by Megan Cooke Carcagno, Tudor Collegiate Strategies
It’s 8pm, you’ve fed your family, done the dishes, and it’s time to find a quiet nook in the house to make “an important recruiting call.” You start with pleasantries, move on to current events, do the well rehearsed pitch, and eventually get to the all important…”do you have any questions?” segway. You’re bored. They’re bored. It’s getting late…But isn’t this what the job is all about?
The recruit pauses, and asks the most mundane and repeated question you answer 100 times a day. How could they not know this already? Didn’t we talk about this on our last call? How much longer is this call going to keep me up?
Instead of being annoyed and going into verbatim answer mode…use this question to stop and think. Here, you have the chance to learn what’s missing. Instead of focusing on what they are asking, focus on why they are asking.
In another sense, Coach, this athlete is telling you, not asking you, what is missing from your social media outreach. They are waving a giant flag on how you could be doing a better job with the storytelling of your team, your campus, and yourself. In essence, they are making your life ten times easier, believe it or not.
“Do the athletes live together in the dorms?” is simply code for making sure my next social post is a reel of athlete life in the dining hall, the accommodations, the roommate pairings, and the housing architecture. Show athletes who live together, those who live with regular students, those who live off campus. Show what life is like when you go to bed each night at this amazing school.
“What is the culture like on the team?” is a trojan horse for show me more athlete day-in-the-life takeovers, more background videos, more team traditions and more heartwarming moments captured and posted. Chances are, very few of your followers will eventually wear the uniform, but they should get a keen sense on how it feels to do so. If your team is happy, having fun, connected, enjoying the process and dedicated to the work… show it rather than say it!
“What is your coaching philosophy?” is an attempt to learn who you are, plain and simple. How much of your social storytelling is telling everyone about you? Why do you coach this team and what does it mean to you is paramount for someone agreeing to play for you. Sing this from the rooftops! Make sure everyone interested in attending your University knows you and your staff, knows why you like this school so much, why your family lives in this region, and, most importantly, knows why you’ve invested your life into coaching. Your “why” is contagious, inspiring, and incredibly important in the success of the recruiting process.
So next time you’re sitting back and dialing another recruit’s number, grab a pencil and take some notes on what they’re asking. You may find out exactly what needs more attention or is simply missing from your cinematic visual efforts.
Megan Cooke Carcagno is a former Division 1 collegiate rowing coach spending over 15 years combined coaching at the University of Wisconsin and most recently at Duke University. She is on the staff at Tudor Collegiate Strategies working with college coaches on the east coast to help them improve their recruiting strategy and overall results. Have a question about her article? You can email Megan at megan@dantudor.com to set up a call.