Advice from Parents for Parents: The College Recruiting Process
Being a parent during the recruiting process can be stressful. You want to help your child find the best opportunities — and ultimately, you want them to be happy. While everyone’s experience is unique, hearing from people who have been through the process before can help.
We asked some FieldLevel parents who have been through the college recruiting process what tips they’d give to parents who are currently going through the process with their children. Here’s what they had to say:
Start early.
“Start the recruiting process as early as possible! Don’t wait until the last minute and allow all the pressure to build. Get involved early and often. Make sure your son or daughter is actively involved in their recruiting process with you!”
-Parent of NCAA D1 athlete
“Start early, time goes by far too quickly. Do not leave anything until the last minute. Having a conversation with your athlete about what they are looking for in a school is a great place to start. This way you can help them research more about possible schools that fit this criteria, and begin setting goals for the future with those target schools in mind.”
-Parent of NCAA D1 athlete
Explore all possibilities.
“Play an active role in helping your child pick the right college for them. It doesn’t matter what division they choose, but make sure that college has the right academic program for you child.”
-Parent of NCAA D2 athlete
“If you want to play in college, look at all the levels out there. Don’t give up just because you did not get a full ride to a D1 school.”
-Parent of NJCAA D3 athlete
“Do not get hung up on D1, D2, D3, or NAIA. You have to be a very good athlete to play past High School and no matter what level you play at it will be tough, competitive, and you will be surrounded by other good players.”
-Parent of NCAA D3 athlete
“Keep college options open – not everyone will go D1. There are many other levels of college athletics that can provide players with a great college experience and an opportunity to receive a quality education.”
-Parent of NAIA athlete
Take lots of photos and videos.
“Quality videos are essential. Also, you have to get exposure in front of college coaches through games, camps, and players communication with coaches.”
-Parent of NCAA D2 athlete
“Take lots of good quality video and post it early.”
-Parent of NJCAA D2 athlete
“Attend games and take videos and pictures that will showcase their skills to college coaches.”
-Parent of NCAA D3 athlete
Be engaged.
“Immerse yourself into the process. If your child is not a 5 star recruit, which most aren’t, you have to find the schools/coaches via some medium. They will not magically appear. Technology is the key. Twitter is vital. FieldLevel is vital.”
-Parent of NJCAA D1 athlete
“Ask lots of questions of people who have been successful in this process to find out what to do, where to go and not go.”
-Parent of NAIA athlete
“Don’t be afraid to get involved. FieldLevel’s platform gives the athlete terrific access to colleges and coaches, but your kid’s current coach might not have the time to fully explore all the options and analyze the schools. The FieldLevel platform is an incredibly valuable resource for connecting with schools… but it is important for both the student-athlete and the parents to engage in the recruiting process.”
-Parent of NCAA D2 athlete
“Help your athlete do research, and keep yourself educated on the process to you can better help them. Ask questions and make sure you are informed about the schools they are interested in.”
-Parent of NJCAA D2 athlete
Be patient and let your athlete lead.
“Relax! Just take the time to enjoy this journey with your kids. Appreciate the fact that you get to spend lots of time with them figuring this stuff out. Try and create some amazing memories doing it. Let them lead the way and find their own path.”
-Parent of NAIA athlete
“Take your time, and communicate clearly both with the prospective school and very importantly with your athlete. Sometimes the fit is more valuable than the name a school school carries. There is somewhere for the majority of kids to play that fits the player and the team. Try to find it.”
-Parent of NCAA D1 athlete
“Be supportive and offer your thoughts but let them make their own decision. At the end of the day they need to be comfortable with their choice.”
-Parent of NJCAA D1 athlete
“Make sure your kid is the one in the driver’s seat and not you. They have to live the life of a collegiate athlete. Not you. Make sure it’s their dream. Not yours.”
-Parent of NCAA D2 athlete
“Be supportive through the process, help guide your athlete to ask the right questions when needed, to check-in with schools of interest and always follow-up. Be patient but assertive when need be as in the end, this is your athlete’s future, possibly your money and the time you’ve invested throughout the years taking your child to practices, games and camps…it was all to prepare him for a future as a college athlete and possibly beyond!”
-Parent of NAIA athlete
“Stay calm and focus on one thing at a time. Remember anything you do out of love for your child is never wrong.”
-Parent of NCAA D2 athlete
HAVE QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions, the FieldLevel team is here to help you and support you. If there’s anything we can do, please contact us in one of the following ways:
Phone: 888-908-7124
Email: support@fieldlevel.com
Demo: Schedule a Time
Put up as much video as you can. It’s sad to say this, some of these high school coaches and AAU coaches don’t help as much as you might think. My daughter received an offer from a JUCO College in Kansas. The coach told her the highlight he had viewed, and that’s what attracted his attention. She had 99 schools following her, and tons of highlight views. FieldLevel is amazing. Please don’t leave it in the hands of high school and AAU coaches because you will be highly disappointed.
Thanks for the feedback. Having quality video to show college coaches is an important part of the recruiting process. Athletes should shoulder most of the responsibility, which includes tapping into such a valuable resource in their coaches.