As a sports parent, you’ve done a lot for your child over the years. You’ve spent years packing their lunches, carpooling, making appointments and paying for extra-curricular activities. So, it might feel a little unsettling to hear that when it comes to the college recruiting process, you’ll need to hand over the reins and let your athlete take control. To help you ease into this new process, we’ve created a college recruiting 101 for parents guide with tips as your family begins your college recruiting journey.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- How to create a recruiting support system for your athlete.
- When and how to communicate with college coaches.
- How to navigate the most challenging aspects of the college recruiting process.
Parents role in the recruiting process
While your athlete is responsible for taking the lead, parents play an integral part in the college recruiting process. Your athlete will undoubtably need your help along the way as they search for the right college fit for them.
Learn more about your role in the process.
Insider Tip: Join our expert-guided workshops for parents and student-athletes. Level up your skills and broaden your understanding. Sign up now!
Working with high school and club coaches
High school and club coaches are great resources to help your athlete search for college opportunities and engage with college coaches. Building a strong relationship with your athlete’s coach allows you to call on them when you need help evaluating your athlete’s athletic ability, looking for roster openings and connecting with college coaches.
Get tips for working with high school and club coaches.
Interacting with college coaches
Are parents supposed to interact with college coaches? The short answer is yes, but it’s a little more complicated than that. While college coaches want to get to know the entire family, it’s important to know when and how to contact college coaches without jeopardizing your athlete’s recruiting efforts.
Explore tips on how and when to communicate with college coaches.
Overcoming common recruiting stressors
As exciting as the college recruiting process is, it can be equally as stressful, especially for parents going through it for the first time. You might find yourself asking questions like, how do I find the right summer camps and recruiting events? With money at stake, it can be overwhelming finding the right college camps that will help your athlete get recruited.
Explore common recruiting stressors and ways to deal them.
How parents can use NCSA
NCSA is here to help you and your athlete through the entire college recruiting process, start to finish. We’ve been doing this for over 20 years and we’re proud of the tools we’ve developed to help athletes gain exposure and discover college opportunities. Discover how we’ve helped over 300,000 student-athletes commit to their college match.
Learn more about how NCSA helps parents and student-athletes.