Parents have high expectations when it comes to the college recruiting process especially when they’re spending their own money.
I’ve dealt with a lot parents as a college recruiter and many feel that if they can put some money on it the college recruiting process will work exactly how they want it to work. Because of that mindset, many parents of high school athletes have problems and I thought I would develop a list of 10 things I dislike about parents in the college recruiting process.
Ridiculous expectations when it comes to playing time. I’ve attended many high school sporting events and there have been times where I’m sitting there next to some out of control parent who’s complaining about how their kid is not getting enough playing time. Parents like that find every excuse in the world to find fault with the high school coach. These knucklehead parents will complain about the style of play, the outcome of the game or anything else that seems, in their opinion, wrong. This is why many college programs don’t want to have anything to do with parents at all.
Parents tell many lies. The college recruiting process sometimes comes down to stretching the truth. In all the years that I’ve been a college recruiter, I have heard some of the strangest lies coming of the mouths of parents. Parents will tell me or even college coaches that their son who plays basketball is 6’4 and 212 pounds. When more investigation is done, we find out that the kid is only 6’1 and 190 pounds. Stretching the truth about the GPA is also a problem but many parents do not have a problem with falsifying information because they think it will give their kid an advantage with college coaches.
Parents not knowing anything about the recruiting process. When it comes to the college recruiting process, a huge percentage of parents know absolutely nothing about how the college recruiting process works and many parents don’t care. Parents would rather let the high school coach be totally responsible for getting their kid recruited for college programs. If parents knew more about the college recruiting process they could better assist their student athlete and assist with all the many details that are involved in the college recruiting process.
Parents should not talk to college coaches. Parents should be involved in the college recruiting process but there should be limits. Some parents believe that they are the ones who are being recruited by college programs so therefore, they want to be the ones to place calls to college coaches, take phone calls from college coaches and dominate the conversation with college coaches. College coaches are only interested in the student athletes, not having some long, boring conversation with the parents.
Final thoughts: I truly believe parents want the best for their kids when it comes to going from high school athlete to college athlete. But parents need to take the time to understand the college recruiting process and stop blaming others for their lack of participation. The college recruiting process is not easy and, for the most part, it makes absolutely no sense which is why all parties who are involved in the process need to begin the college recruiting process very early. Give yourself enough time to try and make sense of what’s going on. Understand how to gain the exposure, understand how to build a strong list of college programs and also understand that things may not always go your way.
Mr. Woods,
While reading your post I was somewhat offended as a parent of an athlete. But as I read further I related to some of the thoughts and accusations you posted because through the years I have seen this by parents. Not all parents are created equal and you should at least rephrase some of the harshness put towards parents because in some situations there are HS coaches that process the same laziness you have spoken of about parents. Some know absolutely nothing about recruiting and I can name two instances where coaches should have been left out of the process all together. 1st instance; coach in particular was contacted about one player and the coach used this opportunity to push another player instead of the particular player in question. 2nd instance; parents were not notified at all about colleges making contact about a particular player. A lot of parents do all they can to help athletes and do all they can to help HS coaches. Parents are not always the enemy.
Thank you for your comments, they’re greatly appreciated. Sometimes I do speak very harshly about parents when it comes to the college recruiting process. Parents need to take back control from high school coaches. I’ve’ been a college recruiter for a long time and I’ve heard many complaints parents had about high school coaches, basically about how the coaches did absolutely nothing. I’ve also heard the anger and frustration from the high school coaches about how they feel towards parents.
The college recruiting process is not easy and, for the most part, it makes absolutely no sense but parents need to take control because they are the real power when it comes to the college recruiting process and getting the help they need for their child.
Once again, I would like to thank you for your comments and feel free to subscribe to our mailing list, its free to become a member.
No it is not an easy process. What everyone seems to easily forget it that it is about the future of a student athlete. A kid. Someone that relays on adults to guide him or her to a future. The decisions that adults make determine the route a kid will go. So we as adults need to take things a little more seriously.
The parents should take a proactive role in the college recruiting process when it comes too helping that student athlete with the many challenging decisions they will have to make. I still do believe that parents and high school coaches should work together more closely for the best interest of the student athlete.