Early Signing Period is Exciting, but the Recruiting Season is Far from Over

Unsigned Seniors Don’t Panic, There’s Still Time to Connect with Coaches

That’s good news for the thousands of prospects who, when seeing and reading about other prospects around their area and the country signing NLI’s and posing for the media following their signing ceremonies, tend to panic while wondering if their opportunity to secure a scholarship has passed.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Many college coaches do indeed attempt to sign their top recruits during the ESP.  They want to put the process and pressure behind them and concentrate on their current team and the next recruiting class.  But it is, in fact, rare to see a coach sign an entire recruiting class during the ESP.

Things happen.  Prospects expected to sign sometimes change their minds.  Some kids choose to wait until the Late Signing Period to see if additional offers surface.   Coaches make offers to higher level prospects, which they have no realistic chance of signing.  And, some coaches simply prefer only to sign a few recruits during the ESP.  They know from experience there will be “floaters” available.  These are the kids who believed that offers from their favorite schools would materialize but didn’t, leaving the kids hanging onto a dream and a prayer without other options.  In short, nearly every college team in America has roster openings following the ESP.

Then there are the real life surprises which inevitably occur to a team.  These are the out-of-the-blue things no one expects, or hopes will befall a player, coach, and team.  Check out a few of these surprises which happen every year:

• Academic casualties
• Performance issues
• Attitude problems
• Debilitating injuries
• Personality conflicts
• Financial problems
• Transfers
• Coaching changes

Going by NCAA numbers alone, nearly 70 percent of all athlete’s sign their NLI’s during the Late Signing Period.  Nervous prospects, at ease.  There is time to spare, and opportunities await.  It’s what you do with that time which is the key to your future.

Here are some strategy points for seniors to consider:

• If you are not receiving any attention from college coaches, you have three choices:  A) Start a letter writing, email, and phone call campaign at once.  Contact every college in your region, not just in your area.  Have your complete resume and video ready to send to any coach who shows you interest.  Know that the availability of video footage is the most important element in the initial recruiting phase.  B) Ask your high school or club coach to go to work on your behalf.  C) Contact a professional scouting and recruiting organization (National Scouting Report) to start an aggressive promotional campaign for you.
• Contact every college coach who sent you a questionnaire over the past three years.  Ask point-blank if he or she still has an opportunity available for you.  If so, get your profile and current video in their hands ASAP.
• Give only cursory credence to what you may have heard about any college coach or program, positive or negative.  You are uniquely qualified to determine which college situation is right for you.  The experiences of others are their life lessons, not yours.  If a college coach has an interest in recruiting you, forget the flag raisers and naysayers.  Explore that opportunity with an open mind.  It could be the best school and situation for you.