Page 7 - Menlo School – KNIGHTtime News

KNIGHTtime News
GUIDING YOUR COLLEGE PROCESS
SOUL SEARCHING:
The Step Before
Step One of the College Recruiting Process
My presentations on College Athletics Recruiting begins with what, to some, sounds like an
attempt to dissuade prospective recruits from pursuing sports in college. This is not at all the case. Instead, I am beginning the process before it even begins: encouraging the student to take some
at college playing their sport for a huge majority of their time there. So this all needs to be something the student can really own.
Part of this soul searching involves making a truly informed decision. First, that means recognizing exactly
years back, I met with one of the top water polo players in the country and asked him what he wanted from his college experience. “I want to double major,” he responded, “and to travel abroad and have summers free for internships...” and I stopped him right there. At the time, his top
real time to explore what
it means to play their sport
in college and, then, to
decide if that’s what they
really want. “Soul searching,” if you will. Because the entire recruiting process is rather grueling, all leading to, hopefully, the student
what will be asked of you at the college level and how that di ers across schools and divisions. A few
option for him. That particular team trains 11 months out of the year, up to four hours per day. No traveling abroad. No summers free. Very little
“SO THAT’S A GREAT PLACE TO START: SIT DOWN WITH YOUR COACH, SHARE YOUR HOPES FOR YOUR COLLEGE CAREER, AND START THE CONVERSATION. “
two school choices were Stanford and Princeton. Given what he said he wanted, Stanford would have been a terrible
7