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Reply to "2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule"

I would not leave your son getting seen at a tourney up to chance.  You need to put together a comprehensive recruiting plan for your son.  Below is a cut and paste from a post I put up a few weeks ago.  It was geared toward a little different conversation, in which the player is just starting on their journey.  You are a little ways into your sons, but the basic principles still apply.  

 

Here is a high level approach.  If you have any specific questions, post your question as a separate topic, you will receive lots of advice...

-Ensure you are on the right travel team.  Not all teams are built equal.  Just because you are playing in a lot of high level tourneys and the program has a reputation for winning you may not be in the right program.  The right program will be designed for recruiting not tourney wins.  I see your in IL, PM me if your in Chicagoland and let me know what program your in.  I maybe able to provide some guidance.

-Start by putting together a list of 50 - 100 schools your son is interested in.  Make sure you are across all spectrums.  D1, D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO, etc.  The larger the list the better.  Make sure these schools interest your son.  For instance if you are not religious but you have the Uber conservative religious school on your list, its probably not a fit for your son.

-Put together an athletic resume.  This should be a one pager that is easy to read.  Include name, contact info, position info, measurable info, GPA, High School and HS contact info (consular and coach), and travel coach contact info.

-Put together a semi generic email. A couple of small paragraphs is all you need.  Make sure its easy to read.  You will need to modify this email for every school you send it to.  In the verbiage of the email you should mention something specific about the school you are sending it to.  In other words make is personable and seem like it was custom written for that school.  Have your son introduce himself, explain why he is interested in the school he is emailing, give a couple of highlights about his playing ability to catch their attention.  Let them know you have attached a resume and a copy of your HS and summer schedule.

-If you feel like his playing style is smooth and will show well, include a link to a recruiting video.  Do some research on how to make a recruiting video.  There is a specific way to shoot them.  The video should only last a couple of minutes at most.  No music, commentary or graphic overlays (other then a splash page with contact info at the beginning and end.  In general not game footage as well.  You can include some at the end.  They are actually pretty boring but if shot and produced properly can be very effective.

-Send the email out to those 50 - 100 schools.  At his age you most likely will get back a camp invite.  This is not a sign of interest.  But if the email is very personal or if you receive multiple invites from the same coach in a short period of time, their maybe some interest.  This is a very tough area to work in.  Schools use camps as a money make to fund additional coaches or programs, as well as recruit players.  The trick to this whole thing is to figure out which ones are interested in your son and which are not.  If the email contains a cell phone number for the RC at the school, have your son (not you) call and talk to the coach.  You will gain some insight as to their interest. 

-As you progress through the recruiting process you will start to narrow down you list of schools.  Hopefully at some point you will have a good line of communication to a couple of schools.  You should focus a lot of effort on those schools.  In addition as your son starts to attend additional showcases and camps you will need to email the list of schools attending prior to the camp.  Send a personal email to each school attaching your sons resume and recruiting video to them.  Hopefully this will help them remember your son when they seen him at the showcases.

At the end of the day, you control your recruiting process.  Do not leave it up to anyone else. No matter what they tell you.  Do not be afraid to ask questions as you go through the process.  Folks on this board can be very helpful.

 

 

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