Business as Usual
This is the time of year a lot of Seniors are taking their Official Recruiting Visits or you will be speaking with coaches about them soon. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the term “Official Recruiting Visit,” it is where the school will pay for you to come to the school for 48 hours and they will pay for your hotel and food. Typically, a coach will team you up with a current player on the team, (hopefully there is a BIG football or basketball game that weekend), and the staff is essentially selling you on their school. It is basically like a job interview…they want to learn more about you and they obviously want you to learn more about them.
One of the things I always STRESS to the athletes I coach is that YOUR recruiting visit is a BUSINESS TRIP! This is NOT a vacation and a time to go “party.”
REAL RECRUITING TRIP STORY
A few years back there was an athlete that went on a recruiting visit. The first day of his trip, the coaches introduced themselves to the players being recruited and shared with them some things that they expect from their players. One of the things they stressed is that they DO NOT tolerate any drug use on the team…seems obvious I know.
Well, that night a kid on his recruiting trip was taken to a party by his “host” player. They were hanging out at the party, drugs started getting passed around, the recruit wanted to “fit in” with the “BIG COLLEGE” kids on campus…next thing you know he is doing the drugs being passed around at the party.
The next day the coach calls the player into his office, tells him, “We would REALLY like you to come play here. We are uncertain of our scholarships at this time, but we would DEFINITELY like to have you as a Preferred Walk-On, and if we have a scholarship avaiable you are one of our top guys to get an offer.”
The kid is STOKED! He flys home, tells his parents how much he loves the school, football program, coaching staff, and he is DEFINITELY going to go to school there.
Well, what do you think the FIRST thing a college coach does with his “HOST” players once the recruits leave campus?
Did you guess the following:
He asks the HOST players what they thought of the recruits? Would he fit in at this school? What is his character like? Did they do anything suspicious or something that would not allow them to be a part of this program? Etc.
…a few days after this young man gets back from his recruiting visit, his dad gets a phone call from the head coach. The coach says, “Mr. Dad, we really like your son, and we think he is a great football player, but one of our players saw your son doing drugs at a party Saturday night. As you heard me state Saturday afternoon one of the things we ABSOLUTELY do not tolerate is drug use in our program. I am sorry to have to tell you this, but we no longer want your son to be a part of our program.”
Now, the dad later tells me that he thinks his son was set up by the team…to test his character! He obviously did not pass the test. No one will ever know for sure if the team was testing him or he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but there are definitely programs that will put you in situations on your recruiting visit to see how you will respond. You MUST understand that your recruiting visit is a BUSINESS TRIP…as much as the movie, Johnny Be Good, glorified recruiting visits you must realize your recruiting visit is your interview.
It is imperative that you go on your recruiting visits, and you DO the RIGHT thing on your trips. These coaches are investing A LOT of time and money in you as a person and an athlete, so they are watching every thing YOU SAY and DO…SAY and DO the right thing!
If you have any recruiting stories you would like to share, please, leave them in the comments section below. Your story may help a young man or woman do the right thing on their recruiting trip and secure their scholarship. Thanks for sharing!
For a GREAT recruiting video go to College Recruiting Secrets Video
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