Are you looking to play your sport at the college level? Do you need to know more about college athletic recruiting and what it really takes to play at the next level? If so, you are not alone. There are thousands (millions worldwide) of high school athletes from all around the country who are in the exact same position as you.
Like you, these athletes want to play in college, but for whatever reason they are not currently being recruited and they are not really sure what,if anything, to do about it. These athletes are convinced they can play at some level of college competition, but so far coaches have shown little or no interest.
What are the reasons this may be happening to you or someone you know? Here are the top five reasons some athletes don’t get recruited to play their sport at the college level:
1) Flying Under The Radar
Some athletes continually fly under the radar. They are clearly better than the high school competition they are playing against and they could play at some level of college competition, but no one knows their name or anything about them. No college, or more importantly, no coach has learned anything about these athletes and no matter what accomplishments they have, they continue to fly under the radar.
2) Getting No Help
Some athletes simply don’t receive any help during the recruiting process. Their high school coach takes no interest in helping them get recruited for college and no one else steps up to the plate to help these athletes get recruited. We all know blue-chip or elite level athletes don’t need any help in the recruiting process, they have been household names since junior high school in some cases. However, there are many other athletes who simply need a little help to get their name out their and to receive a little recognition.
3) Playing In The Wrong Area
Let’s face it, many parts of the country are known for producing great talent for different sports. For instance, everyone knows that south Georgia and Florida are simply a hot bed of talent for college football. Coaches scout these areas each and every year for college football talent. Yet, in these areas, there are some athletes who excel in Basketball or Baseball and don’t even play football. Do you think the athletes who excel in a sport other than the one the area they live in is know for have a harder time getting noticed? You bet they do.
4) Playing Too Many Sports
My vies on this is controversial, but I believe my analysis is absolutely true. In today’s ultra competitive athletic recruiting world, I believe you need to concentrate on your primary sport rather than playing a bunch of different sports. In today’s world, you need to be playing AAU, USSSA, or on some other type of traveling team during the off-season of your sport. Not only does this help you improve and possibly get you noticed, it also sends a strong message to college coaches who want to see that you are essentially working all year round to improve in your sport. Why? Because they will require you to do exactly that if they ask you to come and play for their program.
When my son was being recruited for college basetkball, one of the first questions coaches always asked him was “what AAU team do you play for?” These coaches wanted to know if he was playing all year round.
5) Not Marketing And Promoting Themselves
Athletes who are not blue-chip players and are sitting right on the fence of being recruited or not, need to take responsibility for their own recruitment and not rely on luck, circumstances, or someone else to help them get recruited. Athletes who have the ability to play at some level of college, yet don’t receive too much attention, should market and promote themselves to college coaches. A simple athletic resume and a personal letter to a coach can work miracles.
Summary
If you feel you can play at some level of college competition, yet you are not being recruited or you are being recruited very little, take a look at these five reasons and see if any of them are having an impact on your recruitment. The college recruiting game is not a fun game to be in when you feel like you are always on the outside looking in. If you find yourself in this situation, simply make the decision to take responsibility for your own recruitment and you will make sure college coaches know your name. Once you get the recruiting ball rolling, it usually has a snowball effect and before you know it, you will have several coaches interested in your services at the next level.