Recruiting has changed
In the spring of 2018, the NCAA approved new rules on the way college coaches can communicate with athletes.
These rules were put in place to help athletes make more informed decisions. Recruiting conversations,
official visits and unofficial visits cannot occur until September 1st of an athletes junior year.
This is HUGE for athletes. It gives athletes more time to really consider their options and make an informed decision,
rather than being forced to choose before they know what they really want. This does, however, change the process for
those that were used to the old ways and means a slightly different approach.
Major Changes:
- Communication will only be one way: from Athlete to College Coach until 9/1 of the athlete's junior year
- There will be no recruiting talk at college camps, school visits or even through your coach
What should you do as an athlete?
Continue contacting coaches
Even though college coaches cannot respond to your messages, it is extremely important for you to contact them.
College coaches can and WILL begin their recruiting process before they can communicate with athletes. Contacting them is
the only way that you'll end up on their list of potential athletes. Now that college coaches have less time to recruit their
next class, when 9/1 comes hits, they'll be coming out of the gates running. Make sure you're on that list!
Research more schools
Since the communication piece of recruiting has been pushed back, you have more time to look at more schools. Take advantage of
this time and really consider where you see yourself. Do you want to go to a large school? Do you want to be at a school located
in a big city? Want to be part of a college town? How hard to you want to be pushed academically? If you're not sure the environment
you want to be in, use this time to visit some campuses and see what fits your personality best.
Attend College Camps
Although a college coach can't speak to you about recruiting, the can still evaluate you and see if you are a good fit for their
program. These college camps will give you a great opportunity to see the college campus and to get an idea of the coaching styles.
It will also show a coach that you are interested in their program and make sure that are on their list of potential recruits if you
have what they're looking for.
The tricky part for athletes with this new rule is that no one knows where they stand until 9/1. You really have no way of
knowing if your interest in a college is reciprocated until that date. This is why it's very important to be realistic in your
search, to cast a wide net and contact many college coaches. You don't want to focus on only top 20 division 1 programs to learn
on September 1st that you're not on any of their radars. At that point, you're forced to start over and that is not the position
you want to be in.
The best way to really take advantage of these changes is to reach out to many different college coaches and show them
that you are serious about playing the sport you love in college!