NSR Recruiting Blog: Important Questions to Ask During a College Visit (Sponsored by NSR Scouting Report

The following article is sponsored by National Scouting Report. Visit NSR’s web site at http://www.nsr-inc.com/

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING A COLLEGE VISIT

Official and unofficial visits are a critical time for athletes in the recruiting process. How they go often determines whether an athlete will receive a scholarship offer. Meeting with a college coach and touring the university helps athletes figure out if the school is the right fit for them.

Here some important things to do and ask during college visits:

Prepare

Hopefully, before an athlete has made it to the visiting stage of the recruiting process, her or she has done their homework. But, just in case, make sure it happens before the campus visit. It’s important for athletes to refrain from asking cliché questions that could be found by a simple Google search or visiting the university’s website. For one, it comes off as lazy, which you don’t want a prospective coach to think about you. Secondly, it prepares you to ask the hard-hitting questions you need answered.

Listen

This skill is essential for athletes conversing with a college coach, mostly because coaches will answer a lot of questions during your visit. Even though there’s a saying, “No question is a stupid question,” it will look bad if you ask a question that a coach already has answered.

Ask questions

It’s easy to be intimidated by a college coach. No one wants to make a mistake or ask the wrong question, especially when pursuing a college scholarship. However, if you don’t ask anything, that won’t go over well, either. The recruiting process is all about relationships, and it’s impossible to build one with a one-way conversation. Choosing a college or university is the most difficult decision an athlete will have to make, so it’s essential for athletes to have all the knowledge needed to choose wisely.

The recruiting process is different for everyone. For some athletes, recruiting begins earlier, so they go into the official visit much differently than others who are late in the game. Questions also will be different for Division I and II coaches versus Division III coaches because D-III schools can’t offer athletic scholarships.

Here are some general questions athletes should ask no matter where they are in the recruiting process:

To coach

• What is a typical day for your athletes?
• What is the practice/training schedule?
• What are your goals for the program?
• What positions are you looking to fill?
• How big is this year’s recruiting class?

To players

• How do you like the coaching staff?
• How do you manage training and academics?
• What is a typical day? (Compare this to the coach’s answer.)
• Do you have any advice for me?
• If you could do it again, would you choose this university?

To support staff (academic, administration, compliance, training)

• How will you help me succeed academically?
• What is the players’ training schedule?
• What should I be doing now?
• Are there degree programs athletes can’t pursue?

National Scouting Report, the world’s oldest and largest college recruiting organization, has received hundreds of requests from college coaches seeking 2018-20 prospects in all sports. More than 95 percent of NSR’s qualified prospects receive multiple scholarship offers. For a FREE evaluation, contact NSR Area Director Gary Silvers, former Executive Sports Editor of the Bucks County Courier Times, at (215) 480-8764 or gsilvers@nsr-inc.com.