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Researching – How to do it the right way
Any active student-athlete, looking to play in college, probably has a pile of questionnaires and letters on their kitchen counter. In that pile of letters on the kitchen counter, more than half are from schools which the student-athlete has probably never heard of before. The chances of those unknown schools receiving a response are likely slim to none. Therefore, the chances of that student-athlete missing out on perhaps their perfect college fit are massive. This is why research is so important!
A student-athlete should never play the “name game” when they start their recruiting process, and should never rule schools out just because they have never heard of them. That is what the internet is for! Get online and staring reading!
• Start by looking up the actual school.
• How does the school present itself?
• What is its website like?
• Does it have new articles? If so, read them.
• Does it list its “Most Popular Majors?” If so, what are they?
• What is the admission process?
• Find out where the school is located, its size, its affiliation (if applicable), and any other relevant stats.
Now, look at that college’s athletics website. Go to the men’s or women’s soccer page and read everything on that page!
• What conference is the team in?
• Who do they play this season?
• Who did they beat/lose to last season?
• Reach the coaching biographies
• Finally, make sure you look at the roster. Read the player’s player bios. What did they accomplish in high school? Do your accomplishments compare? This will give you the best idea of where you may stand as a recruit, in the mind of that coach.
Now, after researching the college as a whole and the athletics, you can make a better and more educated decision. You probably have a better idea of what that college encompasses, and you may not be so quick to dismiss it.
Think of it this way, if you are sending a college coach your information, you don’t want them to play the “name-game” with you, do you? You don’t want them to take one look at your email and say, “I’ve never heard of this student-athlete before, I’m not going to respond back.” You want a coach to do some research on you; so return the favor and do some research on them!
NCSA, the “Official Scouting Organization and Provider of Recruiting Education” for Cal South, is the premier source for matching high school student – athletes with colleges and universities across the country. NCSA is the "Eyes & Ears" of more than 35,000 college coaches, who rely on NCSA's experienced scouting team and instant response capabilities to provide them with quality prospective recruits. NCSA prides itself in educating high school student-athletes and their families about the college recruiting process. Visit www.ncsasports.org for more information about NCSA.
