About Alan Parham 
An athlete’s athletic ability is something college coaches look for when recruiting. But there are some other traits college coaches want in a prospective student-athlete. Athleticism: First and foremost, you must have the skills to play in college. Or at least skills that match what a college coach is looking for in your recruiting class. … Read more
The tremendous growth of club and travel events has made identifying prospects much easier for college coaches. Prospects put on display every weekend can be cherry picking for coaches roaming from tournament to showcase to combine. But there is a catch. Coaches go to events to scout athletes they already know about. As National Scouting … Read more
It usually goes unnoticed, but college coaches don’t say five key things to recruits. In attempting to attract the best available prospects, coaches put on the best face possible. But that’s not news to anybody. It is a given that coaches step up their game when communicating with high school prospects and during campus visits, … Read more
Campus visits are extremely important for young college prospects. Initial and subsequent casual meetings at camps, tournaments, showcases and combines are all fishing expeditions. Coaches are merely trying to get a read on prospects and their parents at these brief encounters. They’ve seen what they need to when the athlete performs. They’ve completed their pre-visit … Read more
Athletes with bad tempers waste everybody’s time, emotions and enjoyment. And those incapable of controlling their hot side create more disharmony than they could ever gain from letting off steam. Losing it is not pretty, but it has become commonplace. At National Scouting Report, we see young athletes go off on other athletes or officials during … Read more
Manners matter in college recruiting. And how prospects communicate with college coaches is at the top of the list. Coaches are busy people and their time is extremely valuable. So when they decide that a high school prospect might match their roster needs, coaches don’t hesitate to make initial contact via texts, private messages or emails. … Read more
National Scouting Report, the most substantial on-the-ground scouting organization on the globe, tries to present college coaches with qualified student-athletes capable of thriving on the college level. Nowadays this also includes the athletes’ parents. There’s more to recruiting than that. There is also the question of whether the parents of those prospects are the type … Read more
High school athletes and their families often suffer the indignity of being unceremoniously dropped from consideration by college coaches. It can happen anytime to anyone. Nobody is safe from the recruiting guillotine. Why is college recruiting so cutthroat? First of all, recruiting is all about numbers for coaches — the more, the merrier. The Internet has … Read more
Parents may think their child is a good athlete, but where’s the proof? The main reason college coaches don’t trust parents about their kids? It’s difficult for parents to be realistic and objective concerning their child’s abilities and skills. Many parents believe their child is the best athlete on the team and will be the next … Read more
Everybody knows college coaches want to see a prospective student-athletes skills video before they start recruiting them. Many times, coaches won’t even watch an athlete play until they’ve seen some skills video. Mostly so they don’t waste their time. College coaches across all divisions have very little time to recruit and even less time to … Read more
