A Week of Travel

Last week was a week of recruiting for me. Very could be one of the things that I enjoy most in my business. Of course, watching games on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays is the most fun. Going to camps and 7on7's is second. Visting with the high school coaches and meeting many of the top prospects is probably third. Writing blogs is really not near the top. Humor.

As always made all types of observations along the way. Some funny and some more serious. Here are just a few things that I observed.

Bump Rule

The "bump rule" can be stretched a long ways. I sat in on a meeting three college recruiters. They were not from the Midwest. As the prospect left after 30 minutes, one coach said, "Remember we did not talk with you. Another time a recruiter took a prospect to a different office. Finally, at another school, the recruiter just said, "Hi" and wished the recruit good luch at the track meet.

The "bump rule" is a joke. Recruiters have a hard enough time evaluating prospects to fit their programs. Spending time talking with a recruit is necessary. A recruiter should not offer a prospect at this time. Just visiting with a prospect should suffice. Also, if the rule is followed to the law, some prospects think that a recruiter is not showing much love. That bothers some recruits. But the coach is just following the rule.

College Nights

When I first started the scouting business, college nights were tremendous for me. College nights are nights that different high school football coaches associations meet with college coaches to give information on their football prospects. Some are held in motel rooms and others are held at a local high school. This is a wonderful opportunity for high school coaches to not only give out information, but also to meet the college coaches.

Three years ago the NCAA band Division 1A coaches from attending these college nights. Now only D-2 and D-3 coaching staffs can attend. I see a few problems with this move. Some high school coaches worked harder on preparation, because D-1A schools were going to there. Some high school coaches skipped the meeting entirely. College were and concerned about the turnout of high school coaches.

The good news is that college coaches are still attending. Last Thursday at Dayton, many college recruiters were there. The same in Cleveland. For the most part, high school coaches are doing their work preparing handouts.

Two suggestions for coaches. High school coaches (I know that they are really busy) for the spring meetings should try to include underclassmen on their handouts. Include just the better prospects. Young college coaches should get their hands on the profile sheet early. Read over the list and get an idea who they want to talk about. This saves a lot of time.

Recruits

Recruits should be on their best. Stand tall and look recruiters in the eye. Introduce yourself and thank the recruiter for saying' "Hi." First impressions are huge. On this trip I did not talk with alot of propects and I am okay with that. But two schools Trotwood Madison and Cardinal Mooney were really class acts. At T-M, propects are schooled in communicating with recruiters. At Mooney, Coach Fecko introduced me to the some of the best prospects in the Class of 2014.

This Week







Honestly, I am trying get to my blog, but there are more important "to-do's" out there. College night in Central Ohio Wednesday night. District Track meets beginning Tuesday and run through Saturday. Preparations for my three underclassman football camps are at the top of the list.