Ask The Experts
Roundtable: When to Take Recruiting Trips
by Blair Henley, 30 November 2015
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Visiting colleges and meeting potential coaches and teammates is vital in painting a realistic picture of student-athlete life. But when should players arrive on campus for a test run? The answer has changed dramatically over the past decade.
While it was once standard procedure to take recruiting trips as a high school senior, players are now visiting prospective programs up to a year earlier to get a head start on the decision-making process. Much of the shift can be attributed to an NCAA rule change that allows schools to contact players at the start of their junior year. We asked our panel of coaches to shed some light on the changing recruiting trip landscape:
Q) When is the best time for students to take their recruiting trips? Are players that don't go during their junior year at a disadvantage?
Elizabeth Schmidt, head coach, Rice Women
With the NCAA now allowing coaches to call potential student-athletes on September 1 of their junior year, everything in the recruiting process is happening earlier. This means that the unofficial visit is becoming more important. While every situation and program is different, I think it is beneficial for students to take unofficial visits during their junior year.
This trend is putting more financial burden on the potential student-athletes and their families since the schools recruiting them can only pay for official visits. However, because a lot of schools are offering scholarships earlier, it could pay off in the long run so that a recruit doesn't miss out on an opportunity at a school they really want to attend.
Ultimately, my advice would be two things: One, ask coaches what their recruiting timelines are, since some programs offer scholarships very early and some wait until after official visits. And, two, take an unofficial or an official visit before making a decision. Try to be on campus for at least one school day in order to see what a typical day in the life of a student-athlete at that university would be like.
David Fish, head coach, Harvard Men
We recommend that American players make every effort to visit their top choices during their junior year, preferably during the second half of the year. Without a doubt, waiting until the fall these days may limit a player's choices.
Offers are now being made (and accepted) earlier than in the past. On the minus side, educators lament the loss of academic focus that often results after commitments are made. Junior coaches, too, often see motivation to play decrease once a commitment is secured. On the plus side, however, players are often more motivated academically when they set their sights on a strong academic program like ours, and as coaches, we are grateful that new NCAA rules allow us to reach out to players more easily during their junior year, which gives us more time and opportunity to get to know them better, and vice versa. This leads to better decisions for everyone.
