The College Athlete Recruiting Process

In the reality of being a college athlete, “student” in most cases does not come first in terms of priorities.

Being an athlete in college is stressful. Many hours of film, practice, weight training, traveling, as well as keeping up with your schoolwork can be tough. Some student athletes are able to come up with a plan that works for them so they’re not as stressed, while others burry themselves in stress. Lazarus and Folkman (1996) have defined stress as the negative feeling that occurs when an individual feels unable to cope with the demands placed upon them by their environment. One of the stressors that many freshmen experience is having their start status taken from them. If you come to a college for sports you are more than likely on a scholarship. You also were likely to be the star on your high school team. Coming to college there is a lot of talent and not having a full developed body, as well as an understanding about how fast things are on the colligate level can weigh on you.

Academic success is important for both high school and college athletes. To be eligible to participate, athletes must maintain a certain GPA. Student athletes that don’t make school a priority, not only miss out on playing time, but also fail to prepare themselves for the next step in their life. For high school athletes, that means prepare for college while for college athlete, it means preparing to enter the workforce. Although, both high school and

representative of your school. You give your best efforts onto the court and field. You compete

For many students, the college experience is measured by the success of their NCAA-sanctioned athletic programs. Without the experience and athletic performance the student athlete brings, most colleges would not reap the benefit of these significant revenue-generating activities. At best, current NCAA regulations need to be revisited to ensure all avenues are addressed to enable the success of athletic students both in the classroom and on the field or court of play. As stated previously, even though students receive full and partial scholarships determined by their athletic performance, in both instances

After graduation, college athletes receive additional benefits, even if they are not part of the admittedly tiny group of athletes with the skills to play professionally (McCormack 21). Status as a former star athlete, or even an ordinary one, can open many doors in the professional world, especially in fields like sales and marketing. People enjoy associating themselves with athletic performers, especially those from their own alma mater. In addition, many colleges have developed special programs to help former athletes return and – if they have not received their degree, as many do not – complete their education ( 22). These programs make it a relatively simple process for a former college athlete to obtain his or her degree. More and more colleges are providing programs to help former athletes in a variety of ways, with the focus on helping them earn a degree ( 25). Some of these programs are still available to

Recruiting can happen face-to-face contact, phone calls or through email. A contact can happen at any time a college coach says more than hello during a face-to-face meeting with a student-athlete off the college campus. An evaluation happens when a college coach observes a student-athlete practicing or competing. A verbal commitment occurs when a student-athlete verbally agrees to play sports for a college before he or she signs the National Letter of Intent. A verbal commitment is not set in stone, so at any time the student-athlete or college can withdraw from the agreement. When the student-athlete commits to attend a NCAA Division I, II, or III school, he or she signs a National Letter of Intent, agreeing to attend that school for one academic year (NCAA Recruiting, 2015). These general recruiting guidelines apply despite other small differences between individual

As a former college athlete, someone who had relatives who played college sports, and have relatives who are in college now playing sports, I have a lot of insight into the struggle of being a college athlete. You have to understand first that an athletic scholarship is not guaranteed, every year you resign a scholarship contract. The coaches and universities have control of if you can keep your scholarship and it can be terminated at any time for anything.

I would like to become a professional football player; I loved the game since I was a child. I know in order for me to follow my dreams, I first have to get into a college after my senior year of high school. It’s essential that I perform well my senior year for me to get a scholarship to a university; I’ve been preparing myself since I was ten years old. Over the years I’ve fantasized about getting a scholarship and going to such schools like UNC, Georgia, or Appalachian State. I would like to attend a college that puts a lot of emphasis on its football program. If I showcase my football skills on a college level and do exceptionally well, it would open doors for me to get to the next level (NFL) and be successful. If I make it to the NFL, I would be a hero in my home town. However, I have to train hard, in addition to knowing the rules, regulations, and strategies of the game. It’s also imperative that I study hard to keep my academic at a high level so that the major D-1 and D-1AA schools will offer me a scholarship.

Athletes often plan their lives around attending a certain college. In the recruitment process, colleges will verbally commit to an athlete and ask that they commit to the college in return. In this case, Alfred Beverly, a senior high school football player de-committed from other offering college

Despite the many stereotypes that are connected with being a student athlete, student athletes in general are held to much higher standards by their institutions. Before a prospective student athlete even enters college, they are made fully aware of the academic standings and requirements of the college they choose. Although the academic requirements vary from college to college, the standards are still held high for all student athletes. The transition into college can be exceptionally difficult especially for the

As a freshman walk-on to the Football team, I had no idea what an impact it would have on my future. The skills I learned through football at NAU, such as perseverance, teamwork, the pursuit of excellence and the wisdom to overcome both physical and mental challenges, led me to find what I’m passionate about. Football at the college level is somewhat robotic, everyone hits the same, breaks the same, and even runs the same. There is zero personality in it. What I found through NAU though, is that I’m not identified as just an athlete.

Furthermore, athletes who play at the college level work out constantly. All college competitors have been focused and experienced in their sport for quite a long time. Also, the commitment level has intensified in college sports. Playing a sport in college is a year round commitment, not a seasonal one. The sport consumes you and becomes your everyday life. If you are looking to have fun and work out here and there, a serious college sport might not be the route to go. Lastly, all college athletes must be able to balance academics and their sport. This requires a certain amount of maturity, experience, strength training, and commitment. All and all, stepping up to a college level sport after playing in high school is quite a leap. You have to be completely ready to do nothing else but that sport and maintain your

The last important topic that needs to be addressed in college recruiting is when the players commit to the coach rather than the school. A lot of the high school athletes are just committing to the head coach rather than the university. Whenever a coach leaves another university for a different university, usually the high school athlete will follow the coach. For example, when P.J. Fleck announced he was leaving Western Michigan to be Minnesota's football coach, many of his recruits followed him. “Kyle Sassack an offensive tackle from Pontiac who had committed to Western Michigan, told Gopherillustrated that after speaking with Fleck, he was sold to come play at Minnesota instead” ( Windsor, 2017). Noah Hickcox, a defensive lineman also had been committed to Western Michigan for while, but when P.J. Fleck left, Hickcox decided to follow him. Over 10 players who had verbally committed to Western Michigan ended up switching to Minnesota.

Being a student-athlete requires a lot from practicing long hours to maintaining grades to keep scholarships. The hard work, which it takes to be a student- athlete, is second to none.