The How-To of Self Recruiting for Athletes
Not every athlete looking to play college sports has recruiters banging down their doors daily. In fact, most college athletes have to actively seek out coaches, in hopes of getting the opportunity to play college sports. There have been many stories of athletes putting together highlight reels of their play and sending them to schools, with hopes of being discovered.
These days, there are internet sites devoted to matching up schools with aspiring college athletes. How you choose to market yourself can be the difference between being a college athlete and being a normal student. So what are all your options? We all take a look at how you can grab the attention of a college recruiter.
The oldest way to market you is to make a highlight tape of yourself. Sound like a lot of work? Well, if it were that easy, everyone would do it. However, these days, if you don’t want to pay someone to do it, it’s very manageable. With advancements in video and computers, you can plug in a video camera with a game tape and download it to your computer.
Many computers have video editing software that allows you to be your very own editor. After completing the editing, burn DVD’s and begin targeting schools that you think would be a good fit. Have realistic expectations though. If you’re an average high school player than could play at a Division 3 college, don’t waste your time sending them off to major universities. Those schools aggressively recruit their teams.
Be sure to introduce yourself at the beginning of the DVD, so the coaches know exactly who they’re looking at. Include all contact information in a nicely written biography page that will accompany your DVD.
The newest form of athletes self recruiting is to sign up with a web service that specializes in pairing together prospective college athletes with colleges sports programs. Sites such as BeRecruited allow colleges without large recruiting budgets, new inventive ways to find high school athletes.
Other options such as NCSA offer a vast network of college coaches, free athletic profiiles and seasoned scouts to help parents and youth athletes get the most out of the recruitment process. Click here for reviews of the service provided by the NCSA from parents and athletes.
Remember that if you choose to mail a DVD highlight reel, to include all the biography and contact information along with the DVD. If you choose to use a web service, make sure all the information is correctly filled out so you can be properly contacted. If you want the best results, you should use both methods of athletes self recruitment process. Best of luck!
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