QUESTIONS TO COACHES RECRUITING STUDENT ATHLETES

First Published 4/2/2009. Updated several subequent dates.

About 5 % of high-school athletes in the United States become college athletes

Less than 3 % of college athletes turn pro. “In other words, for every 100 college athletes, only three go on to pro sports.” [National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)]

Firstly, the Main life ingredient that Colleges offer Student Athletes is an Education. Secondly and less important is their experience in their chosen Sport.

Ironically, the Sport is second to an education, but a bad Athletic expericnce can have a negative impact on the Athlete’s education. So Parents, Guardians and Student Athletes must be diligent during the College and Team selection process.

Parents, Guardians and Student Athletes must evaluate realistically the Coach’s Behavior and Reputation and the way the Coach has conducted themselves and their Code of Coaching Conduct and Methods of Coaching.

Parents, Guardians and Student Athletes should not gauge the Coach based on how the Coach is supposed to conduct themselves, but how the Coach does conduct themselves.

The Check list of Questions for the high school student athlete to ask the Coach during the recruitment process are the following and should be based on Fact, not Fiction:

What are the Coach’s Outcomes for the development of student athletes (? marks are implied)
What is the Coach’s winning and losing record
Does the coach have a good reputation on campus and in the community
Does the coach have past illegal citations and violations of the law
Has the coach been sanctioned by athletic associations, such as the NCAA
Is the Coach Currently under NCAA violation investigation
Have you studied the National Letter of Intent (NLI) throughly? (NLI appears to favor the College not the Athlete)
Is the coach a leader among his coaching peers
Have his players become leaders and role models
Is the coach honest
are his players honest
Has the coach been a listener to the players
Does the community, school and media respect him
Does he encourage academic achievement
Do the players have study hall
Are the players grades and classroom achievements monitored and of utmost importance to the coach
What education does the coach have
Was he a good student
Has the coach helped develop previous players spiritual lives by allowing the players time to practice their faith
what percentage of his players practice their religion
What percentage of his players have graduated college
What percentage of his players have meaningful employment after the sport
What percentage of his players play at the next level

How many injuries have his players sustained during their career
How many injuries were permanent.
How many injuries were career ending injuries
How many players had surgery during their career for injuries
How many times were players sick during excessive practice
Have players been forced to play through the pain that turned out to be serious injury

Are nutritional requirements of each player overseen and individualized

Do players get adequate rest
Do players get adequate medical attention
Are practices too long
Are there additional punitive practices for players
Do players run too much

Does the coach use foul language
Does the coach belittle players when he critiques or corrects them
Does the coach use physical abuse
Is the coach verbally abusive

Will the coach attempt to win at all costs to the players, school , and community
Will the coach cheat to win
Does the coach have the best interest of the player at heart

After the above questions are answered to the player’s satisfaction, then the player can turn to the success of the Coach’s teams i.e. wins, loses, championships, tournaments, bowls etc.

About the National Letter of Intent (NLI)

Most sources say the NLI completely favors the College not the Student-Athlete. And most say the NLI is not in truth a contract by contract law. So Student-Athletes should be cautious and weigh the NLI carefully.

“Two weeks ago, word spread across the country: Brandon Knight, one of the top high school basketball players in the country, had signed a Letter of Intent to play at Kentucky. But he hadn’t.

“Knight signed an “aid agreement,” which is a different animal entirely. It means that Kentucky owes him a full scholarship for next year. This has been widely reported as Knight “committing” to Kentucky.

“But he didn’t really do that, either.

“Knight did not commit to anything. If he was truly committed to Kentucky, he could have signed a Letter of Intent, like virtually every other top player in the country. Players often commit to schools, but they almost always do it during a time of year when they are not allowed to sign a Letter of Intent. Knight did it instead of signing a Letter of Intent.

Nobody knew quite what to make of Knight’s pseudo-commitment. He said he was going to Kentucky, he signed something with Kentucky … it seemed like a technicality. But it isn’t.

“Knight gamed the system. The whole point of signing with a school is to enforce a two-way commitment: The school and the prospect swear to love each other, in sickness and in health, in the NCAA tournament and the NIT. Schools can take scholarships away after players spend a year on campus (which I don’t like, but that’s another column). The Letter of Intent ends the recruiting process.

“By signing an aid agreement, Knight forced Kentucky to make all the vows. The Wildcats are committed to him, but he is not committed to them.

“This is perfectly legal, and my first thought was: Good for Knight. Every year, coaches sign a batch of recruits, then bolt for another job and the recruits don’t find out until they turn off the Xbox and see the news stream across the bottom of their TV screen. Players don’t have much power in college sports. Knight found a way to take a few chips away from the house. Good for him.”
[“UK recruit Knight a game-changer even before he enters school,” Michael Rosenberg> INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL April 29, 2010]