Questions To Consider During The Recruiting Process

Deciding what college you’re going to continue your athletic career at is one of the most important and difficult decisions that you will ever make. It’s an emotional process that only few can relate to. While going through the process, it’s difficult to know that exactly you should be looking for and what questions you should be asking. So, we have put together a list of questions that we think are important to ask and are often times overlooked:

• Do you like the city that the school is in?
• Do you like the weather there?
• Do you like the type of people that live there?
• Do you like the type of food in that city?
• Is there a lot to do in and around the city?
• How far is it from your home/family?
• Is there an airport nearby?
• Are the guys/girls the type that you would ever date?
• Are sports a big deal to you? Do they have football and baseball at that school?
• Do they have a training table for athletes?
• How does the team travel? Bus or plane?
• What days are conference games?
• What do two-a-days look like?
• What does pre-season look like?
• How is their athletic/academic support?
• Do they provide you with tutors?
• How are the teachers with athletes?
• How do they handle you missing class for your sport?
• Do they have the major that you would like?
• How is that major viewed at that university?
• How do they support athletes post graduation/during the job search? – Is the university well connected?
• What is the team GPA?
• How long have the coaches been there?
• Where did they coach prior?
• What does a normal practice look like?
• What does a workout look like? In-Season and Off-season
• How does the coaching staff respond to a loss?
• How does the coaching staff handle an injury?
• Does the team work with a Mental Performance Coach or Sports Phycologist?
• What does the transfer percentage look like?
• If there have been many transfers, why?
• How are the girls/boys on the team?
• Do you enjoy being around them?
• Do you especially like the girls/boys in your class?
• What is the team culture like?
• Is the team really separated by class? – Seniors don’t have to do much and freshmen have to do a lot?
• Do they have a doctor/physician specifically for athletes?
• Do they have specific orthopedics that work with the university?
• Who are the orthopedic surgeons that they use?
• Is all rehab done on campus, or do athletes have access to a physical therapy clinic off campus?
• Is there a specific Strength Coach that works with the program?
• How long have they worked with that sport?
• Is there an Athletic Trainer that works with the program?
• How long has the Athletic Trainer been there?

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One of the most important things to remember is that at the end of the day, it’s up to the athlete. They are the ones that are going to have to live in the city, go to school, play for the coaches, compete in the conference, be a part of the team… if they are not 100% committed to the decision, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

To the athletes out there: There is no point in living life with regret, so make sure that you don’t make the decision for your parents, coaches, family members, etc. The decision is yours to make. Take the process seriously. Ask questions. Get to know the people in the program. Know that the recruiting process is hard. There will be tears, sleepless nights, and confusion. But I promise you it’s worth it.

-Alexia Heist