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NCSA: How coaches can help their athletes get recruiting exposure at events

Colleges coaches are super busy. Here’s how you can help them maximize their time while recruiting your athlete.

Nelson Gord is a former collegiate and professional ballplayer, successful high school head coach and the founder of the largest travel baseball club in Illinois. Nelson is just one of many former college and professional athletes and coaches who are part of the Next College Student Athlete team. Their experience—along with NCSA’s history of digital innovation and long-standing relationship with the college coaching community—helped create NCSA Team Edition, the free recruiting platform for club and high school coaches and their teams.

Between preparing gameday strategy, running practices, traveling to games, planning budgets and scouting for recruits, college coaches do not have much free time. That’s why they do much of their recruiting at events where multiple teams will be present. They don’t have time to zig-zag across the country to check out individual recruits, but at large tournaments, showcases, combines and other events, they can potentially see dozens of prospects compete in one place.

This is why getting noticed at recruiting events is so important for your athletes. Fortunately, as a high school or club coach, you can help your athletes get more recruiting exposure by having them follow a few steps. Read up on what your athletes should do before, during and after a recruiting event to get noticed by college coaches. Just remember that every sport and event is different—though this guide should provide a solid template for what to do.

Athletes and parents: You can apply these tips directly, but also feel free to share them with your high school or club coach.

Before an event

It’s important to note that most college coaches go into a recruiting event with a list of athletes they are planning to watch out for. If your athletes want to make sure they are noticed, they have to prepare in advance.

Going in, your athletes should already have a target list of colleges that they hope to get noticed by and they should be sending their full event schedule to those college coaches. Once they receive their specific game times, they should share those too.
Events often provide a list of college coaches that will be in attendance or have previously attended. Your athletes should look at this list and contact any coaches from schools of interest.
Your athletes should reach out to college coaches before the event to get on their radar, sharing pertinent info and providing them with an updated recruiting video. This can help separate them from dozens of other potential recruits.
If college programs that will be in attendance have a recruiting questionnaire on their website, your athletes should fill that out.
For college coaches in attendance, your athletes should follow them on social media.

During the event

Not every recruiting event is the same. Tournaments, showcases, combines, clinics, camps, etc., can have different rules about communicating with college coaches. Keep that in mind.

At camps, it is usually fine for your athletes to introduce themselves to college coaches before the event. At a showcase or tournament, this usually isn’t the norm.
Depending on the event, there can be specific rules depending on division level and grad year for how college coaches can interact at these events. Sometimes no contact is allowed, while other times contact is allowed once your team is done playing for the day or the weekend, for example.
Typically, you should talk to college coaches in attendance at an event. If a college coach is interested in speaking with any of your athletes, they will tell you to have athletes talk to them after the game or have them follow up via email.
“When talking to a college coach that you do not have a prior relationship with, it is important to begin the conversation with introducing yourself, background, organizational mission and what sets your program apart from the thousands of other teams,” says Sami Baugh, Director of Recruitment at OC Batbusters Chicago.
Sami also adds that you can show your engagement by asking questions, like:
- What are you looking for today, and how can I be of help?
- What are the selling points of your college?
- What majors attract students to your college?
- What are the entrance requirements?
- What type of student-athlete tends to succeed at your college?
- How many scholarships does your program have and how many do you have left in each graduation year?
You can help college coaches by having a roster sheet with basic information available for them at the event. This can help college coaches have specific conversations with you about your athletes.
You can also use social media to post about athletes that have performed well at an event. Gavin Sullivan, Director of Midwest Prospect Academy (a travel basketball club) adds, “We will also post and retweet any social media from other sources regarding our players. We allow our players to retweet information about themselves from other sources and people. We feel that others’ promotion is better than self-promotion.”

After the event

The work isn’t done once an event is over, no matter how well an athlete performed. Your athletes need to maintain communication with college coaches in order to stand out.

Remind your athletes to follow up with college coaches and let them know how they performed at the event.
In follow-up communication, athletes should also ask specific questions about the college, team, coaches’ needs and next steps that they can take.
Sami Baugh of OC Batbusters recommends that athletes shouldn’t be afraid to ask bold questions, like “After evaluating me at this past event, do you think I would be a good fit for your program?”
You should gather information about all college coaches you spoke with and athletes you discussed. Let each athlete know who they should follow up with.
You can send a follow-up email to any college coaches you spoke with—particularly when dealing with underclassmen—to get better feedback on if a college is interested or not. You can ask what information a college coach might need, any other questions they have and how to keep in touch with them for future events and updates.
“If a college coach is unresponsive or does not give direct feedback regarding interest level when asked, and division rules allow for communication, chances are that the athlete will not be recruited to that school,” adds Sami Baugh. At this point, you can provide families with a status update so they can update their target list.
You can also gather videos and photos and promote athletes on social media after the event. Gavin Sullivan of Midwest Prospect Academy adds, “We will also sometimes create highlight packages for players and teams and promote them on our social media accounts as well.”

The proper event preparation can offer a tremendous recruiting boost for your athletes, but it is also a time-consuming process. That’s why NCSA developed Team Edition to help coaches like you connect with college programs, manage your athletes and save time. Do you need help with more event exposure? Have any topics which you’d like to see covered in this column? Reach out to us directly at teamedition@ncsasports.com and we’ll let you know how we can help.

NCSA: How to get recruited for men’s college water polo

From the guidelines to the best schools, NCSA breaks down how to get recruited in men’s water polo.

Dan is a former NCAA DIII college swimmer with over 13 years of collegiate coaching experience at the DII and DIII levels. Dan is just one of many former college and professional athletes and coaches who are part of the Next College Student Athlete team. NCSA’s history of digital innovation and long-standing relationship with the college coaching community has made it the largest and most successful collegiate athletic recruiting network in the country.

Men’s water polo is among the fastest growing sports in the United States. The NCAA saw a 12% increase in international water polo student-athletes between 2011 and 2016 at the Division I level, making for the largest growth that the NCAA has seen in any Division I level men’s sport. As the sport continues to grow, so will competition for roster spots on the NCAA’s 43 men’s water polo teams. This combined with the existing challenges that student-athletes face as they attempt to navigate the NCAA recruiting rules and calendar, search for the right college match and market themselves to college coaches, can make for a stressful and overwhelming recruiting process.

Luckily, NCSA recruiting experts have created a guide to the water polo recruiting process to help student-athletes through a stress-free recruiting journey.

NCAA Water Polo Recruiting Rules and Calendar

As a result of recent changes made to the NCAA recruiting rules, men’s water polo recruiting will likely begin earlier than it has in past years.

These changes are rooted in a 2017 NCAA study on the college recruiting experience that revealed a rapidly growing trend of early recruiting across the majority of NCAA-sponsored sports. Effective as of May 2019, communication between college coaches and student-athletes is prohibited until June 15 after the athlete’s sophomore year. The NCAA also changed the date that water polo recruits can start scheduling unofficial and official visits to after August 1 of their junior year.

To review a full list of the NCAA recruiting rules across each division level, visit our guide to the NCAA water polo recruiting rules and calendar.

Water Polo Recruiting Guidelines

Did you know that the college water polo course is 30 meters, while water polo courses at the high school level are only 25 meters? The two most important skills athletes must have to successfully adjust to the eight-meter difference are speed and swimming ability. While college water polo coaches do consider player stats, such as goals scored, ejections drawn and assists, it’s skills such as speed and swimming ability that coaches put the most emphasis on when evaluating recruits.

To see if you have what it takes to set yourself apart from the crowd of college-bound water polo athletes, check out our recruiting guidelines section, where we outline the experience level and skillset that college coaches look for at each division level.

The Recruiting Process

The water polo recruiting process starts long before college coaches can begin contacting recruits. Below is a look at steps you should be taking to prepare for the recruiting process as early as your freshman year:

Research water polo programs: Start by identifying which of the 43 college water polo programs you feel are the best fit for you academically, athletically, financially and socially.
Build a recruiting profile: College coaches search NCSA recruiting databases regularly to evaluate talent. Build a recruiting profile that college coaches can access to evaluate your stats and recruiting video. Create your free NCSA recruiting profile here,
Create a recruiting video: College coaches typically start the evaluation process by reviewing recruiting video. To ensure that your recruiting video features the skills college coaches are looking for, visit our How to Get Recruited for Men’s Water Polo for a list of recruiting video tips by position.
Attend water polo camps: What are the best water polo camps to attend? Find a list of 2019-20 water polo camps on the East and West Coast and in the Midwest here.
Contact college coaches: College coaches cannot contact you until after June 15 after your sophomore year. In the meantime, show coaches that you are interested in their program by sending an introductory email. Learn how to write an introductory email.

Scholarship Opportunities

If you play a position that is versatile and directly impacts scoring opportunities, like goalie or utility player, you are more likely to receive an athletic scholarship offer. But it takes more than just playing one of these positions to earn a scholarship. College coaches reserve their scholarship budget for elite-level all-star talent that can immediate impact the team’s growth and success in their first season.

College water polo programs have a small scholarship budget with the NCAA allowing just 4.5 full-ride equivalent scholarships per team each year at the Division I and Division II levels. This budget is even smaller when the program is not fully funded by the institution. As a result, coaches are more likely to divide their scholarship budget to award multiple athletes a partial scholarship, rather than full rides.

Read more: Men’s Water Polo Scholarships.

Top Ranked Men’s Water Polo Colleges

Where will you play collegiate water polo? Selecting a list of prospective schools to find your college match takes time, but with our Power Rankings, you can more easily find programs that meet your needs when it comes to size, location, cost and academics. View a complete list of colleges offering men’s water polo.

NCSA: How to get recruited for men’s track and field

A high school boys track and field athlete interested in competing at the next level should check out this guide from NCSA.

USA TODAY High School Sports has a weekly column on the college recruiting process. Here, you’ll find practical tips and real-world advice on becoming a better recruit to maximize your opportunities and play at the college level. Jason Smith is a former NCAA DIII athlete and college coach at all three division levels. Jason is just one of many former college and professional athletes, college coaches and parents who are part of the Next College Student Athlete team. Their knowledge, experience and dedication, along with NCSA’s history of digital innovation and long-standing relationship with the college coaching community, have made NCSA the largest and most successful athletic recruiting network in the country.

With so much training in the sport, men’s track and field recruiting can feel like it’s all about getting the best possible PR. But the truth is that potential recruits will have to do more than just perform on the track or field to earn a difficult-to-secure roster spot on a college team. Athletes and families need to be mindful of the recruiting calendar and rules and always stay proactive about communicating with college coaches. To provide insight on the college recruiting process, we here at NCSA put together the Men’s College Track and Field Recruiting Guide, which potential track and field recruits should read and reference. In this article, you’ll find some key takeaways from the guide.

Recruiting rules and calendar

Like in many college sports, college coaches at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels cannot contact potential recruits until June 15 after their sophomore year of high school. But college coaches at the Division III, NAIA and NJCAA (junior college) levels don’t have the same restrictions—they’re allowed to reach out to recruits who show interest at any point in time. Prior to the important June 15 date, Division I and Division II programs start the recruiting process by watching results, searching prospect databases and sending non-recruiting materials, such as questionnaires, camp information or non-athletic information. Read more about the recruiting rules and calendar.

Recruiting guidelines

Men’s track and field differs from most college sports in that the recruiting guidelines are quite varied and there is no “typical” recruiting process. That’s because track and field has shot putters, hurdlers, long-distance runners and a variety of different athletes with different competition PRs. Regardless of when or where you start, or which events you compete in, all potential recruits should be proactive and take charge of their own recruiting because college coaches can’t find all the recruits they need on their own.

According to a 2017 NCAA study, 43% of surveyed athletes reported that their first contact with a college coach occurred during their junior year of high school, followed closely by 39% during senior year. When recruiting, college coaches look for valid and accurate data from Fully Automatic Times (FAT), training history and accessible information. Read more about men’s track and field recruiting guidelines and specific times and distances.

Scholarships and financial aid

Athletes and families can potentially find athletic scholarships for men’s track and field at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels, as well as at the NAIA and junior college levels. At the Division III level, there are no athletic scholarships, but coaches can help recruits secure merit and need-based aid. Men’s track and field is an equivalency sport, meaning that coaches do not have to award full scholarships and can instead break them up among athletes on the roster. Fortunately, fully funded track and field teams do tend to have more scholarships per team than many other sports. There is a limit of 12.6 full scholarships per team at the Division I and Division II levels and up to 20 scholarships at the junior college level. Read more about men’s track and field scholarships.

Men’s track and field camps

It’s beneficial for potential recruits to get seen by college coaches firsthand. Though coaches do sometimes attend big meets to check out athletes, track and field camps provide a great opportunity for elite athletes to showcase their skills in a competitive environment, while gaining maximum exposure to college coaches. Track camps may not be essential for top recruits, but they are still a great way to work on improving skills, build a relationship with college coaches and check out college campuses. However, athletes and families should make sure camps fit their budget and are tailored to their current ability level. For example, freshmen may be outmatched at a Division I premier camp. Read more about camps and see a full list of men’s track and field camps.

Colleges with men’s track and field

There are roughly 1,160 men’s track and field college teams across all the major athletic divisions: NCAA Division I, Division I and Division III, as well as NAIA and junior colleges. Though that may seem like a lot, earning a roster spot on a college team is still difficult, with only around 4.8% of men’s track athletes earning a college roster spot. Additionally, recruits will want to find the college that offers them the best athletic, academic, financial and social fit so that they have the best chance of staying on the roster all four years and completing their college degree. Read more about men’s track and field colleges and see a full list of teams.

NCSA: How to get recruited for women’s college swimming

High school girls swimmers interested in competing at the next level should check out this breakdown from NCSA.

Jeff is a former college swimmer and coach at an NCAA DIII program. Jeff is just one of many former college and professional athletes and coaches who are part of the Next College Student Athlete team. NCSA’s history of digital innovation and long-standing relationship with the college coaching community has made it the largest and most successful collegiate athletic recruiting network in the country.

Which women’s college swimming program is right for you? With a total of 627 women’s swimming programs across the three NCAA divisions, the NAIA and the NJCAA and CCCAA, this isn’t an easy question to answer. It’s also just one of many questions you’ll find yourself asking during the college recruiting process.

While only you can decide what swimming program is right for you, NCSA can help you through the decision-making process with our guide to women’s college swimming recruiting.

NCAA Swimming Recruiting Rules and Calendar

The NCAA established a new set of recruiting rules for the 2019-2020 season that may change a decade-long trend of later recruiting in college swimming. Rather than waiting until senior year, college coaches believe that student-athletes will begin committing to programs as juniors, now that communication between coaches and athletes is permitted beginning June 15 after the athlete’s sophomore year. Earlier commitments mean that student-athletes and their families need to prepare for recruiting, as scholarship money will diminish earlier in the process.

Swimming Recruiting Times

Do you have what it takes to swim for an NCAA women’s swimming program? NCSA’s team of swimming experts created a guide to college swimming recruiting times based on qualifying times for major swim meets and a strong understanding of college coaches’ expectations at each division levels. For example, most elite Division I women’s swimming recruits can swim the 100 Freestyle in 47.3 seconds, compared to swimmers at the Division II and Division III levels who clock in between 49.9 and 50.9 seconds.

Visit NCSA’s guide to college swimming recruiting times to see what division level you are best suited for based on your current swim times.

The Recruiting Process

June 15 after your sophomore year may be when college coaches can begin contacting you, but your college recruiting process starts long before this date. Below is a list of steps all student-athletes and their families should take leading up to June 15:

Researching swimming programs: Women’s college swimming programs are offered at more than 550 four-year colleges and universities. Your first step in the recruiting process is to research these programs to build a list of prospective schools. Here is a comprehensive list of colleges with women’s swimming.
Build a recruiting profile: To increase your visibility and exposure to college coaches, create a strong recruiting profile that coaches can reference to evaluate your swim times and academic stats. Create a free NCSA recruiting profile.
Create a highlight video: College coaches aren’t there to evaluate your technique at swim practice and they won’t always be at competitions where you swim a best time. Luckily, you can capture your technique and performance at swim meets in a highlight video for college coaches to review. Learn how to make a highlight video.
Attend swim camps: Competitive swim camps are a great way for you to improve your reaction time off the block, stroke technique, transitions and race finish. When hosted by a college swim program, these camps also serve as an opportunity for you to explore campus and the facilities. Find a swim camp near you.
Contacting college coaches: You won’t hear from college coaches interested in recruiting you until after June 15 of your sophomore year, but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reach out to express interest in a college swimming program. This is your guide to writing a recruiting letter.

How to Get a Swimming Scholarship

Women’s college swimming is extremely competitive, so you’ll need to be proactive when pursuing an athletic scholarship. While the NCAA sets a limit on how many full-ride equivalent scholarships each team can award, not every college swimming program has a fully funded scholarship budget. Whether a college coach is awarding a full ride or partial scholarship funding, they prioritize student-athletes who have the potential to score the team the most points during dual meets and the end-of-season conference meet. Do your research and talk to college coaches to determine what scholarship opportunities are available at your prospective schools.

If you’re not ready for a four-year college just yet, the NJCAA and CCCAA institutions offer women’s swimming programs and scholarships. After two years, you can transfer to an NCAA or NAIA school and try for a scholarship package.

Top Ranked Women’s Swimming Colleges

Each year, NCSA releases Power Rankings that list the top NCAA and NAIA schools that offer women’s swimming. This report analyzes various factors that student-athletes and their families consider when selecting the right college fit, including cost, size, location and academics. View a fill list of colleges offering women’s swim teams

NCSA: Five social media lessons for coaches

Any coach who’s looking to brush up their social media skills should look at these tips and tricks from NCSA.

Nelson Gord is a former collegiate and professional ballplayer, successful high school head coach and the founder of the largest travel baseball club in Illinois. Nelson is just one of many former college and professional athletes and coaches who are part of the Next College Student Athlete team. Their experience, along with NCSA’s history of digital innovation and long-standing relationship with the college coaching community, helped create NCSA Team Edition, the free recruiting platform for club and high school coaches and their teams.

Social media can be a tremendous tool for growing the reach and influence of your team or organization, but it also must be utilized properly in order to really help. That’s why NCSA Team Edition (our recruiting platform built for high school and club coaches) recently hosted a social media education webinar that covered many tips and issues that coaches and athletes may not be familiar with. It is a highly recommended watch for any coach who’s looking to brush up their social media skills. In this article, you’ll find just a few of the takeaways from this webinar.

Athletes and parents: You can also apply much of this information to your own social media presence, especially the section about dos and don’ts.

Click here to watch the full social media education webinar.

Celebrate achievements

When your team and athletes are doing well and others see that, it’s a great boost for your brand and reputation. That’s why when athletes have an impressive game, cap off a solid season, win an award, etc., you should share that achievement, whether it’s on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. This can also extend to academic achievements, college commitments, service projects and other related activities. Make sure to use hashtags and tag other teams in your region to help expand your reach.

Market your athletes

Outside of celebrating achievements, social media presents plenty of opportunities to market your athletes and help them get noticed throughout the college recruiting process. You can announce the arrival of new athletes when they join your team or create introduction or highlight videos that show off your athletes. If that seems a bit too time-intensive, keep an eye out for any tweets or posts that athletes and families share. You can share and retweet those to show support and also add content to your page.

Share alumni highlights

Few things make your team look better on social media than alumni getting recruited and playing for a college program. That’s why you should keep following your former athletes and sharing what they’re doing at the next level. This is especially effective when sharing posts about your alumni that have been posted by their college team or university accounts. To get the best possible reach, you’ll ideally want to follow every single college program in your sport—or at least the ones that recruit in your region.

Make sure your Twitter bio stands out

Twitter is the main social media platform used by college coaches and programs when it comes to communicating with potential recruits. To effectively stand out, you’ll want your team’s Twitter handle to actually be representative of your team. So, if your baseball team is the Washington Stars, you may want to name it @StarsBaseball. You’ll also want to make sure the bio is informative and includes any accolades that your team has recently won. Having a recognizable name and informative bio will help your account get more traction.

Educate athletes about dos and don’ts

As you already know, your athletes don’t always make the best decisions. When it comes to social media, once you post something online, it’s out there forever. Help educate them about proper social media usage with these tips:

Do:

Stay positive
Adopt a 24-hour rule (don’t post when emotions are running hot)
Consider what you’re liking and retweeting
Make your Instagram and Snapchat accounts private
Post highlight and skills clips
Announce your commitment

Don’t

Use bad language
Post anything you wouldn’t want your parents to see
Engage with fans of opposing schools or teams
Post anything negative about a school that is recruiting you
Post personal contact information

When you find success, keep going

Even top clubs still lean on social media after they’ve become household names. After the seminar, we asked some of our top NCSA Team Edition partner clubs about their approach to social media.

Coach Ryan Silver of West Coast Elite—the largest youth travel basketball organization on the West Coast—shared that “Social media is very important for highlighting our players’ accomplishments on and off the court. We believe that off-the-court accomplishments—community service, strong academic resume—are just as important as an athlete with a 40-inch vertical being recruited by the top college programs in the country. The foundation of our program is built around the 40-year plan: setting yourself up for life after basketball. Social media allows us to help each athlete who is a part of our program by highlighting their accomplishments.”

Vince Muscat, Club Director of Michigan Elite Volleyball Academy, shared that “Social media is an important way for us to communicate and market to our customers and their families. We use social media to help promote the individual athletes as well as the team’s accomplishments. We utilize social media to market upcoming programs, lessons, training, tournament schedules and to highlight our alumni as they continue their collegiate careers.”

When utilized correctly, social media can be a tremendous tool for you and your team. Do you need help expanding your social media reach? Have any topics which you’d like to see covered in this column? Reach out to NCSA Team Edition directly at teamedition@ncsasports.com and we’ll let you know how we can help.