Improving Your Recruiting Vision
February 22nd, 2012 - by47 seconds on the clock. You’re down six, facing 4th and 5 on your opponent’s 40.
You huddle up, get the count, and the center snaps the ball. Your QB takes a five-step drop, and he locks onto the star of your offense, a six-foot-six TE. He watches him off the line, he watches the break in his route and start off down the field. His eyes stay right on him.
Meanwhile, your scrappy little five-eight slot receiver ran a little curl just past the first down marker. Nothing flashy, but the guy is wide open because the defense pulled a safety to cover the tight end.
But your quarterback isn’t looking at his slot receiver. He guns it downfield to the big TE in double coverage – and gets picked off. The game is over.
What was going on? Why didn’t he hit the open man?
Because he didn’t have vision.
Out there in the recruiting world, athletes (in football and every other sport) make the same mistake every day. They get locked onto one target and miss the rest of what’s out there. In football, this can cost you a game. In recruiting, it can mean missing out on a life-changing opportunity.
So how do you avoid tunnel vision? Here are 5 tips:
1. Know Your Best Fit
Where is the best school for you? Each division level has their own guidelines for athletic ability, size, and academics. Make sure you’re qualified for the schools you reaching out to. Also be aware of what you want in a school, whether it’s big or small, urban or rural, target schools that you want to go to and are qualified to go to.
2. Keep Perspective
It’s easy to get caught up in the “Division I or nothing” trap. But Division I can be like that big tight end – you lock your eyes on it, and miss out on other, better opportunities that aren’t so obvious. Over 80% of all college opportunities in the United States are outside of Division I. There’s lots of scholarships, plenty of great teammates to compete alongside, and great academics. A college education will change your life, whether it’s Division I or not.
3. Find Great Academic Opportunities
Some of the best academic institutions in the world are Division III schools, including: University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both ranked by US News in the top 5 universities in the country; New York University, one of the nation’s top business schools; Carnegie Mellon University, among the best in the world for engineering and computer science; Johns Hopkins University, internationally renowned for medicine and biology, and Williams College, the nation’s top liberal arts school.
4. Cast a Wide Net
Even if there’s one school you are really interested in, don’t just apply there. Recruiting is highly competitive and well prepared recruits often contact coaches at more than a hundred schools. Just like a passer in football “goes through his reads,” you should have a first option, a second, and a third, all the way down the line. Don’t limit yourself. If you get into your top choice – great! If you don’t, you have other options, and you can still play college sports and get money towards your education.
5. Take Advantage of “Mismatches” on the Recruiting Field
A lot Division III and NAIA coaches don’t have the resources to start reaching out early, so if you get a jump on the process and contact them, you can find yourself with a wide-open path to a scholarship. Build that relationship early and keep on it, and you may find yourself far out in front of your competition.
Keep your vision, and you will find great opportunities. Don’t stare down that “one sure thing” and close yourself off from a world of possibilities. Get educated, stay flexible, change your life.
