One college coach summarized it best when he said, “Off the field, recruiting is by far the Most important part of college sports.” And yet recruiting remains a frustrating, Time-consuming and disorganized process for High school athletes and college coaches.

The following is information provided to BCP from a major division 1 college football coach (We will leave unnamed) to shed some light on the recruiting process from the perspective of a college coach/recruiter.

7 Key insights from college coaches

1. Good athletes are often overlooked. – Too much of recruiting is about being in the right pace at the right time. Four reasons why qualified athletes are missed:
• College coaches don’t have enough time to watch each individual athlete. A bad game could unfairly rule a potential prospect out.
• High School teams don’t participate in the right summer events
• Athletes may be at the right event, but won’t be seen by the right coach
• Athletes don’t have the right promotion. As a result, coaches don’t know which athletes are serious.

2. Athletes have to market themselves. – Athletes shouldn’t wait around hoping to be contacted by college coaches. Athletes should introduce themselves to college coaches and show how serious they are about the program.

3. Scholarships are few and far between – Athletic scholarships are major source of confusion and a big misconception. Understanding the fundamentals of athletic scholarships and the availability is important.

4. Focus on fit, rather than prestige. – “Fit” is the combination of academics and sports that fits the athletes’ profile.

5. Recruiting is starting earlier. – Players have to promote themselves only after they have a solid “resume (Film)’” to show.

6. Honesty is essential. – It all starts with an honest self-evaluation. An athlete promoting himself to a school that will not recruit him is a waste of time. Athletes should always be honest to college coaches. Exaggerations always come to the light. If a prospect is not interested in a certain college, he should tell them so the college can spend their time and efforts on another prospect.

7. Recruiting takes forever. – Though college coaches enjoy recruiting, it is a time consuming task. Spending hours on top of hours to sign 25 athletes.