ODR365 Frequently Asked Questions
In today’s world of recruiting, the recruiting process is starting earlier than ever before. The NCAA’s timeline for recruiting starts day 1 of Freshman year, but there are athletic programs and coaches who are making offers to middle school athletes. College sports recruiting is highly competitive amongst college coaches and they have continuously pushed the limits to try to bring in the next best recruiting class for their program. Think about it, if you had your job on the line each year depending on Wins and Losses, would you wait to recruit late seniors or would you try to get commitments from athlete early in their lives? With understanding the college coaches approach, It’s really not your choice whether you wait to start the recruiting process or start early. The recruiting process will start early no matter when you start. So to be safe get evaluated by a 3rd party scout and start the recruiting process before its too late.
No, senior year is not too late to start the recruiting process. Starting the process senior year isn’t the ideal starting point but there is still time to find the right college opportunity. Starting the process senior will definitely mean there is some ‘catch up’ work to be done, but the work is worth it. Remember, you have one chance to get recruited in your life and even though you are getting a late start there is still time to put together a very serious recruiting campaign and earn a scholarship. The doors are not shut, and the recruiting process isn’t over, until you graduate high school.
30 years ago, yes. In today’s world? No. Recruiting starts online today and 95% of athletes are identified online first. College coaches don’t have time to go to random high school games just to find the diamond in the rough. College coaches use trusted scouting services to verify high school athletes and gather information to start building their recruiting lists. Once they are informed about an athlete they will eventually want to see that player live.
The recruiting process we live in today starts earlier than ever before. College coaches can offer a scholarship at any age. There are middle school athletes who are receiving offers. Now, although that is not the norm, it can and does happen. So if you are already in High School, please understand you can definitely receive an offer at any time. If you are in a situation where you have had multiple conversations, or even a simple contact, with a college coach and he/she still has not made an offer, you will need to expand your college search. Coaches who tell you they don’t make offers this early are basically saying ‘you’re not on the top of our recruiting board’.
As a student athlete you can start taking unofficial college visits at any age. National Prospect ID recommends you to start taking unofficial visits freshman year. Pick out 3-5 schools during freshman year start to get the feel for what you are looking for in a college. You can take unlimited amount of unofficial visits during your career but all expenses are paid by you and your family.
Is playing on a club/travel team important to be successful in recruiting?
Depending on your sport, playing on a club/travel team can be extremely important, but no matter what playing club/travel does not guarantee you will be recruited to play in college. Playing on a club/travel team will give you an opportunity to play against top competition which can help your stock value in college coaches’ eyes, but millions of Student-Athletes will play on a club or travel team each year and most will not get recruited.
I go to a lot of camps, combines, and showcases but I’m still not getting recruited. Why not?
Many camps, combines, and showcase events are not made for recruiting purposes even though they market them to be. Most are companies who are in business to make a profit and most do not have college coaches present at their events. If a college coach attends a camp, combine, or showcase it’s usually because he wants to see a player he is already recruiting play live. It is important to remember that camps, combines and showcases can be helpful to getting recruited but they are not the end all. They are a way to get all of your athletic information verified as well as an opportunity to test yourself against top competition in your area. There are sometimes hundreds if not a thousand other recruits at these events and it can be very difficult to stand out. Also these companies and colleges that run the events invite tons of other recruits so they can generate revenue. So you must stand out
Yes college coaches use social media to get more information on their recruits and also use it as a recruiting tool. Coaches can learn a lot about student athletes by looking at their FB, Twitter or Instagram pages. They can also learn a lot by looking at student athlete’s friend’s information. You must be very mindful about what you post in social media and who you associate with on social media because negative content can hurt your chances of getting recruited.
I play Junior Varsity. Should I wait to play Varsity to start the recruiting process?
Do not wait until varsity to start your recruiting process. Even though you have not played varsity yet the timeline in recruiting still matters. If you are one of the best athletes on your team, for your age, it is highly recommended to start the process. Waiting to start the process until you play varsity can be the difference between you earning a scholarship or not. Don’t wait.
No. Being a multi-sport athlete shows your passion for sports and also your athletic diversity. Go ahead and play as many sports during your High School career as you would like. The one recommendation we have is to make sure you are playing the sport you are looking to get recruited for during your high school season, as well as, on a club or travel team too. The games you play, the more comfortable a college coach will be to make a decision to recruit you or not.
Do not wait until varsity to start your recruiting process. Even though you have not played varsity yet the timeline in recruiting still matters. If you are one of the best athletes on your team, for your age, it is highly recommended to start the process. Waiting to start the process until you play varsity can be the difference between you earning a scholarship or not. Don’t wait.
Yes you can, but remember you go through the recruiting process one time. There are no do-overs in recruiting and if you take on all the responsibility you may have regrets afterward if you don’t succeed. To do it on your own it will take a lot of time, a consistent effort, a well planned game plan and knowledge about the recruiting process. The process can be very confusing and frustrating, and that’s the reason National Prospect ID exists…to help simplify and manage the recruiting process for you.
For most sports college coaches like to see highlight films from actual game footage. However with baseball, softball and golf coaches actually want to see your skills footage. Certain sports like soccer, volleyball and lacrosse can actually be a mixture of both depending on which position you play. Always make sure you are sending coaches the correct type of film because that will make the difference in your recruiting success.
Yes! Your GPA is extremely important if you want to get recruited and if you want to get a scholarship. The NCAA has raised their minimum requirements, to be NCAA eligible, in recent years. Also there is so much competition out there so the higher your GPA the more attractive of a recruit you are.
There are no limitations when a student athlete and parents can call college coaches. College coaches will be able to take your phone call at anytime. But, the college coaches have rules and limitations for when they can call recruits.
Any help your high school coach can give you is definitely a bonus and it is important to have a great relationship with your coach. However at the end of the day it’s the coaches’ job to win high school games and it is the Student Athletes responsibility to get recruited. Remember, it is your future on the line and you want to be in control of your own recruiting process. If you rely too much on your coaches for recruiting help, please don’t blame them if you don’t get a scholarship or miss getting recruited.
Similar to your high school coach it is important to have a great relationship with your travel or club coach and any help they can give you is a bonus. Many travel or club coaches tell athletes that being part of the team will help you get recruited. Many times recruits are disappointed because at the tournaments they attend no college coaches are present. Please don’t get mislead, and don’t blame your coaches if no college coaches are present at the tournaments like promised. Club coaches sign up for tournaments before the season begins because the tournament tells your coach that college coaches will be present. Tournaments can’t control which coaches attend or don’t.
Does my family need to invest a lot of money to get recruited?
Whether you decide to invest in a scouting organization for help, or you decide to navigate the process yourself, recruiting DOES cost money! Whether its camps, combines, showcase events, travel expenses, professional video editing, or travel/club team fees you will end up spending thousands of dollars trying to get recruited.
The question is: Are you spending money in the right places? Answer: Working with scouting professionals in the industry will save you time and money in the long run, and will give you a game plan that works.