Displaying items by tag: Recruiting

College coaches are brilliant recruiters and look for three key components when evaluating prospects. First, they look for strong students who meet and exceed eligibility and admissions standards. Second, they are looking for direct impact athletes who thrive at their events and will drive the team to higher levels. Finally, they want self-aware young men and women who bring a strong character component to the table.

We're about to start the 2015 season, and we're once again waiting until the last moment to release our ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes.  This edition, 2014-2015, is one where we are seeing the full impact of early recruiting.  In some cases, the gymnasts who originally committed at age 16 or younger did not end up matriculating at their original college choice.  And, with scholarships opening up due to transfers or retirement, we're seeing a rash of late recruiting, early entries (early graduation), and mid-year starts.  In fact, our choice for number one had an early grad further strengthen an already strong class. 

The college experience is, in many cases, the most important four years in our children’s lives and realizing the potential leverage families of prospective student-athletes have in the college recruiting process, will develop increased confidence and clarity as the college quest unfolds. Then, knowing how to close on this opportunity is, without question, essential. My goal with this article is to identify 5 essential initial steps that prospects, families and coaches can use to effectively launch the college search.

For the 2014 edition of our ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes, we've had to wait until the last minute to make our decision.  "Recruiting" now has an entirely new definition.  Some of the athletes in our rankings originally selected their colleges over three years ago.  But more than few made their decisions within the last six to nine months.  In this age of early recruiting, a lot can change in the three final years of high school and during the first year of competition.  Thus, we're also seeing the emergence of a lively late recruiting period and early entries into college as scholarships become available late in the cycle.  This factor has even impacted our choice of the top team in our rankings.  Read on to find the answer...

I think we can all agree that there will be a laundry list of tasks on the college recruiting checklist that require attention. Face to face meetings with college coaches are important, first of all as a means of creating a stronger interpersonal connection between prospect and coach and secondarily, as an opportunity for both sides to simply size each other up. This article offers 3 key tips that prospects and families can use to maximize on-campus interviews with college coaches.

With summer in full force and the start of the academic year fast approaching, high school prospects have every opportunity to get a well-deserved breather. Taking time to relax a little after a demanding school year and a rigorous training schedule creates “new life.” That being said, the summer can be organized and utilized in several ways to grow awareness and momentum in your recruiting effort and the prospect that looks at the next 100 days as pure opportunity will greatly enhance their athletic college search.

When your college recruiting strategy hits a wall, learn to pivot..

The college search for athletes is an individual and tactical quest that will play out differently across the board. If you happen to be that 5 star prospect that every college coach has his eye on, your biggest challenge will most likely be which college to choose! But if you are among the majority of prospects that are lumped into the next level of recruits, your college journey will be a little more challenging.

The college search for athletes has accelerated to the point where an early start is your best bet for success. Competition for scholarships, roster spots and admissions support is at fever pitch and the family who organizes best and executes their plan flawlessly will give themselves the best opportunity to succeed.

For the past several seasons, we've made an attempt to rank the incoming classes for teams across the nation.  The task is never easy, and this year is no exception.  For the schools, investing in athletes today is a bit like investing in the stock (or precious metals) market.  With recruiting taking place earlier and earlier, coaches have to become experts at detecting the traits, abilities and characteristics that will produce a championship athlete two, three, and four years down the road (or six, seven and eight by the time they are college seniors!).  So who's class is rated to be the best?  Read on to find the answer...

The college search for athletes is a marathon, not a sprint, and the recruiting process can be, at times, both exhilarating and uplifting, especially when your personal plan is working on all cylinders. That said, even the best executed plans can run into road blocks or even stall completely.