College 101
Checklist for Marketing Yourself Article Type: Checklist
All coaches are different, but they have some things in common when it comes to recruiting athletes. Here’s a list of what they are looking for so that you can be more prepared to show your stuff:
- Athleticism. Pretty basic. They want you to be good at your sport. Added bonus: If you can show them how athletic you are, they’ll know they can train you to be even better.
- Effort. If you’re a collegiate athlete, you spend a ton of time training and practicing to get better. Coaches want to see that you can work hard to maximize your time (and theirs).
- Coachability. Even if you’re pretty good now, coaches want to make you even better. They want to know if you can take advice and roll with it.
- Teamwork. Do you play well with others? As you could imagine, working well with teammates is pretty essential when you play a team sport. If you haven't learned this less yet… we worry for you.
- Intelligence/Knowledge of your sport. How well do you know the game? Can you anticipate what your opposition is going to do? Coaches love players who have high IQ in their sport.
- Composure. Athletes who easily lose their temper normally aren’t worth the headache. So try not stomp around the court like a 3-year-old having a temper tantrum, alright?
- Ability to bounce back. Made a mistake? Oh well. Coaches want to know that you can move on from a mistake because if you’re human, you’re bound to make a lot of them.
- Intensity. Coaches want to see that you really care. They want to see your passion for your sport. They want you to have heart. "Miles and miles of heart."