Starting the College Recruiting Process For High School - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Starting the College Recruiting Process For High School Student-Athletes (SA’s) and Parents

Presenter: Matt Griffiths — Varsity Baseball Coach at Joel Barlow — Former Division 1 Baseball Player — 3 years as an Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Division I & III level — 7 years as a Head Coach at the NCAA Division III level Mattgriff50@gmail.com 845 546 5341 cell

WHERE TO BEGIN?? You are a High School student athlete interested in playing one or more sports in college. Between school, sports, planning for future ect, navigating the recruiting process can be a tall order…

Classic Initial Questions from SA’s — Am I good enough to play in college? — How do I get recruited, where do I start?

THE REALITY

The Reality : Recruiting Funnel (D1 example)

TYPES OF SPORTS PROGRAM — Division I – Full scholarships, partial scholarships, recruited walk-ons, walk-ons — Division II - Partial scholarships, recruited walk- ons, walk-ons — Division III - Recruited walk-ons, walk-ons — Club – Walk-ons — NAIA – Independent Association outside of NCAA

Changing Landscape Gone are days where coaches are burning pavement to see every high school game. SA’s who are not pro-active in the recruiting process put themselves at an extreme disadvantage . — Skills videos can be sent and viewed on the spot — Coaches are more accessible: e-mail, cell phone, text, and social media — Showcase-type events allow recruiters to see hundreds of athletes in one day

New Challenges for coaches and SA’s — Coaches inboxes are inundated with prospective student athletes inquiries and simply do not have the time or resources to vet every single player that expresses interest. — Showcase events and camps can be a significant financial burden for SA’s and parents — Facebook and other social outlets can have a very negative impact on recruiting — While coaches are more readily accessible, ineffective communication from SA’s can end the recruiting process before it begins — Number of students competing for spots (athletically and academically) is larger than ever SA’s can easily become overwhelmed and intimidated without a coordinated and collaborative process

How Can Student-Athletes best position themselves? With a little bit of know how, planning, and process the student athletes can put themselves in the best possible position to find a college that meets all objectives. — Knowing what you want (specifics) — Organization and Planning — Showcasing, Skills Videos, Visits — Effective communication — Admissions and Academics — Tracking and follow through

Knowing what you want: to find the right fit Create a list of at least 20 schools that fit YOUR criteria. Considering factors might include: — Distance from home — Academic programs are a fit (ask guidance counselor for help) — Size of school — Cost — Level of academic support — Competitiveness of athletic programs and coaching staff — Scholarship / Non Scholarship

Organization and Planning: Create a Recruiting Database ü Gather all coaches contact information and create one single database where all pertinent information is in one spot for quick reference and tracking. Database can include: — All target schools name into database on one tab — Application deadlines (RA, EA, ED) — Head/ Asst Coaches name and contact info — Fields to track scheduled visits, notes from conversations, and Next Steps — Share with High School coach and work collaboratively

Organization and Planning: Recruiting Database (example)

Showcasing, Skills Videos, Visits: Choosing showcases and creating opportunities for coaches to see you play — Pick and choose showcases that some or all of your target schools have attended in the past — Always communicate which ones you’ll be attending — Keep coaches up to date with regular season game schedules, summer or travel team schedules — Be creative – ask HS coach to provide dates where coach can attend a workout at school

Showcasing, Skills Videos, Visits: Utilization of technology: Skills Videos — Keep it short and informative — Include basic Bio with video (either in description or with e-mail). Name, Position (s), Grad Year, GPA, High School, e-mail, Phone, HS coaches phone & e-mail — Most importantly make it easy for coach to watch by sending a link (best), or portable drive — Ask coach for help DO NOT: — Waste $$ on high quality production, no bells/whistles — Send full game tapes unless coach asks

Showcasing, Skills Videos, Visits: Recruiting Video Examples — https://youtu.be/rpnJr3OeQoM?t=1s — https://youtu.be/u2AFmNfmSMk — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxuLIOjvBL0 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB3Fvc0qbTI — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJno-m3ndpc

Showcasing, Skills Videos, Visits: Types of visits Unofficial (Informational) On your dime — Admissions tours — Informational, coaches may or may not be available to meet — Official (Recruiting Event) School is paying for transportation and/or meals — Stay on campus for up to 48 hrs with current athletes — See a practice/game and/or attend a class — Deep dive tour of all facilities — Great chance to ask players questions — Home Visits (Mostly high level D1 Recruiting Event) Coach is traveling to your home, sometimes will make on spot — Good indication you are a top recruit —

Effective communication: Getting on Radar 1. First, always fill out a prospective student questionnaire on website 2. Follow-up with a brief e-mail and/or call and have HS coach also follow-up. Continue to follow-up with updates. — Initial contacts should be brief, personal, and to the point. — State your purpose in reaching out. — Provide opportunity for coach to see you play (showcases, games) — Include info such as class, position, contact information, and grades. — Make it easy for coach to respond — Record ALL interactions good or bad in database

How interested are they?

Effective communication: Example Email (Coach to Coach)

Effective communication: DO NOTS! — Send form letters out to 100’s of coaches — Ask coach to do too much — Send too much information too quick — Get frustrated if no response after one attempt, this is common (on average you will get a response after the 3 rd or 4 th meaningful attempt, you can utilize transcripts videos, test scores, as reasons for additional attempts) — Send multiple e-mails a day, or even a week when no response

Effective communication: Example E-mail – Student athlete to coach

Effective communication: Sample Questions to Ask on Phone/In Person How many players are you looking to bring in next years class, positions? — How much academic support is offered to student athletes? — Travel and missed classes? — Practice schedule and format? — Time commitment in season vs out of season? — Expectations on field, classroom? — When are recruiting dead periods? — What do you look for in a player? How do you rank your recruits? — Do Athletes typically house together, is it expected or mandated? — *Important for the SA to take the driver seat with questions vs parent, most especially for questions relating to playing time or similar inquiries *Appropriate for parents to ask about academics, scholarship info, department support, fundraising, game schedules, logistics, and travel

Effective Communication: Quite / Dead Periods — Contact Period: This is pretty much what you would expect. During this time coaches can have face-to-face contact with athletes including visiting schools and watching competitions. — Evaluation Period: During this period, coaches can watch athletes compete, visit their high schools, and write or phone athletes. However, the coach can’t have any off-campus contact with the athletes. — Quiet Period: The only face-to-face contact allowed during this time is on the college campus. Phone and email/letter contacts are allowed. — Dead Period: No face-to-face contact allowed on or off campus. Only calls, letters, and emails are allowed.