Researching Schools
How to Research Schools Athletically
1. Keep an open mind – It’s important to go into the recruiting process with an open mind. Some kids just want a scholarship, want to play D1, want to go to a popular college everyone has heard of, and they ignore hundreds of programs that have opportunities for them.
2. Skill assessment – How do your skills apply to different college programs? This is one of the most important steps; otherwise, it will be extremely difficult to build a list of schools. History of past players – where have past players from your school gone and how have they fared. How did your skill-level match up to their ability at the same time period? How do you fare against players on your team, in your league, in your region, in your state, in the country?
3. Researching programs
WHAT IS THE GOAL?
To have “X” number of schools you “may” be interested in and that might be a fit for your skills and desires. The number will vary depending on your skills (athletic and academic) and desires.
STARTING THE PROCESS
1. Initial contact with coach – All college coaches rely on student-athletes contacting them. Contact can start with a letter or email, filling out recruit form on website, or placing a phone call.
2. Phone call – Coaches like to hear from recruits so calling a college coach accomplishes two things. One, it shows a coach you took some initiative to contact them, and two, it shows the coach you have some maturity and are taking action on your own. The goal of an initial call is not to get recruited but to simply introduce yourself and give the coach a little more information on your desires for college. Many people try to impress coaches with stats and honors and that doesn’t really work.
3. Recruiting tools – Resume, video, letter, schedules, and recommendations.
4. Contact – Contact coaches to determine the next step in the process. Visit school, ask more questions, find out if the coach is interested or has the ability to see you play.
5. Activity – Putting yourself in front of college coaches. Travel teams, tournaments, showcases, camps, tryouts. Find events that will help get your skills in front of coaches.
6. Finding a match/interest – Often a recruit wants to go to a school that is not interested in recruiting them, and a coach wants a recruit that is not interested in the school. If both parties are not interested, you need to move on to other schools and the coach needs to move on to other recruits. Having more schools on your list will provide more options.
THE 7 QUESTIONS WE ASK RECRUITS TO ASK THEMSELVES
1. Can I be accepted to this school based on my academic record?
If you cannot get accepted, the rest of the questions are irrelevant and you need to look at other schools.
2. Do I have the athletic skill to play for this school?
If you don’t have the skills to compete at a certain program, what will the benefit of attending be if you cannot play?
3. Does the coach have the ability to evaluate my skill somehow?
If the coach cannot evaluate your skills in a reasonable manner, they will have a difficult time recruiting you and will most likely recruit other players they have seen play in person that they feel more confident in.
4. Is this coach truly interested in having me play for their program?
If the coach is not interested in having you, it’s not a good opportunity. If they are calling you, want to meet you, or want to see you play - they are interested. If you are calling and they are not returning your calls, they probably are not that interested.
5. Can I afford to go to this school?
There are many colleges that offer similar academic programs and going into debt to pay for school can have long-term consequences with student loans when you graduate.
6. Does this school offer academic programs I am interested in?
The goal of college is to grow as an individual and further your knowledge in a particular area that interests you. If the school doesn’t offer the programs you are interested in, then why would you want to go there, because the coach wants you to? Not good enough. You don’t need to pick a career, but you should have an idea of things you are interested in. If you don’t, you need to find a school that has many different programs.
7. Will I be happy and successful at this school?
Feeling good about the school you attend from a social, academic and athletic standpoint is important.
(The coach is asking the same 7 questions about each recruit they are interested in.)
The national graduation rate for all students that enter four-year colleges is 60% from the initial school they enrolled in. In most cases, students transfer because they did not do enough investigation into the school. In many cases, athletes transfer because they chose the wrong program and did not get the playing time they expected or thought they deserved. Much of this can be traced back to these 7 questions above.
HOW ATHLETICS PLAYS A ROLE IN ADMISSIONS
College coaches gauge interest from prospects, evaluate their academic qualifications, and decide whom they would like to push for based on their own evaluations and the feedback they get from prospects. Coaches present lists of recruits to the admissions department that have expressed interest in the program and interest attending the school. In order to get your name on this list, it’s important that you express to the coach your desire to attend. Admissions spots (not just for athletes) are limited. If a coach senses you are not that interested, they will not push admissions for you. Admissions will provide coaches pre-reads on student-athletes based on their academic record and this tells the coach whether or not a prospect that applies is likely to be accepted. There is no certainty, but you can gain advantages over regular applicants and in many cases gain acceptance to colleges that would be out of your reach academically had you not been a recruited student-athlete. This is a powerful tool in the college application process and one that should be taken advantage of. If you can combine your athletic talent with an extremely strong academic record, you can make yourself even more attractive to coaches and admissions, and in many cases, garner thousands of dollars in academic and merit aid to prestigious universities and other colleges looking to attract talented students away from well-known programs
1. Keep an open mind – It’s important to go into the recruiting process with an open mind. Some kids just want a scholarship, want to play D1, want to go to a popular college everyone has heard of, and they ignore hundreds of programs that have opportunities for them.
2. Skill assessment – How do your skills apply to different college programs? This is one of the most important steps; otherwise, it will be extremely difficult to build a list of schools. History of past players – where have past players from your school gone and how have they fared. How did your skill-level match up to their ability at the same time period? How do you fare against players on your team, in your league, in your region, in your state, in the country?
3. Researching programs
- Past success - Successful teams always have more recruits interested in playing for a successful program. Makes getting the coaches attention more difficult.
- Schedule/Commitment – How often does the team compete, who do they compete against, how far away to they travel to compete, how often does the team practice?
- Roster – Determine where the coach actively recruits, what positions they might be looking to fill, where they have an abundance of players, year of players?
- Division – There are many variables and we usually tell families not to judge a school or program by division. Judge it by talent it attracts, who they play and past success.
- Current recruiting class – Who is the coach currently recruiting, how many players, for what positions. How does this affect you?
- Distance – Do you mind being far from home, do your parents want to see you play, do you want to play in warm weather, do you mind playing in colder weather?
- Local Talent – Where does the coach typically recruit from, what is the local talent like in the surrounding area of the school?
- Academic Qualifications – Keep academic qualifications in mind when researching schools athletically. There is some wiggle room, but you need to be close academically.
WHAT IS THE GOAL?
To have “X” number of schools you “may” be interested in and that might be a fit for your skills and desires. The number will vary depending on your skills (athletic and academic) and desires.
STARTING THE PROCESS
1. Initial contact with coach – All college coaches rely on student-athletes contacting them. Contact can start with a letter or email, filling out recruit form on website, or placing a phone call.
2. Phone call – Coaches like to hear from recruits so calling a college coach accomplishes two things. One, it shows a coach you took some initiative to contact them, and two, it shows the coach you have some maturity and are taking action on your own. The goal of an initial call is not to get recruited but to simply introduce yourself and give the coach a little more information on your desires for college. Many people try to impress coaches with stats and honors and that doesn’t really work.
3. Recruiting tools – Resume, video, letter, schedules, and recommendations.
4. Contact – Contact coaches to determine the next step in the process. Visit school, ask more questions, find out if the coach is interested or has the ability to see you play.
5. Activity – Putting yourself in front of college coaches. Travel teams, tournaments, showcases, camps, tryouts. Find events that will help get your skills in front of coaches.
6. Finding a match/interest – Often a recruit wants to go to a school that is not interested in recruiting them, and a coach wants a recruit that is not interested in the school. If both parties are not interested, you need to move on to other schools and the coach needs to move on to other recruits. Having more schools on your list will provide more options.
THE 7 QUESTIONS WE ASK RECRUITS TO ASK THEMSELVES
1. Can I be accepted to this school based on my academic record?
If you cannot get accepted, the rest of the questions are irrelevant and you need to look at other schools.
2. Do I have the athletic skill to play for this school?
If you don’t have the skills to compete at a certain program, what will the benefit of attending be if you cannot play?
3. Does the coach have the ability to evaluate my skill somehow?
If the coach cannot evaluate your skills in a reasonable manner, they will have a difficult time recruiting you and will most likely recruit other players they have seen play in person that they feel more confident in.
4. Is this coach truly interested in having me play for their program?
If the coach is not interested in having you, it’s not a good opportunity. If they are calling you, want to meet you, or want to see you play - they are interested. If you are calling and they are not returning your calls, they probably are not that interested.
5. Can I afford to go to this school?
There are many colleges that offer similar academic programs and going into debt to pay for school can have long-term consequences with student loans when you graduate.
6. Does this school offer academic programs I am interested in?
The goal of college is to grow as an individual and further your knowledge in a particular area that interests you. If the school doesn’t offer the programs you are interested in, then why would you want to go there, because the coach wants you to? Not good enough. You don’t need to pick a career, but you should have an idea of things you are interested in. If you don’t, you need to find a school that has many different programs.
7. Will I be happy and successful at this school?
Feeling good about the school you attend from a social, academic and athletic standpoint is important.
(The coach is asking the same 7 questions about each recruit they are interested in.)
The national graduation rate for all students that enter four-year colleges is 60% from the initial school they enrolled in. In most cases, students transfer because they did not do enough investigation into the school. In many cases, athletes transfer because they chose the wrong program and did not get the playing time they expected or thought they deserved. Much of this can be traced back to these 7 questions above.
HOW ATHLETICS PLAYS A ROLE IN ADMISSIONS
College coaches gauge interest from prospects, evaluate their academic qualifications, and decide whom they would like to push for based on their own evaluations and the feedback they get from prospects. Coaches present lists of recruits to the admissions department that have expressed interest in the program and interest attending the school. In order to get your name on this list, it’s important that you express to the coach your desire to attend. Admissions spots (not just for athletes) are limited. If a coach senses you are not that interested, they will not push admissions for you. Admissions will provide coaches pre-reads on student-athletes based on their academic record and this tells the coach whether or not a prospect that applies is likely to be accepted. There is no certainty, but you can gain advantages over regular applicants and in many cases gain acceptance to colleges that would be out of your reach academically had you not been a recruited student-athlete. This is a powerful tool in the college application process and one that should be taken advantage of. If you can combine your athletic talent with an extremely strong academic record, you can make yourself even more attractive to coaches and admissions, and in many cases, garner thousands of dollars in academic and merit aid to prestigious universities and other colleges looking to attract talented students away from well-known programs