The 3 R's of Great Recruiting

Recruiting is a major part of being a collegiate coach. Books have been written on the subject of college recruiting tips and there is no shortage of recruiting advice in coach world. However, there are 3 things that every great recruiter has in common and we outline them here:

Relentlessness: The greatest recruiters are relentless, meaning, they never stop recruiting. Every tape and brochure gets evaluated. They are the ones who find the "hidden treasures" because they put time in without assumptions or preconceptions to the athlete. You may feel like you are wasting your time when putting so much effort into every evaluation, but that accumulated effort pays off.

Are you prepared to maintain this attitude with a player after he chooses a different school?

Relationship: When you are recruiting an athlete, you are explaining to them why your program is the best thing for them, which should be because you authentically care about them. When you care about someone, it means you care about the things that are important to them such as their family, their friends, their interests and their hobbies. If you can demonstrate that you care about these things more than their decision, you will see undoubted success in your recruiting career.

BONUS: Don't burn bridges. If you lose an athlete, be as friendly as you were when you were pursuing them. That athlete has high school teammates and knows 100 other young athletes; if you show yourself as a class act and demonstrate a consistent, caring personality, that athlete will remember and pass the word.

Relevant: In sales, the top salesmen have no problem asking the "tough questions." This allows them to isolate the objection and address it. As a recruiter, dig down into what is most important to that athlete, they will appreciate the honesty. When you identify what is most important to an athlete, relate to that need or criteria, it gives you a much better shot than you if you guessing or assuming is the most critical component of the decision.