You don’t have to be a big-time program to change your recruiting fortunes in big-time ways.
Take the case of the small Division III school in the Midwest who approached a new year of recruiting with a determination to make a change in their fortunes. "We had been mediocre for years and years when it came to getting the right kids here," said the school’s Athletics Director. "What I mean by that is we didn’t ever seem to get enough kids, and we certainly didn’t get enough really big-time prospects."
The school did two things last Fall as they set out to turn things around:
- The starting using Total Recruiting Solution as a way to help their coaches produce a more compelling recruiting message. "The biggest difference our coaches noticed," says the Athletics Director, "was that they were getting more in-bound calls and interest. That made the whole recruiting process easier and less stressful." And, more productive. The school increased their total incoming recruiting class by 19% and, according to the coaches, brought in more identifiable "next level" prospects than in years past.
- Recently, they started using the Troutwine Athletic Profile reports to help their coaches do a
better job of coaching their teams. The reports have let the staff "change the way they develop their teams in some really interesting ways." The staff also commented that they feel like they are on par with a Division I program in what they can offer their athletes now, and how they are able to "read" them more accurately in order to develop individual training plans for each player.
The main point to take away from their lesson? It doesn’t take a lot of time or a lot of money to change the results of a typical recruiting year. The important thing is to identify where your shortcomings are, and what kind of plan needs to be created to address those deficits, and then execute that plan.
If it can work for a small Division III school the same that it works for our Division I clients, it can work for you.
