Are you good enough, and will you play?

The two athletic fit gaps that determine your recruiting success

Last week, I asked you to get clear on what you’re hoping to achieve in recruiting.

This week: Let’s talk about whether your current athletic reality supports that goal.

Not to discourage you. To calibrate your expectations, so you’re not chasing the wrong things with the wrong approach.

Today I’m addressing the two most fundamental questions in recruiting:

Are you good enough to compete at the level you’re targeting?

And if you are, will you actually get on the field?

Gap 1: Division vs Performance Level

You want Division I, but you’re performing at a Division 3 level.

Club coaches see this constantly. Athletes building lists of high-level D1 programs while their performance at showcases and national tournaments doesn’t support that level.

The hard truth: most Division I coaches are recruiting from the top tier of every major showcase. If you’re not consistently performing at that level, you’re not on their board.

They aren’t just evaluating you against other US high school players. They’re also comparing you to international players with more experience, transfer portal athletes, and their current roster.

Each coach has a “talent floor” in mind - a minimum standard they won’t go below. If you’re not above that floor, they’ll look elsewhere.

Here’s what this looks like in practice: You’re watching showcase games from the sideline, seeing the level of play in the top brackets. The pace is faster than what you’re used to. The technical execution is cleaner. The decision-making is quicker. And you’re thinking, “I could compete at that level” based on your best game, not your average one.

But college coaches recruit your floor, not your ceiling. They need to know you can perform at that level consistently, not occasionally. That’s the gap most athletes miss.

You might be good enough to play college field hockey. The question is which division - and which tier within that division - matches your current performance level, not your aspirations.

There’s a massive difference between wanting to play D1 and being able to contribute at a D1 program.

That doesn’t mean you can’t close the gap. But first you have to see it clearly.

Gap 2: Playing Time vs Program Level

You want immediate playing time, but you’re only looking at programs where that’s unrealistic.

This shows up as athletes targeting programs stacked with talent at their position, then being surprised when they can’t break the starting lineup.

The math is simple: there are only 11 spots on the field, and most coaches rotate 3-5 more players in off the bench.

Nobody can predict your college playing time - coaches haven’t seen you in their environment yet. But you can assess whether the roster situation makes playing time realistic or unlikely.

Generally speaking, a majority of freshmen have a lot to learn to close the gap between high school and college. Some adjust within a semester, others take a year or more. Some never quite get there.

Look at who’s currently getting minutes. If freshmen rarely see the field at this program - or the only freshmen playing are elite recruits with junior national team experience - that tells you something about your chances as a non-elite freshman.

Then look at the depth chart. That top-20 program has three All-Conference players at your position, all underclassmen. Two more highly-rated recruits signed last year. You’d be the sixth player competing for one or two spots. Even if you’re good enough to compete at that level, the depth chart math may not work in your favor.

This doesn’t mean don’t aim high. It means understanding what you’re choosing.

Some athletes are fine being part of a championship program even without guaranteed playing time. Others need to be on the field to be happy.

Neither is wrong, but you need to know which one you are before you commit.

Here’s what makes this gap particularly painful: You can be good enough to play at a program and still not get minutes because of roster construction.

The five players ahead of you might all be legitimately better. Or they might be equally talented but got there first, and the coach is invested in their development.

The players on that roster aren’t going to hand you their minutes. They’ve already proven themselves at the college level. Your high school accolades might have gotten you recruited, but they mean nothing once you’re on campus. You have to earn your spot against athletes who are already succeeding at the next level.

Why both gaps matter simultaneously

These two gaps are related but distinct.

The families who succeed figure out both pieces: What level can I compete at and where within that level will I actually get opportunities?

The families who struggle chase the highest-ranked program that shows interest without asking either question honestly. They end up committed to a program where they’re either not competitive or buried on the depth chart. Sometimes both.

Coaches have watched this play out hundreds of times. An athlete commits to a top-25 program, shows up to preseason, and realizes she’s significantly behind the pace.

Or she’s competitive but there are five players at her position who are just as good and got there first.

The time to address both gaps is now, during recruiting, not after you’ve committed and discovered the problem.

The hard questions

Here’s what you need to ask yourself:

For Gap 1: If I’m honest about my current performance - not my potential, not my best game, but my consistent level - what division am I competing at right now?

For Gap 2: At the programs I’m targeting, what does the roster look like at my position? How many players would I be competing against for minutes? Am I okay with that reality?

And the hardest question of all: If I’m not good enough yet or if I likely wouldn’t play even though I’m good enough, am I willing to adjust my target list to match reality?

Most families avoid these questions because the answers are uncomfortable. They’d rather chase the dream and hope it works out than face the reality that they might need to adjust their expectations.

But hope isn’t a recruiting strategy. Honest assessment is.

What comes next

Thursday’s paid piece will walk through the specific actions to close both of these gaps.

How to get honest evaluations of your level. How to build a skill development plan to close the performance gap. How to research rosters strategically. How to ask coaches the right questions about playing time. How to build a target list that accounts for both athletic level AND realistic opportunities.

Because identifying the gap is only half the battle. Closing it is what gets you recruited to a program where you can actually succeed.