“Recruiting has changed. The advent of all the recruiting services and publications and things of that nature allow you to have easier identification of players out of state on a national basis… First, we identify the prospects. That’s done through recruiting services, assistance from alumni and by looking at All-State & All-America teams.” Division-I Football Recruiting Coordinator

Recruiting 101... "3 Lessons" Becoming "educated" goes hand-in-hand with being more heavily recruited by college coaches. In an effort to properly guide student-athletes of all academic and athletic abilities, it takes time from all family members to become educated about the recruiting process - and how to be PROACTIVE with it! The high school coaches are very helpful in the recruiting process, but the families can NOT expect the coaching staff to spearhead this effort. Here are 3 of the important LESSONS all students should understand!

LESSON I: The Odds of Competing in College Don't Look Good!

To understand the odds of competing in college, student-athletes must first realize that less than 5% of all HS Senior athletes ever compete in college! Recruiting is a "numbers" game, as the figures & chart below suggest...
1.65 Million HS Seniors battling for 75,000 college freshman roster spots

• 36,000 spots (almost ½) will be filled by America's Top 2% (Div. I)
39,000 spots will be filled by America's next Top 2.5% (DII/III/NAIA)
Sad but true… more than 9 of 10 Seniors never play college sports!

LESSON II: Changing the Odds Requires Exposure & Being Proactive!

The right amount of "exposure" is never easy to determine, but a good rule of thumb is "you can never have too much exposure!"

To determine if you are getting enough exposure, review the formula below. It's very general, but it's also a good "test." If these numbers are not reflective of your current recruiting strategy, it's probably time to become more PROACTIVE!

500 – 1000 coaches know who you are
50 – 100 show initial interest in you (10%)
20 still showing regular interest after 6-8 months
Transcripts, videotape & weekly communication with all 20
Top 10 list is created; unofficial visits taken to all 10 (if possible)
5 colleges chosen for official visits
National Letter of Intent signed with #1 choice

LESSON III: Colleges Can't Recruit You if they DON'T KNOW YOU

While many coaches have their own traditions & habits of recruiting student-athletes, most share a fairly standard 'system' to locate, evaluate and eventually sign the kids they want. At SAS, we invest time explaining the recruiting process at each initial family visit.

According to the quote from the Division I Coach above (top of page), recruiting services, in part, often help colleges as much as they help student-athletes. One thing's for sure... if coaches don't know you, they can't recruit you!