Advance College Recruiting During Adverse Times

Tom Kovic

True champions are not quantified during peak performance. On the contrary, they are measured by how they respond when their backs are in the corner. Worldwide, we face seemingly insurmountable challenges considering the Coronavirus epidemic.

College prospects, especially high school juniors, face steeper mountains to climb, considering the shorter recruiting timeline ahead. This article offers hope and clarity to prospects and families to advance college recruiting during adverse times.

Student-athletes are strong-willed, tough kids at the core. Their personal training to date has helped them shape a deliberate and robust physical, mental, and emotional approach to their sport.

While this may be true, our boys and girls are still children. There is a level of anxiety they experience, and we need to help them maintain a steady course in their everyday lives.

Realize the Stakes

Recently, the NCAA has placed a temporary halt to recruiting and enacted a recruiting dead period for all sports until at least April 15.

As a result, the entire college recruiting process may appear to be on hold, but the opposite is true. Although a dead period restricts college coaches and prospects and families from engaging in direct, face to face contact, it allows for passive communication. Below is the definition of a dead period:

“A dead period is that period of time when it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off the member institution's campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to the institution's campus.”

Prospects can (with exceptions) telephone, text, e-mail, and videoconference college coaches. Therefore, you can continue building momentum with college recruiting and update college coaches with information that has “grip.”

Accept the Challenge

Most prospects are experiencing various levels of turbulence in their lives and for a good reason. At any rate, the prudent approach to college recruiting is to accept the current situation at face value, pull up your bootstraps, and advance.

Junior prospects should be especially diligent with organizing personal recruiting plans and targeting “impact” communication with college coaches. Above all, avoid reaching out to coaches to say hello. You want to impress the coaches and make every contact count.

Skill Transfer

Student-athletes are built by their daily routines. School is structured, as is their sports training regimen. Consequently, the all-around best prospects are those who embrace peak performance.

Therefore, those prospective student-athletes who commit to re-wiring themselves and transferring these structured routines to maximize college recruiting will be served best.

Communicate

Avoid communication that prohibits momentum in the recruiting process. Reaching out to say hello to a college coach will not help your cause. Updating coaches on the core conditioning and speed training program, you developed and currently execute at home will, on the other hand, make an impact.

Remember, college coaches are recruiting on 3 levels. They are looking for strong students, impact athletes and future leaders of their teams. Prospects are still permitted to e-mail, text, and call college coaches. Reach out to the college coaches on your college list and share your personal story and your dedication to excellence. Prospects should always look for ways to separate themselves from the pack!

We are all in unchartered waters. The core aim for prospects is to advance their college recruiting during adverse times. You have two choices. 1) Allow everything remotely negative to fill your minds and crush your hopes and dreams. 2) Accept the fact that you are confronted with a steep mountain to climb, and face the challenge head-on and with confidence.