5 Great Recruiting Tips
There are many High School or JUCO Athletes like you, who all dream of playing sports in College. Maybe your travel team Coach has made it look easy to earn a full or partial scholarship from College Coaches. The truth is, that according to the NCAA, from all current High School Athletes, men and women combined, only around 7% actually end up playing Collegiate Sports.
This is the hard truth that trainers, AAU Coaches and every one else involved in the Youth Sports Industry, will not always tell you. Unfortunately there are many of them prioritizing earning a lot of money from your youth sports experience, but not being upfront about your chances after High School.
Now what do the 7% of Athletes that make it onto College campuses do different? In 5 Great Recruiting Tips, REPPIN HOOPERS will show you how much work is involved to stand out as an Athlete and even so important, as a Student. Use these tips to your benefit!
5 Great Recruiting Tips
Stand out and Stay positive!
With there being so many other talented Athletes all trying to go for the same offer, what do you think will help you most? Of course your Athletic skills… but equally important, the one thing that will definitely attract a Coach’s attention, are extremely good grades during your High School Career.
This means that not taking your classes and assignments seriously can have major consequences. Not doing your homework and slacking at school because you feel too tired after games and practices, reflects poor work ethics. Coaches tie one and one together. Simply stated: Bad grades means NO INTEREST!
5 Great Recruiting Tips
The Recruiting Process has to start early!
Once the long Summer months of hanging out with friends and playing your Sport in a relaxing setting is over, it is seriously back to business. Combining classes and after school practices with games two or three times a week is tough. Keeping up with your social life and finding enough time to sleep and eat enough is another day job in itself.
Add to that, the necessity to build your Athletic Brand. Meaning you have to find time to record, edit and upload game highlights. You need to set up or tweak a great Twitter profile.
If you are not familiair with setting up your profile, read this post: What is the right way to get exposure? or WATCH this video to learn how!
On top of that, you need to start following Coaches and Programs you have interest in. Once this is set up, mapping out Colleges within a 6 hours radius from where you live is important, Then you can start communicating with Coaches or Assistant Coaches to make sure they hear about you.
Ideally, start the recruiting process at the beginning of your Sophomore year, if you have made it onto the Varsity team. Regarding programs on top of your wish list, be realistic and know that the chances of getting NCAA Division I scholarships are extremely low. Make sure to show interest to different divisions and organizations (like the NAIA) and to consider playing Junior College.
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5 Great Recruiting Tips
How to communicate and leave an impression?
Since your Sophomore year and now Junior year, you have made a list of Programs you are interested in. The following example is regarding Men’s Basketball but it can be applied to other sports. In Men’s Basketball, by the end of your Junior year:
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Try to have reached out to about 300-400 Schools. From those, about 150 to 200 schools should be within a 6 hours radius from where you live.
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Per school listed, get the First and Last Name, Email Address and Phone number of the Head Coach and one of the Assistant Coaches.
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Once you email, address it to the Head Coach but make sure to copy the Assistant in as well!
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Schools in a 3-hour radius from your home will hopefully respond when you show interest and maybe come watch you play.
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You can use the following Email-template as an example
- When sending an email to a Coach, make sure this comes from YOU and from your email address; Do NOT let your parents email on your behalf! Coaches consider you as being an adult once you start playing for them and they want to see you are independent enough to take care of yourself.
- Be respectful and use full sentences. Take the time to reread your message, apply Grammarly and edit before sending your email.
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5 Great Recruiting Tips
Footage and Online Exposure
Not every Coach is coming over to watch you play. Especially not the ones who are outside the 3 hour radius. Therefore it is very important that besides your Twitter profile, you have a separate place for your Game Highlights. Do not forget to include a direct link in your Twitter profile! You can always TWEET your most current highlight as a Pinned Tweet on top of your feed. Source: The Right Way for High School Athletes to get Exposure
- When it comes to posting footage, have your game highlights on YouTube, Hudl or Instagram. Add Game opponent and date into the description. Also make sure to only post game highlights of you playing VARSITY games!
- The highlights you post, need to be in line with the position you claim you are playing. So a Coach can see right away how good of a fit you can be for their program.
- Send film and links to your highlights to every College program and Coach within your 6 hour radius. Include a kind note, and add the game date and the opponent and highlights regarding your stats. Keep repeating this every week until they respond
Social Media Profile Picture
REPPIN HOOPERS designs Personalized Profile Drawings repping you in your favorite sport. You can use these drawings as a profile on your Social Media outlets and get more attention. Make your profile stand out from the pack!
5 Great Recruiting Tips
Be Relentless!
It is going to be difficult to always stay motivated, especially when Coaches are not responding. The best tip, if you and your inner circle believe you have the talent, work ethics and are a stand out, is to stay positive! Being relentless and not letting it weigh on you means you keep having fun while you are playing for your High School team. You never know who is in the audience, watching you!
To sum up the five tips that can help you during the recruiting process:
- Have and keep your grades on par. Remember; Bad grades = No Interest!
- Separate yourself from the rest.
- Be active in uploading your highlights.
- Get in touch and stay in touch with Coaches to get you on their radar.
- Express your strengths and back it up in films.
- Do NOT get discouraged if Coaches don’t respond. Stay consistent and positive!
"One of the most powerful social media tools for Athletes is Twitter..."
5 Great Recruiting Tips
I hope these 5 Great Recruiting Tips will be helpful for you. Make sure to come back to our BLOG regularly, as Reppin Hoopers is made for Athletes like you!
If this whole process seems overwhelming, or you have more questions, ask one of your parents for help. I am sure they would love to help. Know that there are more High School Athletes like you. Questions about how to reach out to Coaches or figuring out how to find the best exposure is something very common.
Do not hesitate by reaching out to me at REPPIN HOOPERS. I am here for you and ready to answer your questions and help you in your High School Athletic Career.
Check out the Mini Sessions for Athletes and Sports Parents in which I can consult you. My goal is to educate and assist anyone who wants to make their Sports career a success!
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