When an athlete accepts a Division I scholarship offer for any sport, they feel strongly that this is the school that they want to spend the next four or five years of their life at. And while some may decommit and eventually pick another program, the majority of athletes stay strong to their word when they originally commit.
But what happens to a recruit after committing when the head coach at the school leaves the program in a flash only a short time before Signing Day? We had a chance to do a question and answer with a family who had the chance to go through this exact situation. Find out what they thought about the whole process and what they did to help their son get football recruiting attention in the first place. This is part one of a two part article.
Can you please describe the overall recruiting process that your family
went through?
The recruiting process started in the summer between our
son’s sophomore and junior years. He attended the State University #1 one-day
Prospect Camp and one day of State University #2 three-day padded camp. He also
attended a 7 on 7 Passing Camp at State University #2. Being a starter on the
State Championship Team jump started his recruiting due to the exposure he got
during the semifinals and State Championship Game.
How can I help support Recruiting-101?
- Use highlight-videos.com for a Hudl tuneup/new video
- E-Book: Guide to the Athletic Recruiting Process for Parents
- E-Book: How Juniors Can Get a Head Start on the Football Recruiting Process
- Complete Package: Junior Football All State Recruiting Package
- E-Book: Football Recruiting Position by Position Advice
- Complete Package: Senior Football All State Recruiting Package
- E-Book: Producing a Scholarship Worthy Highlight Video
- E-Book: How Seniors Can Finish the Football Recruiting Process Strong
We had a highlight tape made and attended a number of Junior Day Events at
several schools. In the spring of his junior year, we also made several
unofficial visits to check facilities, academics, and the football program.
We had offers from a couple of recruiting services to promote our son and help
with the recruiting process but we opted to try it ourselves first. With
the offer from State University #1 in April of ’08 and his commitment in May
’08, he decided to end his process early because that was the offer he was
looking for.
What had been your experience with football
recruiting prior to this?
None. We did our own recruiting process with
our daughter, who received a volleyball scholarship from Out-of-State University
#1.
When did you feel your son had the potential to play
college athletics?
Freshman Year
Did you use a recruiting
service/recruiting agent during the recruiting process? If so, why? If not, why
did you go that route?
Both (parents) are college athletes and have gone
through the recruiting process ourselves. Granted, it was many years ago and
things are quite a bit different today but we knew the questions that needed to
be asked and we knew that we needed to promote our son through exposure at
camps, a highlight video, and communicating with the coaching staffs. We had
some experience with recruiting from going through the process with our
daughter.
We did speak to a couple of recruiters, but after seeing the price of some of
the services, we felt we would make a run of it on our own before soliciting
their services. Being from Large High School #1, a school with a rich
tradition in football and a great coaching staff, also was a big help in the
recruiting process. The coaches do a nice job of promoting their players and
have many contacts in the college ranks.
If you handled recruiting
yourself, what did you do to help get your son’s name out to college coaches?
We had a highlight video made and sent it out to many different schools. He
attended several junior day events. The high school coach sent his name
out on many potential athlete questionnaires. During his junior year, he worked
out with another Division I athlete during track. Many coaches visit Large High
School #1 throughout the winter and spring. When they were talking to this other
athlete, they noticed our son’sbody type, work ethic, and foot speed, and took a
mental note of who he was.
Do you feel that making All State/All Conference lists is important during
the recruiting process?
No. Our son did not have a single post season
honor during his Junior season.
What do you feel were some of the
best steps that you took to help get your son attention?
Attending camps
in the summer.
Were there any steps that you took that you would have
avoided when looking back now?
No
How much help did his high
school coach play in the recruiting process?
The high school coach did a
great job of adding our son’s name to many lists of potential players. He also
returned phone calls to many coaches, introduced our son to many of the visiting
coaches, and even attended one of the summer camps our son was at and spoke with
the coaches there about him.
Was the guidance counselor at the school
used much? If so, for what?
Yes. Our son is interested in Engineering.
His counselor helped him by giving him a list of the top engineering schools to
look over during his recruiting process. They also assisted us with some of the
Clearinghouse information and sending transcripts out to some of the schools he
was looking at.
Did you make a highlight video yourself or have it
professionally done? Why did you pick the route that you did?
We had a
highlight video made by a local guy. He is a graduate of Large High School
#1, films all of the games, and really knows the players and what to look for in
a highlight video. We had seen some of his work and liked what we saw so we went
with his services. We felt it was important to have a quality product to send
out to the coaches.
How many highlight videos did you end up sending
out total?
Between 10-15
Before sending the videos, had you had
much contact with the college coaches?
Not really, in most cases it was
our son’s contact with coaches at school and from camps.
Was there
much contact with the media during the recruiting process? Did you use it to
help get the word out about scholarship offers?
Yes. Before our son’s
scholarship offers, the only media contact was from Rivals.com and 247Sports.com.
Once he committed to State University #1, the larger newspapers throughout the
State and television crews started interviewing him.
Why did
your son decide to end the recruiting process in May originally?
ISU was
our son’s “dream school” for football and engineering. He’s been to the
city many times for different family and athletic events. He’s always liked the
campus, the energy during the games he attended, and the city. He liked the size
of the school, the football facilities, and he’s always wanted to play in that
conference. When State University #1’s coach offered him in April, we visited a
few other schools and nothing ever lived up to his vision of that program. When
we went on an unofficial visit in May and looked more in depth at the
Engineering Program, the student housing, and the Academic Center, there was no
doubt in his mind that this was the place he wanted to be.
Was there any thought at all that the coaches at State University #1 would
leave?
No. We thought State University #1’s coach would be there at least
five years.
When did your family first hear about the coaching change?
We heard
rumors the day before State University #1’s coach announced he was taking the
job at another school.