College Recruiting – Timing is Everything!

Most things in life come down to timing.

A student athlete wanting to  play in college is no different. Timing for recruiting is essential. Almost daily, people ask me about timing.  Concerned parents and dedicated athletes  alike are trying to determine the best time to jump into the recruiting world.

What is the best time to start thinking about the recruiting process? When is too late to get into the recruiting cycle?

When to Start the College Recruiting Process

All of these questions are common concerns in my world. But, the answers to these questions are not as simple as one might think.  When parents or athletes ask me about timing, I need to know several pieces of information to give them a knowledgeable answer.  First, I need to know the gender of the athlete. Why the gender? Simply put, females mature faster than males.  A female athlete may be nearing her adult height and fine tuning her skills at the close of middle school.

On the flip side, boys may not hit their growth spurt in middle school and may still be lanky and not done developing.  Due to these facts, female recruiting often begins earlier than male recruiting.  Along that same line, recruiting is also very sport specific.  Some sports start recruiting much earlier than other sports. Softball and Volleyball start recruiting early.  Baseball and Football often run a later recruiting cycle.  But once again, the individual sport recruiting is not as cut and dried as one might hope.

In addition to looking at an individual sport’s recruiting, we must look at the level of play of the athlete.  The potential level of play of an athlete is vital in determining the right time to begin the recognition process. Obviously, the higher level of play of the athlete the earlier the athlete needs to be in the recruiting cycle. Why? Because these higher division coaches are looking at the athletes earlier and earlier.  Not because they like recruiting this way, but more because they have to, to get the athletes before other schools start offering.

We are seeing more and more big schools verbally offering to 8th and 9th graders and even younger on rare occasions. But keep in mind, these 8th graders getting offers did not just pop up on the college coaches radar a week before.  These athletes were followed and observed by college coaches for a significant amount of time before these offers started falling.

What Plays into the Timing of your Athletes Recruiting Process?

As if the previous variables are not enough, now I need to know the size of the athlete, the tangibles of the athlete and the position of the athlete.  Knowing the sport is simply not enough to determine the recruiting cycle.  Knowing the level of play is simply not enough to determine the recruiting cycle.  I need to know the athlete’s size, tangibles and position.  These additional three variables go into the equation.

Different colleges have different size expectations for certain positions. Based on these size “boxes” an athlete may or may not be a potential fit for a program – this effects the recruiting timeline. Certain tangibles such as speeds, jump heights, mph, etc. put athletes in certain abilities “boxes”, this also effects the recruiting timelines.  Finally, certain positions are recruited earlier than other positions.  For example, skilled positions are recruited earlier in Football than the other positions. Hitters and blockers are recruited earlier than defensive players in Volleyball.  Pitchers and the middle of the field are recruited earlier than the corners in Softball and Baseball. The list goes on and on.

Now What?

All of this information to say what? Recruiting is VERY individual. Your athlete needs to be evaluated based on her/his skills alone. The athlete’s gender, sport, ability, size, tangibles, and position all help determine the best individual recruiting cycle. Recruiting is NOT a One Size Fits All kind of thing. Recruiting is NOT even a One Size Fits Most kind of thing. Your recruiting or your child’s recruiting, needs to be personally designed for them as an athlete.

What is the BEST way to know when your recruiting should begin?  Get evaluated. This FREE evaluation by an NSR qualified scout can help you determine the best route for your recruiting.  When is too late?  There does become a time when your recruiting window passes and the opportunity will be gone – forever.  You have one opportunity to get recruited, don’t miss it!

National Scouting Report believes in evaluating athletes.  We evaluate ALL athletes before we advocate for them to the college coaches.  It all begins with a proper evaluation.  If you are out of season, you can still contact your local scout and run through a workout with him/her or provide the scout with substantial video.  If you are in season, one of our scouts can come watch you at a game or tournament or even at a practice.  Get evaluated, now.