Speed Dating: College Recruitment Style

College athletics has become one of the most profitable and popular aspects of American society. With the NCAA now generating over one billion dollars in revenue each year, it’s no wonder why the college recruitment landscape has changed so drastically over the last decade. College coaching salaries have never been higher, and the pressure to win is enough to give even the calmest souls constant heartburn.

Given this drastic shift within college athletics, the recruiting landscape has transformed into something much more volatile and cutthroat than previous generations experienced. Many parents of current high schoolers played sports in college, and most would not be able to find any similarities between their recruiting experience and their child’s recruiting experience. The stakes seem higher nowadays—because they are.

With the introduction of the internet and, more importantly, social media, coaches have access to thousands of high school recruits with the click of a button. There is a high amount of pressure to find those needle-in-the-haystack recruits, and different coaches have different methods of sifting through the straw. On top of that, all coaches have different opinions on what a viable recruit looks like, from body type to style of play. They’re all convinced that their philosophy is the right one, and it defines what their teams will look like.

So what does all of this mean?

Essentially, modern day recruiting is more like speed dating than it is athletic evaluation. Finding the right coach at the right time to notice that special something about you is not an easy task, nor a hard science. This is not a “follow the manual” type of process—but just knowing this is empowering. No two recruitment paths are the same, and every coach evaluation is completely independent from the next. It is impossible to impress every scout that sees you, and it should not be your goal to do so.

Instead, your goal should be to find a program that is the right fit to help you succeed both on and off the field. While it is tempting to focus all of your effort on the athletic portion of your college selection, there isn’t a program out there that’s strong enough to make up for a lack in academic, personal, and financial satisfaction. Just as coaches are evaluating you during conversations, you should be evaluating them. They need athletes to help them win games, and you need a coach who is going to give you the opportunity and support to succeed beyond just your season schedule.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to be incredibly honest with everyone you speak with during the recruitment process. Don’t try to change yourself to fit the mold of coaches who may eventually accept you in spite of who you are, but rather focus on finding a coach that is excited about you because of who you are.