How to Start Over With the Recruiting Process
So the early signing period has come and gone, and you are still unsigned. Does this mean you are doomed to never being able to swim in college?
Of course not. It is true that nearly every coach in the country tries to get their recruiting done in November, but it just doesn’t happen for most of them.
It is important to understand what most coaches do after the early signing period and what you need to do to reignite your recruiting.
When the early signing period is over many coaches take off their recruiting hat and put on their coaching hat. A lot of teams have big invitationals in November and December and many swimmers will shave and taper to try to make championship cuts.
Recruiting definitely slows down until after Christmas training camps. It generally picks up once the team and coaches get back to campus in January.
You need to take a good look at the info you had been sending to coaches to determine why it didn’t work. Sit down with your coach and make sure you have included the important info and that your resume’ truly sells your potential.
Does it make it easy for the coach to see how fast you “could” be in your freshman year at their school?
- Are your events listed in the best order? If you are a breaststroker and you list your freestyle times first you are killing your chances. It is best to list your times in a way that shows how they fit into the college championship format. Coaches are looking for swimmers who can ideally swim one event a day at the conference championship meet plus relays.
- Has your coach provided the college coaches with an assessment of your work ethic, character, competitiveness, coachability and most important your potential?
- Does your race video show the coaches what they need to see? Your video needs to be filmed from the side of the pool from a high vantage point. It should be zoomed in on you for about 75% of the race and you MUST find a way to highlight you in your lane to draw the coaches’ attention to just you.
- Are you registered with the Clearinghouse/Eligibility Center?
- If you are a good kicker, does the college coach know this?
- Go ahead and resend your info to the coaches and don’t worry if you don’t get much of a response until January.
It is never too late to pursue your dreams.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND START EARLY!
