How to close the athletic fit gap
The specific actions that bridge your current level to your target
Last Tuesday’s piece identified the two most fundamental gaps in recruiting: Are you good enough to compete at the level you’re targeting? And will you actually get on the field?
Today: the specific actions to close both gaps.
The inspiration for this came from a simple question on social media:
The answer is the sort of thing that might be obvious to coaches who operate in the recruiting world 24/7, but perhaps not as much to families doing it for the first time.
When I was researching my first digital course, I anonymously surveyed parents and players on their biggest obstacles in the recruiting process.
An obvious through-line was understanding which schools are actually realistic for you. Here’s a sample of some of the answers:
“The biggest obstacle is understanding where your child fits regarding level of play”
“It’s hard to know what level school she should target for recruiting purposes”
“The player has to have a plan and know what they are looking for. Parents need to guide and be real about expectations.”
This is incredibly difficult to determine on your own. College coaches aren’t allowed to tell you where you stand until after June 15, and too many will be coy with that information.
While the ‘market’ will eventually tell you your value - schools either reach out or they don’t - at this stage in the recruiting process, getting some outside help to curate your list can help you understand your level.
So here are some concrete steps you can take to figure this out.