July Blog / Q & A
By: Cortney Welch
This month’s blog is for future student-athletes! Summer is a busy time when high school athletes, usually sophomores or juniors, begin exploring colleges. From personal experience, it is a stressful and exciting time, but you must research colleges and their sports teams to ensure the most success and enjoyment! I wanted to focus this blog on answering various questions that I have received from high school athletes about recruitment and college-life balance. I have asked several colleagues from all different collegiate sports backgrounds for their insight and answers so you can get real-time answers to some of the most common questions. If there is something you would like to know more about and did not see mentioned in this blog, please do not hesitate to contact me directly, and I will find someone within my network of connections to help me answer it for you! The layout of this blog is in a question/answer format. I hope you find this information useful and valuable from our prior experience as collegiate athletes!
Balancing academics and athletics can be a daunting task for aspiring college athletes. I asked current and former college athletes for advice on how to stand out and the best ways to get noticed by college coaches. I have summed up the answers to the majority of the questions in the following sections below:
Staying Top of Mind
- Regular communication: Coaches appreciate consistent updates. Aim for an email every 2-4 weeks highlighting your latest stats, upcoming games, or tournaments.
- Personalized touch: Make your emails stand out by addressing coaches by name and showing genuine interest in their program/season.
- Highlight reel: Create a concise and impactful highlight reel showcasing your best plays. This varies based on your sport. Most coaches prefer to see how you react in an entire game scenario rather than just a few short highlight clips, but I have seen it done both ways.
- Leverage connections: If you have a connection to the coaching staff, don’t hesitate to utilize it without abusing it.
Making a Strong Impression
- On and off the field, Coaches look for well-rounded athletes with a positive attitude and strong work ethic.
- Body language: Confidence and enthusiasm are critical. Make eye contact, ask questions, and show genuine interest in the program.
- Mental toughness: Demonstrate resilience and the ability to bounce back from setbacks.
- Teamwork: Show that you are a valuable teammate and contribute to the team’s success.
Balancing College Life
- Time management: Create a schedule that balances academics, athletics, and personal life. You can do this by staying organized with a planner or routine that works for you. You will be able to find your groove once you get the hang of things, so don’t worry about being perfect from the start.
- Support system: Build a strong support network of teammates, coaches, and mentors.
- Seek help: Don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed, whether it’s academic support or mental health resources. You may have access to an academic advisor or coaching assistant who can also help you organize your schedule.
- Prioritize: Focus on your priorities and learn to say no to commitments that might overwhelm you.
Remember, balancing academics and athletics requires dedication and hard work. By following these tips, you can increase your chances of getting noticed by college coaches and achieving your athletic and academic goals. Listed below are a few other excellent questions and answers for you to read and learn from:
What’s a typical day in college for an athlete?
“For me, it was wake up, go to early lift with the team, classes, study hall, speed or conditioning, maybe more classes, practice, rehab if needed for injuries or prevention, home, and sleep. There was LOTS of eating involved as well. I needed a lot of fuel to get through the day with all the brain and physical work to be done and to be done well.” – KATIE (former collegiate lacrosse player)
“For me, it depended on where we were at in the season, but usually something like: Lift, class, home and sleep/study, maybe class again, then any physical therapy that might be needed, practice, home, sleep/study.” – SARA (former collegiate volleyball player)
How do you lock in when you know college coaches will be watching you?
“Pretend/act as if there is always someone important watching you so that you always play at the top of your game and won’t feel as pressured!” – CORTNEY (former collegiate soccer player)
“Control the controllables! If you’re struggling with one part of your game, don’t let it affect other parts. Coaches will be watching how you respond to adversity – so even if you’re playing poorly or the refs are terrible, they’ll be watching your attitude, your interaction with your teammates, your effort, your reaction if you get benched, etc. Controlling these aspects of your game will not only impress coaches but will likely make your game a lot better too!” -MACKENZIE (Former collegiate basketball player and coach)
“I’d go through mental visualizations of me playing a perfect game. I’d pray and remind myself that I don’t have to be perfect to impress a coach. Often times they want to see what kind of teammate you are and how you come back from an error more than they would want to see a great play.” – SARA (former collegiate volleyball player)
When you met the coach at a game, camp, or tournament, what did you do to put a face to your name?
“It’s the little things – be the hardest worker, the best teammate, the first to help set up or cleanup, etc. – coaches are watching everything. Of course, they want to see that you’re good at your sport, but they are also determining if your attitude/demeanor will fit with their current roster. Be a great teammate! Overall, it’s going to be more about what you do than what you say that will grab their attention. When talking to a coach, make eye contact, ask questions about them/their program – show them you’re interested.” -MACKENZIE (Former collegiate basketball player and coach)
“I would always confidently introduce myself to the coach and thank them for coming to watch me play. I also made sure I not only played well physically, but I had a positive and confident attitude/demeanor on the court. In volleyball, being vocal and high energy is often desired.” – SARA (former collegiate volleyball player)
What are some key things that you put in your college coach emails that you think were different or set you apart?
“Make emails as personal as possible (use the coach’s name, show that you’ve researched the school, etc). Coaches will pass over any email that looks like it was a mass send. Keep your highlight reel short with your best clips at the beginning – if/when a coach opens it, wow them so they want to keep watching. Include your position, stats, school/team, and schedule in the email. Make it easy for them to find you!” – MACKENZIE (Former collegiate basketball player and coach)
“I always kept my emails pretty concise. I had help from a coordinator at the club I played for that suggested I might be a good fit for my coach. Working with someone that has a relationship with the coaches that can vouch for you is always helpful.” – SARA (former collegiate volleyball player)
As a student-athlete, how would you balance the demands of sports and school?
“Time management is one of the best things I learned from being a student-athlete. Freshman and sophomore year student-athletes at JU (at least while I was there) were required to do a certain amount of study hall hours, so that was helpful to make sure I put aside time for school work. When we had away games or had to be out of class for team activities I would make sure to communicate with the professor and plan ahead!! Super important plan ahead! Making sure I knew the team schedule for practice, game, lift, speed, and conditioning times before picking classes so I didn’t miss class or team training was an important part of scheduling and balancing. But you are in school, so school has to come first (in my life at least).” – KATIE (former collegiate lacrosse player)
“I think the biggest thing for me was just writing out all of my tasks for the week and month that had to be done, and then planning them weekly. This way, everything is laid out in front of me and not just jumbled in my head. This helps not feeling overwhelmed. Sleep is also very important, so I would try to schedule late night studying on days I did not have to be up early for my sport or classes. Also stay proactive. If you don’t understand something or are falling behind, most campuses have free tutoring or you can ask for help from your professor.” – SARA (former collegiate volleyball player)
What are qualities or qualifications that stick out to coaches as an athlete?
“Accountability / consistency/ coachability/ teamwork” -KATIE (former collegiate lacrosse player)
“Attitude, leadership, encourage those around you/do you make others around you better, energy, confidence, work effort/hustle, desire to get better, coachability, short-term memory.” – SARA (former collegiate volleyball player)
There is not just one set of skills that makes one successful, but rather a combination of the talents and skills that you have learned up to this point that you will need to harness as you near graduation. Graduating high school is similar to a turtle hatchling headed to the vast and boundless ocean for its first time; you will obtain an increased amount of freedom but also have to tackle a new level of responsibility.
As a student-athlete, you will be busier than the average college student and must prioritize your studies and your duties as an athlete each and every day! Not only do college professors expect a certain degree of organization, but also employers or managers in life beyond college. Organization and time management go hand in hand. College and life beyond college will require interaction between yourself and the people of the business world. Networking in college will create bonds and help you to form connections that will benefit you in the future. Some skills that you will learn and need to embrace in college and in life include: being able to listen, being able to cooperate, communicate effectively, and being able to adapt.
At some point in your college career, abandoning your comfort zone and taking some risks will become necessary. College will require serious decision-making and a balance of new and old skills. Taking risks will allow you to make mistakes and learn from them. Fail stands for a First Attempt In Learning. That being said, there is no such thing as taking risks and failing; you are simply learning and striving to overcome challenges. In order to become successful in college and beyond, you must combine all of these traits with what you are already familiar with. Never give up, be kind and patient with yourself, and always work hard for what you want. The outcome you want will be a reflection of the effort you put in!
