College Athletic Recruiting Process

The college athletic recruiting process can be a challenging time for parents and high school athletes. With over 1,100 NCAA schools and several hundred NAIA and Junior Colleges to choose from, researching and selecting programs to target can be daunting. There are many factors to consider such as what you want to study in college, what level you can potentially play at, what region of the country you want to be in, and how much you ultimately pay for college. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of recruiting is finding a way to display your skills in some capacity to college coaches so they can evaluate you. College coaches evaluate thousands of athletes each year. Some families achieve success through a strong high school athletic record, others turn to camps and showcases and other yet, use AAU and club/travel teams for exposure. There is no one way to be recruited. The process is different for every family and high school athlete.

The most important aspect of the recruiting process, we believe, is being able to match your skills and desires with a given program. While it would be amazing to run out of the tunnel of Notre Dame Stadium or play basketball for Kentucky, only a few elite athletes throughout the world will have that opportunity. Through no fault of their own, many high school athletes and families do not understand how recruiting really works and they often over-estimate their skills and abilities as it applies to college. This often leads to applying to colleges that are not a good fit for your skills and abilities. Your goal should be to identify colleges that will be a good fit for your skills and desires and then to reach out to those coaches personally by expressing interest in their program. The recruiting process does not happen overnight, it takes time, patience and persistence. While you may be extremely interested in certain schools, the coaching staff of those schools may be actively recruiting other high school athletes. You are a part of the process, and by aligning your skills with programs that will be a better match, you will increase your ability to be recruited.