Build An
Online Presence

WHAT TO EXPECT

Several years ago, the online recruiting profile changed the way collegiate recruiting was done. Millions of high school athletes signed up for recruiting profiles at the promise of instant exposure. Student-athletes in Southern California could be seen by college coaches in Northern Maine, and everywhere in between. Geography – which was once the largest impediment to an athlete's recruitment – suddenly wasn't so important anymore.

The internet could provide instant exposure. That was the promise. However, it left out one critical detail. A profile has no value if no one sees it.

And because hundreds of sites popped up providing "Online Profile" services, college coaches had no centralized location for finding athletes. There was no Facebook for high school athletes.

But Facebook's value has very little to do with the profile. Facebook's 1.87 billion active users don't check Facebook everyday to go to individual profiles. They go there for connection – to world events, to sports, to photos and videos shared by their friends and families.

Connection is the holy grail.

The athletic recruiting profile gave athletes a presence. But this only solved part of the problem. Without instant connection to college coaches, the issue of discoverability still remained: How will coaches find me?

Athletes have a discoverability problem. And discoverability is the key to college exposure.

To get seen, put your profile in front of college coaches. To do that, you need to use a recruiting platform that provides two key elements:

1. A Connected Profile.
2. Instant connection to all college coaches.

If you can't quickly find and message any college coach you want, then you're not solving your biggest problem.

Neither works without the other. But together, it's like magic.

Fortunately for you, a profile on SportsRecruits has a direct line of communication into every college program in the country.

In this section, you will learn how to build a powerful presence. This presence will be your foundation for all recruiting efforts.

Once you've completed this section, you will graduate to Contacting Coaches, where you will learn how to leverage the power of your Connected Profile to get yourself discovered.

CREATE YOUR PROFILE

College coaches are busy. When you have their attention, make sure you keep it. The surefire way to lose college coaches' attention is to make them work hard. If college coaches have to track down what they need to evaluate you, they are far more likely to bounce and move onto a recruit that has put thought into their presentation. Make it easy for a college coach to consider you. You can do this by compiling your essential information and strongest skills videos in one place.

Create a personal SportsRecruits profile to give college coaches an easy and informative way to learn about you and follow your accomplishments. It gives coaches a way of viewing contact information, sport information, academic information, video highlights, and what camps and tournaments you are attending.

At every step in your recruiting process, remember college coaches are nothing if not human. They want things on demand. Make it easy for coaches to get the information they need to properly evaluate you when it is convenient to them.

Whenever you are interacting with college coaches, include a link to your SportsRecruits URL. When you are using the SportsRecruits messaging system, your Profile is automatically linked to every message you send to a coach. If you're using a less sophisticated recruiting profile or if your videos aren't connected to your profile, you're making it harder for coaches to evaluate you. You're also making it more difficult for coaches to follow your development. Don't give college coaches an excuse to not consider you for their programs. This is as easy as including your personal URL. On SportsRecruits, an athlete named Spencer Riley would have a custom link such as sportsrecruits.com/athlete/spencer_riley. Your link gives the coach all the information he needs in one central place.

In the current recruiting landscape, having a profile isn't an advantage. It's a baseline requirement. If you've made one, that's a great start. The next step is to make it shine with video.

SHARE VIDEO

Video is a necessity in the recruiting process. Why hope a college coach stumbles upon your game at a recruiting event when you can guarantee they see you play, front and center. Take your game right to the coach's doorstep in a few clicks!

The two most common types of videos used in recruiting are highlight reels and game footage. Which is right for you? The answer is, both! Highlight reels and unedited game footage are not mutually exclusive. Both serve a purpose for a college coach. Both are vital to have on your Profile.

Share Your Highlights

A highlight video allows coaches who do not get an opportunity to see you in person evaluate your skills. By watching your video, coaches can assess your abilities personally and decide if you're a prospective recruit. They don't have to rely on someone else's evaluation that may be biased.

You might hear parents on the sideline say, "I heard coaches do not want highlight reels." Those parents are 100% wrong. The highlight reel is not going to close the deal for you, but it is how you get in the door. College coaches will not watch a full game of a prospect until they are interested. Use the highlight reel to get them interested.

Highlight Reel Essentials

Our data tells us that college coaches spend an average of 3:18 watching a potential recruit's video. You don't have much time to hook a coach. A great highlight reel will:

1. Show the fundamentals. Whether you're a scoring phenom or a defensive specialist, a 6'5 spiker or a 5'10 point guard, college coaches need to see your hustle, athleticism, and attitude shine through in each clip.


2. Keep it short and sweet. 15-20 clips for a total of 3-5 minutes is all you need.

Share Game Footage

While the highlight reel gives college coaches an overview of your strengths and skills, raw footage of a full game lets the coach see your performance without any fancy editing getting in the way.

Upload unlimited video to your SportsRecruits Profile to ensure the coach has everything needed to evaluate you in in one place. Another option is to embed existing video from YouTube, Vimeo, Hudl, or Krossover. Your profile allows the coach to watch your high definition video right away, instead of waiting for a DVD that may never make it to his / her desk. The beauty of SportsRecruits is that a coach at one of your target schools can evaluate you when it is convenient to him or her. The coach can rewind if they want to see you make that great play again!