- Jun 22, 2015
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What role should travel coach, player, and parent play in the recruiting process? What should each be doing to be proactive in the process? 2024
Recruiting roles player, parent, coaches
- Thread starter Zachary Farrell
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- May 27, 2013
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Player should be composing and sending out emails / video to college coaches. Making calls to coaches if allowed to by NCAA. Player needs to keep travel coach in the loop.
Parents play supportive role - being willing to pay for and drive to camps (when they start up again), proofread emails, help film videos (yes, iPhone video is good enough), etc.
Coach should know which schools player is targeting and reach out to those coaches via phone (if player is not allowed contact yet by NCAA rules). Coach should also be reaching out to the coaches a few days before their player attends a camp.
Designated recruiting coach at tourneys should be seeking out and briefly talking to the college coaches who come to watch their games. Relay info to coaching staff where college coach would like to see player In the game (certain position).
It truly is a huge responsibility to be a showcase team coach and it takes a lot of collaborative effort to get players committed. However, the majority of the effort and responsibility is on the player.
ETA: This is just a very basic overview of how we do it. Obviously it varies among teams and there is a lot more “behind-the-scenes” work that goes into it.
Parents play supportive role - being willing to pay for and drive to camps (when they start up again), proofread emails, help film videos (yes, iPhone video is good enough), etc.
Coach should know which schools player is targeting and reach out to those coaches via phone (if player is not allowed contact yet by NCAA rules). Coach should also be reaching out to the coaches a few days before their player attends a camp.
Designated recruiting coach at tourneys should be seeking out and briefly talking to the college coaches who come to watch their games. Relay info to coaching staff where college coach would like to see player In the game (certain position).
It truly is a huge responsibility to be a showcase team coach and it takes a lot of collaborative effort to get players committed. However, the majority of the effort and responsibility is on the player.
ETA: This is just a very basic overview of how we do it. Obviously it varies among teams and there is a lot more “behind-the-scenes” work that goes into it.
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I would tell players/families if you don't let me know who you are talking to then I don't know who to talk to. Lots of college coaches will stand back and sometimes hide in the trees just to check out players. If I know that you are targeting a certain school, I can now seek out that coach and talk to them even when they are trying to be incognito. I hate it when a mom/dad comes up to me during a game and say Hey there is XXX coach from XXX school. Yeah so? You should go talk to them. Why? We don't have any players reaching out to them? But, But, Sally likes that school. Did she sent any emails? Uhhh No. Then they are not here looking at Sally! Btw, that coach is a P5 coach, and that kid will not be playing any D1 ball in that conference in her dreams. Let's be honest folks.
You have to include your team's recruiting liaison in the process.
You have to include your team's recruiting liaison in the process.
In general:
Player: Owns the process; research, comms, promotion & marketing, following up, doing the work on the field and in the classroom, etc, etc.
Parent: Supporter, Cheerleader, Advisor, Mentor: Spellchecker and proofreader, helping with research, advising on questions, etc, etc. Oh - and ensuring the financials work out. What parents should never do, is do it for the player. That rarely ever works out in a good way.
Travel Coach: Promoter, Cheerleader, Advisor. Should be talking up players, calling college coaches that players are targeting (if they are doing their work), discussing players with their network (and expanding their network)
In the end, the PLAYER has to own this.
Expectations should be laid out during the team meeting at the beginning of the season. The recruiting coordinator should be allowed some time to discuss what is expected of each player/family. We have had players leave the team to go to a Hittin' Kitten team because their perception was that team was doing more "stuff" as it pertains to recruiting. This player couldn't tell me one school they were interested in or show me any emails they sent to college coaches. But they wanted college coaches to be interested in their kids! In all reality, the team was not a good fit for the family. One of their DD's told me she wants to go to cosmetology school. I don't know how to help with that. The family has to come up with a list of viable schools that works for the family; academically, skill set, distance, financial, size, location, etc. I have found that families are ignorant of what is a good fit for them. We can give them resources or websites to help them figure out what schools to begin targeting. NFCA, niche, DFP, fill out recruiting questionnaire, college EFC calculator, etc. Start with a list of 10 schools, then we can talk! It's hard to steer a parked car. Gotta get moving.
- Dec 11, 2010
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- 113
Parent/player: ACT/SAT test early (freshman) and often. Prep for test and do it again. Repeat.
Both parent and players: Test scores can be improved and they are money.
Player: NCAA clearing house.
Both with serious player input: Create list of target schools. Go to their websites. Fill out recruiting questionnaires.
Player: Send intro email. Follow up with regular emails keeping coach updated with playing schedules, achievements. Know the coaches usually can’t/won’t respond. Keep sending them. It is a very one sided process and it feels like rejection but it really isn’t.
Keep in mind coaches probably won’t do you the favor of telling you they aren’t interested. Which I never understood. I think they like to keep options open.
Its a process of elimination. When you feel like you are narrowing the list, and the list is being narrowed from the other direction, go back to the softball website. Look at the roster. Look at the statistics page. Here are some things you might be able to figure out: Number of players on roster? Where are they from? Does it look like the coach recruits a certain body type? How many are pitchers? Do pitchers hit? Do freshmen play often? Who played the most last season? When did that player start seeing the field? How many players have a realistic possibility of seeing the field in a conference game? How many seniors are there? How many juniors are there? How many sophomores are there? How big is this years freshman class? Does it seem like there is a lot of player turnover? Does this coach take transfers? Where did they come from? Did they play? Read the bio’s..... What majors are you seeing?
Go to camps...
Then know this: Everything you think you know about the coaches is probably wrong.
Both parent and players: Test scores can be improved and they are money.
Player: NCAA clearing house.
Both with serious player input: Create list of target schools. Go to their websites. Fill out recruiting questionnaires.
Player: Send intro email. Follow up with regular emails keeping coach updated with playing schedules, achievements. Know the coaches usually can’t/won’t respond. Keep sending them. It is a very one sided process and it feels like rejection but it really isn’t.
Keep in mind coaches probably won’t do you the favor of telling you they aren’t interested. Which I never understood. I think they like to keep options open.
Its a process of elimination. When you feel like you are narrowing the list, and the list is being narrowed from the other direction, go back to the softball website. Look at the roster. Look at the statistics page. Here are some things you might be able to figure out: Number of players on roster? Where are they from? Does it look like the coach recruits a certain body type? How many are pitchers? Do pitchers hit? Do freshmen play often? Who played the most last season? When did that player start seeing the field? How many players have a realistic possibility of seeing the field in a conference game? How many seniors are there? How many juniors are there? How many sophomores are there? How big is this years freshman class? Does it seem like there is a lot of player turnover? Does this coach take transfers? Where did they come from? Did they play? Read the bio’s..... What majors are you seeing?
Go to camps...
Then know this: Everything you think you know about the coaches is probably wrong.
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Total truth. If you can't tell me where to start helping you in my role as your coach/recruiting manager, I am not going to be as effective. There are far too many colleges out there for me to know where to focus and frankly it is so much easier to have a conversation with a new college coach I haven't previously met when they contact us or the player or turn up at a game to watch a certain player.
You will see travel coaches who will get players recruited within their own network and that is great if the kid wants to go there (and if you can join a team with a history of placing players in a program you are interested in this could well be a travel team you need to look at). I see way too many girls on these teams who end up at a college because their coach had a relationship and it is not what they actually want educationally (or softball wise) and they never make it through a semester before transferring to a college close to home.
Many players/parents don't understand the process very well. The coach should provide information and resources so that the players/parents can educate themselves. When our team was going through the process I also scheduled individual meetings with each player and her parents. One goal of this meeting was to ensure that each player/parent had realistic goals and expectations. I'm not sure if our knowledge sharing was effective, or if we were just lucky, but each of our players had realistic goals.
One thing that can become confusing is how the recruiting puzzle varies from sport to sport. For example, one of our players has an older sister that was recruited to play field hockey. Apparently recruiting for field hockey is dramatically different than softball. For example, the northeast is considered a hotbed for field hockey players, while not so much for softball. Softball players need to be much more involved in the the recruiting process whereas college field hockey coaches seem to find the top field hockey players with less involvement by the player. The older sister was recruited to play field hockey with very little effort in the process. It took some convincing for the parents to understand that softball does not work the same way.
One thing that can become confusing is how the recruiting puzzle varies from sport to sport. For example, one of our players has an older sister that was recruited to play field hockey. Apparently recruiting for field hockey is dramatically different than softball. For example, the northeast is considered a hotbed for field hockey players, while not so much for softball. Softball players need to be much more involved in the the recruiting process whereas college field hockey coaches seem to find the top field hockey players with less involvement by the player. The older sister was recruited to play field hockey with very little effort in the process. It took some convincing for the parents to understand that softball does not work the same way.
- Dec 11, 2010
- 4,721
- 113
When you are at an exposure tournament and you look at the college coaches behind the backstop, know this: If your daughter didn’t send them an email and/or go to a camp there, You can assume THEY ARE NOT PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO YOUR DAUGHTER. She might as well be in the dugout.
Those college coaches are probably behind the backstop watching players that reached out to them with their playing schedule OR a well connected travel coach put a bug in their ear to watch a certain player.
Some possible exceptions to above:
1) Pitchers can get noticed sometimes without showing interest in a school if they are really good.
2) Left handed power hitters with speed
3) Catchers that can hit maybe? IDK.
4) A player that just happens to be exactly what the coach needs.
The point? If you drive 4,6,10 hours to an exposure tournament and your dd isn’t doing her part by reaching out, your family is wasting time and money.
Those college coaches are probably behind the backstop watching players that reached out to them with their playing schedule OR a well connected travel coach put a bug in their ear to watch a certain player.
Some possible exceptions to above:
1) Pitchers can get noticed sometimes without showing interest in a school if they are really good.
2) Left handed power hitters with speed
3) Catchers that can hit maybe? IDK.
4) A player that just happens to be exactly what the coach needs.
The point? If you drive 4,6,10 hours to an exposure tournament and your dd isn’t doing her part by reaching out, your family is wasting time and money.
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- Dec 11, 2010
- 4,721
- 113
One more thing since I’m on a roll here:
I would advise for both parent and player not to let “being recruited” become THE goal. Parents really need to stay positive and stay on top of this one to keep the players attitude right.
”Being recruited” is what happens while you are loving the game, competing against the best appropriate level of competition and working on getting better every day.
I hope that makes sense.
I would advise for both parent and player not to let “being recruited” become THE goal. Parents really need to stay positive and stay on top of this one to keep the players attitude right.
”Being recruited” is what happens while you are loving the game, competing against the best appropriate level of competition and working on getting better every day.
I hope that makes sense.
