by Megan Cooke Caracagno, Tudor Collegiate Strategies
For most sports, September is the busiest month as a coach. Students are back on campus. Freshmen are being…well…freshmen. And not only are you starting practices (hopefully with some in shape athletes), but you’re tackling the planning and execution of your Campus Visits. Whether your prospects are juniors or seniors, whether it’s official or unofficial, whether it’s before or after they’ve verbally committed, having a smart and successful campus visit is crucial to your longevity as a recruiter.
Here are some examples of the ways we’d like you to rethink those crucial hours that your coveted PSA is finally on campus. Better news, this is free and easy to do!
First, do not put your prospects on the school campus tour. Sure, it frees up a few hours for you to get back to your desk and take a breather, but it’s crucial minutes away from the team and in an environment you have very little control. Even the “good ones” tend to leave athletes with an un-personalized feeling, hot and sweaty, bored, and frankly disinterested. You may care what rank your science department has or when the library was built, but, unfortunately, your prospects do not (yet).
Instead, use that time to let them hang out with your team, unstructured, organic and truly give them a sense of what it’s like to simply be a student athlete here at your school. Sitting and talking in the dining hall? Perfect. Playing X-Box on a couch in the dorms? Fantastic. Getting food from the cheap and easy spot on campus? Amazing. Truth be told, your PSA wants to understand what the vibe is at the school. Don’t let those minutes go by without giving them that feeling.
Second, do not include the parents 24/7. It’s a great thing to have parents join. In fact, it signals a real sense of importance that mom and dad are here to help guide the decision making process. But, on average, athletes want to connect with your team in the spaces that they naturally go to. Having parents there all day and night prevents that from happening.
Alternatively, have parents attend the beginning (for introductions) and the end (for closure and next steps). Then set the parents on their own itinerary and make time to see them yourself. In fact, that tour you really love is a great way for them to spend their afternoon and get their steps in.
Third, do not over-schedule. According to our research, 60-70% of the visit time should be allotted to simply allowing the PSA to chill, hangout, eat, and most importantly, connect with your team. Having a million events on an itinerary, especially events that pull them away from the team (advisor meetings, classes, tours, lectures, staff meetings, etc) are not allowing your prospects to make the emotional decision that this is a place they fit in.
Instead, try to give a lot of room for unstructured hang out time. Invite teammates to join in on the uniform photo shoot. Have them attend a class if critical, but consider skipping it instead for playtime. Give your itinerary to staff and hosts, yet do not give it to the PSA so that you can “go with the flow” and become more relaxed as the mood dictates. In essence, allow them time to simply exist in your spaces so they can truly catch that vibe that your current team loves.
Lastly, do not let them leave campus without going over next steps. If this is an athlete you want on your team, you need to ask for that commitment. If you’re not ready, make sure you communicate the next steps you’d like to see before the athlete leaves campus. Your PSA’s want to know why they were there and what to do next to continue the recruiting process. Being too vague and being afraid of “putting pressure on them” only leaves them confused, feeling unwanted, and simply frustrated.
Instead, schedule a time to meet with the PSA (and bring those parents back) right before they leave campus. Ask them, “Do you feel like X University is a place you could commit to playing next year?”. Whether the answer is yes, no, or not yet, you will learn very valuable information as to what your prospect is thinking and your next move as a recruiter. That, coaches, is so much worth the time and money you just invested in this athlete over the previous 48 hours.
Questions? Concerns? Rebuttals? Join Megan on a Zoom Webinar this Wednesday, September 18th at 12:30 EST as she goes over this topic and adds many more do’s and don’ts to your college visit experience. This is a great opportunity to ask more questions and gain clarity on the ways you can turn your visit into a decision generator.