Does the athletic website representing your son or daughter project the proper college recruiting image?- Does your child get the proper exposure required in today’s competitive college recruiting landscape!

College Recruiting - Having Visibility on the Web.

Let’s face it in today’s highly competitive collegiate recruiting landscape your athlete ( AKA: son or daughter) needs all the help and also all the exposure they can get. So many truly gifted athletes fade into obscurity due to lack of exposure or being involved with the wrong programs that think having a web presence for information is not important. Many feel that all they need do is get out and play and any site or no site will do. Is that really the case? Do you really think that college coaches are not doing their homework and looking kids up using all types of capabilities at their disposal? So many coaches on the college level are using the internet to do much of their groundwork. You can’t deny that every college program has a deep rooted understanding of the internet and its communications capabilities and efficiency. From personal experience my child’s AAU program sent 8 kids on D1 & D2 rides all over the country. Aside from their talent they had a tremendous web based tool to communicate schedules, tournament participation, performance accomplishments, results, and various other information to set them apart and keep coaches that were interested informed.

As you decide what program you want your child to be involved with make sure they at least have the ability to communicate information easily and effectively via their web presence. Here are some key points to consider:

1. Does the program as a whole have the proper exposure on all fronts, Including reputation, image, talent caliber, college coach recognition, Information, contact and communication, easy accessibility to the coaching staff, web presence, court presence etc.?

2. Is the program selective or is it a multi-level program that caters to all talent levels? They both can be very beneficial to your child depending on their skill level. Some kids need to work up to the top level programs so don’t be afraid to join a program that caters to novice athletes in the initial stages.

3. Does the program travel to the right exposure events?

4. Are the players in the program recruitable? Many coaches are exposed to talent that they would never have seen if they were not there watching an important recruit and notice someone else.

5. Does the program have the proper image projected to the public?

6. Can the college coach look up the program on the web and follow it to the information they are looking for?

7. Can you look up information on that program and get a good sense of what you are getting involved with?

These seven simple questions can help you decide if a program is right for you and if that program can project your son or daughter in the right light giving them the best possible chance for success. A good coach assess his or her talent and uses it to the best of its capabilities. That sentiment and philosophy should be prevalent across the entire organization. If you answer some of the questions above you obviously will know if this organization or coach really cares and wants the best for his or her teams and is doing everything in their power to get them to the next level. I am not talking about recreational play obviously that only requires good organizational capabilities. I am talking about and on behalf of the parents that get up at 5 AM on their days off, travel all over the country, drop off and pick up from practice day in and day out and do this year round to help their child get better and give them the best opportunities. Couple that with excellent coaching, proper exposure and you have the best chance of being recruited for the next level. If the child and parent are making that kind of commitment why should the program that they are involved with not utilize every option at its disposal to get the right image projected for the organization as a whole. I am not talking about a “free” site that looks like some 4^th grader created it. I am talking about a professionally designed and built site that projects the persona and pride of the program you are involved with. As you move forward with your commitment make sure it is being matched on every level. Real athletics sites are easy to manage easy to use and all the while project the pride and commitment of the organization. If coaches are telling you they don’t have the time to post information and promote your child and program then they are using the wrong software. Everyone knows that cutting corners does not help you, your team or your child. You are making that commitment as a parent and a coach! Make sure your commitment is matched by the organization you are involved with and make sure your website projects properly to the sports community.

Does the athletic website representing your son or daughter project the proper college recruiting image?- Does your child get the proper exposure required in today’s competitive college recruiting landscape!

Comments (0)

Write a Comment