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 The
Student-Athlete's College Recruitment Guide
By Ashley B. Benjamin, Michael Cauthen, and Patrick Donnelly
Reviewed by Bill Cole, MS, MA
As Founder and President of the International Mental Game
Coaching Association, I train and certify mental coaches worldwide.
Part of this training involves assisting high school athletes
and their parents, and high school coaches in understanding
and managing the complex world of college athletic recruiting.
The Student-Athlete's College Recruitment Guide is
a superb resource which every parent, athlete and high school
counselor and coach needs to own. I heartily recommend this
book for any parent or athlete who wants to become "recruiting
savvy" and navigate the often confusing and dangerous waterways
of the college athletic recruiting process. I refer to this
book often in my practice as a sport psychology consultant,
and suggest parents and athletes read it and study it.
This excellent book pulls the curtains back for a behind-the-scenes
look at the excitement, the hopes, and the ups and downs of
the college athletic recruiting process. Through the experiences
of the authors as college athletes and coaches, and via interviews
with top college coaches, the book systematically examines
the entire recruiting world, both athletically and academically,
and provides uncommon insights and wisdom to help athletes
and parents avoid the common pitfalls of the recruiting game.
The book has three major sections:
I. Recruiting: The Technical Aspects.
II. Individual Issues and Values
III. Interviews With College Coaches
Chapter four, "Getting Seen" is probably the best college
recruiting information I have ever read. This is gold, and
should be read by every college recruit and their parents.
This is loaded with inside tips and insights that expose the
realities of the recruiting process.
The Rank Order Method on page 67 is a superb system for evaluating
school choices and in making a decision. The book also has
excellent sample letters to send to coaches.
The book has two appendices, one focusing on a proposal for
a student-athlete bill of rights, and one on a proposal for
changes in the structure of college athletics. Both are excellent.
The authors suggest taking the business out of athletics and
improving integrity by focusing on academics.
Here is just some of the wisdom contained in The Student-Athlete's
College Recruitment Guide:
- Take the long-term, career view in selecting a college,
not just what seems interesting now, or next year.
- Be smart and know how the process works, or you may get
taken advantage of.
- Make a reasoned, logical decision about a college choice,
not an emotional one.
- Remember that you are interviewing the coach as much
as they are interviewing you.
- Do your "due diligence" on each school, and don't be
bashful about asking questions.
- Less than 1% of all college athletes ever play one day
of professional sports. Make sure your degree can support
you if a pro career does not materialize, or is cut short.
- The average professional career lasts less than four
years.
- Sell yourself. Don't be passive and wait for coaches
to contact you.
- Be wary of coaches who make you promises about playing
time, making the team, etc, because no coach can foresee
the future.
- There is often more than one best choice in a college.
Don't view the college search as being one for the perfect
school.
As a former recruited high school athlete, and a Division
I Head Coach in tennis at two west-coast universities, I have
seen all sides of the recruiting process. This book gives
a complete view of this phenomenon.
In short, The Student-Athlete's College Recruitment Guide
is an excellent addition to the literature, and a must-have
addition to the library of those who need to know about this
topic.
Bill Cole, MS, MA
Founder and President
International Mental Game Coaching Association
https://www.MentalGameCoaching.com
This book can be purchased at Amazon.com.
A complete list of book reviews and interviews in the IMGCA
Expert Author Interview Series can be found in the Book
Review archive.
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