Potential Magazine Fall 2015 - Alabama Edition | Page 16

game on

the next level

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RUNDOWN

Of the nearly eight
million students
currently participating
in high school athletics
in the United States,
only 460,000 of them
will compete at NCAA
schools. ncaa.com

If your student athlete has dreams of playing college sports, and better yet, getting a scholarship to do
so, there’s a lot of information you and your teen will need to keep in mind when it comes to catching
coaches’ attention and following the recruitment rules. We asked two coaches and two parents to share
some thoughts on the ins and outs of college recruitment.

[GETTING_NOTICED]
According to Richy Brooks, the baseball coach at Benjamin
Russell High School in Alexander City, college recruitment has
become a business. “It is unfortunate, but it is true,” he said. And
the people putting the money in are athletes and their parents.
So how do you know what’s worth the cost? One thing that may
not be is a paid highlight video. “Coaches, at least in baseball,
just aren’t really watching those videos,” Brooks said. “They don’t
have the time. Unless they already have a significant interest in
the athlete, they won’t watch more than a few minutes, if they
watch it at all.” Which means it’s probably a waste of money to
pay an individual or company to produce an elaborate 20-minute video of your teen. “If you do want to have one, make it
short, and make it yourself. There are plenty of apps that make it
simple to do all you need using your smart phone,” Brooks said.
Athlete videos vary in importance depending on the sport.
Lauri Mitchell’s son was recruited to play football at Kansas
State, and she offered this advice regarding videos for high

school football players. “If your child has expressed an interest
in playing football at the next level, it is important to start
preparing film of your child’s playing time as early as the 10th
grade,” she said. “Your child’s position coach should be able to
provide this. Most athletes are familiar with Hudl, the website
where coaches download previous game film and is a great place
to find video of your player in action.”
But if the coaches in some sports aren’t watching as many videos
or if you don’t have one, how can your teen get their attention?
“Coaches really aren’t doing high school visits that much anymore. What they want is for you to go to their summer camp,”
Brooks said. “The next best thing is to do a summer showcase
or combine. Coaches like those because they can see a bunch of
kids at once.” These programs aren’t cheap though.

It can be really expensive to do all of it, so if you’re
mainly after a scholarship, be careful.You may end
up spending as much or more than the scholarship
is worth just trying to get it.
— Richy Brooks, Baseball Coach at
Benjamin Russell High School
Mitchell echoed Brooks on the importance of getting in front of
coaches in person. “Your athlete should attend football camps
during the summer,” she said. “This will give you and your child
an opportunity to meet college coaches, see their athletic
facilities, and learn about their program. This also gives your
child an opportunity to showcase his talent.”
Left: Tyler Mitchell signing to play football at Kansas State.

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