How do I know if a School is Really Interested in Recruiting Me?
Letters, contacts & visits don't always indicate you are a coach's top choice
Revised July 16, 2019
Throughout the recruiting process, NCAA Division I coaches will attend junior golf tournaments to assess players' skill levels and on-course demeanors. Additionally, NCAA Division I coaches are permitted to write, email, text or phone prospects beginning June 15th following a prospect’s sophomore year in high school. Coaches can also have face-to-face contacts with recruits and their families no sooner than August 1st preceding a prospect's junior year of high school. These contacts generally occur on site at tournaments once the player has finished golf for the day or at the prospect's home. Campus visits (both unofficial and official) also play a key role in the overall recruiting process and can occur at the same time.
So, what does it mean if a coach sends you a letter? Is a phone call (after June 15th) a sign that the coach is planning to offer you a scholarship? If the head coach (versus the assistant coach) watches you play at a tournament, are you someone he/she wants on their team? These are a few of the many questions that junior golfers and their families face while trying to determine which schools are really interested in recruiting them.
To help you answer these questions and to better understand this process, I offer the following suggestions and explanations:
- Hand-written, personalized letters
from a coach are more meaningful than generic
typed letters.
- Official visits (offered and paid
for
by a coach) are an indication that you are one
of the school's top recruits among your
graduating class.
- On-campus meetings with coaches
held
during an unofficial visit do not necessarily
indicate that the coach is interested in
recruiting you. Oftentimes, they are courtesy
visits.
- Regular (at least weekly) email
exchanges from the coaching staff ensure that
you are a serious recruit and that the coaches
intend to maintain a dialogue with you
throughout the recruiting process.
- Constant on-course playing
evaluations
at a tournament by members of a coaching staff
indicate that you are a top recruit and that a
scholarship offer is likely.
- A courtesy reply letter from a
school
does not mean that you are on their recruit
target list for your graduation class.
- A generic questionnaire sent to you as a sophomore
indicates that you are one of 20-30 prospects
on that coach's recruiting list for your
graduation class.
- In-home recruiting visits
scheduled by
a coach indicate serious interest and
generally lead to scholarship offers.
- Phone calls and text messages from an NCAA Division I coach on the first permissible date (June 15th following your sophomore year in high school), are a definite sign that the coach is planning to recruit you for the upcoming graduation class.
As you experience the college golf recruiting process and communicate with specific coaches through letters, emails, contacts, text messages and campus visits, try to assess how interested each coach really is in recruiting you. This analysis will help make the overall process more efficient and will guide you along the best path as you target various colleges. Remember that actions always speak louder than words, especially in the world of recruiting.
Coach Brooks
Red
Numbers Golf®