What's your opinion of college recruiting websites like BeReruited.com or something similar?
Recruiting Websites
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In my opinion, they are only used by colleges that have to really dig to get players. They may be smaller colleges or community colleges that don't have a recruiting budget. I used one, when I was at Springfield College in IL.
My daughter actually uses berecruited.com - For a 1 time, small fee, we have found it very beneficial. Contact made with a few D1 schools, gave us many more options of D2 & D3 schools. We can see what schools have looked, request others to look at her and every couple months we see a school check out her profile again. She is only a sophmore, so no contact yet - but we get the feeling they are watching her. We LOVE It!!!
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I don't have personal experience w recruiting websites. I've heard some positives and some not so good. One thing I do know is the benefit of getting 1 on 1 contact at college camps/clinics. Not exposure tourneys that have side camps/clinics (IMO those are tough to be seen for up n comers), but camps AT that particular school. As a sophmore you and DD have lots of time to explore the college scene. Any that seem attractive that fit her fields of study see what sb camps they offer. If shes a standout they're looking for her name will stay on top thier 'futures' list. Not only that but coaches and recruiters love helping out thier huge network, word on your DD will get out there.
- Dec 28, 2008
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As Amy says I don't recommend them as a wishing well where you assume colleges are going to blindly fall upon her via the site. I encourage players I mentor to be very proactive and use the sites as a cheap tool to assist them in the process.
I like them for 3 reasons:
1. Positive reinforcement to stay on top of the process by constantly updating the site, and checking to see who has viewed.
2. Simple location to host pictures and video without dealing with what other videos come up on YouTube if that's where they post them. Nothing worse than sending a coach a link to a YouTube video and not knowing what else might be recommended on the right side of the screen.
3. Most allow me to post my recommendation right on the site so coaches who they give the link to, or those that find them can immediately have access to my recommendation.
I like them for 3 reasons:
1. Positive reinforcement to stay on top of the process by constantly updating the site, and checking to see who has viewed.
2. Simple location to host pictures and video without dealing with what other videos come up on YouTube if that's where they post them. Nothing worse than sending a coach a link to a YouTube video and not knowing what else might be recommended on the right side of the screen.
3. Most allow me to post my recommendation right on the site so coaches who they give the link to, or those that find them can immediately have access to my recommendation.
I appreciate the input. Thank you very much. We added video, pics, stats and stuff to her account. We do keep it updated. We've mainly used it as an information gathering tool because there so many links to schools, their web sites, the athletic websites, and other stuff. It's nice to be able to collect and organize all of that information in one spot.
The website has "buttons" for contacting the coach and sending them some kind of message that DD is interested. Is this helpful or do schools look at this as a pain? Or not as a serious player? First impressions mean a lot usually and I wouldn't want to have her start off on the wrong foot.
The website has "buttons" for contacting the coach and sending them some kind of message that DD is interested. Is this helpful or do schools look at this as a pain? Or not as a serious player? First impressions mean a lot usually and I wouldn't want to have her start off on the wrong foot.
- Jul 9, 2010
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In our talks with coaches, form letters or emails generated by a site like berecruited get deleted almost immediately. It is always best to send those notes along personally and individually, and as customized to each school as possible. When we visited, several of the coaches had her custom emails and profile sheets printed out before we got there.
Once we started to trade emails, she made personal calls to the coaches who seemed most interested. This was very difficult at first, but got to be pretty easy after a few.
We found bercruited to be good for several things:
- let us see who looked at her profile
- she was actually contacted by a few coaches, after she looked at their profile while she was logged in
- a few schools (D2 and D3) actually contacted her (by custom email to her) after they saw her academic profile and degree preference on the site
- the search engine, to find schools with her desired major, was great. She would visit the school's page, while logged in, after searching for her major. That often (not always) prompted them to look at her profile, and a few of the smaller schools contacted her directly. She even had contact from a couple of smaller D1's that way, which was totally unexpected.
One piece of advise I would give, and I lnow this a tought thing to do - take unofficial visits. Schools would look at her skills video, and then agree to meet for an unofficial. Once they had seen that she was willing to travel to meet them, their interest in her became more real, and most of them made a point of coming to watch her at showcase tourneys afterwards.
We were able to arrange one big trip in the Fall, where we visited schools in VA (3) , MD (2), DE (1), and PA (3). We were able to take a 4 day trip, and were able to schedule all of these visits in that time. It was hard to schedule, but it was invaluable. We did it in Oct of her junior year, which seemed to be a good time for folks.
Once we started to trade emails, she made personal calls to the coaches who seemed most interested. This was very difficult at first, but got to be pretty easy after a few.
We found bercruited to be good for several things:
- let us see who looked at her profile
- she was actually contacted by a few coaches, after she looked at their profile while she was logged in
- a few schools (D2 and D3) actually contacted her (by custom email to her) after they saw her academic profile and degree preference on the site
- the search engine, to find schools with her desired major, was great. She would visit the school's page, while logged in, after searching for her major. That often (not always) prompted them to look at her profile, and a few of the smaller schools contacted her directly. She even had contact from a couple of smaller D1's that way, which was totally unexpected.
One piece of advise I would give, and I lnow this a tought thing to do - take unofficial visits. Schools would look at her skills video, and then agree to meet for an unofficial. Once they had seen that she was willing to travel to meet them, their interest in her became more real, and most of them made a point of coming to watch her at showcase tourneys afterwards.
We were able to arrange one big trip in the Fall, where we visited schools in VA (3) , MD (2), DE (1), and PA (3). We were able to take a 4 day trip, and were able to schedule all of these visits in that time. It was hard to schedule, but it was invaluable. We did it in Oct of her junior year, which seemed to be a good time for folks.
Thanks again.
My DD is on beRecruited.com. Since joining, she's received letters from 6 programs ranging from NAIA to D3 all before her sophomore year started. We have visited two of the schools so far and have been impressed with the schools. They were unofficial visits of course. We met the professors in her intended major and the coaches. Both of those coaches have kept in touch and have requested her high school and summer schedule.
I guess it may be worthwhile to pay the fee to "see" more by what I'm reading here. But not take it too seriously or depend on it too much. Treat it as a starting point to launch from.
Cool...
My DD is on beRecruited.com. Since joining, she's received letters from 6 programs ranging from NAIA to D3 all before her sophomore year started. We have visited two of the schools so far and have been impressed with the schools. They were unofficial visits of course. We met the professors in her intended major and the coaches. Both of those coaches have kept in touch and have requested her high school and summer schedule.
I guess it may be worthwhile to pay the fee to "see" more by what I'm reading here. But not take it too seriously or depend on it too much. Treat it as a starting point to launch from.
Cool...
Recruiting websites like anything else in the process are just a tool. It's just one SMALL piece of the overall experience/process that you can use.
You STILL have to do the work!
Just being on there does NOT work magic and get you discovered.
On the other hand...
these are all things you need to/should be doing from the time your daughter begins high school so that you have what you need to make educated and informed decisions throughout the process.
Most people who sell stuff online (included me and Marc!) expect about a 1% conversion rate. If we are at or above 2% that's awesome.
If you are marketing your child to schools who know nothing about her and you had a 10% "conversion" rate (meaning people who actually want to offer your daughter a position, not ones that simply contact or respond), how many schools do you need to me in touch with to have a handful (5) choices at the end of the road? AT LEAST 50!!!
Not everyone has a 10% conversion rate! There are a ton of schools out there. There may be ones you don't even know about that are a good fit for your daughter. Do some legwork and research!
You STILL have to do the work!
Just being on there does NOT work magic and get you discovered.
On the other hand...
- Being proactive
- Learning as much as you can about the recruiting process
- Researching schools
- Talking to your daughter about what she wants to do/where she wants to go/what she wants to study
- Having your daughter contact schools and coaches
- Working hard on the field and in the classroom
- Having a video ready when the COACH wants to see it
- Utilizing any contacts your current coach has with college coaches
- Talking with any college players you know who can tell you about the process and what they would have done differently
- NOT waiting on someone else to make connections for you
- NOT sitting around waiting to "get noticed"
- Working WITH your daughter, her coaches, college coaches, counselors, anyone who can provide input
- etc, etc, etc
these are all things you need to/should be doing from the time your daughter begins high school so that you have what you need to make educated and informed decisions throughout the process.
Most people who sell stuff online (included me and Marc!) expect about a 1% conversion rate. If we are at or above 2% that's awesome.
If you are marketing your child to schools who know nothing about her and you had a 10% "conversion" rate (meaning people who actually want to offer your daughter a position, not ones that simply contact or respond), how many schools do you need to me in touch with to have a handful (5) choices at the end of the road? AT LEAST 50!!!
Not everyone has a 10% conversion rate! There are a ton of schools out there. There may be ones you don't even know about that are a good fit for your daughter. Do some legwork and research!
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Its difficult to get an exact answer for this question because everyone your dealing with looks for different things. I know some coaches that would rather see the leg work be done by the player and I know there are coaches who have built good relationships with some companies and look for them to bring them players. Just like recruiting videos...ran into a coach who likes to watch 1 minute and ran into a coach who wants a 15 minute video.
IMO it can be done without a recruiting company it might just take more work...especially if its your first child your helping. If your on your 3rd childs recruiting process it should come easier. I dont think it hurts to look into it and based on the time you have available and how much time you and your DD can spend on the process.
But they are right! thats just the start and with or with out a company it will require a lot of extra work from the family. I just speak from experience ...not with my children...but Ive seen comparable results either way. I know a girl that got everything paid for and gets to play at a big D1 school and her and her family did it on their own and just like others Ive heard of some that got about the same deal using a recruiting company.
Good luck !!! keep all doors and options open! Keep using this website as a resource...you will get great info from good parents who have been through the process and not info from a salesman...
IMO it can be done without a recruiting company it might just take more work...especially if its your first child your helping. If your on your 3rd childs recruiting process it should come easier. I dont think it hurts to look into it and based on the time you have available and how much time you and your DD can spend on the process.
But they are right! thats just the start and with or with out a company it will require a lot of extra work from the family. I just speak from experience ...not with my children...but Ive seen comparable results either way. I know a girl that got everything paid for and gets to play at a big D1 school and her and her family did it on their own and just like others Ive heard of some that got about the same deal using a recruiting company.
Good luck !!! keep all doors and options open! Keep using this website as a resource...you will get great info from good parents who have been through the process and not info from a salesman...
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