One of the biggest concerns I have heard from high school athletes is how do I get recruited during the Corona-virus. I asked over 50 current or former collegiate coaches from NCAA DI, DII, DIII and JUCOs what would set recruits apart. The constant message I am hearing is to be proactive and set yourself apart during this time. Here are what the coaches are saying:
Communication:
- Acknowledging the situation when you send emails. All of us need to recognize the current “storm” we are in.
- Be aware of what is going on (One coach shared with me that they had a recruit tell them good luck for this season. That recruit was crossed off their list!).
- Maintain consistent but not constant communication. Be diligent but not over-bearing.
- Stay active in your communication.
- If you are younger and want to be noticed, don’t email. Coaches are getting slammed with a ton of emails from coaches, parents, and recruits that all have highlights and stats about their year. Email is a dime a dozen.
- Do not have your parents call or email for you.
- Do not randomly fill out online questionnaires without proper follow up. If coaches don’t recognize who it’s from, they move on.
- Without visits, relationships and connections will become even more vital — especially longstanding relationships. Do what you can to establish connections and build relationships.
- RESPOND TO COACHES when they contact you.
Show that you are interested in that specific school:
- Do your research on the school, the coach, your position.
- Know how the team did this past year.
- Ask questions that can open up a coach to share more about their program
- Do an online/virtual tour (usually it is on the main college admission page). Educating yourself on schools your have an interest in is huge (location, conference, coaches that have expressed an interest) is huge. This shows your interest.
- Research areas of study you are interested in at that specific school.
- Tell coaches specific things you like about their school, their program.
- Discuss and even send video of how you fit into their style or system. “Hey coach I know your like to push in transition— here are some clips of me scoring in transition this year.” Change this to apply to your sport.
- Do not send mass emails (make things specific to that coach/program).
Social media:
- Follow a coaches twitter— Direct message them, post a video and tag them.
- Follow the program’s and school’s social media.
- Post positive content that demonstrate you are a good leader. Use these platforms to spread smiles and share uplifting messages of inspiration.
- Be careful what you do post. If you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything at all. Coaches will be SCOURING social media more so than ever. Keep yours clean and positive.
- Be careful and mindful about others tagging you in unfavorable posts on social media.
Let coaches hear from others:
- Give a list of recommendations of people coaches can talk to- coach, teacher, church leader, community leader, someone at work, etc. As a recruit, you’re being transparent into your character, as a coach, this is a job interview.
- Have your high school or club coach call or text coaches.
Videos/Video Calls
- Sent an introduction video- short, to the point. Include your name and vital stats.
- Send a video of you working out. Coaches want to know you are being positive, that you can adapt and still find a way to work out, etc.
- Include a swing video and break it down for the coach so they can hear you talk about your mechanics- (swing, throw, batting, stroke, stride, shooting, etc.).
- Set up a video call with the entire family (permissibly speaking).
- Send videos of previous competitions.
- Send videos of you working on skills sets for your sport and send new ones periodically so coaches can watch your growth.
Information to Share:
- Instead of sending game schedules send coaches a schedule of how your are managing school and at home skill development. Have a routine and share it.
- Share your long term goals.
- Share your present- pandemic goals. What are you doing to strengthen your game, mechanics, body, mental, nutritional. Also, how are you serving others? Where are you stepping up as a leader? Are you in touch with your coaches? Teammates? Other athletes? Are you keeping up with what is going on in your sport?
- Share some vulnerabilities, ex. I fear how this pandemic will affect my family’s small business, but this time together has given us the opportunity to spend valuable time together and refocus what is important in our lives. It has allowed me to have open conversations with my family, I’ve put my phone down more, and the lack of being able to work on my game is fueling a fire that will be hard to put out when we get the greenlight to hit the course… etc.
- Share what is good about the situation (this period is the Great Separator).
- Indicate you are aware of NCAA rules— “Coach, I know you can’t reply because I am only a sophomore but wanted you to see my clips”.
- Share how you are handling virtual school. Is it easy to manage assignments, do you procrastinate, is it too easy- do you find ways to challenge yourself?
- Are you using this time to learn something new (Ex. a new language) and how it could tie into college (ex. If you are looking to join a predominately international team, start learning a new language to help communication and explain that to the coach.)
- How are you leading your HS team and keeping them connected virtually?
- How are you working on your mental game?
- What are you doing for your community/others right now?
- What are you doing to better your knowledge of your sport?
Information to Ask:
- Have questions ready. Ask questions!
- Ask them what they would like to see from you right now.
- Ask pointed questions to the coach(es) about what they are doing to interact with their teams? How has this affected their role as coach.
- Ask them how they are using this time to better themselves.
- Ask about their families.
At the end of the day, we are all in uncharted territory. This is a time to demonstrate leadership in the face of adversity. Athletes who are proactive about controlling what they can control, who get outside themselves will rise to the top.
It is important to be real and genuine. Stay positive. Stay motivated. Keep working out. Keep adapting. When all the dust settles the schools and scholarships will still be there and the people that have prepared themselves the most will gain an advantage.
For more information on overcoming adversity, check out, “This is Good”at: https://r2lc.com/this-is-good-a-journey-on-overcoming-confidence.
Tami Matheny is a Mental Game Coach and Author. She has also written, “The Confident Athlete: 4 Easy Steps to Build and Maintain Confidence” https://r2lc.com/the-confident-athlete-4-easy-steps-to-build-and-maintain-confidence/ and “The Confidence Journal”. All books can be purchased online at Amazon. For group discounts or signed copies contact http://tami@r2l.mysites.io.
Tami owns and runs, Refuse2LoseCoaching which provides mental coaching for athletes and teams at all levels. For more information on mental training contact tami@r2l.mysites.io, follow us on twitter @tamimatheny and @r2lcoaching and visit our website: https://r2lc.com.
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