In today’s blog we will address a question we get asked frequently; What coaches do you know and what will you do to place my athlete on a university team?
Access has a great network of collegiate coaches in both the CIS and NCAA. We often get requests from coaches looking for Canadian athletes and asking for our recommendations. However, we do not place athletes at universities, and when this question gets asked, my response is always that Access Sport is NOT a recruiting service!
What do I mean? What is the difference you ask? Here is an easy chart to help you understand…
A RECRUITING SERVICE |
ACCESS SPORT |
You submit your athletic and academic information to them and they use that to contact schools on your behalf. The recruiting service approaches schools and will place athletes at schools where 1. There are openings and 2. There is scholarship available. They will make a recommendation to you about which school they think you should go to. | Access Sport provides you with a location online to host your athletic and academic resume. We give you a structured format to your recruiting process and are here to assist you along the way if you have questions, or run into road blocks. Access Sport at NO TIME “places athletes” at university programs, nor will we ever do the leg work for you.
We believe that the process is important for athletes to manage themselves. It builds life skills and it helps to insure that not only is each athlete pursuing opportunities that they will be successful at, but that coaches are getting athletes that have some of these qualities and are committed to their program. |
Recruiting services promise to help you get Athletic Scholarship.
They promise you that they have access to people and information that you do not and will give you a better chance at scholarship. (this is NOT TRUE) |
You don’t need “Special Relationships” or top-secret information to get access to scholarship. At Access Sport we give you the resources and processes to build quality recruiting relationships, and to market yourself to coaches as an athlete, a student, and a well rounded person. Coaches are always on the look out for good personalities, not just exceptional talent that will fit with their program.
Not Everyone gets a full scholarship, and though many recruiting services imply this, it is misleading. Scholarships are handed out by coaches based on a number of factors, talent being only one of them. Personality, fit with the team, academic scholarship potential through the admissions office, family finances, travel etc. are all important. If you have done your relationship building right, you will be offered a scholarship based on where you qualify with that specific team in all these areas. |
Recruiting Services promise to save you time by doing the dirty work for you! (sounds great right!?!) | There is no sugar coating it, recruiting is hard work! As this blog post tells you, you have to start early, be consistent and work hard to get your name out there. It takes time to be seen by coaches and build quality relationships!
There are no cutting corners in this process. If you want to identify a university and team that you will be comfortable with and succeed at, you have to put the time in YOURSELF, paying a company to do your dirty work may not get you the result you need! |
Many families use recruiting services because they don’t know the recruiting process, are confused by the rules or don’t have time to do the work themselves | To these people I say, perhaps college athletics is not for you!
Coaches want people who are willing to put in the work, the time and the effort! Recruiting is the responsibility of the athlete (NOT the parent!) And it is up to the athlete to put a few hours a week into building recruiting relationships that could pay off in a successful career, at a university you love! believe me it’s worth it! Access Sport is here to make sure you don’t make the three worst recruiting mistakes! We will be here to answer questions, clear up confusion and keep you on track. But YOU still need to do the work. |
A Recruiting Service will provide you with the school they have chosen for you, and will celebrate with you as you sign your NLI. | Access Sport will support you through identifying your target schools and pursuing opportunities at universities that you LOVE not just universities that may have a roster opening.
We will celebrate with you as you sign your NLI then we will work with you to make sure that you are mentally and physically ready for the transition to varsity athletics. Including providing you with information to help you adjust to living / working away from home for the first time, travel tips, pre-season tips, training advice and more! Our community of experts is vast, and we will make sure that you not only arrive on campus, but you arrive ready to KICK BUT and make an immediate impact for your team! |
Come see us at The Next level on October 25th for a comprehensive athlete recruiting BOOTCAMP. Seriously, EVERYTHING you ever needed to know about recruiting, all on ONE DAY!
Want to start your Recruiting on the right foot? Click here to get started with an online athlete profile today!