For high school senior prospects, the more choices, the better

Options are rare for most prospects, but they are attainable if you choose the right route

High school senior prospects too frequently are forced to settle for accepting an offer from the one school that finds them.  Why is this, you ask?  It’s typically because parents have bought into the erroneous idea that participating in club or travel sports will automatically result in tons of coaches seeing them and making them offers.

This thought process is understandable, but it is not real world recruiting.  Yes, club and travel tournaments, showcases and related events are where college coaches do most of their eyes-on recruiting.  But, the fallacy of this supposition revolves around the fact that nearly every college coach attending these events already know who they are going to evaluate when they arrive.  They have already received info on prospects from, and this is the key, reliable sources.  And, in truth, mamma and daddy aren’t the reliable sources college coaches depend upon. Never have been.  Never will be.

Look, there are dead end streets in recruiting.  They lead to nowhere.  For instance, getting your name in the local newspaper.  Fun and exciting, but it’s a dead end.  Being selected to the post season All-This or All-That?  Everybody who is recruited to play college sports is All-This or All-That.  So, those are roads to nowhere, too.  Coaches aren’t waiting for these lists to come out to start their recruiting process.

What about the high school, club or travel coach?  Is he  or she going to realistically be your promoter to multiple colleges?  Think about it.  How much time would it take for your coach to promote you?  How many letters would he or she have to send?  How many phone calls?  When is there time in his or her busy, busy schedule to focus on you and your dreams of playing college sports?  And, you’re just one athlete on the team.  Where do you fit into that equation?  Not good, huh?

Choices – that’s what every high school prospect wants.  And the way to get those choices?  First, you must get in the recruiting process early.  Second, you must be aggressive.  Third, you must hit as many schools as possible; hundreds are not too many and there are hundreds of schools that may want you.  Third, you must be ardent about following up with each exposed opportunity which presents itself.  Fourth, you must have a guide, a resource which intimately gets what is going and how to take full advantage of your options.