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How do athletes make themselves known by recruiters?

I'm trying to find good or better ways to get noticed by college recruiters.

sports athlete recruiting college-recruiting college-scholarships
Thank you comment icon The best way from me know friends and people are trying your best also keeping your grades up cause many places will not come to see you if you don't have the grades to prove that you’re good for there school and there team just knowing from past experience Ryder
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Paul’s Answer

I am a big advocate of the Athletic Resume.

Getting a position on an athletic team is a lot like going through a job interview process.

Coaches are always reviewing potential recruits, their abilities and credentials, their academic achievements, and other elements, which could potentially fit on their team.

The problem is, they may not have the resources to come and find you, so you need to make them aware of your skills and how you can help their team.

This is where the athletic resume can be used. There are many excellent examples found online, which can be used to create a good structured athletic resume. Included will be your sports achievements, academic achievements, awards, and other skills and activities you have participated in while at school.

After creating a good resume, send it through the regular postal service. Coaches get thousands of emails each day, and sending them an athletic resume with a good cover letter, will land right on their office desk.

I hope this has been helpful. Good luck in achieving your goals.
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Zach’s Answer

Hi Max! As a former college athlete I completely understand your desire to get noticed by college coaches/recruiters. First off, there are many factors that could change how you approach this (sport, school, abilities, etc.). For example, if you play a big name sport, are an elite player in an elite division at an elite high school (ie, they have a history of winning/success) you are likely to get noticed by big name schools and will likely not have to do much self-promotion. Or, maybe you play a less known sport at a mid-size high school and feel like you're not getting attention from colleges that you hoped for (that was me).

Like all good work, you'll want to start with intentions (how do you intend to show up) and goals (identifies success). You should consider creating a timeline of key dates so you know when you need to take action and what other factors impact this work (like applications/admissions dates and recruiting open periods....there are times that coaches/recruiters can't contact athletes and times they can). Once you have intentions, goals, and a general timeline you should start planning out what you're actually going to do and charting it on the timeline. I'm not sure what your unique situation is (sport, school, abilities, etc.), but I can make some general recommendations in the optional next steps section below that may help:

Zach recommends the following next steps:

Ask your coach/referees/other coaches/etc. (anyone you are connected to who knows you and may help) if they have connections at the college level and if they are willing to help you by advocating for you or put you in touch or just giving you advice?
Research the colleges and teams you're interested in and determine who handles the recruiting, reach out to that person expressing interest and seeking information
Play for club teams and participate in offseason competitions (some teams offer scholarships if money is an issue)
Attend camps (either local, regional, or national) for your sport. Ideally these camps are also attended by coaches/recruiters AND/OR the camp is put on by the college/coach
Attend local college level games for your sport and contact the coaches with questions about their tactics &/or expressing your interest in their school afterwards (if nothing else this exposes you to things that happen at the college level for your sport)
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Bryce’s Answer

My sister is part of the Philippines national soccer team for women. For her, it was all about playing well in your school teams (high school, etc), and also playing on regional club teams. Those club teams have partnerships with recruiters that will come to matches, they have exhibition games across the country.

Also, create a highlight-reel for yourself. Have someone record all your games so you can create a video of your best performances. Then you can send copies of that to recruiters.

Ask around to see if any players, coaches, club coaches, might know about recruiters or sports agents that you can reach out to with your skills or highlights.

Bryce recommends the following next steps:

Take video recording of all your performances
Talk to your teammates, coaches, and everyone related to your sport to find recruiters and agents to reach out to. Expand your network.
Post your great shots on TikTok, YouTube, and other social media to show off your stuff. But remember, your social media becomes your brand.
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Raven’s Answer

Here are a few of the most common and most effective ways to get recruited to play a sport in college:
- First and foremost, work hard on your skills in order to consistently improve your game
- Join your school team & strive to be one of the leaders/standout players on the roster, while also aiming to become a winning team
- Join a travel team. These are more advanced teams that often compete during your sport's designated off season. You will have the opportunity to travel, play in tournaments, and play in front of college coaches
- Have someone video record your games and create a highlight film for you. Email coaches at colleges that you are interested in attending, and include both the highlight film and a few of your best full game films in the email. Also include your contact information, your high school/travel team schedules for the upcoming season, and a BRIEF summary about you.
- Create profiles on online recruiting platforms. Fill in your information (contact, photo, GPA, school, etc.) and upload your game & highlight films. Some of the most popular free online recruiting platforms are Hudl, NCSA, FieldLevel
- Also use your social media to post & promote your game and highlights films. Follow & tag the coaches that coach at schools you are interested in attending.
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Tracie’s Answer

Hi Max! What sport are you playing? My son was an athlete (football- kicker/punter) and worked with a couple of private coaches who guided him through the recruitment process. He also made it known to his high school coach that he was interested in playing at a collegiate level. His coaches nominated him to play in some state-wide all-star games that helped get some of his stats up and his name out there. He was active on twitter and followed several colleges/head coaches that he was interested in. He reached out to recruiters at those schools too. Some asked for his hudl tapes, and he had a resume with his stats/achievements ready too. He found that he got better responses reaching out to colleges directly by using their interest sign-up forms on the websites. Best of luck!!
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