- Log in to post comments
The following article is sponsored by National Scouting Report. Visit NSR’s web site at http://www.nsr-inc.com/
FRESHMEN SHOULD BE ON COLLEGE RECRUITING RADAR
Where college prospects dream of playing rarely matches their final destination.
Reality in recruiting frequently stuns high school prospects and their parents. Time is the culprit.
Families wake up one crisp Saturday morning, pile into the minivan and excitedly head to their first T-ball game. The next thing they know, their young athletes are preparing for their high school junior year. And, much to their chagrin, they are lagging far behind in the recruiting process.
But that time warp did not stop those young athletes from dreaming of playing for their favorite schools. They simply don't know any better, so the dream, which likely will not come true, still lives. It is a shocking realization.
That, in fact, is a byproduct of parents waiting to start their children in the recruiting process as early as possible. Ninth grade is not too early.
When high school athletes enter recruiting early, they learn pretty quickly where they have a chance to play; they know into which box they fit. That reality arrives via letters, emails and attention from college coaches.
College coaches usually know instantaneously where prospects fit in the overall talent pool for their graduating class. That is, NCAA Division I coaches know from experience which freshmen have the talent to develop to the top tier of college sports. So do D-II, D-III and NAIA coaches. The mystery is virtually over by the sophomore year.
Seldom do prospects pop out of the D-II or D-III box and suddenly qualify for the D-I box when they become juniors.
Prospects who wait and wait and wait for their dream schools to contact them are the ones who experience the biggest falls. Not only do they find out late that their dream is just that, but they also discover that many smaller schools have passed over them to sign prospects who long ago settled into reality.
If you are the parent of an athlete who desperately wants to play college sports, there is no reason to delay the recruiting process. The sooner you start, the better your child’s chances of receiving college offers.
National Scouting Report, the world’s oldest and largest college recruiting organization, has received hundreds of requests from college coaches seeking 2017-20 prospects on all levels. More than 95 percent of NSR’s qualified prospects receive scholarship offers. To begin the college recruiting process, 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.