The Recruiting Process and Why Good Grades Are Important

The truth of recruiting

If you have read the “our story” portion of our website then you know that I am not a seasoned veteran or an expert on the recruiting process.  The truth is no one is an expert.  There is so much subjectivity and opinion as it relates to the recruitment process of high school athletes to college athletics.

Here are the four MUST items needed to land a spot on a college team and/or earn scholarship dollars

1. A college MUST have a scholarship available and a need for the year you graduate high school (or JuCo)

2.A college MUST have a need for your position.

3. An athlete MUST be talented enough or show future talent to play at the next level.

4.An athlete MUST meet the academic standards of the school.

There is no way of getting around these items.  After these four vital criteria are met, then it is an evaluation of character, grades, talent, upside, etc.  But the first four items MUST be met.

In this process, it takes one coach to see something in the athlete.  It takes one coach to say,” he/she could play for us”. That is why it is so important to be seen by as many coaches as possible.

Setting yourself apart

One of the best ways to set yourself apart from other athletes is to have good grades!

If you are not projected to be a high D1 athlete (which the majority are NOT) and you are a “tweener” between D1 and D2, getting good grades and ACT/SAT scores will set an athlete apart more than anything.

Good grades and ACT/SAT scores especially play a major role for non-D1 schools when financing a team.

EXAMPLE:

Most D2 schools have a set number of scholarships (8 or less usually). If a team has 8 scholarships, they can give out 8 full-ride scholarships, which means that the other 4-7 players will need to be walk-ons or most will give partial scholarships. So, if they can get 4 players to get half of their school paid for with academic scholarships, that means there will be 2 full scholarships that can be given out to other players.

When two players have close to equal talent, the player that can get academic money is more valuable for the team/coach. This is also the case for NAIA and NON-D1 junior colleges.

D1 - Grades are important to ensure you qualify for the school, after that it is about skill and talent level.

Non-D1 - GRADES set you apart and make you more valuable for a program.