There are two seasons every year: in-season and off-season. Although the two are distinctly different from each other, each of them are equal to a team’s success. If a coaching staff does not have a good offseason in it’s recruiting efforts, it is pretty safe to say that they will have their challenges during the season. Having a successful recruiting season is vital to a team’s short term and long term success.

Showcases, combines, tryouts, you name it – Each year coaches across the country flock to drool over the talent of the next up and coming stars that hold their future employment in their hands. Every offseason it becomes a “dog eat dog” world as coaches compete against each other in an attempt to land the next big recruits for their program. Scouts line up as if it were a job interview to try and just get two minutes with a player to try and make an impression. Unfortunately, this is a HUGE reason why athletes think that they’re better than they actually are.

As confident as we are as coaches, there are still many of us that struggle when it comes to having the confidence when it comes to recruiting. Some of the best coaches are not the best recruiters and vice versa. It is extremely perplexing because you would think that one goes along with the other. However, in a world of mud slinging, boasting, “greater than god” coaches, we tend to forget to reflect on the things that make us unique and focus on the rat race of trying to turn over a rock for the next big star.

Below are some guidelines to follow that you must implement into your recruiting in order to stand out from the noise and try and land the best team possible.

Recruiting is a Numbers Game

For lack of a better phrase, recruiting is a complete numbers game. When a coach hits the pavement and recruits more prospective athletes than less, they increase their chance of fielding a better team because of their effort. It is much easier to fish when you have 10 lines in the water as opposed to having one line. However, there are coaches that literally misunderstand this rule and recruit anyone to come and play for their program. Although recruiting is a numbers game, coaches MUST NOT SACRIFICE PRINCIPLES TO LAND AN ATHLETE. In other words, a coach shouldn’t just take anybody to their program through this approach, but rather turn over more rocks to find those athletes that match up with your core values.

How do coaches get more lines in the water? They have more fishermen. If you want to make your recruiting life easier, you must do two things:

Have people that you trust help recruit for you (scouts, friends with playing knowledge, old teammates, etc.) Create relationships with coaches at the lower levels that move their players up

Why is this important? Because having people that you trust and know your program helps identify players with the same goals and principles that you wouldn’t have been able to see. It’s an extra set of eyes, but it must be the right set of eyes because that scout is a direct representation of your program. Perception is reality. Creating relationships with the player’s current coach is huge because the player’s current coach has a significant influence on where that player will land moving forward, especially at the higher levels. The reason why is because the player is currently playing at their highest level and respect a coach’s opinion that they are currently playing for. If you have that coach helping you out because you communicate with them on a regular basis, then you are a step ahead of other teams at the same level with whom you are competing.

You Can’t Take It Personal When Told “Thanks, but”

Coaches know that losing recruiting battles is part of the job. However, they tend to forget to not take the rejection from the athlete personal when told “Thanks, but no thanks” or “Thanks, but I am going to go play at (insert other team here)”. It can be hard to deal with rejection because coaching is a very prideful profession. Coaches pour their heart and soul into building their programs and putting a winning team together and can have personal feelings when dealing with rejection from an athlete.

Instead of throwing mud at an athlete that chooses another team over you, you should instead say something along the lines of: “I respect your decision and I want to thank you for letting me know. If anything happens to not work out with that team, please feel free to call me. I would still be interested in you playing here because I think that you are a fantastic player and a great person.” You wouldn’t believe how powerful those two sentences are. They say that you are a professional and mature leader that doesn’t take rejection personally. You never know – Maybe that athlete is ringing your phone off the hook a couple months down the road because the team they chose isn’t a good fit.

Don’t Ever Negatively Recruit

Negative recruiting doesn’t bode well for anyone when it comes to trying to land a player. Coaches that recruit negatively are narcissistic and believe that their program is the only place to play. They may think that they are being “honest” with a player when telling them to avoid a competitor, but what they are actually projecting is an elitist personality that does not resonate well with athletes. It projects insecurity and does not make any friends out of your competition. Negative recruiting happens with a lot of younger coaches because they tend to not be separated from being a player and still carry that mentality with them on the road when talking to athletes. It doesn’t just hurt the program, but it shows a directly negative representation of you to the person that you are recruiting.

You have to steer away from negatively recruiting as much as possible and adopt the mentality of “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all”. You may be up against an inferior program that has some serious flaws, but you must refrain from feeling obligated to tell that player how you feel about your competition. Talking negatively about other programs doesn’t project professionalism, shows that you have insecurities, and makes enemies out of a very small coaching community. You can’t burn bridges and you must take the high road. A great way to raise awareness to a player is to tell them “make sure you do your homework” and if asked about a program, say “I never will talk negatively about another program because I am too positive on what we do and what we offer”.

Don’t Ever Make a Promise That You Can’t Deliver On

There are too many coaches out there that are desperate to land an athlete as a recruit and they throw things at them that they ultimately can’t deliver on. Promises for starting positions, playing time, equipment, free cost of living depending on travel, or other insignificant items are thrown around out there at all levels. In the hockey world, it happens from competitive travel hockey all the way up to playing professionally. I have had friends that have been scammed by international player agents as well as the teams that they play for because when they arrive, they don’t receive all or some of the things that they were promised.

There are coaches out there that will argue against this and have the mentality of “as long as you got them in the door, who cares?”. You may “get” the athlete, but at what cost? Players are not stupid nowadays, they talk. Especially the ones that get things promised to them because they are generally the athletes with the biggest mouths. So what, they talk… Who cares? Your players do. Players that don’t have things promised take offense to it which creates a problem that you have to deal with. In a world where athletes want to be treated “fairly” (which is complete BS), you are pulling your team apart when you make promises to certain players and you start to be unable to deliver upon them.

On an entirely different level, if – and that’s a big IF because our perception of ourselves is often distorted – you are running a prideful and clean program, why would you want an athlete like that anyways? An athlete that is entitled and demands playing time is going to demand more after they arrive. It’s a fact. When I was recruiting, players would always ask me where they saw themselves fitting into our lineup. I would respond with “I will promise you your first shift and you can earn everything after that” or “I see you being a significant player on our team, but you are going to have to work every day to keep that position”. Elite athletes love challenges. It’s why they play sports. Don’t show weakness and desperation to land that athlete, they are just testing you.

And if you don’t get them because you can’t provide them the world, it’s not the type of athlete that you want to have morally in your program anyways.

Enjoy the Process Of Getting to Know The Athlete

Recruiting should be fun for coaches. Yes, it’s a grind. Yes, it’s repetitive. Yes, coaches will talk to parents, athletes, and other coaches and hang up the phone after the conversation and say “What the heck is wrong with that person?”. But, in order to piece together a competitive team, coaches must stick to the process and enjoy it. Instead of looking at recruiting as a nuisance, a coach should be looking at it as a challenge. Being able to represent a program should be something that a coach has a large sense of pride in because of the few people that are selected to bestow that honor. Recruiting is an enjoyable process that allows you to meet new people and broaden your skills of public speaking, direct communication, and creating personal relationships.

Coaches – you cannot read the cold call list and expect to land a recruit. A majority of players will make their choice based on how comfortable they feel with a coach. The biggest mistake that you can make recruiting is rushing your conversation with the athlete because you have another 121 athletes to talk to on the list and there isn’t enough time in the day to reach out to all of them. Yes, recruiting is a numbers game. However, when you lock down the opportunity to speak with that prospective athlete, you have done more than 70% of the work. You just need to enjoy the conversation that you are having with them and be in the moment when speaking with them.

Clemson Football’s National Championship Runner-Up Head Coach Dabo Swinney likes to take a different approach when recruiting players: He has fun with them. He doesn’t make excuses when a snow storm hits Clemson and covers their college football cathedral in white powder. Instead, he improvises by grabbing a sled and showing his sledding skills by ripping up some powder down the famous hill that Clemson football storms (no pun intended) down to take the field every home game.

Most places don't have built in hills for sled riding… …or Head Coaches as awesome as Dabo Swinney. #Clemson❄️ pic.twitter.com/GM2tq646qm — Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) January 23, 2016

Many coaches out there think that recruiting is having the best uniforms, state-of-the-art facilities, exposure opportunities to the next level, or the best equipment. However, it always comes down to who the athlete feels the most comfortable with and who they believe will lead them to where they want to get to.

One thing is for sure, these clips show that Dabo can think on his toes and make the best in an unforeseeable situation. You can bet that is a skill that athletes want their coach to have when they are down on Saturday in a tight game and have to make the necessary adjustments to win.

Don’t Be a Used Car Salesman – Be Yourself

This is the number one thing that coaches tend to forget when speaking with athletes. They have 90 seconds to lock them in and convince them that their program/school/team is the best option for that athlete and they can’t mess it up. So, they try to remember to spit out the details on graduation rates, players that they have promoted to the higher levels, the amount of fans that come to their games, the shiny equipment and facilities that players receive, and the amazing opportunity for growth they will receive. Coaches couldn’t be farther from reality if they think that those are the things that are going to trigger the athlete. Odds are if they have heard of you, they have already done the research on the program.

You cannot sit there with the couple of minutes that you have in talking with a prospective athlete and spit out statistics like some robot. You have to trigger an emotion with the player. Two emotions that should always be triggered: How your program will make them a better athlete, and how your program will give them the best life experience possible. Touch on subjects about how committed you are to making them a better athlete and how you are going to push them on a daily basis to reach the next level. Most importantly, you have to project your message with confidence and not cockiness while showing that you are honest and trustworthy. There are too many coaches out there that literally spit out the same lines over and over and the athletes are tired of hearing the “cookie cutter” sales pitch. You have to be yourself and trigger an emotion to convince them that you will impact their lives. Coach Jim Harbaugh at the University of Michigan does whatever he can to relate to players.

Be Presentable and “Look the Part” When In Person

Coaches must always remember that Perception Is Reality. When speaking with a recruit, coaches must remember that the recruit is sizing them up visually as well as verbally. Several factors from how a coach is dressed, their hygiene, their mannerisms, whether or not they smile and make eye contact, as well as their overall professionalism will weigh on a recruit’s decision. Depending on which study you refer to for an actual percentage, it is a scientific consensus that body language and presentation play a huge role in communication. Effective communication is all about how a coach delivers their message and not so much about what they communicate.

It’s all about looking the part. You’re not setting yourself up for success if you walk in to recruit someone with cargo shorts, Air Force Ones, and a baseball cap (I have actually seen it before). At a minimum, you should be wearing something that resembles a uniform or a business attire setting. A team polo with dress pants and shoes coupled with a fresh haircut shows the recruit that you are sharp and that you have your personal life together to take care of yourself. Some coaches say “that’s not me” and continue to lose recruiting battles and have no idea why. You are a direct representation of your program and you give a sneak peek into how organized it is with the presentation of yourself. Don’t be a mess – shave, get a haircut, put some nice clothes on and represent your program to the best of your ability.

Clemson Football’s National Championship Runner-Up Head Coach Dabo Swinney likes to take a different approach when recruiting players: He has fun with them. He doesn’t make excuses when a snow storm hits Clemson and covers their college football cathedral in white powder. Instead, he improvises by grabbing a sled and showing his sledding skills by ripping up some powder down the famous hill that Clemson football storms (no pun intended) down to take the field every home game.

Many coaches out there think that recruiting is having the best uniforms, state-of-the-art facilities, exposure opportunities to the next level, or the best equipment. However, it always comes down to who the athlete feels the most comfortable with and who they believe will lead them to where they want to get to.

One thing is for sure, these clips show that Dabo can think on his toes and make the best in an unforeseeable situation. You can bet that is a skill that athletes want their coach to have when they are down on Saturday in a tight game and have to make the necessary adjustments to win.

Follow these steps and you will have a better recruiting class that is the right fit for you and your team.

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