The importance of having a solid team around you to help with the athletic recruiting process

There is no doubt that in sports, team work is something that can help overcome outstanding individuals.  This has been showcased in countless different sports.  The strength of teams is valuable in every aspect of life and includes everyday business. 

It is also very important for you as a recruit to have a strong team around you that can help you during the athletic recruiting process.  Whether it be football, basketball, soccer, or any other sport, you need a team around you that is on the same page and knows what you are striving for.  If there is a breakdown anywhere within this team, it may be a struggle to reach your eventual goal of receiving a college scholarship.  I am going to talk about who you will need within your team to help you reach those goals. 

Family
There is no doubt in my mind that the majority of athletes out there need their families to help them in the athletic recruiting process.  The obvious reason that they need them is simply for funding.  Athletes in high school are usually so busy with their sport of choice that they don’t have much time to work.  Because of this, could an athlete really pay for all that is needed when going through the recruiting process?  Some things that quickly come to mind include a car for transportation, gas, producing a highlight video, application fees at the school, hotel room if staying overnight, airfare if the visit is far away, and there really are so many other ones as well. 

The family also needs to be on the same page with each other.  If the dad wants his kid to go to the biggest school and the mom wants their son to stay close to home, do you not expect there to be problems with this in the long run?  As a family, you need to agree on what is best and the athlete has to have the most say in this.  If it is the parents picking the school, their kid won’t want to go there and it will end badly.  Stay on the same page and communicate during the process. 

High school coach
While some coaches don’t do all that much in the recruiting process, this is a great resource if they are willing to help you.  In most situations, the best player on the team normally has a great relationship with the coach.  The coach should be willing to call around about the athlete and help them in the recruiting process.  Both the coach and the athlete must have good lines of communication so that they can talk about the recruiting process and what is going on in their life.  The family must also have a good relationship with the coach so that they can talk about possibilities of where they want to go to college. 

The relationship of the family and the high school coach is not always an easy thing.  In a lot of situations, the family will not be realistic and that causes strain on the coach.  There was a dad a few years back of a basketball player that requested the coach call State University (which is a Division I by the way) about his son.  His son was not the leading scorer on the team and ended up quitting at a Division III school.  This dad was trying to live through his son’s accomplishments and that causes a strain between him and the son as well as the high school coach. 

It is important to trust the high school coach and realize that he likely knows more about the sport than you do.  Most parents think they are experts and that the coach has no idea what is going on.  Yes, there are some coaches that are thrust into the position because it is a small school.  But most coaches actually have a small clue so trust them. 

A media person
There is no doubt in my mind that scholarship offers breed more scholarship offers.  If you receive an offer, who do you plan to tell that can help get the word out?  Some schools that I have dealt with in the past had an assistant coach doing that.  If that is not available, have you had contact with people in the media?  It could be your local newspaper or someone who writes for 247Sports.com/Rivals.com.  The main goal of having this media person in your corner is to be able to have him or her help get some publicity when that first offer eventually comes to the table. 

I would try to make contact with this person before the offer comes and give them more information about you.  There are questionnaires for these sites all over the place and filling them out could be helpful during the recruiting process.  Making contact early and often is a great way to have someone in the media in your corner. 

A person with the ability to produce a highlight video properly
This could be a high school coach, a friend, or even a relative.  It doesn’t matter who it is but this person has to be someone you can count on.  I have spoken with so many different families that have expected coaches and friends to do their highlight videos.  In the majority of cases, these people have not come through and have struggled to do the job.  A lot of people talk a big game but when it comes down to it, you need that highlight video produced.  Do the legwork before hand and get things in place even before the season begins.  That may include you doing it or a highlight video company to do it professionally.  But make sure you are not currently scrambling to get a video produced because college coaches are asking for it.

If you have these four parties on the same page, then you are likely in good shape for the recruiting process.  It is never going to be easy but having this group on the same page will be a great benefit for you.