By Shelly Wilson
Shelly Wilson is an Assistant Editor at Coaching Management.
Coaching Management, 9.9, December 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0909/connection.htm
When Bentley College's women's volleyball team hosts recruits for their 48-hour official visits, there are some rules they ask the prospect to abide by. One is that they remain on campus.
Several years ago, one recruit insisted on leaving campus to visit her brother, who lived in the area. When Head Coach Sandy Hoffman learned of the player's actions, that was the end of that. "I didn't recruit her anymore. I just dropped it totally," says Hoffman.
Her source of this valuable information: current team members, with whom the recruit had spent much of her two days on campus.
Likewise, Duke University Head Coach Jolene Nagel gathers key recruiting information from her current squad members when they serve as hosts on official campus visits. "I've had teammates tell me they didn't like the way a recruit treated them, that she didn't seem appreciative, or that she didn't seem to have a respectful relationship with her parents--things I didn't observe," says Nagel. "And we have decided not to give scholarships because of that."
These tales may sound harsh: Coaches using current players to gain intelligence on a potential scholarship recipient. But the reality is that the personal dynamic on each team and among the staff is unique, and player hosts can be key tools in ensuring a good match is made between a prospect and a program.
Of course, not every coach agrees. Some want to establish a strong coach-athlete bond and accompany recruits during most of their visit. But others see student hosting as vital. For them, player-ambassadors can help make the most of the precious 48 hours and, in turn, make their programs the best they can be.
"During the year, a player will see me a couple of hours in practice each day," says Jeff Williams, Head Coach at Northwood University in Michigan. "But they'll lift weights with their teammates, will become friends with them, and will socialize with them outside of volleyball. That's the bond I try to build during the official visit."
At UCLA, Head Coach Andy Banachowski says the objective is to show recruits what it's going to be like when they're a student there. "It's difficult for coaches to do that," he says. "And the interaction between players and recruits is much different when the coach is not around."
Using student hosts isn't simple. There can be pitfalls, it takes extra preparation, and it's not a total substitute for a coach's personal involvement. But coaches who use this tool swear by it. What follows is a look at how to make your current players the most successful hosts they can be.
Setting Expectations
Recruiting is not a player's specialty. And just as your athletes need coaching on the court, so, too, will they need coaching on this matter if you want them to successfully contribute.
"I don't want my players to wing it," says Williams, "because this is a marketing effort to promote our school and program."
You may choose to hold "coaching sessions" only once, early in the season when you're reviewing other program details, or periodically throughout the recruiting season. Either way, the number one objective is to make sure all team members buy into the process.
"Athletes need to understand that this is part of their job," says Nagel. "And I think that conversation has to take place with the whole team. They have a duty to help sell our program. Once you talk about those sorts of things, players are very willing to be a part of the process."
"To get them on board, we definitely address the big picture," says Banachowski. "We remind them that UCLA is looking to compete for a national championship, that we're looking for the best players in the country, that that is why we recruited them, and that we're going to continue to recruit the strongest players in the country. We want them to understand that that's our philosophy, and then buy into it.
"We base things here on competition and they have to be willing to relish the opportunity to compete every day in practice," Banachowski continues. "That's what makes everyone better."
Another thing to emphasize is your honesty policy. "I tell my team that we never lie to a recruit," says Williams. "We are never to tell a recruit what we think she wants to hear. Instead, we're to tell her, 'This is what we're about. This is what we're like. This is what we do. These are the hours we work, etc.' I also tell them, if a recruit asks if they like me, they should answer truthfully. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and we want to be very honest with each prospect."
Finally, most coaches do not prohibit team members from taking recruits to parties, but they do explicitly review team rules prohibiting player intoxication, consumption of alcohol, and consumption by visiting recruits. They also go over the repercussions of such behaviors.
Who Should Host?
With a basic understanding of the team's role in recruiting established, the next step is choosing player hosts. While pairing athletes who hail from the same area of the country or club team is one way to ensure some common ground, coaches say that isn't the most important aspect of choosing hosts. Instead, coaches should look for teammates who are outgoing, friendly, good listeners, and dedicated to their studies and sport.
Another tactic is to match personalities. "Last year I had a very quiet and reserved recruit visit, so I paired her with one of my more quiet players, someone who preferred to stay at home, read, or study," says Hoffman. "Then I'll try to put the more outgoing, social players with recruits who want that atmosphere when they come to campus."
An athlete's class is another factor coaches should focus on when selecting hosts. "It's nice to pair recruits with freshman hosts, because that's who they are ultimately going to play with," says Nagel.
"The freshmen seem to enjoy it the most, because it's a new experience," adds Williams. "Plus, they've recently been on the other side of the process. As the years go by, that enthusiasm starts to wane."
Hoffman, on the other hand, appoints juniors and seniors almost exclusively. "Older athletes have more experience, whereas a freshman who's been on campus only a month isn't as knowledgeable about the school," she says. "Also, our older players live in campus suites with five people, some of whom are on another athletic team or are non-athletes, and it's good for a recruit to meet those kinds of students."
Whether you choose a first-year or fourth-year player, her living situation must be a deciding factor. As a rule, most coaches do not allow players who live off campus to serve as a host. This, they say, ensures that visiting recruits will most fully experience the campus environment with players who are involved in daily campus and residence hall life.
And finally, coaches emphasize that, no matter who the host is, all players should be involved in each official visit in a support capacity. "I have prospects spend time with everyone, including seniors, because each player has unique information to offer," says Nagel.
Since 48 hours is a long time to chaperone a stranger, this approach also benefits your hosts. "Everyone needs to share the burden," says Williams, "because it is a time commitment. It puts a crimp in their freedom for that weekend, so we use the whole team to try to spread things out."
One way to do this is to assign certain hosting duties to other team members--like meeting the recruit for lunch in the dining hall, taking her on a campus tour, or escorting her to class. "And sometimes I'll have two players co-host, which helps," says Banachowski.
Prepping the Hosts
To prepare individual hosts, most coaches meet with them individually to share specific interests and concerns regarding the arriving recruit. They also go over the hosts' specific duties and responsibilities.
At Duke, Nagel presents each host with a departmental sheet titled "Official Visit Student-Host Guidelines, "which each host must agree to abide by and sign. Included is the prospect's name, arrival and departure dates, as well as statements on host conduct expectations and responsibilities.
"It states that their commitment to serve as a student host is an important service to Duke," says Nagel. "It reminds them that their conduct should reflect positively on the team and the department of athletics.
"It then addresses supervision, stating that hosts are responsible for assisting the prospect during her official visit," Nagel continues. "This includes ensuring the recruit is on time for all appointments and that, as host, she must attend all functions with the recruit."
The document also addresses limitations as to how host money may be used during a visit and warns against allowing boosters, alumni, and other representatives of Duke's athletic interests to become involved in the recruiting process. It advises that any contact between such individuals and hosts and prospects be limited to courteous, but brief, greetings and good-byes.
"This form really helps my student hosts, because it covers a lot of NCAA rules that my athletes are not aware of," Nagel says.
Hoffman also reviews with hosts all the "Do Nots" or official visits. These include leaving the recruit alone, traveling off campus without the coach, or allowing the recruit to go off with other, undesignated people.
Player Feedback
As Nagel and Hoffman mention above, current player feedback can be key when using the official visit as a way to further evaluate the recruit. But first, your players and hosts need to know what kind of information you are looking for.
"They have to understand what it is you're looking for in a recruit," says Nagel. "To an extent that means what positions you're looking for, but also what you are looking for in terms of character. Is she going to be committed? Is she going to work hard? Going over those things allows hosts to give you more critical feedback than just, 'She's nice.'"
"I can evaluate the technical skill and physical skill of a player, but often, if a prospect plays on a very good team, you don't see how she responds to negative things, tough practices, and criticism," explains Williams. "And those are the things my players can help me with. I don't give them a list of questions to ask recruits, because that's too orchestrated. But I ask them to find out how the recruit handles stress and pressure, and what she thinks of her teammates and coach. So I tell them to spend a lot of time getting the recruit to talk about herself, her team, and her coach--to determine if she's a team player or not.
"If my host asks a recruit, 'What do you think of your coach?' and she says, 'She's a real wench,' or the host asks, 'What's the chemistry like on your team?' and all the recruit does is run down her teammates, those are red flags all over the place and she's not coming here. If I asked those questions, I'd get canned answers. But, player to player, they can develop a relationship, and there's a better chance of getting an honest response."
Hoffman holds follow-up meetings with hosts soon after the visit. "I use that time to find out how many questions the recruit asked about academics, the schedule, and time demands," says Hoffman. "I also want to know if she showed a keen interest in our program or if she was talking a lot about other schools. And finally, I want to know if the players felt she fit in."
When it comes to offering scholarships, the weight coaches put on player feedback varies. "How much a player's opinion factors into my decision is a case by case basis," says Williams. "It depends on the confidence I have in that particular player's ability to evaluate. And if my players don't like a recruit, they have to give me reasons. I'll never take just a 'Yes' or 'No' answer when I ask if a player will fit in. They have to elaborate."
But no matter how much weight you place on players' opinions about recruits, keeping them involved in the process is key. "It helps them buy into the ownership of the program," says Banachowski, "and helps them feel stronger about the team and what they can do to help the success of the program. All our players want success while they're here and after they're gone."
"Some of my players are much better at the recruiting process than others because some really enjoy that aspect and others don't," adds Williams. "But I think all of them recognize that this is an important part of the future of the program, and that they have to spend time doing it. Fortunately for me, most look forward to it."
Sidebar:
Official Visit 101
Beyond working with player hosts to ensure a successful visit with a recruit, these two-day meetings take some special pre-planning. First, it's important to have a clear objective in mind.
For some coaches, this is the program's decision-making time and requires extracting as much information on the player as possible. For other coaches, they've already offered the player a scholarship and instead use those precious 48 hours to deliver their best sales pitch to the recruit. But for most, the purpose falls somewhere between the two: determining if your initial instincts on the prospect were correct while trying to convince her that your program is the best place for her.
"When you consider this is somebody you're going to offer money to, the official visit is one of the most important aspects of recruiting," says Sandy Hoffman, Head Coach at Bentley College. "And there are two objectives: 1) for the recruit to see the school, meet the players, and get to know us; and 2) for us to get to know her personally. We want to see how she fits with the team."
To facilitate their goals, most coaches spend time building an itinerary of activities. They begin by listing those must-have components, like meetings with admissions, a discussion on financial aid, a tour of campus, a tour of the athletic facilities, and a time to meet the other members of the team.
If a recruit can visit campus on a weekday, coaches strongly recommend having her sit in on a class in her intended major. Also include entertainment opportunities, such as attending a football game, so prospects can experience the livelier social events on campus. And, of course, have her attend at least one team practice and, if possible, one match.
"Recruits are real concerned with what practices are like, how everybody interacts with the coach, and what sorts of things we do prior to a game," says Andy Banachowski, Head Coach at UCLA. "Letting them go through that routine with us is really insightful for them and gets them pretty pumped up."
Coaches should also prepare their guests in advance. Along with providing the recruit with the itinerary, many coaches encourage prospects to think about their questions in advance. "I request that each recruit bring a list of questions for everyone," says Jeff Williams, Head Coach at Northwood University in Michigan. "I give them three areas--volleyball, academics, and finances--and say, 'You need to whip that list out while you're here. Don't be embarrassed if you don't have it memorized, but be prepared to ask about the areas that interest you when you arrive.'"
And finally, to ensure the recruit feels valued by the program, avoid trying to compact your recruiting obligations by scheduling multiple visits simultaneously. "We tend not to do all our official visits on one weekend,"says Banachowski. "I think it makes for a better experience for the recruit if there's only one or two players visiting at once. It makes them feel more special than if I had six players visiting at the same time."
Sidebar:
Prepping the Parents
Part of hosting a recruit entails working with her parents. Bentley College Head Coach Sandy Hoffman, for example, relieves parent anxiety by sending a full itinerary in advance that lets parents know exactly what their child is doing every hour of their 48-hour stay. Also included are important contact names, phone numbers, and addresses so parents know where their daughter is staying and who with.
"Those items provide them with a sense of security, because then they know they're not just dropping their child off for two days," she says.
Most coaches also include campus activity options for parents on the weekend itinerary. "Some parents just want to drop their kid off and go shopping," says Jeff Williams, Head Coach at Northwood University in Michigan. "But I make a point to ask if they want to sit in on a class or if they'd like me to give them a tour of campus."
Williams warns that parents shouldn't be overly integrated into a visiting athlete's itinerary, though. Instead, he insists that separation is important to the success of an official visit.
"Right at the beginning, we separate prospects and parents by putting the parents up in a hotel on campus," he says. "And that's because we feel it's important that the kids get away from the parents. A recruit will act, say, and do things totally differently when her parents are present versus when they're not. And we want to find out what the kid is really like on her own, because the parents are not going to be with her on campus all year."