It’s that time of year again!
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, frustrated or anxious about the college recruiting process, trust me, you’re not alone.
College application deadlines are approaching, the early signing period for the National Letter of Intent is looming, and Coaching staffs are on their recruiting games. Players are taking visits, building relationships, and committing to schools. Whether you’re a Senior who’s a late-bloomer or a Freshman who’s just getting started, it would be advisable to take any advantage you can get in the recruiting process. To do this takes a unique understanding of what coaches are looking for, how to build relationships and a clear understanding of what coaches can and cannot do in terms of recruiting you.
Many dependent factors such as grad year, academic standing, and past performance will determine if a coach can or cannot recruit you.
Over the years, the NCAA has implemented strict guidelines which prohibit coaches from sending emails, making telephone calls, contacting you off-campus, or evaluating you on the golf course.
Note: the rules and regulations are different at all levels; NCAA D1, D2, D3, and even NAIA & NJCAA.
Here are a few recruiting definitions that you can utilize during the college recruiting process:
PSA: (Prospective Student-Athlete) You are considered a PSA at the start of 9th Grade classes
Contact: A contact happens any time a college coach says more than hello during a face-to-face meeting with you or your parents off the college’s campus.
Dead Period: A college coach may not have any face-to-face contact with a recruit/player or his/her parents on or off the college campus at any time during a dead period. However, a coach may write and call a recruit/player during a dead period.
Evaluation: An evaluation takes place when a college coach observes you practicing or competing.
Official visit: During an official campus visit, the college can pay for transportation to and from the college for you, lodging and meals (Division I allows for up to three meals per day) for you and your parents or guardians, as well as reasonable entertainment expenses including three tickets to a Division I home sports event or five tickets to a Division II home sports event. Before a college may invite you on an official visit, you must provide the college with a copy of your high school transcript and ACT, SAT or PLAN score (test scores are required for Division I only) and register with the NCAA Eligibility Center.
Unofficial visit: An unofficial campus visit is a “trip” taken by the recruit/player and his/her parents to a college campus. All unofficial visits are funded by the recruit/player. The college and/or coach may not pay for any expenses (except athletic games). We encourage ForeCollegeGolf clients/players to make as many unofficial visits as they can and to take those visits at any time during the recruiting process.
Recruited: If a college coach calls a player/recruit more than once, contacts them off campus, pays their expenses to visit the campus, or in Divisions I and II, issues a National Letter of Intent or a written offer of financial aid, then the player/recruit is considered to be recruited.
Verbal commitment: A verbal commitment takes place when a player verbally agrees to play for a college/university before he/she is eligible to sign a National Letter of Intent. The commitment is not binding on the player or the college/university and can be made at any time during the recruiting process.
Walk-on: A recruit who does not receive a scholarship, but who is placed on the team roster as a full-time student-athlete just like the scholarship athletes.
Dates to Remember:
Starting June 15th AFTER sophomore year: Coaches can begin to initiate contact with PSA’s. ***Players can initiate communication with Coaches at any time.
Prior to June 15th: Coaches can’t initiate contact with PSA’s but they can send/email/mail/message PSA’s about athletic information at the school or send them a questionnaire.
Starting August 1st BEFORE Junior Year: PSA’s can begin to take Official Visits to Campus.
Anytime: College coaches can send recruits general materials, such as questionnaires, camp information, non-athletic information about the school, and materials published by the NCAA.
The NCAA rules/regulations place restrictions on Coaches, as a prospective student-athlete you need to be aware of them but NCAA recruiting rules are primarily to hold Coaches accountable for their recruiting actions! So keep in mind, PSA’s are free to communicate with college coaches/players/athletic department heads anytime they wish! Calls, emails, texts, Facebook posts… anything and everything is permitted for players,
Remember, although coaches may not be responding or actively recruiting you, it doesn’t mean you aren’t on their radar or they aren’t noticing you.
Mike Smith is the Founder & CEO of ForeCollegeGolf and specializes in assisting junior golfers & their families through the college recruiting process. Email him @ mike.smith@forecollegegolf.com
