Guide to the Athletic Recruiting Process for Parents E-Book Excerpt #1

After having published four different e-books since we started running Recruiting-101, there is little doubt that the most popular has been our Guide to the Athletic Recruiting Process for Parents.  This 51-page e-book breaks down the recruiting process at all ages and a very wide range of sports as well.  For only $10, this e-book has been purchased by hundreds of families and is our most comprehensive guide to the recruiting process.  Click here for more information on it but here is a small excerpt from it.  Please consider helping to support the site by purchasing it.

The importance of timing during the recruiting process
In the eyes of a parent, you may think that if your son or daughter excels as a senior in their chosen sport, they should still be able to continue their career with a scholarship in college. The ability that they showed during the season should be enough to impress college coaches all over. The problem is that it doesn’t work that way in any sport. Timing is key during the recruiting process and can play a huge factor in what schools will recruit your child.

The earlier that you help your child start the recruiting process by marketing him or her to college coaches, the better. The reason that timing is key more and more these days is because coaches are offering scholarships to eighth graders and freshmen throughout the country (note: this is mainly done in basketball but it has really started to come up more frequently over the last few years).

If your son or daughter is a junior basketball recruit (this can be applied to other sports so bear with me), one school recruiting them may have four total scholarships in that class. Your child plays power forward, and most schools are likely only going to take one player at that position. If there are ten Division I programs in your State, that means there are likely going to be around ten power forwards taken when Signing Day rolls around. If your child excelled during the season and in the summer on an AAU team, it is key to make sure that these college coaches are aware of that.

You may feel that sending out the information is too early when they are a sophomore. That is a mistake. If your son or daughter has excelled at the varsity level and/or during the AAU season, your information should already be sent in an email to college coaches at schools that could be a good fit for your son or daughter at the next level. Getting your child’s name out there as soon as they have a productive varsity season in any sport is vital to the recruiting process.

As a parent, you may decide to wait because you feel that it is too early to begin the recruiting process with your son or daughter being a freshman. However, two of those colleges may extend offers to kids in their grade at the same position. So the total list of in-state Division I schools with power forward offers is now down to eight. Another school may not be thrilled with the crop of recruits that they have on their database so they accept a transfer. That leaves the list at seven. But by sending out your child’s information early, you may get on the school’s recruiting database. This does not mean that your son or daughter will get a scholarship. What it means is that they will at least take a look at your child during the recruiting process to see if you are worthy of a scholarship. Again, the answer may be no but if they are not on that list, it will be tough to be evaluated by a college coach in any sport.

Click here for more information about how to purchase this e-book for just $10.