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you now know, the coach is almost surely recruiting more than
one prospect for any one position. You should be aware that it
is highly unlikely that the coach will successfully recruit each
prospect that is his/her first choice for a position or event. In
order to protect themselves, most coaches have back-up recruit
lists. These lists are usually referred to as “depth charts.”
The problem you are likely to encounter is that you may be
a back-up recruit, one that is low on the depth chart, and never
know it. You may very well experience the same kind of recep-
tion and may be told the same things as the recruit who is #1 on
the coach’s depth chart. This is known as being strung along.
At a recent Ultimate Recruiting Seminar designed for college
coaches and recruiters, the following suggestion was part of the
seminar content: “For every scholarship you have, you should
be recruiting four prospective student athletes.” In other words,
effective recruiting requires that the recruiter/coach string along
three prospects. This is the harsh reality. To ignore this reality is
championship stupid. You are entering a high stakes contest where
only the opposition knows the rules.
That’s why it is so important for you to never, never ever place
your college future in one coach or college. You must have some
options available to you until you receive the “letter of intent”
from the college. Coaches are shopping for prospects and keep-
ing their options (their rules) open; so you must shop for coaches
and programs keeping your options open, too. Remember, the
recruiting process is often a numbers game—you must play the
game, too. Overwhelm the odds with massive numbers. College
coaches commonly have five hundred or more potential recruits
on their initial mailing lists.