View from the other side: hosting recruits

Athletic Recruits
1

<p>I'm curious about what your son or daughter might have learned about the recruiting process from the inside as a current team member, specifically from their experiences hosting recruits.</p>

<p>We already discussed on another thread the question of how much a recruit's personality, as revealed on an OV, can impact whether or not s/he is offered a spot. D confirms that any major red flags, such as what the coach termed "wrong priorities" (which D read as a taste for wild partying), could definitely impact the process. Lesser issues, such as perceived weirdness or shyness, would not. However, her coach stressed that no recruit, no matter how talented, was more important than his current team members and that they shouldn't be afraid to talk to him if they had concerns about a recruit. Also, the coach asked my D about a recruit from her home state prior to the girl's OV. Did D know the recruit, etc.? D had only good things to say about the girl, but she thinks that if there had been anything significantly negative to report, the coach would have taken that into consideration.</p>

<p>Secondly, please tell your sons and daughters who go on OV's to be open-minded and listen to what their host or hostess is saying about the particular circumstances of the days when they visit. For example, D recently hosted a recruit. A good number of team members were away competing that weekend, and thus were either unavailable for social activities or too tired to be much interested when they returned to campus. In addition, there was a big residence hall event that Saturday evening which involved a large group of team members. Consequently, D and another current team member were pretty much the whole welcoming party for two female recruits. They were, of course, very attentive to the girls and showed them a good time, but D worried that the team social environment wasn't being presented as well as it had been on past hosting weekends. On most any other weekend, there would have been more hanging out and interaction among the team members than what there was on that particular weekend. She explained this to the girls, but wasn't sure if they would believe her or take that into consideration.</p>

2

<p>The GFG, I have wondered about this, because my daughter did form opinions of some schools based on her host experience. Also, she knew that on unusual weekends, she wasn’t getting a true taste of what the real school would be like. It’s hard to make a judgment when you know you’re not experiencing the real thing.</p>

<p>The ones that I wonder about are the hosts with whom she actually enjoyed herself, but ended up not choosing the school for different reasons. Do they feel like it’s their fault? I had her email one of them and explain why she made the decision she had made.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the posting that, TheGFG, and AMEN! The hosts do their very best, but circumstances aren’t always perfect. And, yes, wilberry, the hosts do take it very personally when “their” recruit doesn’t sign, even if the reasons had nothing to do with their visit. Increasing the awareness among the rising recruits on these issues is a wonderful idea!</p>

4

<p>I am always amazed how recruits don’t seem to consider that their behavior during an OV is scrutinized from the time they set foot on campus to teh time they leave. According to my kids, who have been hosts, the team does discuss potential recruits with the coach. This may be even more true for women’s teams. So, arrogance, drinking, perceived lack of commitment are huge red flags and can mean the end of the recruiting process, even for top athletes.</p>

5

<p>My s ruled out one school after a very unpleasant visit. Now he is hosting recruits himself, which provides an interesting opportunity for him.</p>