournament is over in September. I start hearing from seniors then. Well, I was done recruiting their class in August before their senior year started. I already have a short list of juniors. It is about starting early, especially if you want to compete at a high level.
Summer Tournaments in golf are very important. It’s what you do in the Summer. To me, it shows how committed you are. I put kids on my recruiting list and if they keep improving, they get more stars. If not, they get knocked off. I am looking at attitude and at sportsmanship. You are selling yourself. I really pay attention to parents. If they are overbearing then I think that this could be a problem down the line.
I like young people that show an interest in our University first and then the golf team. Academics are very important. Just about all the girls on our golf team get full tuition paid for because of their academic success.”
Coach Ken Piepenbrink
University of Indianapolis Women’s Golf Coach
Charlie Adams
Speaker, NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network
cadams@ncsasports.org
