Relying On Your Clubs Brand? Why It's Not Always Enough to Get Recruited

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I will always encourage athletes and families to put themselves in the best position possible to get recruited. That often means playing for a team where you will actually get playing time and competing at the highest level possible. However, those things are NOT always enough to get recruited.

What Most Families Do

• Move up the "club" ladder as far as possible

• Hope that the clubs brand will get their athlete noticed

Why It Feels Like It Should Work

• Better clubs play tougher competition

• Better clubs play at a higher level

• College coaches are usually watching the better teams

• "This is how you get noticed," Right?

Why This Actually Hurts Your Recruiting

• Too much focus on the team or club brand as your "marketing" can lead to missed opportunities.

• It doesn't matter how many college coaches are standing around your court, what matters is WHO they are watching.

• Often, coaches are there for 1 or 2 specific athletes (who might not be you).

• When those athletes commit to a school, most college coaches disappear.

• If a coach isn't on your court to watch YOU, then they aren't watching you.

What To Do Instead

• You should definitely try and position yourself to be on the best team, playing at the highest level that you can, but know that's not a guarantee of playing P5 or even D1.

• Playing Open does not automatically equal D1. Plenty of Open level players are playing at the D2 and D3 levels.

• Use your club team as a good foundation, but don't rely on it alone.

• Reach out directly to college coaches and communicate your genuine interest in their program.

• Remember: College coaches ask, "Can she help me win?" and "Is she really interested?" not "What club does she play for?"

• Put in the work on the court, but also do everything OFF the court to get coaches to watch and evaluate you specifically.

• Take ownership of your recruiting process and don't expect the club or its brand to get you across the recruiting finish line.

The bottom line is that your club can certainly help you open doors, but it's up to you to walk through those doors. The athletes that get recruited are typically the ones reaching out, showing interest, training in the gym, getting better, being a great teammate, being coachable and being proactive about their recruiting process.

Check back next week for the next blog post on this topic!!