Beginner's Guide to College Tennis Recruitingmariannewerdel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/... ·...
Transcript of Beginner's Guide to College Tennis Recruitingmariannewerdel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/... ·...
BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO COLLEGE TENNIS
RECRUITING
10 STEPS TO GET STARTED
ON THE COLLEGE TENNIS PATHWAY
BY MARIANNE WERDEL
Are you starting the college tennis recruiting
process? The college recruiting process can be a
stressful and time-consuming experience for
many families. If you are organized, follow the
right steps, and take the initiative to be
proactive, it can be much easier to tackle.
Here are 10 steps to help you navigate the
college tennis recruiting process more
efficiently.
1. Know the NCAA Rules
2. Set Goals
3. Plan Your Academic Schedule
4. Plan Your Tennis Schedule
5. Build Your Resume
6. Clean Up All Your Social Media Platforms
7. Contact Schools
8. Take Visits
9. Ask the Right Questions
10. Find the Right Fit
Introduction
Knowing the NCAA rules and regulations will help
you navigate the process more efficiently.
A student-athlete can make phone calls and send
emails to coaches but the coach can't always reply.
A student-athlete can tour the campus but can't
meet with coaches or athletic staff until their Junior
year of high school.
Coaches can make verbal offers at any point but
National Letters of Intent are not signed until
designated periods of a recruit's senior year.
Click here to go to the NCAA Eligibility Center and
register by junior year.
1. KNOW THE NCAA RULES
1. September 1st of Junior Year:
D 1 coaches may send recruiting emails, make phone
calls, send texts and any other electronic
communication to contact a student-athlete.
(June 15th after Sophomore year for DII coaches).
*New policy put into effect April 2018: recruits may
take official visits starting on Sept 1 of Junior year with
a max of 5 official visits.
2. July 1 after Junior Year:
Coaches can make off-campus contact with recruits
and their parents, with a maximum of 3 total
contacts during senior year.
(June 15th after sophomore year for D II coaches)
NCAA Eligibility Center
Two Important Dates to Know
2. SET GOALSGoals will help you better prioritize your time and stay on
track. Set goals and the process steps along the way to
help you reach your target.
Make Recruiting Plan Goals and Stick to It!
1. Know how many letters you want to send to coaches.
2. Make a schedule to follow up with the coaches.
3. Pick a date to reassess your list of schools.
4. Take ownership of the process!
Do Your Homework
Know what sectional, national or UTR rankings are
needed for a wide variety of schools. Set a target ranking
goal for each high school year.
Know the Steps to Get There
Now that you have your goals, map out the steps you
need to do each day to reach your target. Set your goals
based on what steps you need to be doing NOW. The
outcome will take care of itself if you commit to fully
working towards it each day.
Set Goals for All Areas
Don’t just set goals for your tennis. Set goals for
academics, the college process, and any extracurriculars.
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
GOAL: ______________________________
3. PLAN YOUR ACADEMICSAcademic planning is a critical part of the college
recruiting process. Meet with your high school counselor
or advisor early to map out all 4 years of classes.
Know the Academic Requirements
If you plan on attending a top academic school, know
their academic requirements. You don't want to find out
too late that you don't have all the required classes.
1. How many AP classes are needed?
2. How rigorous of a class schedule is required?
3. What test scores (SAT/ACT) are required?
4. How many years of math and foreign language are
required?
Home School
If you chose to do a homeschool program, make sure it
has the proper accreditation. Many colleges do not
accept all the homeschool programs.
Test Prep
Plan to spend time your junior year on SAT or ACT test
prep. There are many options online, local area test prep
centers, or private test tutoring.
Community Service
Many schools have community service hours
requirements. Find out if your schools of choice have
requirements for the application process.
4. PLAN YOUR TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Tournament planning is part of your long-term
developmental plan. You should have a planning meeting
with your coach and parents every six months to plan
your tournament schedule.
How to Plan Your Tournaments
1. Play a variety of levels of tournaments. You should be
winning 60%-65% of your matches.
2. Play the tournaments where the coaches will be able to
see you compete.
3. Play a smaller tournament before a national
tournament so you are match ready in the bigger event.
4. Make sure you aren't playing too many tournaments.
You need breaks in the calendar to continue developing
your game. You should have two breaks a year with 3-4
weeks of no tournaments.
Think About Academics
Make sure you look at your academic schedule before you
sign up for tournaments. Don't play a big tournament the
weekend before exams when you need to study or the
weekend after when you haven't had the time to prepare
on the court.
Showcase Camps
The showcase camps are an excellent way for players to
meet coaches and be on a college campus but they do
not replace a coach seeing you in action competing in a
tournament.
5. Build Your Resume
While your tournament results will speak for you as a
player, your resume will be the first insight a coach has
into you as a student-athlete.
Having an online or ONE PAGE pdf version that contains
all of the necessary information is extremely important to
start this process off on the right foot. The information
must be accessible and easy to navigate. You don’t want a
coach to have to go out of their way to find the
information they need to know about you. Their time is
very limited and valuable.
What to Include in Your Resume
1. Name, Birthdate, Home address
2. High School Name and Grad Year
3. Academic Information, GPA, and any test scores
4. Current Sectional, USTA, UTR, and ITF rankings
5. High School Tennis Stats (if you play HS Tennis)
6. Highlight your past tournament results
7. Upcoming tournament schedule
8. Link to an online video. Be Brief!
9. All extracurricular activities (community service, etc.)
10. Your coach's contact information.
11. Your contact Information with email and cell number,
NOT your parent's contact info.
6. Clean Up Your Social Media
You may be a top recruit and an honor student with a
good heart, but for those who don't know you personally,
first impressions are found online. Some high schoolers
may not think their online image is a big deal, coaches
and colleges DO!
1. Make Sure All Posts Say Something Positive.
We know how tempting it can be to post anything and
everything on social media. However, a good piece of
advice is to make sure every image you post represents
something good about you!
2. Stay away from posting anything related to partying,
drinking, nudity, profanity and excess negativity.
Just don’t do it. Literally. Ever. In no way is this ever a
good idea.
3. Keep In Mind Private isn't Always Private.
Keep in mind that anyone can look at your social media
profiles, even when set to private. Many corporations have
access to tools and programs that can easily get around
privacy settings.
7. Contact SchoolsThe better-ranked players can be more selective in the
schools they contact, but the majority of players need to
contact as many coaches as possible.
1. NEVER HAVE ONE OF YOUR PARENTS WRITE TO A
COACH. You are the one the coach is recruiting, so they
want to hear from you directly. (If the relationship develops
and it appears that you might be attending that college,
your parents will have time to contact the coaching staff.)
2. Make It Personal- DO NOT mass email a bunch of
coaches. This comes across as lazy and shows the coach
that you didn’t take your time to personalize for them.
Make sure to address the letter: Dear Coach [[last name]].
3. Provide Contact Information for Yourself and Your
Coaches. Nothing is worse for a college coach than to have
to track down your coach’s e-mail or phone number. By
having both an e-mail address and a phone number listed
after his/her name, it allows for the college coach to quickly
e-mail or call your private and/or high school coach to
follow up.
4. Always Include Basic Information about yourself such as
grad year, high school, athletic history, GPA, SAT/ACT
scores.
5. BE BRIEF! Coaches at all levels receive dozens and
dozens of e-mails/letters from high school-aged players.
6. DETAIL IS IMPORTANT! Be sure to use spell check and
PROPER GRAMMAR. Grammarly.com is a great website to
begin your edits.
8. Visit Schools
College visits are when the recruiting process begins to
come together. Make sure to take a campus tour, visit a
class, and meet the players on the team.
After the visit, you and the coaches will both have a
better idea if you and their program are the right fit.
Due to an updated NCAA policy on April 2018, college
coaches and athletic staff can meet with student-athletes
on campus after September 1 of their Junior year.
Plan in Advance
1. Plan a trip to see multiple schools.
2. Check the school schedules for the week you want to
visit. (Campus isn't all that exciting during exam week.)
3. Keep a journal so you can remember things you liked
and disliked about a school.
4. Do your research and find out the academic majors
offered in your area of interest.
5. Sign up for a tour through the admissions department
if the coach is not able to organize a tour.
6. Research the average ranking and UTR for the players
on the team.
9. Ask the Right QuestionsTips for Meeting the Coach:
1. Turn off your cell phone and leave it in your purse or
backpack.
2. Look the coach in the eye and shake their hand.
3. Sit up straight in the chair.
4. Be enthusiastic
5. Do your research on the school and the tennis program.
Come prepared and have questions to ask the coach!
6. Speak for yourself, don't look at your parents for
questions or answers.
7. Be gracious. Coaches are very busy so thank them for
taking time out of their schedule to meet with you.
8. Send a handwritten thank you note following the visit.
Ask the Right Questions:
1. What is a typical week of practice and workouts?
2. What are the admissions requirements?
3. Where do I fit on your recruiting list?
4. How do you see me contributing to your team?
5. Are there common majors for the tennis players?
6. How do you handle tournaments outside of school?
7. Are your players able to do a semester abroad?
8. Do you have summer tennis requirements?
9. I am interested in "XYZ" major, what does that look like
here at your school?
10. What information do you need about me to know if I
am a right fit for your team?
11. What are your expectations of your team members?
12. Is there academic support for the student-athletes?
10. Find the Right FitThe ultimate goal through the college recruiting process
is to find the right fit with both the school and the tennis
program. Even if you take a lot of visits, do the research
and ask all the right questions, it can still be a tough
decision.
1. Am I compatible with the coaches and the team?
2. Will I get playing time?
3. What are the coach's expectations?
4. Does the school have a major in my area of interest?
5. Am I comfortable with the geographic location of the
school?
6. Am I comfortable with the size of the school and the
size of the classrooms?
7. Will I get the opportunity to play tournaments outside
of school?
8. Will I have the ability to do a semester abroad?
9. Am I comfortable with the daily time commitment for
the tennis?
10. Lastly- Is this the right school for me even if I end up
not playing tennis all four years.
Adapted from Brandi Jackson Golf Recruiting 101