Every high school student athlete dreams of one thing being a college student athlete. Sometimes it is not easy going from high school athlete to college athlete therefore, any student athletes along with the help of their parents, high school coaches or other outside resources are heavily involved in helping student athletes reach the college level.
There are situations where student athletes and the individuals who are assisting them do make mistakes. No one is perfect; mistakes are bound to happen. I want to talk about three mistakes to avoid in the college recruiting process.
1. The lack of a real deal strategy: I believe that in the college recruiting process there has to be a starting point. The problem is that many student athletes and parents do not sit down to figure out a strategy to get their son or daughter recruited for college.
There are a lot of very talented student athletes; college coaches can’t recruit them all. As parents, what is your strategy to get your son or daughter’s name on the list of some college programs? Parents and student athletes often sit back and wait for college coaches to come to them when it should be the other way around.
Other than a strategy for contacting college coaches, what is your strategy for academic success? What is your strategy for the summer months which is a critical time for exposure? Parents and student athletes need to come together and figure out their strategies on how to contact these college programs.
You just cannot sit back and wait for coaches to contact you or wait until the last minute to decide which standardized tests to take. Without a real deal strategy many student athletes are going to miss out on the recruiting process and may end up in a college program beneath their athletic ability.
2. No academic vision: Outside of having a good grade point average, if you do not score high enough on the standardized tests, you will end up going to a junior college. This mistake is lack of planning and preparation for the standardized tests. I understand that taking the ACT or SAT can be a little bit intimidating and stressful. But if you prepare yourself in advance then you can eliminate anxieties and fears about taking this most critical test.
A strategy would be to take the study guide books on standardized tests with you during the summer months as you travel around the country participating in tournaments, camps and showcase events. I believe the summer months gives you the best time to study that way as the school year begins, you will be prepared to score very high on the standardized tests.
3. The summer months and exposure: I believe the recruiting process is about being seen by college coaches. Regardless of the sport, you need to participate in as many camps where college coaches are in attendance, tournaments where college coaches are there to evaluate players or showcase events where college coaches are present.
College recruiting has changed somewhat; it use to be that college programs would go to high school games to recruit players. Those days are over and it makes better sense for a college coach to see a large number of players in one setting. The mistake for parents and student athletes is not participating in a number of these events.
It’s very important to be seen by college coaches; they’re not going to recruit you until they can see you.
This entire process is one of planning starting from the 9th grade. Players, parents, and coaches need to have realistic goals for the student athlete, as well as guidance others with knowledge about the process. Some wait to long, and other start to others … either way, the biggest challenge is deciding what school is the "best fit" for the player. Research, research, and more research is important.
Your number one role is to provide information to all students about the academic requirements for high school graduation, college admission, and athletic participation. At the beginning of each academic year, provide the coaches of each sport the most up-to-date information from the athletic conferences—NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA. Provide additional college application information as appropriate.