NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Coach, a college recruiter came to watch one of my teammates play last season, he probably evaluated me too right?

Coaches only perform in-person evaluations with recruits that have already gone through a thorough basic evaluation among the coaching staff.  The process starts long before that coach ever enters a high school stadium.

The reality is that, with the new age of technology, coaches start by evaluating recruits online.  With the ability to conveniently view online recruiting profiles and highlight videos, this is where most college coaches will start.  Recruits cannot wait back and hope that they will be noticed or seen by a coach.

If a student-athlete has any thought of playing in college, he or she needs to get a varsity recruiting highlight film edited, and get it posted online.  The assistance of a third party to professionally edit the video and post it online so it can be easily viewed is also extremely helpful.

Remember, coaches evaluate recruits online.  Recruits must be proactive, gather your information and get it out there.  Third parties are extremely beneficial to help recruits streamline the process and maximize recruiting potential.

Coach, do my grades actually matter?  I have talent but I haven’t done well in class.

YES!  Grades are extremely important.  The better a student-athlete’s grades in high school, the more opportunities will be available.  The better a recruit’s grades, the more scholarship potential is available.

Not only are grades a key indication of work ethic, but they can also be a potential tiebreaker between recruits.  If a coach or recruiter is stuck between two student-athletes very similar to each other, the decision could come down to academics.  The student with a better class record is often going to be the young adult that is more dedicated and will work harder.

Also, remember that there are many schools offering elite non-scholarship athletic programs.  Non-scholarship does NOT mean that the school does not offer any scholarships, it only means they are not allocated specific athletic scholarships.  Merit-based and academic scholarships are still very available for athletes in these programs.  In cases like this, the better a recruit’s grades, the more money he or she will be able to receive.

Academic success is a great indicator of work ethic, character, and dedication.  Even if a student-athlete’s test scores are low, success in the classroom is the best example of hard work off the field.  These hard working young people are exactly the people that all coaches would love on their team.