NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

With every home game an opportunity comes to showcase your program to prospective student-athletes.  It allows families to experience your fan base, traditions, facilities and how your team handles a game.  At the same time, it allows you to get a targeted recruit on campus and show them how important they are to your recruiting class.

Obviously, the most important thing on game day is the actual game.  Taking your staff away from their duties can have an adverse effect on the team and focus of your athletes if a proper plan is not laid out.  Use your support staff to handle the bulk of a game day unofficial visit.

Gameday Visit Quick Tips

• Allow your GA’s or part time coaches to serve as the welcoming committee.
• Use the time available pre-game to set up a tour of your facilities and campus or set up a mini official visit day.
• Have academic support set up a meet and greet with a group of professors or advisors.
• Allow time for any questions from the families and have someone available to take care of films or information that the prospects have brought with them.

Having the same operation week-in and week-out will allow your staff to become comfortable with their duties and make your program look good.  Using your full staff to showcase interest in a top group of recruits can be very impressive and leave them with a sense of how important they are to your class.  In our experiences in working with athletes at NCSA, recruits respond to individual attention on a visit.  Knowing a recruits name when they walk in or knowing how their last game went can go a long way to ultimately bringing that student-athlete in with your recruiting class.

Another thing to consider for game day visits is the atmosphere expected on campus.  Target rivalry games or game days where other campus events will be going on to increase enthusiasm or attendance.  If this is the first chance for an athlete to experience your program, you want to make sure they leave excited about their trip to campus.   Allow prospects into the locker room after games and leave time post-game for prospects to meet with your staff and discuss what else is needed in the evaluation process and when decisions will be made.  They should also have an idea of the next steps in their recruiting process with your school; whether that be video, transcripts, or just staying in contact with you.

Being able to talk about how exciting game days are on your campus can help to illustrate a picture to recruits but can never replace being on campus to experience it firsthand.  Getting your game day visit in order can have recruits leaving campus at the end of the day counting the days until they come back for good.

Coach Currier

Coach Jeremy Currier was named head coach of men’s basketball at Pfeiffer University on April 20, 2010, having spent the past two seasons as the program’s top assistant.  Considered a highly successful and talented recruiter, Coach Currier was rated the sixth best Division II assistant coach for recruiting success in 2009 by College Bound Hoops.  Along the way, his recruiting efforts have helped build a Falcons offense that has netted the two highest single season scoring averages in program history (98.9 and 103.1 ppg) including the all-time Conference Carolinas single game scoring record set against Barton College in February 2010.  We recently caught up to him and had the opportunity to discuss why his recruiting efforts have been so successful:

1. What do you look for when evaluating potential recruits?

We really try to target guys that love the game, want to work at it, and have the capability to be coached and be a great teammate. All coaches are looking for “winners”- but we really try to evaluate if a kid makes winning plays on the basketball court and championship decisions off the court. We feel like if a kid loves the game and has a winning mentality, then we can get them better in their time at Pfeiffer.

2.How do you initially reach out to a recruit?

Generally, we start with the initial introduction phone call to their coach to get a character reference. We are not looking to get kids to Pfeiffer that we will have to worry about whether they are going to get into the gym, go to class, and act responsibly on campus. Because of this, we contact multiple people that know the recruit on personal basis. Once we have done our homework, we will call the recruit, and begin the process.

3. Discuss your 1^st call strategy for a recruit:

We want our first call to be memorable. We are in a age where every kid is being recruited by a number of schools, so we try to make an impact on the recruit. Every recruit is different, and has different goals, so we try to connect with the recruit and figure out what is important to them athletically, academically, and socially.

4. How often do you communicate with your recruits?

Because of NCAA restrictions, we are only allowed to call a recruit once a week. It is critical that we make that phone call count!

5. How do you “close” a recruit when you want them to commit?

I think that every kid is different- and we really try to figure out the most effective means to ‘close’ them. Some kids need an ultimatum or deadline to decide. Other kids, you need to just go along for the ride, and be there when he is ready to make the decision. Understanding this is critical in getting the commitment- and making a mistake in the process can result in losing the recruit.

6. What tips would you give coaches just getting started with recruiting

I think it is awfully important to get out and do your own evaluations of kids, and see what you think. I see more and more coaches out there that are recruiting just off what the ‘experts’ say. We certainly value this information because many of the recruiting services out there are very thorough in the job that they do- but they are not in practice with your team everyday- you are. Coaches need to get out there and see a potential recruit play, and decide if they are someone that they would like to go to practice with everyday. I think that the best coaches and recruiters are the ones that are meticulous in their evaluations.

As the world of recruiting continues to evolve, it is important coaches understand what high school student athletes are finding both positive and negative in the recruiting process. With limited time for interaction and many decisions being made before athletes make it onto campus, a cold shoulder or misinterpreted email could change a student athlete’s mind about what school they ultimately end up attending.  This makes it vital for college coaches to understand what sends a recruit in the direction of a conference rival.

Working with student athletes on a daily basis has given NCSA a unique opportunity to hear directly from the athletes about “what caused you to cross a school off of your ‘list?’” Here are some of the most common answers:

Reasons Recruits Cross Schools off their List

Reason #1: Coaches that give ambiguous answers

Many student athletes are discouraged by coaches giving too broad of statements too late in the process. Nobody wants to hear ‘we’ll be keeping an eye on you this season’ when they are ready for a serious offer.

Solution: Try Being Specific! Student athletes and their families are looking for answers. Let them know what to expect moving forward so they aren’t surprised by what they hear from you down the road.

Reason #2: Coaches that fall off of the map

The wind is quickly taken out of a student athlete’s sail when a coach of a program they’d been excited about suddenly stops all forms of communication. It worsens when they pop up out of nowhere again with no explanation. These athletes are well aware that they are being contacted because other athletes have turned this coach down.  The hit to their ego is oftentimes too much for them to bear.

Solution: Try staying in touch, even if it’s general! A monthly program update or athletic website articles featuring your sport may go a long way with a family that is just looking for some communication from you.

Reason #3: Coaches that play games

No one wants a sales pitch, to feel strung along, or to be lied to throughout the process. Parents of these athletes are looking for an authority figure they can trust with their children. The student athletes are looking for an authority figure they can look up to in the next four years.

Solution: Try being honest and direct in communication! Student athletes and their families respect a coaching staff that is to the point. You aren’t fooling anyone by beating around the bush.

With families becoming more and more educated in the recruiting process, it is more important than ever before that coaches are brushing up on their communication skills. Remaining in touch with what student athletes and their families are really looking for, not just in a school or program, but in the entire recruiting process, is key to making sure you end up with the recruits you want.

September is a critical time in recruiting…be sure to watch and find out why!

I Look forward to speaking to all of you.

Regards,

Coach Taylor

I bet all the juniors in high school will pay more attention to their mailbox at home today more than any other day. Well I take that back, for those of you who aren’t serious about your future in college sports you can go ahead and stop reading now. For all the juniors in high school that play sports competitively and are serious about taking their talents to the division I or division II level, you need to keep reading.

Yesterday I was engaged in conversation with two up and coming junior athlete’s in men’s golf and women’s basketball and their desire to play in college. Their desire was there as was their ambition (one of the girls even paid for her basketball lessons straight out of her pocket). Better yet when the parents had a chance to get me accustomed to their level of skill by giving me their numbers and involvement in their sport I found that they were working with DI and DII numbers. Typically, this isn’t too uncommon to have parents who have stand out athletes, it’s a good start, but it isn’t the whole thing.

What separates athletes with number that qualify from the athletes that make it to the next level are the athletes who know what they are doing in the recruiting process. Both families that I had spoken with had no idea that the recruiting process started freshman year! They thought that since they were going into their junior year that they were on the ball because this is typically the first year of varsity athletics. Not the case.

Today represents the first time that DI and DII schools can send personalized recruiting materials to those recruits who they are watching and THAT THEY KNOW OF. Colleges could potentially have a high level of interest in the student athlete and want to see if the interest is mutual from the athlete. Unfortunately the family was not on par (no pun intended with the golfing family) with the recruiting process, but from a glass half full approach they have the time to play a nice game of catch up. Acting immediately on their new information they wanted to get going as soon as possible because they were pretty confident that they had not been on any radars to this point.

Like many families who sit back and wait for someone to discover their student athlete, September 1, 2010 is a big realization day to those families who think they have it covered. The call to action is out there to be proactive and cover your own bases. Luckily for Lynn and Preston they are already acting on September 1st epiphany to make their college choice to play basketball and golf a reality. The question though remains to the thousands of student athletes who go without mail today, how much longer are you going to wait for your future school to discover you? Be proactive and know the dates will put you ahead of the game and in front of the competition. Good luck today!