Tips for Surviving College Football Recruiting
Recruiting can be a stressful experience even for the top level, a-list football players. So if you and your family are facing entry into the high stakes world of college football recruiting this year, it can be helpful to learn tips for surviving college football recruiting from players and family members who have experienced the process firsthand. The college football recruiting process can also be a very exciting time and certainly a time of great promise and potential, but in order to stay the course and set yourself up for success, these tips will come in handy as you begin the long journey from recruited to chosen future football star.
Follow the Rules
The first tip that veterans of the college football recruiting process can offer is to be sure to follow all the rules, dot all the "i's" and cross all the "t's" in order to maintain your eligibility and good standing during the recruiting period. This means being mindful not just of your own behavior on and off the field, but also knowing the rules of how the college football recruiting game must be played from the recruiter's end as well. For instance, new first time recruits are unlikely to know without being told that the college football recruiters are only permitted to make their recruiting calls and campus visits during preset time periods, including certain days and certain hours during the day. If you as a recruit even take or return a recruiter's phone call or visiting a college campus outside of these preset times, you risk losing your standing as an athlete with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and forfeiting offered scholarships and recruiting offers. If you want to survive and thrive during the college recruiting process, you simply must follow the rules.
Pace Yourself
Expect the college football recruiting process to be stressful, and you will not place extra stress on yourself by wondering why you are feeling the stress and strain when the season gets underway. Do your best to pace yourself, take good care of your physical and mental health, and remember that recruiters, like anyone else, respond to confidence and strength, not desperation or fear. Know what you have to offer, communicate that clearly, hold out for your dreams, and don't say yes to anyone before you have given yourself a chance to see what the recruiting process can offer to you. Also be sure to give yourself permission to simply say no or ask for more information if something doesn't feel right. No offer is worth sacrificing your integrity.
Keep Your Grades High
Finally, since the college football recruiting process can be challenging and intense, it can be easy to let your grades slip while the process is going on. However, once your grades begin to slip you are in danger of disciplinary action and even expulsion from eligilibility for participating in college football recruiting. So now more than ever, be sure to devote sufficient time to keeping your grades high and making sure you are eligible for the offers you have worked so hard to attract.
