| Signing up with a recruiting service can be extremely | | | | FACT: Recruiting services are profit driven |
| enticing, as their sales pitches are hard to ignore. The | | | | organizations. Their focus is to sell their program to as |
| following is a sample of what many student athletes | | | | many families as possible. In order to keep enrollment |
| have mentioned to me in regards to these services: "I | | | | high, they often dishonestly evaluate potential |
| hired a recruiting service that sends my profile to | | | | prospects and make promises they cannot keep. |
| hundreds of schools. This service has a success rate | | | | While many insist that their primary focus is on student |
| of 95%, and their student athletes receive on average | | | | athletes, in all reality this is secondary to meeting their |
| $9,000 a year in scholarship dollars." | | | | enrollment numbers. With such a large number of |
| FACT: A Recruiting Service will never hurt you in the | | | | student athletes enrolled in a particular recruiting |
| process - in fact, it can only help. The essential | | | | service, they cannot possibly provide everyone the |
| question about recruiting services is evaluating whether | | | | individual attention that they need and deserve. |
| or not the benefits of these services justify the cost. | | | | FACT: Similar to showcases, many recruiting services |
| Many of these services cost thousands of dollars for | | | | publicize the names of their student athletes and the |
| the creation of a profile and/or video, which they then | | | | scholarship offers they receive. It is unclear as to the |
| email to hundreds of coaches nationwide. The | | | | role the company actually played in this process. |
| overwhelming majority of the schools these services | | | | FACT: Many recruiting services throw out success |
| send your information to are probably schools you | | | | rates and average scholarship dollars awarded. These |
| would never consider attending anyways. With that | | | | numbers are not accurate. Recruiting companies get |
| being said, it is clearly much cheaper to create your | | | | their success rates from graduating seniors who |
| own list of schools, and send your own information out | | | | CHOOSE to fill out a survey indicating their overall |
| to them yourself. | | | | satisfaction with the service during the process. Thus, |
| FACT: Recruiting services send out multiple profiles | | | | the satisfaction rate can represent a VERY small |
| and videos each day to the same college coaches. | | | | portion of a service's entire client base. The same can |
| Because there are numerous organizations doing the | | | | be said for average scholarship dollars awarded. |
| same thing on a daily basis, college coaches are | | | | These numbers are also accumulated by those |
| inundated with similar emails from recruiting services | | | | graduating seniors who CHOOSE to fill out the survey |
| who are recommending prospects that the services | | | | and disclose this information. In addition, some may |
| themselves barely know. In short, many of these | | | | include academic scholarships and financial aid into this |
| emails are considered nothing more than junk mail, and | | | | average scholarship number. Clearly, student athletes |
| are consequently never opened. | | | | do not need the help of a recruiting service to earn an |
| FACT: College coaches want prospect information | | | | academic scholarship or to be awarded financial aid |
| from sources they trust. If student athletes are paying | | | | dollars. Secondly, there is a clear difference between |
| an outside organization to market them to college | | | | academic scholarships, financial aid, and athletic |
| coaches, the recommendations and evaluations that | | | | scholarships. |
| these companies create are clearly biased. | | | | FACT: A recruiting service is a tool that has its |
| FACT: Any college coach will tell you that they want | | | | limitations. If you decide to go with a recruiting service, |
| to hear directly from the student athlete, not mom or | | | | understand that it is still really critical that you do some |
| dad, and not from an outside source that is being paid | | | | work on your own as well. At the end of the day, you |
| to recommend and represent you. Contacting college | | | | need to be your own advocate. In addition, be sure |
| coaches on your own is a proactive approach to the | | | | that you consistently communicate and follow up with |
| recruiting process that shows maturity, poise, and | | | | your recruiting service, and hold them accountable for |
| responsibility, aspects that college coaches are looking | | | | everything they say they will do for you. |
| for in all of their potential players. | | | | |