The Fit Athlete Always Wins Coaches’ Attention

Staying In Shape Year Round Is a Must for the High School Prospect

Panting like you’re on Biggest Loser.  Hands on knees and hips.  Glazed-over eyes.  Depleted strength.  Low energy. These are all signs of poor conditioning. And, college coaches notice.

Prospects that want to make a lasting impression on college coaches have to take year round conditioning seriously. Four years ago, I recommended to a DII women’s coach that she take a look at a point guard I was working with through NSR. She was a great athlete. Small, but she handled the ball extremely well, saw the floor as well as any player, boy or girl, that I had seen in years. Superb passer. Great outside shot. Hard worker on defense. Never gave her coach a minute of trouble. Solid grades. Good family. These qualities all added up to a desirable DII athlete.

The high school season was little more than a month from being completed and DII hoops coaches were bringing in their top prospects for workouts with their team. This kid had it all and could wrap up an offer if she performed well. And, because of my longstanding relationship with the coach, she definitely had an advantage walking in the door.

The tryout was set up a week in advance. Even with the regular and post season having ended a mere three weeks back, she had slacked off in her daily workouts. Yes, she was still doing shoot-arounds a few days a week with some friends at school, but she wasn’t running the floor or doing any road work. Her stamina was down, but she still had time to get back into decent shape if she poured herself into it for five or six days. She didn’t.

My expectations for this prospect were high. I had seen her at her very best and was confident that she knew what was at stake. Instead, she took it in stride and showed up on the college campus unprepared. Within minutes of up-and-down trips, she was gassed. Her abilities had eroded with her lack of conditioning and every part of her game was subpar. She had lost that quick first step she was known to have and take advantage of in one-on-one matchups. Because her legs had turned to water, she fatigue hit her full on. Her vision and body strength was overtaken by exhaustion. Her shots fell far short of the mark. Her passes were listless. Her shot at a scholarship dissipated in a matter of thirty minutes.

Anticipating a completely different outcome, I called the coach that afternoon expecting to hear about all the good things the prospect had brought to bear. I expected the coach to wax poetic about the incredible talents this young woman had displayed. Instead, what I heard was surprising, disappointing and heartbreaking. “That was the worst tryout I have seen in 25 years of coaching,” she said. “She couldn’t keep up and she couldn’t show me anything because she was so out of shape. She was bending over and gasping for air after only four trips down the floor.”

Lesson learned, thank you. College coaches only seen prospects a few times a year, if that. When a prospect has an opportunity to show their stuff, it better be good, start to finish. Perhaps more importantly, prospects need to exhibit a degree of physical conditioning uncommonly strong compared to everyone else. It’s what they expect and when they see tired players, they question their commitment. It may not be fair, but they naturally project this scene a year or two in the future when their players have to stay in great shape twelve months of the year.

When coaches observe and evaluate players that show this commitment, regardless if it is during their season or in the off season, they know they have a prospect who respects their obligation to themselves, their team and to their sport. That’s when scholarship offers come in bundles. That’s when dreams are realized.