We know the recruiting process can be very overwhelming for a lot of 16, 17, or 18-year olds. The word “overwhelming” might even be an understatement to be honest as it is a lot of information for someone who has never done it before. Obviously, that is where we come into play to guide and consult you at any point during your college search. Now, one thing that is very important though and that we recommend to everybody that we work with, is being open minded to any options that might be coming your way!
What do we mean by that? First and foremost, be careful who you listen to and whose advice you take. Having done this job for a long time, we know that a lot of people out there mean well, but they are not really well informed. So they might be giving you advice that sounds great and with that pushing you towards a certain option, but that might actually not be what is best for you. For instance, a lot of people have the opinion, that in order to become a successful golfer, you need to go to a college in the South. While in some cases this might be true, there are some fantastic golfing opportunities at northern schools as well, where teams might have huge budgets allowing them to have amazing indoor facilities and a great traveling schedule. So in some cases you might think a certain location is a must, but in reality being open minded to any location is what we recommend. Of course, you still need to analyze that particular school and see what they offer, but we know for a fact that there are schools out there in locations you might not really have on your radar, that actually have a lot to offer!
The same applies to wanting to play in a certain division. While NCAA Division 1 gets the post attention and publicity, there are fantastic athletic programs in other divisions as well. So again, be open minded and look at each school individually and see what they have to offer.
Another mistake we often see student athletes make, is focus too much on the size of the school and whether the school is a 2-year or 4-year school. Remember, you are mainly going to college in the US for two reasons, to study and to play your sport. So having a certain number of students or being opposed to starting at a junior college, might actually exclude some of the very best opportunities, both academically and for your sport.
There are numerous other factors, where we see young athletes have a certain opinion because of something they heard or something they were told by a friend or a certain “expert” in their home country. However, getting a second opinion or just asking us, might be the way to go as not everything you hear out there will be 100% true. So, as mentioned above, be open minded to any option, any area, any type of school and always do a proper analysis of all the factors that are important to you. We promise, this will lead you to the best possible outcome and it will maximize what you get out of your college career. And as always, we are there to help and guide you throughout the process, so if you have a question or concern, don’t ever hesitate to reach out to us!