There are parents who believe that they are the ones being recruited by college programs.  Some parents feel they lost something years ago and want to recapture it again by being overly involved in the college recruiting process.

As a college recruiter, I spent many hours on the phone talking with parents and most of them believe that they should be in control.

Because these parents were paying me, I kind of went along with it to a certain degree.  I kinda told them it was OK to do certain things when it came to them and their involvement with college coaches.  But the truth is that college programs would rather deal with the student athlete 99.9% of the time and not talk to the parents at all if possible.

When you really think about it, it’s the student athletes who are going to college to play sports, not the parents. Sometimes the parents can get in the way and this could be a major turn off to college coaches.

I do believe parents should take part in assisting throughout the college recruiting process.  There are things that parents can do that high school student athletes are not capable of doing. Mailing DVD’s is going to cost money and even getting the DVD’s produced cost money; that can be the parent’s responsibility along with the crafting of an email or handwritten letter.  Parents can be a valuable asset throughout the college recruiting process because of their years of experience and wisdom.

We all know parents want the best for their kids and even when it comes to choosing the right college program.  Parents understand what it means to receive an all expenses-paid college education.  I believe this is why parents sometimes are overly involved during the college recruiting process-they truly understand by picking the right college for their kids could have a huge lifelong positive affect on the rest of their lives.

When a college coach does finally call your house and your son or daughter is not home and you happen to take the call just take a message from that coach. Be very cordial but also be very quick with your response.  If you’re on the phone with a coach longer than 2 minutes then you’re doing something wrong.  If the coach asks you a question that’s different, answer the question then maybe ask a good follow-up question and then get off the phone.  The last thing a college coach wants to do is to spend a bunch of unnecessary time talking to a parent and having to explain to that parent anything about recruiting.

Final thoughts: The college recruiting process is not easy and one thing I know that is true is many parents are willing to do whatever it takes to see that their child is a success.  With that being said, there are some simple unwritten rules that parents should go by.  Basically, one thing that parents should understand is to not be pushy and not to be out front and overly involved in every situation as it relates to recruiting and dealing with the college coaches.

Parents can have an active role in the process of getting exposure for their son or daughter who is looking to play college athletics. It is important because the parents are the ones who have been investing dollars into their student athlete’s athletic future and probably will continue to do so.

The bottom line in all of this recruiting business is the parents need to understand to be smart and everything will work out.

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