What is Your Recruiting RZ (Red Zone)? Be Ready When You Get There!

When Coaches Buckle Down and Come at You, Will You Be Ready?

Every high school prospect that is eventually recruited will at some point enter the RZ, that is, their own recruiting Red Zone.  That’s where every move, email, voice mail, phone call, in-person meeting, text, Facebook post or Tweet counts as a gain or a loss with interested coaches. 

Like football, your RZ deserves separate attention from the goings-on of the normal, daily recruiting routine.  Intensity and focus on execution jump up a notch.  Connecting with and impressing coaches, attending camps, having readily available video in their hands when they want it, continually updating your profile information and building solid relationships with coaches — that’s the hard work of getting to the RZ   But, once you have arrived it’s what you do with the opportunity staring at you across the line that truly matters to everyone concerned — you, your family and the college coaching staff. 

The RZ is where coaches turn serious about their interest in you and begin the final weeding out process.  You can take nothing for granted.  Every play on your end is a strategic move and takes you closer or farther from your goal — a scholarship offer.  A smart move puts you closer.  A dumb mistake is a set back and can end your hopes with that coach and school. 

For instance, familiarity with a coach and staff does not give you the liberty to call them by their first names or to disregard their attempts to contact you.  Several years ago, I was working with a great, DI-caliber softball player.  A regional DI coach had made contact with her and was impressed with their initial conversation.  So much so that the coach had moved the prospect into the top five of her recruiting list.  The girl had, indeed, entered the RZ with that coach.  But then disaster hit.  One afternoon the coach called the girl to build on their relationship and to invite the girl on an official visit.  When the girl answered her cell phone, here was the conversation which ensued:

“Whitney, this is Coach Smith.”

“Hi, Donna, can I call you back in about an hour?  I’m at the mall with my friends and am really busy right now.”

“That’s okay.  I’ll call you back another time.”

That exchange ended the prospect’s chances with the coach and any chance the girl had of receiving a scholarship offer.  Her disrespect for the coach by presumptively calling the coach by her first name and then blowing off the coach in lieu of shopping with her friends doomed her status with the coach. It was a perfect example of a RZ flameout.

Being cognizant of what can potentially happen in the RZ is your first challenge.  What questions should you be prepared to answer?  Which weekends will your schedule be free for an official visit?  How will you respond if the coach comes out and makes you an offer?  What posture should you assume when communicating with the staff?  These and many other situations will rush at you like a full-on blitz package on third down and long on the opponent’s thirty yard line.  Everything will stand in the balance of how you are prepared to handle the pressure and then how you execute your RZ plan. 

At NSR, our scouts are at the ready 24/7 to assist you as you prepare for the RZ rush.  And, your scout will be able to offer you alternatives to consider with every scenario you encounter.  Having that steady hand close by to consult with and to depend up0n is one of the strongest reasons so many prospects choose NSR as their scouting organization.  Our 32 years of experience in recruiting is handed down to our scouts through detailed and ongoing training programs.  You can count on your NSR scout to be there when you need him or her.  There a lot of comfort in knowing that your NSR scout always has your back.