Note: With the latest viral press conferences with coaching legends Greg Popovich and Geno Auriemma, I searched my files for this old article that was originally published on a now defunct coaching web site.
It is also driving huge talent disparities with public schools and private schools, as well-funded private schools, swoop in to take kids from public schools. That is the case here in the SF Bay Area. Private school coaches aren't allowed to 'recruit' from middle school, so they use the backdoor of using parents to recruit for them. That's their loophole.
You hit this right on the nose Brian. Spot on. Thank you. These are the challenges and temptations we coaches must navigate. The skill of recruiting trumps the skill of coaching, at most all levels.
We really underestimate how weird the rest of the world thinks college recruiting is. It may be getting worse, but we accept it as normal, as it has existed for so long. But the whole trying to win the hearts and minds of a teenager to pledge their allegiance to your program and not another is really weird when you're not raised with this system (it's getting less weird for Europeans/Australians now because of social media, the Internet, and flow of information, but many still use "agents" to attract college interest and practically place the player at a university, similar to an agent finding a new club for the player to sign a professional contract).
It is also driving huge talent disparities with public schools and private schools, as well-funded private schools, swoop in to take kids from public schools. That is the case here in the SF Bay Area. Private school coaches aren't allowed to 'recruit' from middle school, so they use the backdoor of using parents to recruit for them. That's their loophole.
You hit this right on the nose Brian. Spot on. Thank you. These are the challenges and temptations we coaches must navigate. The skill of recruiting trumps the skill of coaching, at most all levels.
We really underestimate how weird the rest of the world thinks college recruiting is. It may be getting worse, but we accept it as normal, as it has existed for so long. But the whole trying to win the hearts and minds of a teenager to pledge their allegiance to your program and not another is really weird when you're not raised with this system (it's getting less weird for Europeans/Australians now because of social media, the Internet, and flow of information, but many still use "agents" to attract college interest and practically place the player at a university, similar to an agent finding a new club for the player to sign a professional contract).