Recruiting Myths

TOP 10 RECRUITING MYTHS

I am being recruited because I am receiving letters from colleges.

Hate to break it to you but thousands of other kids are getting the same exact letter as you are. You are in their database which is cool but that does not qualify as being recruited. When you get a real recruiting letter (not just an invite to their camp) you will know the difference.

I am the best player on my team so coaches will find me.

As recruiting budgets continually get cut, college coaches have fewer staff and financial resources to find you, even more so if you are a little off of the beaten path.

I have got until my senior year to get the recruiting process started.

Wake up, look around, and see how many kids on your team the past three seasons that did not start the recruiting process early (in their frosh, soph, or early in their junior year) are playing at the next level.

If I am not a top player, I can not get recruited.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The key to getting recruited is setting realistic expectations on what level you can actually compete at athletically and academically then getting (and staying) on the staff radar by consistently providing them relevant information to evaluate you (like highlights, grades, test scores and stats).

My coach has a bunch of connections so I am all set.

That is great. You should leverage every opportunity you can to get additional exposure. That said, it would not be wise to put all of your eggs in this basket, or any basket for that matter.

I am an awesome player so my bad grades are no big deal.

Wrong. The first thing any college coach at any level looks at is your grades to see if you qualify academically before they invest time any amount of time evaluating your athletic ability.

I do not need a highlight video, my stats are enough.

After coaches look at your grades and test scores to see if you qualify academically, your highlight video is the single most important thing a coach needs to see in order to evaluate whether or not you are a potential fit for their program - and the highlight film needs to be short and sweet and create instant WOWs - or they are off to the next kid.

Coaches look at the highlight CDs my dad mails out.

Back in the pre-Internet days this was absolutely true because there was no other way, besides going to a game, to get a look at an athlete. The Internet has changed the recruiting playing field forever and technology has made it so simple (a click of a mouse) to evaluate 10 times the number of kids in the same amount of time it took to view one. Sorry dad.

I am doing combines, camps and showcases which is getting me plenty of exposure.

This is in fact true if you are placing in the 95th percentile. You will absolutely get additional exposure which will help you get on the radar of more schools. That said, the truth is that the majority of student athletes competing at these types of events gain little to no benefit in the recruiting process, in fact, if you do poorly, your times and performance are non-erasable from the Internet.

My team plays in a tough division so scouts will discover me.

This does not exactly sound like a recruiting plan. Yes, you may in fact get lucky, but the law of averages is not on your side. Too many athletes from top teams in their STATE fall under the radar so why would you just happen to be the lucky one who lands the scholarship?

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Success Stories

Sarah Welty

Sarah signed her National Letter of Intent to Brigham Young University in Hawaii on the signing day, 2/7/07. Just wanted to let you know and thank you for all your help. Could you please update her profile to show that info. We are still getting calls and a lot of emails and mail from different colleges and want to let all of them know that we have made our decision.

Britni McCaskill

We just want to thank you for the exposure you have provided our daughter through CSA. We knew she was an excellent student and a strong athlete but we did not know how to package this and present it to colleges and universities. Your program took that worry away from us. Almost immediately Britni began receiving volumes of letters and phone calls from coaches at colleges and universities across the country. We were amazed and Britni was delighted that she had so many choices. She had college scholarship offers ranging from $4,000-$32,000. We are grateful for your program and would recommend it to any parent and student athlete that is interested in continuing their sport at the collegiate level. Take it from us CSA-PrepStar is well worth the investment!

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