Before we get into the 5 signs you are not being recruited for college sports, here is a scenario we would like you to consider:

It’s the end of the school year and you feel although you have given your all, there is something still left in your tank. You took the initiative to attend a ton of camps and showcases on your own, filled in your Classlete profile (link to blog on how to make your profile stand out), shared your Classlete Sports Card (link to Why You Will Want to Share Your Classlete Sports Card blog) and you may have received a few campus brochures from a few colleges.

Your grades are as good as it can get and your time management is on par with the best of them.

Although these may be subtle clues a school has shown interest, a common mistake for student athletes is that they are being recruited.

A 2013 NCAA report states that out of all the major NCAA sports (i.e. Football, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Volleyball, and Hockey), just less than 3% of total high school student athletes make the jump from high school to college.

So how can you avoid thinking off base about being the next recruit? How do you know the difference between schools that are bluffing vs. the one for you?

5 Signs You Are NOT Being Recruited For College Sports

The below list will help you determine when you are NOT seriously being recruited by that poker-faced looking coach.

 

1. You Were Asked or Inquired About

If a college coach inquires about you alongside your head coach – and not directly with you – you are not being recruited seriously just yet.

Although there is a reason to be optimistic, this is just an early step in the entire recruitment process. There may be various reasons the college or coach is asking about you, which can include:

• Determining your true attributes (height/weight), statics or metrics
• Receiving your contact information or address
• Inquiring about your parents and background
• Learning more about your grades, attitude and other intangibles like mental toughness*

 

2. You Receive a Letter From a Coach Stating They Will Keep In Touch

Coaches have to be experts at managing their own time given their increasing duties. So this email or letter is cause for a celebration, right?

Wrong.

Don’t make this mistake as it may be a tactic to postpone a visit, chat or invitation. Because if they were interested in bringing you to their school, they would be interacting with you NOW – if during the allowed time frame – knowing the competitive landscape of college recruiting.

Don’t be paralyzed by these letters into doing nothing or waiting day after day for the coach to make an offer, which in all likelihood may not come. Spend the time with those coaches who are taking the more direct approach.

 

3. Getting Noticed At a Showcase or Camp

It is very rare for coaches to spend their time and show up at an event with other top recruits they are honing in on and notice under the radar talent.

With no previous interaction or a personal invite from a coach, these events mean they are there eyeing a list of potential recruits that don’t have your first and last name.

It’s the equivalent of going to your school prom assuming your date is going with you, without asking, and he or she shows up with someone else as the suitor.

So although you are intent on hitting a grand slam with 4 doubles, recording a triple-double in a scrimmage, or running back 5 kick returns for a touchdown, don’t make the mistake expecting to be recruited just yet.

 

4. Generic Letters or College Brochures

So you created your profile, updated your highlight video and your parents are marketing you like a new Nike commercial – see the below Foot Locker “Father’s Day” commercial with Lonzo Ball making reference to his eclectic father Lavar Ball.

 

https://youtu.be/iPteUZfRrKw

 

You finally get a response from one of the colleges you sent your material to and you feel like you hit the jackpot. However, little did you know that it was the coaches assistant or staff member who responded to not only you, but 10 other student athletes vying for the coaches attention.

Don’t be fooled by this or the highly effective direct marketing glossy campus brochures explaining all the amenities and benefits their athletic program can offer, unless it was enclosed with a personalized letter from the coach or college Athletic Director himself.

 

5. The Questionnaire Letters

If you have received a letter from a potential college coach asking for information about you that looks like an introductory letter with a questionnaire, you are not being recruited, yet.

Again, the good news is that you are progressing along nicely within the evaluation process and are on their radar screen.

Hint – The number of questionnaires you receive is an indication of how little the coach knows about you. Go ahead and answer the letter, but again, focus your time on coaches that have taken the extra step to get to know you directly.

 

Tell us in the comment section below, what other signs have you seen that lead you to feel like you were being recruited? What annoys you about the recruitment process the most?

 

Join us on this journey as we are committed to supporting and helping the next generation of student athletes become the top of their class both on and off the field.

So to start, if you have not done so already, be sure to create your profile on Classlete.com for more access and begin your journey to balancing school, sports, and your social life today.

 

#BalanceItAll

#ImAClasslete

 

-The Classlete Team