THE ABC’S OF COLLEGE RECRUITING

STEP A

Start figuring out a list of colleges based on your academic level/interests, your athletic ability, and your personal preferences about college.  Lots of people want a time line when you should start doing this.  The answer, whenever you have time and interest.  Soon enough you will run out of the free time.  I know many motivated 9^th graders researching (without stressing out) college.

·         Searching schools by academics.  This is easy to do if you can access College Board or Noviance through your guidance department.

·         Determining Your Athletic Talent:  Talk to your coaches, go to camps, go watch college games and soon enough you will know if you are DI, DII, or DIII.

·         Personal interests.  There are no wrong or right colleges.  The best way to figure out what you like and don’t like about schools is to visit as many as you can.  The more you go see, the more you will know what you like and what you don’t.

Take all of the above info and plus into the College Coaches CD-Rom Search Tool.  You can buy this unique search and recruiting tracking tool at by clicking this link. 

STEP B

With the list of 10-30 schools you have doing your homework in the previous step, you are now ready to move to the evaluation stage.  Notice I did not say recruiting stage, but evaluation.  The fact is most kids never get as far as a coach looking at them and saying no.  They just sit around and hope and wait to get found, which doesn’t happen unless you are elite.  So how do you get college coaches to know about you and evaluate you….

·         Send out your schedule for hs and summer teams and invite them to see you.

·         Sign up for camps where you know they will be going.  How do you know where they will be going?  How about calling or emailing them to ask?!

·         Make a video.

·         Get someone a college coach trusts (coach, alum, scout, etc) and have them make a call or email on your behalf.

That’s it.  Nothing else to do.  My example always is, if I tell you I play guitar and you need to hire a guitar player for a party you are throwing.  If you don’t know me, all the stuff I tell you (or my mom or dad) won’t convince you.  You either need to see me, watch me, or hear me play live or on video or someone you trust needs to refer me.  Same in recruiting.

Again, my books and videos have all of this in more detail.  Click here to view my books and videos.

STEP C

If you have made it this far, it means coaches are actively recruiting you!  Congratuations, you are in the small percentage of athletes who have a chance of playing in college.  There are however several things you need to do now to prepare yourself.

·         Learn and follow the rules of the NCAA Clearninghouse.  Click here for the NCAA Clearinghouse Website.

·         Ask questions of each coach, school, program so as to gain the information you need to make a final choice (academic support, cost, playing time, coaching staff, methods of travel, facilities, etc. etc.).

·         Admissions.  What do you need to do to get into these schools and can the coach be of assistance in this area.

·         Scholarships/Financial Aid:  Are you a scholarship player?  What other forms of financial aid can you get.

·         Making your final school selection.  Partly based on the academics, team, coach, cost of the school, but usually comes from your gut after an extended visit to campus.

Coach Wayne Mazzoni has been an NCAA College Coach since 1992.  He currently coaches at Sacred Heart University.  He has written several books on recruiting and is a frequent speaker at high schools in the tri-state area.  He has appeared on ABC, Fox, WFAN, News 12, and many other media outlets.  For more information visit www.WayneMazzoni.com.