Let the Recruiting Begin!

As many of you know the period when college coaches can begin talking to the class of 2008 begins this Sunday. Some of you will get in upwards of 10 phone calls this Sunday. But if you do not get any phone calls don't worry, you just are going to have to do some work to get the attention of the colleges you are interested in. Please remember the following:

1) Use the next month and a half to gather as much information as possible. You can ask any and all questions you'd like, as well you should. You need to get to know the coaches, their style and what they expect from their swimmers in and out of the pool 12 months out of the year. Ideally, you will find a swim team which closely resembles the training you have at GCIT to ensure the smoothest transition possible.

1a) Make sure the colleges you are talking to offer your major. If you know what you want to study it makes no sense talking to a college that does not offer that major.

2) Do not commit to any official visits at all in July. Some of these coaches can be crafty and try to trick you into this. They know you only have 5 visits to use and know that some club coaches (like me) do not want their swimmers taking 5 visits in the fall. They want you to get onto their campus as early as possible so that their school is what you are comparing the rest of the schools you visit. Again, gather as much information as possible and then contact your coach at GCIT (or me if I am not your coach and you can't get a hold of yours) to determine the best course of action for visits.

2a) National group swimmers should not be signing up for more than three trips in the Fall. Be sure to sign up for one of them on September 8th because we don't have practice that day any way. Between the SATs and meets if you take five trips before the signing period in the beginning of November you will be missing too much practice. Most trips require you to get there early on Friday morning so you miss two workouts and you know very well that swimming on your own (if the school you are visiting allows you any pool time it won't be more than 2 hours total all weekend) is not nearly the same as swimming with our team.

3) Know what is allowed and what is not allowed during the recruiting process. Go to www.swimmingworldmagazine.com and check out the article written by Jason Marsteller (another one of my new buddies from Hawaii) which has a plethora of information on the recruiting process, including information from the NCAA directly.

4) If/When you talk to coaches, keep detailed and accurate notes of the conversation. If the coaches mentions that their kid has been sick WRITE IT DOWN. It will make a huge impression if when you talk to this coach again you open the conversation with "I hope your son is feeling better." Show the coach that you are interested and that you care and they will show more attention to you as a recruit. They are talking to hundreds of swimmers in a very short period of time, you need to MAKE AN IMPRESSION on them so that they know you and want you on their team. There is no better impression to be made than of an intellegent young person who takes the time to remember who they have talked to and what they talk about. So go out before Sunday and buy yourself a notebook just for phone correspondence with college coaches. Leave space in the notebook for each school you talk to so that it can be easily references each time you speak with them.

5) Have fun. Some people stress over this and that is rediculous. This is a great time in your lives and the lives of your family so enjoy it. Remember, you need to find the best fit for you academically, athletically and socially and it takes some effort and research to get to that point. Do take this process seriously but make sure it stays fun for you.

At any time if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I have been on every side of this process from a recruit to a recruiter to the family member of a recruit. I can pretty much answer the questions you have and if not can find someone who will answer it for you.