Recently I have been talking to several college golf scouts who have reportedly been trying to facilitate talks between me and target colleges I have been looking into to play collegiate golf. However, I have seen on this forum people who have spoken to coaches of colleges directly without the use of this intermediate to discuss recruitment.
So my question is, should I try and email the coaches of the schools I am looking at with my stats and academic info, or continue using this expensive option that may/may not get me into the school(s) of my dreams?
According to the NCAA coaches can contact me during my junior year. Should I initiate these talks since I won’t be in need of an intermediary anymore? @TheDidactic@varska
Yes, initiate these talks. Once July hits, coaches are a bit less limited on how they can talk to you. Coaches like to see you putting yourself out there.
Well seeing as how it is currently June 26th, you can start right now figuring out what to say and how to say it to a coach. Make it personalized, not like a fill-in-the-blank stock letter. If you have any questions, now is a great time to ask too! I don’t know how it works in golf so if you have a schedule of like tournaments or something, you might want to eventually give that to colleges so they can come out and see you.
I agree with the above about direct contact. I think the more initiative a potential student-athlete takes, the more opportunities might open up.
There are a lot of rules about when and how coaches can contact recruits, but sometimes they can answer the phone and talk even if it’s in a period when they can’t initiate contact or are limited in how often they can reach out.
Maybe that’s not as important in football and men’s basketball or for the very top recruits in the non-revenue sports who have coaches reaching out night and day. . . for everyone else, make it easy for coaches and don’t expect them to find you.
I’m going to be a sophomore next year. My golf coach said the recruiting process (for golf, at least) begins before/during freshman year if you’re serious about it enough. Believing this, I began talking to an intermediary who gave advice, but tried nickling and diming me along the way. They wanted to charge me for a bunch of stuff I frankly did not need or want. Until now, I had given up on recruitment, but now it seems plausible.
OK well I would still start now. Get your name out there. Get on the coach’s radar. They’ll be limited on how they’ll be able to talk to you/respond, but if they like you enough, you can get your foot in the door early if you’re serious enough about golf.
I don’t believe the coaches from D1 and D2 schools can contact you directly until after July 1 following your Junior year. What your coach may have meant was that those coaches start looking for their teams as early as Fr and So years. They CAN contact you through your h.s. or club coach, so when sending a recruiting questionnaire or letter of interest, be sure to include your coach’s information. You should register with the NCAA clearing house and you’ll be able to complete a interactive powerpoint about contacts.
It is unlikely you’ll need an intermediary if you are a strong player and if you want to do the research yourself. Many players don’t mind paying for the service because they don’t want to do the work.
It’s not mandatory. It’s just that eventually, you’ll be going through the Clearinghouse to see your eligibility, send your SAT/ACT scores and transcripts etc. so it’s easier to get on the ball now.
I’m not sure if it is required to register before taking an overnight visit. I was told it was so DD just did it, but I’ve also been told it isn’t required. You can also chose to have an ACT/SAT score sent at any sitting by putting in the code. I do recommend doing it early and making sure everything is in. My DD registered, but then didn’t make sure her transcripts were in (she went to 3 different high schools and each must send an original, plus the final transcript after graduation). Three weeks after she started college, we were frantically calling to have transcripts sent, and the NCAA lost the graduation transcript so it had to be resent.
Well the reason I’m asking specifically is because of questionnaires I was asked to specifically fill out and they asked me about that. I don’t have the other stats, either, but it appears that registration is upwards of $75.
If you don’t want to register yet, don’t. It is required for D1 and D2 schools, just not sure when (before OV? before signing NLI?) Yes, it was $70 two years ago. You don’t have to register before talking to a coach. It is not required for D3 schools.
I am almost positive that you need to be registered with the clearinghouse prior to an official visit. I believe that is how they track the number of visits taken by recruits and hosted by the schools. And you can fill out the recruiting questionnaires without having your clearinghouse number. The coaches don’t expect or need you to do that until fall of senior year. I think my son finally registered a week before his official visit.
I would echo the advice from many and not pay an intermediary to help you through the recruiting process. Also, realize that an intermediary (who is not a high school or club coach) is going to be very limited in the direct contact they can have with a college coach about a recruit by the NCAA rules. As far as I know, they can’t call a coach or talk directly to a coach about a specific recruit. Look up NCAA Bylaw 12.3.3.1 (talent evaluation services and agents) and that will give you the actual rules that these services have to follow. They can put out electronic information (so can you) but that is about it.
Thank you, @Ohiodad51 ! I also assume I don’t need to be registered to talk to any coaches but can register if it appears I am seriously being recruited/talked to without making an official visit?
Yes, you can hold off on registering until necessary. As I said above, my son went through the whole recruiting process, including several unofficial visits, camps, coach visits to his school, and offer and verbal commitment before he registered. You should absolutely make sure that your academic progress, both in your GPA/scores and in the courses you have taken, put you in line to compete in the NCAA, but you can do that by reading the rules, you don’t need to go through the certification process yet.