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Parent Matters: How To Get Your Kid Recruited

College recruiting can be daunting for the entire family. Kids want to make sure they get their best opportunity and parents want to make sure they’re giving their child a fair chance. Below is a basic list of steps you can take as a parent to help your child succeed.

College Recruiting Tips For Parents

1. Encourage your child but be reasonable.

Yes, you want your child to believe they can achieve whatever they want, but allowing them to have unreal expectations will set them up for failure down the road. Therefore I suggest you find a balance between dreams and reality, and as your child progress adjust expectations together.

2. Get an honest opinion

Ask your child’s high school coaches for an honest opinion of their abilities and their college prospects. Remember their opinion isn’t gospel, but it’s an honest start. Other resources can be travel coaches, camp counselors or even college coaches after a showcase or prospect day. Be wary of some recruiting services as they may say what they think you want to hear. If you really don’t know who to turn to send your clips directly to me and I’ll give you an honest evaluation. This evaluation process will help you figure out what other steps to take.

3. Spend money on the right things

Travel teams, prospect days, showcases, recruiting services, training; it never ends. Don’t spend money on lacrosse with any expectation that you’ll get it back through scholarships, spend what you can and where it makes the biggest impact. The biggest impact is a case by case basis. Some players have Division I talent as a sophomore and simply need the right exposure, while others are too raw to predict and need to focus on training and skill development.

4. Be an asset not a liability

It’s easy to help too much in the recruiting process.

“Oh, I’ll just send these emails for you, or I’ll ask all of the questions on the college visits.”

STOP.

Take your children on visits, go on the tours, but empower your student to take charge and communicate with coaches on their own. Spell check their emails, help them come up with questions, but don’t do it for them. Coaches love to see athletes that can speak for themselves. Also, don’t be THAT parent who tweets highlight reels at coaches, your child should be the main contact throughout the process.