AGC #038 - Recruiting tournament 101

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In my last issue, I outlined how college coaches figure out who to watch at recruiting events - and what recruits can do to ensure they get seen.

Today, I’ll focus on how coaches evaluate during the event itself.

A coach’s reality: Constantly divided attention

Even with a pre-curated list, college coaches at a major event may still attend 20-30 games daily.

Most will break their schedule into halves - spending the first half of a game slot at one field, then using the half-time break to move to another.

They’ll pick games with the biggest bang for their buck, in terms of how many potential prospects are in the lineups of the two competing teams.

To borrow a phrase used in a previous issue, coaches are searching for the no as well as the yes, especially on the first day of the event.

That means day one is often spent deciding who is worth going to watch again on day two and three.

Once they sit down at the field, they’ll try not to get distracted by the coaching friends they haven’t seen for months, and get to work.

When recruiting, coaches watch the game completely differently from how they watch their own team, and very differently from how spectators do.

They aren’t watching the ball - they are watching one player at a time.

They’re watching you.

Seeing how you react to mistakes, if you tackle back in transition, and how you adjust your positioning.

Checking for technical details, and listening to see if, when, and how you communicate.

And sometimes, turning their attention to the bench after you’re substituted, to see if you switch off or stay engaged.

The list goes on.

Whether your team is winning or losing is largely irrelevant - coaches are more interested in seeing how you respond to whatever situation your team is in.

When coaches lock in on this task, five minutes can tell a lot.

When they forget - and boy, is it easy to forget - a whole half might go by with no notes taken.

After that, it’s rinse and repeat, for as long as they can concentrate.

A player’s response: Controllables over everything

You can’t help the schedule that gives you the early morning and late evening games.

You can’t do much about it if your top school’s coach goes for lunch during your game, or if it pours rain and all the coaches take cover.

You can’t do anything about the fact that you might play well and get lots of ball when nobody’s watching, and have a poor game or be starved of possession when the sideline is slammed with coaches.

But you do get to control your effort, energy, and attitude:

In addition, mistakes matter far less than how you respond to them - so make it your goal to have the best “next play” mentality of any player on the pitch.

There are numerous ways to impact the game, even when you don’t have the ball in your hands, at your feet, or on your stick.

It’s also far easier to teach someone how to get better at a sport than it is to change their personality. So do everything you can to showcase the best parts of yours, irrespective of how the game is going.

The aftermath

Once the dust settles on a recruiting tournament, the coaching staff at each school will get together for a roundtable.

The discussion will vary depending on proximity to the first recruiting contact date, but the “list” is always the top priority. Who should move up the ranks? Who needs to be cut loose? Who needs to be seen again at the next event? Whose club coach needs to be contacted for further evaluations?

There’s a lot you can’t control here, but two simple things can improve your chances of staying in the conversation.

Firstly, write a follow-up email to your top schools to debrief the event in the week after it ends.

This doesn’t need to be a deep dive, but a few lines on what went well for you and areas you have identified to work on at practice will suggest you’re a student of the game.

Finally, if you got video at the event, follow up again to let coaches know when and where it is available.

Just another drop in the bucket in getting some of their limited attention!

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