Recruiting Trap - More than a hammer

I get asked about recruiting tools all the time:

"Should we use NCSA?"

"Do we need SportsRecruits?"

"Do you have a 'needs list'"? (Actually I do)

"Do we need a highlight film?" (Yes you do)

Realistically, all of these are just tools. They are only pieces of what you potentially need and relying on any ONE tool is not going to get you where you want to go.

You need more than a hammer to build a house.

Like most tools, the things listed above can sometimes hinder your process if you don't really know what they do or how to use them.

I think foundations are important.

I think foundations in our worldview is important.

As a coach, I believe that we should have foundations in our expectations and goals.

I think that we should have foundations in our training and how we teach skills. For me it was always footwork. I can mess with your arm-swing or your platform all I want, but in reality, if we can't get your feet to put your body in the best position possible, all bets are off.

The foundations that I built PRI around are relationships and education (we will save the relationship piece for another day). I really believe that if we can educate parents and athletes on how the recruiting process actually works that it will create a better recruiting experience for everyone involved.

Let's take two fairly simple topics/questions and hopefully it will help explain what I'm getting after.

"What is a dead period?"

Throughout the pandemic I think I answered this question (in one way or another) at least once a week. That trend continued throughout the club season as more and more parents questioned why they should be sending emails out while coaches weren't allowed to email them back. I talked about the topic in my blogs, on my podcast and even in a youtube video. Also, if you don't understand the difference between a "dead period" and a "quiet period" you will be confused. D2 schools don't have a "quiet period" at all, so there's that to throw into the mix as well. I also hear a "dead period" called other names. This is like calling something a "boat" when in reality it's actually a SHIP. Semantics are important. Words have meaning. Using those words incorrectly or not really understanding their meaning causes all sorts of confusion, especially the recruiting process.

(More on this topic HERE)

(Oh...and this one TOO)

"How many scholarships are available in your athletes class at the D1 level?"

This one is important I think as well. It's something I spend time a lot of time on in our first recruiting seminar. I think this is important because parents and athletes need to understand what the reality of getting a scholarship is; you basically have a 1/1000 chance. We know there are 335 D1 schools. If we assume that all of those programs are fully funded (which they are no) then we take 12 scholarships and multiply that by the number of schools (335).

12 x 335 = 4,020

In total, across the whole country, there are roughly 4,000 scholarships available at the D1 level. If you break that down by classes (4) then there are about 1,000 scholarships in each class. That's where I get 1 in 1000. Now, I also talk about how:

1) Not all D1 schools are fully funded

2) D1 is NOT all or nothing

3) There are lots of variables that actually bring that "1000" down to a smaller number.

These two questions are pretty simple in reality. In my opinion, little bits of knowledge like this are foundational to really understanding how the recruiting process really works.

I think it's important to know what you're getting into and the challenges that face athletes that want to play at the highest level. I believe that a foundation of knowledge about the process can really help athletes and parents understand where they might fit and where they will be happiest. Tolls are important, you need to have them. But you need more than just tools, you need the knowledge on how to use them. If you don't have this foundation of knowledge, you might be left out in the middle of a field holding a hammer and asking "why isn't my house built yet?"