How does athletic recruiting for High School work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid went to a basketball clinic where a WCAC coach was 'helping' early this year. He clearly did not get the memo about first contact

Gray area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MAC are also subject to the "first contact" rule.

The coaches can reach out to the youth coach, but not directly to the student-athlete or their parents.

A prospective applicant (or their parents, I suppose, but they really shouldn't be) can reach out directly to any coach at any school.

Do people really look to be recruited to the MAC?

[Anonymous]

A lot of HS coaches have their own clubs to recruit from or at minimum, they know who the players already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing to note as well, is even if your child is recruited and admitted, they may not see much playing time at first in HS—especially for freshmen that make varsity. Kids get so excited to play varsity early but it’s worth considering starting in JV to get more playing time and have more teammates in their own grade.

If your kid is considered catholic for tuition purposes (that's the standard that I've heard about for WCAC recruited, but not star athletes), they play wherever the coach tells them to play

OP here,

My kid would be considered Catholic for any purposes (goes to Mass, believes, has all the age appropriate sacraments), but wouldn't any kid who was considered coachable enough to be recruited expect to do what the coach tells him to do? Why would this be a rule for the Catholic kids?

I am having trouble imagining my kid making either JV or varsity and then telling the coach they want the other.

[Anonymous]

My baseball player started getting contacted by HS coaches in the 6th grade. Some made contact via social media, one reached out after seeing him at a workout, another was put into contact with us by a player on the team. We have no initial contact with any of these coaches. These are all independent schools.

[Anonymous]

This is fascinating and (unlike so many other DCUM threads) looks legitimately useful to potential recruit families. Worthy of being pegged up at FAQ if it doesn't go south.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is fascinating and (unlike so many other DCUM threads) looks legitimately useful to potential recruit families. Worthy of being pegged up at FAQ if it doesn't go south.

lol. Its full of wild speculation and individual anecdotes. I'd take it with a giant grain of salt. Real stars get recruited and they already know. There are very, very few kids that meet this standard.

Most of the rest of you are quality filler the coach is trying to attract to ensure he or she has options in the future. You aren't getting money, you might get some admissions help but honestly there are so many good athletes that are also good students, its often unnecessary. They're hoping that by showing interest, that your going to apply and attend because then you are in that pool of talent and *importantly* NOT in the other school's pool of talent.

Its zero investment on the coach/school to sweet talk a MS kid and a lot of those kids will be smitten and think they are some kind of star.

[Anonymous]

I am still puzzled by the Catholic thing.

— OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Big 3 a parent reached out and communicated back to the coach

For WCAC coach was at a game but we didn’t need $ so he offered to “help them get in” but it wasn’t necessary.

And IAC school the coach approached my son at a practice but my child wasn’t interested in that school.

OP here,

I get that part, that either we reach out to the coach, or the coach approaches us. We've had some approaches, and so far we've said he isn't interested in moving. I'm pretty sure we really aren't interested, but I'm curious how the process would proceed from here if he was interested.

So, what happens after those initial contacts?

You tour the school, you do a shadow day, you pick the school you want, you apply, you get accepted.

Money is complicated depending on the school.

Some will give merit scholarships, some will have boosters give a scholarship, some schools have a bunch of different scholarships from alumni and they give you one. Those scholarships allow the school to continue to say they don’t give athletic scholarships.

Basically this.
Also you'll know that a coach is serious about your child because they will personally invite them to games, workouts, and camps/clinics.
Even if you're UMC, if they really want your kid, they'll find at lesst some money to give.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK. Let me explain how it works (or should work) at the high school level. High school, not college. College recruiting rules are much different and follow a set of NCAA rules. So don’t let what you know or think you know about D1, D2 or D3 college recruiting influence how you think about high school recruiting.

FIRST CONTACT- Coaches in the WCAC and IAC and maybe other conferences are prohibited from making FIRST CONTACT. If someone tells you they were contacted first by a coach, I’d take that with a grain of salt. These schools watch one another like hawks.

Potential athletes can be bought to the attention of high school coaches by youth team coaches (with whom they have relationships), by alumni, who sometimes scout youth teams and by parents of team mates, who are connected to or are interested in a school.

But the high school coach can’t contact the “prospect” until the kid or his/her parents contacts the school first. That could be at an open house or a call to the Admissions office or a call or visit to the coach or athletic director.

Sometimes what happens is that the alumnus or youth coach tells the high school coach about a kid, the coach agrees that he/she might be interested and the alumnus or youth coach communicates the interest to the athlete’s parent. The coach informs the alumnus that the school can’t make any overt moves until the parent or athlete contact them first.

After that first contact is made, there are no rules on the frequency or form of recruiting contact (as there are in college recruiting.)

The coach can express all the interest and enthusiasm he or she can muster. But they absolutely lack the power to offer admittance or financial aid or anything.

The coach needs to go to the Athletic Director (unless they are also the AD) and plead their case for admitting a targeted athlete.

During the Admission cycle, the Athletic Director goes to the Admissions Office with a prioritized list of the athletes they would like to see admitted. All the Athletic Director can do is recommend or plead the case for an applicant.

This is where the sport makes a difference. At many private schools, not all sports are equal in the eyes of the Athletic Director. An outstanding football or lacrosse player might be higher on the Athletic Director’s priority list than a sport that does not have a large following among the alumni.

When the Admissions process begins, neither the coach or the Athletic Director is involved (unless they are also members of Admissions team at the school.) They have done their part. The applicant’s application includes the notation that this is kid is a priority for the Athletic Department.

But that notation may not be enough to sway the Admissions decision in their favor. The Admissions people also look at academic capability and other factors. The Athletic Department does not get everyone in that they would like.

Then there is also the matter of Financial Aid (another area the coach or Athletic Director has no real power over.)

Schools will tell you that the FA process is separate from the Admissions process. But no one really believes that fiction because the Financial Aid budget is a fixed amount that is decided before the Admissions and Financial processes begin.

So some things to be aware of.

1. You have to make First Contact
2. All the coach wants early on is for you to submit an application.
3. The Athletic Director will submit his prioritized list to Admissions after talking to the various coaches.
4. It’s the Admissions Department or team that makes the decision on who to admit.

The coaches may tell you what they think you want to hear in order to submit an application and then to accept an offer of admission if one is offered.

OP here,

The first contact makes sense. I think my ex might be making the first contact in some cases. In other cases I can think of things that might have triggered it.

My kid gets a lot of aid where he is now, so there is no way we could do a move unless the new school matched it. Is my understanding correct that we would go through the process for multiple schools and find out at the end whether he gets and gets enough money, so it’s not like college where you can only apply to one?

He can apply to as many schools as he wants, but you should be upfront with coaches early about what you're willing to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MAC are also subject to the "first contact" rule.

The coaches can reach out to the youth coach, but not directly to the student-athlete or their parents.

A prospective applicant (or their parents, I suppose, but they really shouldn't be) can reach out directly to any coach at any school.

Several WCAC schools have athletic inquiry tabs on their websites. They encourage kids to directly express interest.

[Anonymous]

My son was "recruited" as well and I can say that after applications were due in early Jan and we were waiting for the decisions in March that the coach and the admissions director reached out to see how we were doing, and asked what my "son was thinking", if he had any questions, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAC are also subject to the "first contact" rule.

The coaches can reach out to the youth coach, but not directly to the student-athlete or their parents.

A prospective applicant (or their parents, I suppose, but they really shouldn't be) can reach out directly to any coach at any school.

Several WCAC schools have athletic inquiry tabs on their websites. They encourage kids to directly express interest.

So, if a 13 year old reaches out, that's enough? They don't need permission from the parent?

[Anonymous]

My kid attended a summer camp for his sport at the high school. The coach told my kid he’d love for him to play on his team and talked to DH one day when he picked him up from camp. DH and he exchanged many emails after that time and I know the coach was in touch with the AD. DS also got a call from the coach the night admission decisions went out encouraging him to attend and inviting him to visit and practice with the team. I’m not sure how much the coach had to do with DS getting into the school, as our middle school sends many kids to this HS every year. This is likely where DS would have ended up regardless.

My nephew was recruited by our HS for a different sport. He went to a Catholic middle school that typically sends kids to Catholic HSs, rather than our independent school. The coach called my BIL and invited them to a private tour. My nephew has previously been dead set on attending a particular Catholic school, but after meeting with the coach for two hours, the whole family fell in love with the school. The coach and their family communicated steadily throughout admissions season. Then come admissions decisions and nephew was WL. He has better grades and test scores than my son who attends the school and was devastated. BIL immediately called the coach, who was shocked. The athletics head and a Board member of the school called my BIL and told him to be patient. Shortly thereafter, the AD called, offered him a spot and $20K off of tuition (which they don’t need).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAC are also subject to the "first contact" rule.

The coaches can reach out to the youth coach, but not directly to the student-athlete or their parents.

A prospective applicant (or their parents, I suppose, but they really shouldn't be) can reach out directly to any coach at any school.

Several WCAC schools have athletic inquiry tabs on their websites. They encourage kids to directly express interest.

So, if a 13 year old reaches out, that's enough? They don't need permission from the parent?

Most will ask for student and parent email, but the student can fill that out. However, obviously, in order to apply and subsequently enroll that's where parental permission would be required.