Why Outsourcing the College Search Process Costs More than Money.

As I began speaking with families at my club regarding the college search process, I wanted to get as much feedback as possible in order to make sure I was catering my presentations to meet the needs of the families. There were a lot of responses that helped me sculpt what I talked about so that I was covering the areas that families seemed to have the least amount of information on. There was one statement that I heard on a regular basis, and while I understood exactly where they were coming from, I felt it was a dangerous road they were going down to take that approach.

"My (daughter/son) is already so busy with everything else they're doing, there just really isn't enough time to do the legwork".

I've said it before and I'll say it again. My question is this: If we don't let realtors just give us information before we sign a mortgage, or car salesmen give us all the good specs of a car before buying it, why do we let colleges sell their schools to us? Why don't we do a better job of educating kids on how to think about what they want, both on and off the court - and make them find the right fit for them instead of going to the schools that sounds the best? Why do we think an outside party can do the search for us and actually have a good gauge on whether or not the student-athlete will connect with the school? They might be able to find common interests, but that doesn't replicate how the student-athlete will feel when they step on the campus, how they'll connect with staff/other students, or how comfortable they'll feel in general with the environment.

What's more valuable to a family: The investment of money in order to save time knowing you can find a school for the athlete to attend, or the investment of time in order to a) receive as much merit aid as the student-athlete's profile enables b) have peace of mind knowing that the people that TRULY have the athlete's best interests in mind were the ones that dotted their i's and crossed their t's to make sure they found the best fit?

When I was at Mercer, I was easily getting anywhere from 25-75 emails a day from recruits. I was working 80-100 hours a week, and even with that, there wasn't enough time to respond to all of them. Which ones were getting my attention? The emails that came from the player, NOT a parent, NOT a recruiting agency. The emails that showed an athlete that wanted to attend Mercer, not a student that wanted to just play volleyball. The emails that showed the athlete did a little legwork and researched my school, not the one that I looked at and said "They could change my name at the top and send this to 100 different schools. The ones that I felt had a genuine interest in the school, so that my time invested in getting to know them had a real chance of bringing them to our institution.

If I received a profile from a recruiting agency, I would look at it for about 30 seconds to see what the physical attributes were, which is something else people need to realize. Profiles are a good way of getting your name out there. It's also a good way to get written off by a coach if your physical attributes are well below what the norm is for the level you want to play, without them even getting to know what type of player you are, how you affect your teammates in a positive manner, or how you can play bigger than you are if you're good at tooling the block/have great timing. Every now and then, I'd run across a girl that touched 10'+, or a libero/setter that impressed me with film - but it was a handful of times in an entire season. I have yet to meet a collegiate coach that tells me they'd prefer a profile from a recruiting agency over a contact directly from the player.

For the 99% of players that are not going to get a college scholarship, it's that much more important to do the legwork yourself! There are plenty of athletes with great academics, talent as a player, and personality traits. They find a school that interests them, and they put their application/essay (for schools that have an essay requirement) in before speaking to the coach. They write about things that they feel are important with no true knowledge of the inner workings of the school. They potentially leave thousands of dollars per year of merit aid because their application is thrown in with the masses. This is called being a "Stealth Applicant"

If you were applying to work at a company and knew someone at the company, you would use that person as a source for insight on how to best go about the process, whether it be questions to ask, how to handle the interview, or gather information on what they're looking for in a new employee. So why wouldn't you utilize the coach as a resource before applying? I have heard of some coaches saying they don't get involved with that - I assure you those are not coaches that are competing for conference/national championships.

Recruiting is not just about coaches finding the best talent - it's about giving student-athletes an opportunity to belong to an environment where they will grow/thrive and be prepared for the real world - that includes helping them learn the process so they can unlock all merit aid they're eligible for. If they don't make an effort to provide that, you should look for someone who does!

That being said, if student-athletes took fifteen minutes a night to do the research/send out emails the right way, they could get even better results than what they're getting from these recruiting agencies. They would have be more comfortable knowing they're making an educated decision on where they're investing their time the next four years. They'll have a better relationship with the coach/understanding of what the school will provide them. On top of all that, if they do it right, they will know that they've utilized their grades/extracurricular activities to get themselves the best award possible. I hope to help people learn how to maximize their results as time-efficiently as possible in order to do this comfortably.

I will continue to write on various topics that I feel are important - if you have a subject that you'd like to see addressed, please don't hesitate to contact me at ProgressionVBConsulting@gmail.com - also follow us on Facebook/Twitter!