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Summertime recruiting plans.
Ask yourself this question: When does my high school season take place?
Now ask yourself this question: When does a college season in my sport take place? The answer is the same time as your high school season does, which limits the ability of college coaches to find recruits during (their season) and your season, WHICH IS THE SAME SEASON!
While you may want to go to the beach, college coaches are at camps, tournaments, and showcases looking for recruits and your job is to make sure you are doing what is needed to put yourself in a better position to be recruited.
Here are several things you can think about....
Educating yourself - Most people don't learn the recruiting process until after it is too late, and they say, "well, had we known this or done that, we might have gotten more interest or exposure." The recruiting and college selection process, should not be attempted without knowing what is going on, what is required of you, and what action you need to take. Spend some time on this site reading the different articles we have posted, and consider purchasing our recruiting guide, The Making of a Student-Athlete. Remember, this site is run free of charge to any parents, students, and coaches who wish to access it and receives no money from advertising or sponsors. Your support will help keep the site running.
Come up with a plan - What do you want to accomplish athletically this summer? Do you want to play, do you want to go to camps and clinics, do you want to work out, do you need to work at a job to earn money, do you want to visit as many schools as possible, do you want to go to Australia and surf? Ask yourself what you think would be best and then find a way to accomplish that. Playing more doesn't mean playing better. Lifting weights doesn't mean you will get stronger. If you are receiving many inquiries or offers already from coaches, you might want to concentrate or skill-building this summer rather than working on "more exposure". Other players will need to focus on putting themselves in front of college coaches at schools they might want to play at.
It's never too early - While you shouldn't be picking a college major after your freshman year in high school, high school is simply a means to an end and inevitably you are probably going to college. The sooner you realize that everything you do in high school can impact your college career, the better off you will be. You should make sure you are on track academically and have a work ethic and desire to do well, not just on the field but in everything you do. Becoming a more successful high school student will give you more opportunities when it comes time to apply to college. It's also never too early to check out some schools. Since many families take driving trips in the summer, if you are in the area of some colleges, take a small detour and check out some campuses for a quick look.
Attend a camp - whether you were the star on your HS team this year or wore a hole in the bench, camps are a good way to learn new skills and gets lots of reps in. They are also a good way to meet other players in your state or region and get a read on where your skills fit in. As an added benefit many college coaches use camps to check out local players and some coaches will even ask you to attend their camp. Attending the Notre Dame camp as a 170 lb linebacker isn't going to get coach Weiss to recruit you, but there are plenty of players who are evaluated at college camps each summer, some by coaches who coach at other schools. You have to match your skills and desires up with the right college camp in order to make the college camp circuit work. Read - making the summer camp circuit work
Play on a travel team - If you have a desire to play college athletics further away from your home, you are going to have to go to where the coaches are and travel teams are one way to do so. They also give you exposure to other players throughout the country and that can help you get a better sense of how your skills match up to other players.
Attend a showcase - The word showcase is almost becoming a four letter word and there are so many showcases now that parents and college coaches have a hard time deciding which ones to attend. While showcases are simply one tool in the recruiting process, they are an important tool in the recruiting process, and allow a large number of coaches to see an even larger number of recruits in one place. Buyer beware, not all showcases are the same and some will have 40 college coaches in attendance and some will have 10. You should try to find out the format of each showcase and what schools will be in attendance. If you are a D3 talent and a showcase is attracting D1 coaches, then what benefit will that be to you? If they are schools you have no interest in, what is the benefit of attending, to be discovered by a coach at a school you don't have an interest in attending?
Take a break - Yes, everyone needs a small break now and then. If you just finished a rigorous high school season, you may need a few weeks off to recharge your batteries. This might not help you get recruited but it might help you stay sane!
Evaluate your strength and conditioning - If you just came off a spectacular high school season and you don't foresee the ability to gain a lot of skill over the summer, you may want to look into a strength and conditioning program. Becoming a little stronger, bigger, or faster, may be the extra edge you need to separate yourself from the competition.
Work on your weakness - Everyone has a weakness, but no one likes to work on things that are difficult or hard. How many kids do you see down at the courts on the summer shooting free throws, dribbling with their left hand, working on their backhands, etc....
Visit schools - While colleges are out for the year, save for summer school, you can visit a school and college coach at any time and until you visit multiple schools, you will have a difficult time deciding what you are looking for. Inevitably, you are going to visit schools you do not want to attend, to find one you might like to attend. Some tours fill up fast, so when in doubt, schedule a tour ahead of time if need be.
Call coaches - now that college coaches are done with their season, they are sitting at their desk waiting for recruits to call. Well, not always. Calling a coach directly can have a powerful effect on your recruiting process, but this is something that is rarely done by a recruit. Often high school players are shy or don't know what to say to a coach or ask a coach and they settle for a letter or email. Pick up the phone and dial, and watch what happens.
Make a video - Find someone with a video camera, a tripod and a brain; possibly the kid who works in the school library, give him $50 and go down to the field and shoot footage of various drills from different angles with your dad or coach or another player. Compile a tape about 6-10 minutes long and send it to coaches you have spoken with previously. Unsolicited tapes often end up in a round filing cabinet (i.e., trash can). Unfortunately many coaches need a reason to watch your tape before they invest the 10 minutes of time it takes but you have to understand they may have 200 tapes on their desk and if every tape was 10 minutes long they would have to spend over 30 hours just watching tape.
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