Do you think money can buy the college recruiting process for high school student athletes?
If money could buy the college recruiting process then all the rich kids in this country would end up receiving most of the attention from college coaches because they have the money to get the attention.
Money, in my opinion, does play a role because the college recruiting process is not free. You’re going to have to spend money to play AAU basketball and to be on a very good travel team regardless of the sport. Money is a factor throughout the college recruiting process because without it you may have a hard time gaining the attention of college coaches.
Talent and good grades are the key factors for any student athlete to stand out throughout the college recruiting process. No amount of money in the world can make an athlete superior over all other athletes, it’s just impossible. Either you have the talent to play at the college level or you don’t and money has nothing to do with it.
In my many years as a college recruiter, I have seen first-hand parents spending thousands of dollars on their kids to make them better athletes. These parents will get their kids specialized coaching and training to improve athletic ability and performance. Not a bad idea to get private coaching if you can afford it but just because you have that private coaching is no guarantee you’re going to get a scholarship. I’ve seen parents spend thousands of dollars to create recruiting portfolios and spend thousands of dollars more to mail stuff to college coaches who will only treat this stuff as junk mail.
Now don’t get me wrong, of course you’re going to have to spend money to gain the attention of college coaches but you should not have to take out a second mortgage on your house to do that. You should not have to forgo your summer vacation so you can get your son or daughter a professionally made Hollywood-type recruiting DVD made.
Because parents have the money and student athletes don’t, sometimes parents get a little bit crazy thinking that if they put a lot of money into this they will get results throughout the college recruiting process. On the flip side of this scenario there are many families throughout this country who have very little money but somehow their sons and daughters end up with a full scholarship.
I believe the best way to gain the attention of college coaches is to be seen by college coaches. Recruiting is like buying a car; you’re not going to buy a car because I told you about it over the phone or because I sent you some really nice pictures on what the car looks like. No, you’re going to want to see what the car looks like for yourself, you’re going to want to test-drive the car and find out how much this car costs and whether it’s worth the investment. Don’t you think recruiting is the same way in the eyes of college coaches? College coaches need to see players play and they need to see that player play a whole lot before they even think about wanting to give that kid a scholarship.
But hold on a minute. Your kid is not the only kid who can actually play, so now a whole new set of problems has presented itself. Student athlete vs. student athlete: which one will actually gain the attention of the coach over another student athlete in this never ending battle of recruiting?
So this is the part where some parents believe that if they can put some extra money into helping their kid get more exposure, this will give them the edge they need in the college recruiting process. Outside of trying to bribe a coach into giving your son or daughter a full athletic scholarship this will have very little impact in getting them that scholarship.
Money cannot buy the college recruiting process just like whatever part of the country you’re from makes no difference on who gets a college scholarship.
The bottom line in all of this comes down to talent. There are a lot of student athletes out there who don’t have talent so college athletics will not be a wise choice for them. There are some student athletes who are very good athletically and there is a place for these athletes to play at the next level.
Parents need to remember that to spend your money wisely throughout the college recruiting process but don’t ever make the mistake into thinking you can buy your way in.
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……College football recruiting is a sport all its own in this day and age and its a sport that consumes 365 days a year for college football coaches and Scouts alike. While all men were created equally college football programs were not. Some schools have an inherent advantage over others including market size proximity of players and past tradition…….College football players have a host of reasons to choose a school but common themes include winning championships path to the NFL and proximity to home.
College Gymnastics programs have hundreds of recruitable athletes interested in college scholarships. Most college gymnastics programs have a limited amount of money allocated to college recruiting.
……….In an article about college recruiting and receiving athletic scholarships I was struck by the following information from the dad of a highly recruited D1- A football player who had visited 21 colleges in 24 days found . The article states His father estimates the trips have cost 5 000. Think about that this kids parents care enough about him that they want him to find the perfect college fit. That 5 000 doesnt even include any other recruiting expenses such as SAT test preparation putting videos together and mailing them long distance phone calls to set up unofficial visits personal training expenses camps and combines attended medical bills incurred etc. Then I ask them what has been happening with college recruiting and there is nothing zippo nada. While that happens to blue-chip athletes only about 5 of the student athletes recruited by colleges are in that category.
It is kind of ridiculous the enormous expense that is required sometimes for parents to have to pay just to get their kids exposure to college coaches. It’s not free to try to contact 30 or 40 or even 50 the college programs. But if you don’t make an effort with recruiting your kid could end up not going to college at all.
Minooka DE Zach Colvin unfortunately learned the hard way that you don t have all the time in the world to make your decision..College athletics is a very serious business and universities cannot afford to sit around and wait for an offer to be taken. Sometimes the college coach may offer a scholarship to more than one student athlete and the one who responds the fastest gets the spot.
Coach Randy Taylor national recruiting expert and former college athlete and coach knows better than most that college sports recruiting is a first come-first serve business. College coaches always want to be first if they can get the jump on a top prospect no matter what age they will says Coach Taylor. Sills is one of a laundry list of young athletes who have committed to colleges early ..2008- Michael Avery a 64 Shooting Guard from California committed to Kentucky before actually knowing what high school he wanted to attend..2006- Dwayne Polee Junior committed to USC before ever playing a high school game..In 2007 Arizona basketball coach Lute Olsen offered two players that were not yet in eigth grade.The list goes on and on. Its a fact college recruiters are going after athletes at younger ages every year. What does this mean? Athletes should be going after coaches too..If a student athlete has interest in playing college sports he or she needs to get started immediately. Put together a recruiting video and compile a comprehensive recruiting profile. Then send all this information out with an introductory letter to hundreds of possible schools. Being proactive in the recruiting process is not an action reserved for juniors in high school. Being proactive and reaching out is a MUST for any athlete with college aspirations no matter the age. The process started yesterday and any student athlete hoping to play college sports must get on top of it..