College Recruiting Strategies: The Follow-Up

The college recruiting process can be a daunting effort if it is not well planned and executed with organization and enthusiasm from start to finish. What follows is a “snapshot” on the importance of the “follow-up” with communication and information exchange in the college search for athletes.

A knowledgeable consumer will have a clear edge in the pursuit and the attainment of any worthy product and the same holds true in the college quest.

Gathering information and developing a clear plan of action is critical in successfully navigating college recruiting, but even the best laid plans will be futile without the willingness to persistently execute the plan.

As the saying goes, “Paper doesn’t compete.”

The initial target for any recruiting plan should focus on introducing the prospect to the college coaches and this can be done in a number of ways.

Whether this is accomplished by providing the coaches with a simple introductory e-mail, or by forwarding a more detailed personal portfolio, the main objective should be to get on their “radar screen” and let them know you have initial interest in their program.

Coaches do not have an abundance of time to review the countless correspondences they receive from families and prospects, so a good rule of thumb is to keep your written communication to the coaches concise and to the point.

In essence, you are assisting the coach in doing an initial evaluation of your academic and athletic qualifications and the coaches will appreciate your effort.

Once your information is in the hands of the coaches, you have a couple of options in moving forward. You can sit back and wait for the coaches to “come a calling,” or you can advance your recruiting effort by persistently and respectfully “following up” with the coaches through e-mail, telephonic, and in person communication.


Timing

One strategy I do not recommend is to bombard the coaches with regular communication. Remember, coaches have full plates, short timelines and a long list of prospects they are evaluating. Providing the coach with regular updates is important, but be sure you have pertinent information to share.

I wouldn’t regularly connect with the coach to simply “shoot the breeze,” but by compiling a short list of updated and “significant” academic and athletic accomplishments, or alerting a coach to an impending unofficial visit, will give you the best chance in grabbing his attention.

Persistence

Persistence is a critical component to the successful navigation of any worthy plan. Remember, college coaches are strictly bound by specific contact rules and unless you are a current senior, college coaches cannot, in many cases, respond to communication initiated by prospects.

For instance, if you are a current junior in high school and you want to initiate phone contact with a college coach (which you are permitted to do), it would not be advised to leave a message for a coach to return your call, since he is not permitted to do so by NCAA rules.

It may take 5-10 attempts to connect with the coach, but when you do, it will be well worth the effort.


Preparation

As a college coach, I witnessed too many times, prospects that were not well prepared for the initial phone conversation with me. Coaches will be happy to “carry” the conversation to a certain degree, but they will expect the prospect to meet his fair share of the communication responsibilities.

That being said, I strongly suggest prospects prepare thoroughly for each contact with the coaches by incorporating mock calls and practice interviews.

Dress Rehearsal

I frequently set up mock calls and practice interviews with the prospects I advise and although it takes some time and effort, these “exercises” can be a lot of fun and in most cases; they produce a higher level of confidence in the prospect as they “take the plunge” and call or visit the coach.

You want to be armed with a short list of questions for the coach, but you want to be equally prepared in your responses to his questions. Taking time to become introspective and develop self-awareness about your dreams and your goals in the college quest and the potential impact you can potentially make in a program, will ultimately serve you best.

Coaches are typically very helpful in creating a comfort level for the student-athlete, but they are intent on probing the prospect in various areas of the college search as well.

Typically, coaches will question the prospect in three general areas (academic strength, athletic accomplishments, and personal character) and they will politely ask a short series of questions to develop a broad “picture” of the prospect in an effort to complete an initial evaluation.

Simply stated, the better the prospect is prepared for each communication with the coach, the more productively he will assist the coach in evaluating his all-around talent. It becomes a “team effort” and one the college coaches will appreciate.

The college recruiting process is both exciting and potentially overwhelming. It requires a disciplined and flexible approach, especially when timelines get tight and situations become challenging.

Developing and executing recruiting plans will serve as the “one, two punch” in the college quest and prospects that place a premium on effectively following up each communication with the coaches, in an effort to build a strong and honest relationship, will position themselves best in the college search.

Tom Kovic is a former Division I college coach and the current director of Victory Collegiate Consulting, where he provides individual advisement for families on college recruiting. Tom is the author of Reaching for Excellence, an educational guide for college athletics recruiting. For further information visit: www.victoryrecruiting.com.