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Recruiting Center
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What do they look like?
Can you talk to them?
What do you say?
Notice the stopwatch on her
hand.
Are you working on your speed? |
College Recruiters, Scouts or Coaches?
Cathi
Aradi writes…
- First learn the NCAA rules about "contacts." Parents/players shouldn't be
talking to coaches/scouts at tournaments unless the coach/scout has specifically
asked the parent/player to find him/her. (And that's only when it's allowed–e.g.,
after July 1 following the junior year. Players can't talk to the coaches even
then at tourneys until their team has been eliminated.)
- See point 1! Parents should leave coaches alone for a number of reasons
unless asked ahead of time to talk to them.
- It may jeopardize their player's
eligibility;
- It may use up one of only three off-campus contacts per school;
- It may turn the coach off, particularly if they feel the parent is too
aggressive. Some coaches don't like to talk to kids/parents at tournaments,
preferring to wait until later.
My rule of thumb is this. Leave them alone
unless asked to find them. If they want to get a hold of you, they will, trust
me!
- If a coach has asked to talk to the player and her parents at a tournament
(assuming she'll be or is a senior), I suggest keeping it short and simple.
Unless it's a home visit or you're going out for dinner or something, tell the
coach you're glad to meet him/her, that you'd appreciate getting info on the
school, and that you'd like to have time to think about his/her
interest–whether the coach is asking the kid to visit, to consider his/her
school, etc. Don't feel intimated or rushed into anything.
Cathi Aradi's book has three pages of questions kids can ask coaches at
different times. Keep the book handy when talking to coaches. Make the most of
any contacts, but don't feel you have to answer every question at once.
"Why" the rules?" The purpose is to help provide coaches with a level
playing ground when it comes to recruiting and to help prevent them from
overwhelming kids. Personally, I think too many coaches "push" the edge of the
envelope–e.g., skirt right along the edge of what is legal and what isn't. Some
coaches try to sell a kid on their schools and get them to practically commit
based on one fifteen minute conversation. Parents should never be afraid to step
in–putting their egos and wallets aside for the time–and tell coaches the
player will definitely look into that school and would like to hear more but
perhaps by phone or on a visit when they can really concentrate on what's going
on.
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