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The recruiting process has become a complex process. And it is a nagging problem for families that cannot be solved by joining a club or travel squad, making all-whatever or relying on coaches to get their athlete exposed to college coaches. This Generation Z recruiting environment is tough and parents should prepare for it to be a long, bumpy ride. The immortal Yogi Berra famously said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” But in recruiting, when parents go solo, it really can be over before it’s over.
It happens every day – the really good high school athlete who doesn’t go on to play college sports. It’s a shame. Chances are that you know a number of local athletes who had the talent to advance to the college level, but were instead ignored or overlooked altogether. It could have been avoided if parents had taken a broader view of the problem, sought out reliable information and taken steps to put their child in the position of having coaches clamoring for their services upon graduation.
Sheila Thiery is a highly successful high school scout in Southwest Ohio for National Scouting Report. She says, “The downside to parents handling the recruiting process is that it is very time consuming. In most families, both parents work, so someone must take on the second job of being the (person who promotes the athlete). Another big downside is that it can cause feuds between the athlete and the parents. We as parents know what they should be doing, so we hound them to do it, because we know we’d like them to get a scholarship and give us a return on investment.” Somewhere along the line the ball inevitably gets dropped.
Think of it as job hunting in a very congested but selective hiring market — like what your child will have to do after earning a college degree. Companies today are searching for specialists with a relatively flat learning curve that can join their ranks, get up to speed quickly and contribute to their operation. And they start their search for new hires months, if not years, in advance. Same goes with college recruiting. You wouldn’t expect your graduate to start looking for a job once their diploma is in hand. That would be totally unrealistic.
Yet, parents frequently wait far too late to start promoting their athlete to coaches. Stacey Harris has scouted the Bay Area of California for NSR for nearly ten years. “Most parents think the recruiting process starts between their kid’s junior and senior year, so in most cases it’s too late for the schools they are considering. And who are they sending the correspondence to? Most parents use a general email they find on the school’s website and not the assistant coach (recruiting) their area.”
Added Northwest Georgia NSR scout Mike Ewing: “The main downside to parents electing to go it alone is that they end up calling me last minute asking for help. Parents have a difficult time because they don’t have the relationships with coaches that we do. Coaches don’t want to talk to the parents. Parents also underestimate the amount of time it takes to promote kids.”
College coaches are on the line every day. Their job is to be successful, not just sit behind a desk and look good in a logo polo shirt. To be successful, they are constantly on the lookout for prospects who will upgrade their team, fill holes in their roster, and quickly develop into players they can call on to make a difference — a positive difference. And coaches are definitely starting the process earlier than parents realize. It’s not just D-I programs scouting freshmen. That’s shocking to many parents.
So to understand the situation better, it’s important for parents to understand that college coaches are handcuffed to a degree. They can only be successful in the recruiting war with competing coaches if they have as many prospects as possible from which to evaluate, develop relationships and recruit. When parents pick the path of contacting a few coaches on their own when there are literally thousands of coaches out there in need of recruits, not only are they limiting their child’s opportunities, but they are also cutting off the coaches from learning about their athlete. Nobody wins in that scenario.
We connected with an on-the-ground high school scout and college recruiter, Larry Perrin, who scours the southwest corner of Tennessee and Northern Mississippi for NSR looking for quality high school athletes. His take? “When parents send emails to coaches, the fact is, (the emails) do not get looked at,” he said. ” Many staffs have recruiting analysts who spend all day cleaning out the inboxes of recruiting coordinators and position coaches so that they only see the emails from trusted sources.” Unlike, say, 10 years ago, parents are no longer in that group.
So beware. Do your research. Take in the larger picture. Accept your limitations. Then give your child the very best shot at being seen and recruited.
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.