Recruiting is a family project with one rule that surprises parents: the athlete needs to be the one coaches hear from. Here is how to help in the ways that matter.
Your role as a parent
- Organizer: keep a shared list of schools, coaches, dates contacted and replies.
- Researcher: help compare academics, cost, distance and level.
- Academic manager: core courses, grades and Eligibility Center registration.
- Budget-holder: decide what camps, events and travel are worth.
- Reality check: help your athlete compare themselves honestly with college rosters.
Should parents email college coaches?
Not for first contact. Coaches want to hear from the athlete, in the athlete’s words, from the athlete’s own address. Proofread, suggest, and help find the right coach — then let your athlete send it. Once a coach is engaged, it is normal for parents to handle logistics and to ask their own questions about academics, cost and housing.
Where recruiting money goes
The usual costs are club fees, camps, showcases, travel and film. Put money first into camps run by schools on your athlete’s list and into good film; ask showcases which college programs are confirmed before you pay.
Recruiting services vs doing it yourself
Families can run recruiting themselves: coaches need film, numbers, grades and a schedule, not a particular service. A service can save time on finding contacts, writing and tracking outreach. Before paying for any service — including ours — ask what it costs, whether there is a contract and how you cancel, what it does versus what your athlete still has to do, and whether it promises results it cannot control.
The financial questions to ask
- What is our cost after all athletic, academic and need-based aid?
- Is athletic aid for one year or multiple years, and how is renewal decided?
- What happens to aid after an injury or a coaching change?
- Does the school want the FAFSA or other aid forms, and by when?
Common mistakes
- Writing emails in your athlete’s name.
- Answering the coach’s questions during a call.
- Paying for exposure events before your athlete has emailed a coach.
- Focusing on scholarship size instead of cost after aid.