Recruiting Roadblocks - Communication Challenges

Communication is paramount throughout your recruiting process.

It is true that you could have a school or coach completely do your recruiting for you: they always reach out to you first; they tell you that they want you to come on a visit; it doesn't matter how long they go without hearing back from you; you always stay #1 on their list regardless of what else goes on. I've seen it! It's possible. But in the grand scheme of recruiting it is rare to see college coaches nudge athletes through the entire process. There is usually some reciprocation of interest from the athlete that HELPS nudge the coach through all of those steps.

Communication is one of the biggest ways I see athletes get tripped up throughout their process. One email is almost never enough. Communication takes work. No one is "ghosting you" because college coaches have a thousand other things to do and they move from one task to the next.

Communication from this end communicates interest. If you want to communicate your interest in a school you need to communicate as often as you can. Life updates. Letting them know where you're playing this weekend. Giving them your highlights from the previous weekend. I'm interested...I'm interested...I'm interested...

How much time they spend on your court is in someways related to how interested they are BUT also how interested they think you are. How are you getting coaches to stay longer at your court?

If poor communication can have a negative impact on your recruiting journey, how do you combat that? Create good recruiting habits.

Check your email often.

Make sure your contact info is updated.

Put email on your phone.

Pick a day each week to send emails.

Create good recruiting habits.

It's not a perfect process. It would be great if one email carried you into everything else you needed to do. Unfortunately that isn't the case. There are a ton of athletes out there and standing out is a necessary part of this process. How are you standing out?

College coaches are trying to comb through 100s of emails a day from recruits. They might miss you the first time. They might even miss you the second. They might not even be recruiting your position! But when that changes and they remember you or come across your email, because you emailed them again, guess what? Now they are interested. It takes work. It takes diligence. The end result? It's worth it to go play, compete and be successful at the college level.