This can be a fun process as you sit down with your son or daughter and let him or her dream a little. I would bet that you already have your top 3-4 schools you’d like them to consider, but remember that this is their choice. While you should present the benefits of the schools you have in mind, your top schools are merely “schools on the list” as far as your son or daughter is concerned.
Ask questions, such as:
Do you want to stay in-state?
Do you want to go to a large or small school?
What part of the country?
How tough academically do you want the school to be?
What are you interested in studying?
What Conference do you want to compete in?
Any favorite schools?
What level – NCAA Division I, II, III; NAIA?
How about the reputation and quality of the team?
Does cost matter?
These are just some of the questions you’ll want to ask your son or daughter. You’ll get a good picture of where they are at. You may find out that they have not given it much thought. That’s not unusual, so don’t worry. My sons never thought for a moment that they’d be at the school where ended up. (They both ended up at the same place). By asking preliminary questions like this, you’ll narrow down the field of possibilities. For instance, there’s no sense contacting an out of state school if they want to stay close to home. These preferences will probably change over time, but this is a starting point.
The internet is a great tool for exploring. You can sit down with your son or daughter and take a look at schools and programs and discuss them together. You can ask some of the questions above about specific schools when you are on their site. It’s a way to get some conversation going and help them think things through. If you are the student-athlete reading this, then let me say that this is a good way to start conversations with your parents about the schools you are considering. I believe this whole recruiting process should be a family affair as much as possible. Spending a few hours together on the internet is a way to make it a family process and a way to make sure you are all getting the same information. It leads to better discussion.
How many?
How many schools should we contact? I recommend at least 20-25, but preferably 40-50. This is where your insight comes in. Your son or daughter’s world of reference is probably small, so they’ll only think of a few schools. However, you will have some ideas of where you want them to check besides. Write to those schools in addition to the ones he or she selects. You never know what will happen, and you want to have a number of options open months down the road when it is time to make the decision.
Gathering information for your letter.
You’ll need the names of the coaches and addresses of the schools on the list. I recommend that you go to each school’s website to find out about their programs. This is not only a good way to find out the name and address of the coaches, but an excellent way to research the school and your sport at that school. Since the school’s site will be updated regularly, you can almost be certain that the information is up to date.
Directories of Colleges
Free college directory. The first information source I’ll recommend is free.
The University of Texas at Austin
institutions. It’s not perfect because the directory doesn’t contain the actual
coach/contact info – just links to each school’s website where you can find the contact info. You can use it by going to:
www.utexas.edu/world/univ/alpha/
This will be an alphabetical listing by school and by state, and each school’s
name is a hyperlink to the school’s website. See the screenshot on the next
page. All you have to do is “click” on any institution’s name and you’ll be
taken to their main website, where you can then search out the information on the athletic program and coach contact details.
The Recruiment-Me Athletic Scholarship System pp 15-16
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