Advice for Parents in Recruiting

Over the past 15-20 years parents (good and bad) have become more involved with youth sports, high school sports, and now college sports. I believe the mindset has become "I'm paying the money and I should be involved in the process." I agree with that statement to an extent because parents should absolutely be involved but they shouldn't be the main focus. There is no way that a child can be the best they can be when the parent(s) overwhelm the process.

So, here are some words of advice for the parents out there during the recruiting process:

1) Remember it's your son or daughter that is being recruited, not you. Yes, the college coaches will try to recruit you on top of your child, but you shouldn't be the main focus of the recruitment. Your child is and should be the #1 priority in this situation.

2) Do your research. Know the colleges that your son or daughter is looking at. Know the acceptance rate, know the average academic scholarship, and know the average financial aid package. Know the academic programs, know the retention rates, know the graduation rates of the regular students, student-athletes, and athletes from the particular team that is recruiting your son or daughter. Know internship opportunities, know average salary of recent graduates, and know graduate school acceptance rates for graduates. If the questions to these answers aren't posted (many are), please ask an admissions counselor and the coaches.

3) Know the roster. As a parent, you think your son or daughter is the best thing since sliced bread. Guess what? There are a lot of slices of bread on college rosters. Look to see how many players are on the roster. See how are the classes distributed. Make sure to look at how many players on the roster play the same position as your son or daughter.

4) Be honest with coaches. How many times do teenagers tell people what they want to hear rather than what should be said? This same thing happens during the recruiting process as well. Kids don't want to disappoint anyone. They won't tell coaches that they aren't interested anymore. It shouldn't be the parents job to tell coaches if their son or daughter wants to or doesn't want to attend their school. If coaches ask where things stand, you can always hint what is going on and then have your son or daughter call the coaches to tell them they aren't interested anymore.

5) Don't be afraid to say NO. This is the second best answer college coaches can get. The earlier they get a "no" the better it is for everyone. You and your child should not drag out the process. Their college choice should be a tough one. It's where they are going to spend the next four or five years of the life. If you know there is a college that your child isn't interested in, encourage your child to tell that college "no."

6) If you don't know, ask someone that does. As a parent, you should have a ton of questions. Your child is one of the most important things in your life. You want the best possible situation for them. If you don't know, get advice from someone that has been through the process before, whether that be a player or parent. If you can't find anyone, ask a high school or AAU coach to help a little bit. They generally have a good grasp of how things work.