In a recruiting dead period, student-athlete prospects cannot contact a coach face-to-face officially or unofficially. This means that the on-campus recruiting of the coaches has to discontinue. However, coaches are still able to recruit the student-athletes by other means of communication, like email or social media. The NCAA Division 1 Dead Period was recently extended to January 1st because of the Coronavirus situation.
The NCAA made this announcement on September 16. Furthermore, the council seized the schools from handing out complimentary game tickets to student-athletes, coaches, or other high schools. The NCAA will make further evaluations regarding the college recruitment process dead period. If the coronavirus situation gets better, the NCAA may announce further changes.
The recruiting dead period invokes new ways for the recruitment process. Student-athlete prospects now have to adapt to more creative ways of reaching out to coaches. In this situation, working on a social media profile would be the method for recruitment.
This also involves updating credentials on social media platforms. Coaches are now spending more time looking at student’s online portfolio. Therefore, if you are an aspiring student-athlete, recognition depends on your online presence and activity.
What Should a Student-Athlete Do?
Even though the NCAA denies direct contact with the coaches, you can always resort to other means of real-time communication, this involves texting, calls, or online video calls. The dead period can a bit off-putting for students and may impose mental stress on them. This is because students put time and effort into preparing for tournaments and sporting events.
The idea of stalling training because of the dead period can be demoralizing. However, there are certain tips and techniques that can boost motivation and ensure progress even in the dead period.
Update Your Videos
Performance videos that include in-game footage, along with videos of training drills are now more important than ever. The coaches cannot practically analyze a student’s performance on the field. Their recruiting process now involves looking at long hours of footage. Therefore, it is important for student-athletes to update video footage of their skills. Even if you do not have proper in-game footage, simple videos that highlight essential skills can also work.
These could include videos of fitness drills that prove your fitness level. Specific skills are essential for certain sports. Basketball prospects, in particular, can benefit from a video of them shooting 3 pointers. On the other hand, coaches look for footballers with good passing and ball control. Therefore, videos of training drills that will highlight these skills will be enough to impress college recruits.
Need help creating a professional highlight video? Check out CaptainU’s pro highlight video creation service for only $99.
Update Your Profile
With the closing down of on-campus recruitment, updating your online profile has become incredibly important. The dead period extension caused schools and colleges to eradicate any interaction between the coaches and student-athletes. Therefore, the recruits now judge student-athletes by their online profiles. This makes it pivotal for you to keep online accounts updated with all the essential and relevant information.
These include GPA scores and video footage. Other important information includes player statistics. If a student-athlete does not have a complete record of their statistics like goals, assists, tackles, or playing time, they can also add statistics of their previous teams. You can also list your medals, trophies, or certificates.
Don’t have a recruiting profile yet? To create a free recruiting profile, visit www.captainu.com.
Keep Checking Your Emails
After sending your portfolio to schools and coaches, you need to stay up to date with the responses. If you are already in contact with the coach then checking the inbox for messages everyday becomes necessary. Rapid responses to schools and coaches will inhibit more engagement from the coach’s side. It will prove your determination and interest to the coaches.
Reviewing previous conversations and updating the coaches about your progress will increase chances of selection. Furthermore, you should use corresponding emails with the coaches to set up video call appointments. By doing so, you will be able to convey your intensions in a much more detailed way. A video call offers a much better opportunity to impress a college recruit.
Use This Time to Research
The student-athletes now have a lot of time at their disposal because of the deadline extension. Students view this spare time as useless and tend to spend it on procrastination. Instead of wasting this time, you should utilize this time in research.
The added time will help you list down possible schools that offer the program of your liking. Furthermore, the deadline period brings in loads of time for students to spend on relevant research that will guide them towards success.
You should also utilize this time to sit back and assess what you really want from a college experience. Sometimes students tend to make rash decisions that do not benefit them in the end. These decisions can be a result of the wrong influence. Therefore, this deadline extension may prove to be a blessing in disguise for you
Stay Fit and Healthy
The most important thing you can do is stay healthy and maintain your fitness during these tough times. Being in total lockdown promotes a lazy lifestyle. Staying motivated can be tough and demands a certain energy level that is hard to find in quarantine.
Always keep in mind that when that coaches prioritize resilience and mental toughness more than skills. Staying fit in these times will convince the coaches that you have a strong character with qualities that encompass persistence and determination.
To Conclude
If you are a student-athlete, the dead period extension presents itself as an obstacle in your life. However, what matters that most is how you respond to this setback. With the right amount of motivation and preparation, facing adversity becomes an easy pursuit. We cannot stress this enough, “Don’t stop being proactive in your recruiting journey just because the NCAA Division 1 Dead Period was recently extended”.
