by Tyler Brandt, National Recruiting Coordinator
In our world of instant media we have grown accustomed to seeing pictures of athletes sitting at tables signing their Letter of Intent and seeing the big proud smiles on kids’ and parents’ faces. Then we click over to the college website and see an article on the new athlete that just “committed”to their college and their program. The question I always asked and answered before I signed any athlete was:
Did They Have The Right TYPE of Commitment to my College and Program to Sign Them!
The three types of commitment that you are looking for are:
1) Affective
2) Continuance
3) Normative
Affective commitment means they have an affection for what you do. This is an important part of finding the right fit because it speaks to style and philosophy. When we look at the athletes and coaches struggling at one school or on a specific team, they have had success somewhere else. The struggle invariably can be tracked back to a poor match in coaching style and philosophy. You need to know if the athlete is connected and committed to your program’s philosophy and style which ultimately is an extension of you.
Continuance commitment means they will not quit because they fear what they would lose if they stopped. These athletes have a clear understanding of their internal connection to their sport and refuse to stop or quit because of the loss they would feel. This eliminates many of the time consuming and emotionally draining conversations with athletes that want to quit because they THOUGHT they wanted to be there and could hack it.
Normative commitment means they stay committed because they have an obligation to fulfill. Regardless of the reason, to the athlete, they have created and wish to fulfill the obligation they have with the sport. It could be to the program for the opportunity or the college for the scholarship or their parents to get the degree. The “what” doesn’t matter, the fact that they will stay committed does.
Understanding these three types of commitments as a coach is critical to ensuring that you will bring the right athletes to your program and that they will have persistence and complete their degree. You will find three things improve immediately as you create and qualify the three types of commitment in your athletes:
1) Retention Rates
2) Graduation Rates
3) Talent pool on your team
A Bonus 4th improvement will be your recruiting program will improve. You will not have to recruit large classes because of the large number of athletes that stay all four years. As they stay in your program they learn your system and improve, creating a more talented team and athletes that have to earn spots.
If you are not currently creating the connection in your recruiting program to these three types of commitment, you are making your job harder and missing out on the RIGHT athletes for your program.