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College Recruiting

Step-by-step: How to earn a scholarship

Questions and Discussions Regarding the College Recruiting process

by ballerbuilder » Tue Jun 09, 2020 4:09 pm

Due to COVID-19 and the eligibility waivers, the recruiting process is more competitive than ever.

Here's the step-by-step process to earn a scholarship to a school you love:

(Oh, and my name is Jack Kruger. I currently play minor league baseball with the Angels. I've been through the recruiting process twice. The second time, I figured it out...gained interest from dozens of schools...and earned a scholarship to play at Mississippi State. I then gave the recruiting system I developed and used to my sister and she earned a spot at the University of Pittsburgh where she played 4 years of softball and graduated with an engineering degree. I now help thousands of players navigate the recruiting process.)

1) Identity what kind of college experience you want, and then find the schools that can give that to you.

Your daughter should be excited about some aspect of every school on her list. She doesn't have to love everything about every school, but each school should have at least something that makes her go, "Hm...I could see myself there."

2) Evaluate your skill level to optimize your responses from coaches

There's nothing wrong with sending emails to reach schools...but these shouldn't be the only schools you're emailing. There are ways to evaluate your talent, but if you just want to bypass that step...you can simply email a range of schools and let the market tell you how good you are.

If you're getting a ton of responses from D2 schools, you may want to email a few D1s and see what their response is. If you don't get any responses from D1s, D2 is probably a good fit for you.

I usually recommend to players that they email a few schools from each division. You can always adjust course and email more division one schools if you're getting bombarded with responses. But why limit yourself in the beginning? Keep your doors open, and let the market tell you how good you are.

3) Find schools in NEED of your position to increase your response rate (drastically)

This is one of those things that NO ONE talks about. If your daughter is a junior catcher, but the school you're emailing has a freshman all-American catcher, that school is probably not going to respond. They might, but you shouldn't rely on that response.

Rather, you want to find schools that are lacking underclassmen at your daughter's position. Those are the schools that are going to be hungry for players, and are more likely to respond to your email.

If a school doesn't need your daughter's position, it doesn't matter how good she is...they're not going to respond.

But to a school in desperate need, an above average player looks pretty darn good at the moment.

I go in depth on how to find schools in NEED on this page: https://ballerbuilder.com/2020/05/13/part-2-tired-of-traveling-to-every-tournament-known-to-man-heres-a-strategy-to-save-your-wallet-and-your-weekends-and-get-better-results/

4) Contact those schools with email and video

No, you don't need to be in a special database to contact coaches. Email works great.

The most important part of your email is your video. Video is KING in the recruiting process.

Most people choose to rely on stats to prove their value. This isn't the most effective way to prove you're good enough.

Don't believe me?

Then why do all coaches insist on seeing players live even if the player has great stats?

I like to say that stats are the credible forward to your novel...but video is your novel -- it's where the real value is.

Most parents and players are misusing email, and missing out on really good opportunities.

Those showcases and tournaments you travel to and pay for? They're not going to be very effective if your email campaign game isn't on point.

Most of the time, coaches go to tournaments to watch the players they are already in contact with. Not always, but often. So if you're not already talking to schools via email before your tournaments, it's likely that you're inbox isn't going to be full the week after the tournament.

That's not how it works, unfortunately.

Tournaments and showcases can be effective, and are necessary to some degree, but only in conjunction with email.

Mastering your email campaign is the #1 way to succeed in the recruiting process.

4) For the schools that respond, keep them engaged and continue to provide value.

Let's say a school responds saying they want to come out and watch your daughter play. Do you just wait until the tournament comes?

Heck no.

You're missing a golden opportunity to build credibility and increase perceived value.

Instead, periodically send the coach video to keep him/her engaged and up to date on your progress/development.

Remember, coaches are recruiting 10-40 players at a time. It's easy to lose track of players.

And the more the coach sees you play, the more evidence you're providing that you're a good fit for their team.

Now, when that coach comes to watch you at a tournament, it's almost a formality. They already know what they're going to see...they just want to confirm.

And instead of relying on 2-4 at bats to prove your value...you've hand selected dozens for the coach to evaluate before he/she sees you live. The pressure to perform at that tournament just got greatly reduced.

There are lots of ins and outs when it comes to the MM email routine (and how to nail it), but I can help you with this more in-depth later.

5) Be active on phone-calls -- you're interviewing the coach as much as he's interviewing you

Lots of players let the coach dictate the course of the entire phone call.

It's okay to let the coach handle the first part where she's going to tell you a little more about her program and ask you some questions.

But when she asks if you have any questions, it's your time to shine.

Don't be a doormat on phone calls. Be an active participant.

Have questions prepared...don't be afraid to take control of the conversation.

And actually, the more control you take of the conversation, the more you're establishing a position of strength. And when a coach hears a player talk from a position of strength, they are led to believe you're a good player.

You are increasing your perceived value simply by being an active participant.

6) Visits -- just don't mess it up

If you get to the point where you're taking a visit, most of the hard work is behind you.

Your job now is to simply not mess it up.

Be kind, be courteous, be polite. Wear clothes, say hi, eat food. The simple stuff!

Don't overthink your visit. Enjoy it.

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Okay, that's the recruiting process in a nutshell of a nutshell.

If you want to hear more from me, join my email list. I send out three emails a week to almost 2,000 people.

The emails talk about anything and everything recruiting...and they're not your typical emails (they're entertaining)!

Here's the link to sign up: https://ballerbuilder.com/contact/
ballerbuilder
 
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