Simplified College Recruiting Plan

Below is a simplified version of our recruiting plan for football. Over the last two years (and leading into the fall) we have had over 140 signees, about 85 of them were my personal recruits. This is a model that is adaptable to any school or sport, Recruiting is all about the relationships and there has to be a give and take, too many people believe that selling is talking when in reality it is listening! Below are a lot of tips to help you and your program smash your recruiting goals.

Set our Overall Goals: To meet our recruiting number goal while balancing developmental players and on field difference makers. Mid year recruiting is the time to gather key difference makers.??

• Two first things to learn:

1. Why should/want they play football and go to college...
2. Then, Why they should choose us.??

Strategy: be Unique, be Better, be Positive, be YOURSELF... get them through the process

• Be Unique: how we recruit is different than other programs, the personalized touch is important to what we do. We ask them questions about themselves, while also working to develop a relationship and get them through the recruiting process. Get to know them and sell them on ourselves by asking them questions. Constant communication?
• Be Better: Every athlete we actively recruit should feel that our school cares about them more than any other program. Show them what we do and make sure they know why we are different, record, relationship based coaching staff, special culture. Know our school and information better than everyone and then believe in it! ??
• Be Positive: Near constant communication that is only positive about our program (no negative recruiting, saying an opposing program “sucks” or is “terrible”, we don’t know what is going on there and can’t know what efforts or relationship they have, instead tell them about our staff, uniqueness, and personal experiences) and the recruiting process (be the person who helps guide them through, play the good honest person role). Always can frame things positive.?
• Be YOURSELF: Recruit how we do, but your own way, have conversations, respond how you would, show empathy and relatability

Tip 1. Divide and Conquer: constant communication, split up the country, know who each other is recruiting.?

Tip 2. Build your list early: be our standard, evaluate character, academics, athletic ability, needs all 3. Easier to find early and evaluate early rather than late. The more cheap offers we get out without closing, the lower our brand is.??

We talk to our recruits about the things that make us special while asking them questions to narrow down the focus. Essential get to know them sample questions :?

• What are you looking for in the right school/Football program??
• Why do you want to do (study subject, love football, etc)?
• What is important to you & your family in your college decision??
• Ask follow up questions when they tell you something… keep the conversation going and then work in what we do there.?(What I call Shovel Questions-they start a hole so keep digging into it)
• Psychologically the more we let a person know about ourselves, the better a relationship we can have, the more we trust them.?

Each question can lead into a more in depth answer and full conversation (listen while talking, and don’t just text, pick up the phone with them)??

Get them through the process Key steps:?

• Get their actual transcripts to ensure they can get accepted (don’t waste as much time on low academic guys who can’t get in, move on to the next), pass it along to admissions if it is good?
• Have them apply, send them the link to ensure, follow up a couple days later or when you see it in the system.
• Get them to visit, can be before application?
• Have them file FAFSA and send to our school
• Get them an offer
• Get them signed, CLOSE THE DEAL!
• Keep them committed
• Get them all signed up for classes, housing, insurance waiver, make sure they get here.

Key things to help our recruiting staff:?

• Positively recruit for us not against others, find our best fit ?
• Social media presence, attract and cast a large net to find as many prospects as possible.?
• Be yourself, be positive?
• Know and believe in our product, understand the scholarships, know everything about our school, get out of the office and explore. Nothing looks worse than if we gave a high wrong scholarship and have to reduce it.
• Know how to email people, get lists from coaches, they are our best resource?
• Ask more questions than talking about yourself, get to know the guys?
• Contact their coaches to get to know more about them, especially transfers and HS talents from outside of the state, they can also become our greatest ally?
• Get their parents involved early in the recruiting process when possible?
• Stay organized, put recruits in a spreadsheet, have their info?
• Communicate with each other on our staff for evaluation and talking to recruits?
• If you think a player is worth extra money, you better have all their info, before presenting him to the staff?
• Be honest, be realistic, don’t be afraid to tell a kid no, especially when it comes to cost and talent level?
• Don’t get hung up on every loss or win, be ready to pick back up that phone?
• It is an inexact science, but compare that player to who we have here, if you see a spark in a kid, don’t be afraid to stand up for them, not every top prospect will hit, some low money guys will develop and show out?
• Always be recruiting and use all of your resources, fellow coaches, websites, build your list early?
• Show love to those who love us, everyone is a fan.?
• Create Graphics?

Timetable:?

Spring, summer: finish last years class with some extra difference makers and fillers. Identify key players and recruits for the next cycle, build your list NOW!?Do feeler e-mails, generate interest, gather names, organize them, evaluate them.?Feeler and advertising tweets.

Fall: Go to their games and follow up, get those new prospects through the process, visit them when we can or have them visit. Go heavy on midyear recruiting. Communicate with our guys weekly/biweekly?

Winter: Visit top midyear prospects, some next year prospects. Have recruiting visits and events. Lock down all our recruits?

Spring: Start it all over. Finish the last class, get them finalized with our school?