Video Accessibility is Your Key to Being Evaluated and Recruited

College athletic recruiting is a complex process which at its core largely depends upon two key elements: the number of evaluations you receive from coaches and quality of the relationships you build with them, aspects which few prospects and parents fully appreciate.

Getting lots of looks is essential. The more you get, the better your chances of being recruited and receiving offers.  But, merely making all-conference, -region or -state teams isn’t enough because, frankly, college coaches pay little, if any, attention to these lists. Championships are cool, but do they really matter to a coach? No. Participating in club or travel sports is almost always a resume requirement, but that step up in commitment still pales to giving coaches what they absolutely need to do an initial eval — video.

Padding a resume is fine, but what really counts in recruiting is how many coaches have easy accessibility to your skill and/or game footage. With this essential tool, coaches can start the most important part of the process: athletic, academic and character evaluation. Then, the relationship building can start in earnest. Taking the proper steps to establish any meaningful relationship is more involved than you might expect. Getting to know coaches, campuses, facilities, academic offerings and a college’s general surroundings are not things which can be accomplished over the Internet or via drive-by look-sees. They all take time and the more you can spread out those activities, that is years, not months, the more knowledge and experience you will build and the more options you should eventually corral. 

Leaning on archaic ideas of how the recruiting process once worked is often the barrier separating prospects from opportunities. “They will find you.” “I know somebody.” “Play on my team and I’ll get you exposed to the right coaches.” “Commit to this tournament. A lot of coaches will be there.” These are all claims which hold only a modicum of truth. In reality, your profile and video need to land on coaches’ desks first for you to have a reasonable shot at being properly evaluated and recruited. Everything else, i.e. the statements above, is a curve-ball approach which has very little chance of landing you an offer.

Assuming that relationship building is indeed at the heart of recruiting, rising 2012 seniors ideally should have entered the arena no later than the beginning of their sophomore year, or the fall of 2010.  2009 would have been even better.  From being initially identified, to multiple evaluations including video and in-person scouting, unofficial and official visits, the process to find the right fit for both the athlete and coach takes, you guessed it,  time.  And again, the more time you have to go through that process with multiple schools the better chance you have of making a sound, well-thought-out decision.  

Developing relationships is an exploration which is necessary and no prospect should attempt the cram it into a few months, but regretfully for thousands of prospects and parents doing so is more the norm than the exception.  Reason?  Prospects and parents are not informed properly of the recruiting timeline during the freshmen and sophomores years, or if they are informed, they simply don’t believe they will be left out.  They are also lulled into following those outdated concepts by people unfamiliar with the modern nuances of recruiting.  

The demands of everyday life alone make it difficult to fit in dozens of conversations, multiple visits and numerous camps.  But, to succeed, you have to find the time for them and understand that these are the things which are obligatory, albeit pain-in-the-butt, precursors to experiencing the joy of an athletic scholarship offer.  

At NSR, our aggressive methods of promoting your video will drastically increase the number of coaches which are currently evaluating and contacting you.  With your digitized video posted on your personal 10-page Web site, coaches everywhere will have 24/7 access to your considerable talents.  Monthly distribution of your profile and video link to every college coach in your sport puts your info directly into their hands.  And, you can specifically target coaches you want to receive your video as a junior or senior.  With this exposure, hitting coaches where it really counts, you will reach coaches you did not know about or great college opportunities you never realized could be yours. 

And, as you enter and go through the recruiting process, your personal NSR scout and a dedicated team of home officer personnel have your back with helpful advice and continual promotional efforts on your behalf.