In order to maximize your recruiting chances, lets take a few moments to consider what college coaches are looking for in a top recruit. While not all coaches seek the same type of athlete there are some common, talents, and characteristics and traits that are desirable in a prospective student athlete. Check out our list below, and evaluate yourself in relation to these traits. Make sure you have highlighted these in your athlete profile to maximize your recruiting chances.
TALENT / SKILL / ABILITY
Regardless of which level, which sport, which school is doing the recruiting the number one thing coaches are looking for is ability. This can manifest itself in a number of ways, it could be technical skill, it could be tactical field awareness, it could be the ability to predict the flow of the game and anticipate passes. It could be agility or physicality. Coaches want to recruit athletes that come with experience in their sport and who have demonstrated their focus and commitment to developing their talent.
POTENTIAL / COACHABILITY
While talent is incredibly important, potential is equally so. Many coaches will track an athlete over a number of years and will look for athletes that have shown growth and demonstrated their coach-ability over those years. Coaches want to know that you will continue to develop and improve throughout your years of college eligibility.
ACADEMICS / GRADES
Coaches are looking for athletes that are motivated not only on the field, but in the classroom as well. All recruits must meet the academic requirements for admission to the university, prior to being accepted as part of their athletic program. There are also academic standards that must be met throughout university in order to maintain athletic eligibility, coaches want to recruit athletes that will excel in academics, remain eligible and be a positive addition to their teams overall academic standing and team GPA.
CHARACTER
An athlete’s character shows their mental strength, integrity, and sportsmanship. Athletes of character will represent their team, coaches and athletic department in an admirable way. If you can demonstrate good character to a coach, you will be ahead of the game.
HARD WORK / WORK ETHIC / ATTITUDE
Being a college student – athlete is not easy. Competing as a varsity athlete, balancing academic course load, travel and living on your own for the first time is H.A.R.D. Coaches want to recruit a student athlete that has already proved that they will excel under that stress and pressure, someone who puts in the extra time and hard work and determination into succeeding. An athlete that does not get defeated, and maintains a positive attitude will be a highly recruited athlete.
LEADERSHIP
No team is successful without strong leaders in the locker room and on the field. Coaches are on a quest to recruit their next team leadership. Having leadership abilities is a trait that will move you up any coaches recruiting list. We wrote an entire blog post about characteristics of an inspirational leader, you can read that here.
FAMILY
Your college team is your family away from home. An athlete and parents who are supportive of the team, the coaches and the university will fit seamlessly into the sport family that the college coach has worked tirelessly to foster. There is, however, a fine line between a supportive, involved family and an OVERLY supportive, involved family. Tread that line carefully because scholarships have been lost in the past due to over-involved family.
INTEREST
If a coach knows that their school is your number one choice, they are likely to take that into consideration when evaluating between you, and another prospect. It is important to stay in communication and let coaches know that you are interested in their program, and pursue the opportunities that most interest you. Don’t wait for them to come to you!
As you can see there is much more to identifying a top recruit then simply evaluating their talent. Every coach has built their own program, and put together a collection of athletes that perform as well together on the field as off, so each coach approaches their recruiting process differently in order to continue to build their program. While this is a general guideline of highly recruitable traits, there is a very good chance that if you work to build these characteristics in your life, you will put yourself in a great position to be highly recruited.