{"id":6262,"date":"2012-05-02T16:17:22","date_gmt":"2012-05-02T16:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nsr-inc.com\/blog\/?p=6262"},"modified":"2012-05-02T16:17:22","modified_gmt":"2012-05-02T16:17:22","slug":"in-college-athletic-recruiting-the-clock-is-always-ticking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/in-college-athletic-recruiting-the-clock-is-always-ticking\/","title":{"rendered":"In college athletic recruiting, the clock is always ticking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get moving with it, or get left behind<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The recruiting process is starting earlier than ever before and prepared families have the advantage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“It’s too early.\u00a0 We’re going to wait.”\u00a0 “Our son is only a freshman, so we’ll see what happens.”\u00a0 “Our coach says that she is taking care of all that for us.”\u00a0 “We have a friend in the athletic department at her favorite college who says that he’ll put in a good word for her.”\u00a0 Blah, blah, blah.\u00a0 Those are the pat answers we as NSR scouts often hear from parents that are actually outside of the recruiting loop, but yet convinced they know better then we do.\u00a0 Wrong.\u00a0 Very wrong.<\/p>\n

Recruiting is a living, breathing entity\u00a0that never stops its forward momentum.\u00a0\u00a0While parents are at work, recruiting is happening.\u00a0 While prospects are sitting in class, recruiting is going on.\u00a0 When they congregate together at practices, games and tournaments, college coaches are evaluating talent.\u00a0\u00a0Recruiting is constantly in motion.\u00a0 And you are either\u00a0available to coaches for\u00a0evaluation or you are not.\u00a0 It’s really that simple.\u00a0 If your profile is not readily\u00a0accessible by coaches,\u00a0you can bet that fancy Ford Fusion that\u00a0another prospect\u00a0is.<\/p>\n

Let’s start with the premise that a company, National Scouting Report, that has been in the high school scouting and college recruiting business for 32 years has expertise that you don’t.\u00a0 With that absolute in mind, pay attention.\u00a0 Today,\u00a0the recruiting process begins for prospects in the eighth grade.\u00a0 What, you say?\u00a0\u00a0Yes, that’s right, the eighth grade.\u00a0 College coaches are beginning their recognition phase, the key holder to any prospect’s recruiting process, when athletes are in or just coming out of what could be called their pre-freshman year.<\/p>\n

The most astute parents and prospects are setting out a plan\u00a0during the eighth grade year which takes them from start to finish,\u00a0which is\u00a0securing a college, athletic scholarship offer.\u00a0 These forward thinking families\u00a0are\u00a0learning about NCAA rules, pondering which club or travel team they will play for, looking at local and regional college Web sites, and making what is arguably their most critical decision — determining where their\u00a0very best\u00a0promotional option lies.<\/p>\n

Understanding and accepting\u00a0that recruiting is\u00a0a tough, long-term\u00a0competition is the first light bulb which\u00a0must be turned on by families that want\u00a0and need their child to earn a college athletic scholarship.\u00a0 Anything short of that type of deliberate effort puts prospects in a precarious and dangerous position.\u00a0 Dangerous?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 For families that delay in their preparations, they are putting their athlete in danger of not being considered for an offer because as they sit and wait,\u00a0other prospects are being evaluated in earnest by college coaches.<\/p>\n

So, how then does a family choose which course to take?\u00a0\u00a0Here are some thoughts and suggestions to seriously discuss:<\/p>\n