Inside look at the recruiting process

Signing a national letter of intent to play a sport at the college level is a significant day in any high school athlete’s career. Signing the dotted line(s) seems like a simple enough task, but the steps taken to get that student-athlete to sign at Washburn, takes a lot of time and persistence.

“It’s a long, complicated process that involves a lot of people and a lot of persistence,” says Chris Herron, Head Volleyball Coach.

The process starts when the student-athlete gets in touch with the coach of a school they are interested in playing at or the coach makes first contact with them. Experienced coaches can usually tell by looking at one tape or watching the recruit one time, if they have potential. The communication usually starts over email and progresses to phone calls. With increasing interest the coach will go on a recruiting trip and try and watch the recruit as much as they can.

“You don’t want to catch an okay player on her best day and then her never play like that again. It is important for me to go watch a recruit play numerous times before I start pressing her to choose Washburn,” says Herron.

It may seem simple, but there are many rules that coaches, as well as recruits have to follow at different times during the year. There are strict rules about contacting and meeting with a recruit and these are closely followed by the NCAA and other members within the coaches athletic department. Ultimately, the athletic director is responsible for knowing what his or her coaches are doing and making sure the rules are followed.

Some of the recruits will be asked on an official visit to campus and that’s when the coach will or will not offer the recruit a scholarship and a chance to wear the Washburn jersey. The recruiting process can take weeks, but can also last up to a year. In the end, the coach with the best recruiting tactics is going to end up with the best and most competitive teams. Herron is one of those coaches.

“When I want a player, I pursue them aggressively because they are going to make my team more competitive. I always am recruiting with the idea of a national championship in my mind,” says Herron.