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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