How The College Recruiting Process Works

Being Recognized

The college athletic recruiting process is a time consuming and confusing process. It doesn’t have to be, and this is why recruiting services like UnderRecruited Preps, NCSA (Next College Student Athlete), and Be Recruited are for. Being recognized by a college coach is just one of the steps in the recruiting process. Academics and athletic ability play a big role in the athletic recruiting decisions college coaches make.

Minnesota State University-Mankato Head Women’s Hockey Coach John Harrington Talks About the Recruiting Process:

I think it starts out with young players being recognized. Whether the coaches go out and see them play, whether the players contact you and say “hey I’m interested and here’s some of my information” and then the coaches get interested in you. I think with other coaches and hearsay it’s just like “hey coach you better go see I’ve heard there’s this good player at so and so high school that maybe you need to go and see this player play”, so it kind of starts that way.

Then the coaches go out and see you. They’ll want to see them play it might be an assistant coach it might be multiple assistants and the head coach but they’re going to make a decision on whether they think that there’s some projection there is a good college player and then at that time it’s just starting the contact just seeing what their grades are. Are they a good academic student? Are they able to go to college or feel that you think they can go to college? then watching them play”

Unofficial and Official visits

What is an unofficial visit? Any visit by you (student-athlete) and your parents to a college campus paid for by you or your parents. The only expense you may receive from the college is three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest. You may make as many unofficial visits as you like and may take those visits at any time. The only time you cannot talk with a coach during an unofficial visit is during a dead period.

What is an official visit? Any visit to a college campus by you and your parents paid for by the college. The college may pay all or some of the following expenses:

Your transportation to and from the college.
Room and meals (three per day) while you are visiting the college; and
Reasonable entertainment expenses, including three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest.

You must have a Certification Account with the NCAA Eligibility Center before you can go on an official visit.

I think getting out to see the schools is the first step in making sure you’re academically qualified as well as athletically qualified to play at the college.

How long does the recruiting process last?

Remember choosing a university or college is not a 4-5-year decision. It’s a 40-50-year decision. College scholarships are very competitive. Be proactive and start the recruiting process early.

Sometimes it’s a shorter timeframe sometimes it’s something where if they’re looking at other schools it takes a lot more time.

Click here to watch the full interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhhvN-ni0iM&t=4s