I always knew the recruitment process would be stressful, and there would be no way around it. However, I didn’t anticipate how unprepared and overwhelmed I would feel. Nor did I realize how hush-hush athletes and their families are around the whole recruitment process, as well as the tension it can create for coaches, athletes, and clubs.
I guess there’s no real way to fully prepare for the recruitment roller coaster ride since there are so many variables in the process.
What I did know was, since the age of six, I dreamt about playing collegiately and then professionally and how exciting the journey would be. As I get older and now closer to June 15, 2024, when I will have the opportunity to talk to college coaches, the excitement is still there, but I can’t help but feel like it’s a bit buried by all the pressure to get through the recruitment process successfully.
I think the moment the recruitment process and stress started to take shape and intensify was last year, a couple of weeks before June 15, 2023. And it continues to grow. Seeing and hearing stories from the 2025 class and seeing some of their social media posts about how uncomfortable and up and down their recruitment experiences were or are having scares me a bit. There are quite a few top…
