The Role of Parents In The Recruiting Process

During your communication with coaches…

The role of parents in the recruiting process is to provide support and encouragement to their kids. Most college coaches prefer to work directly with the prospective student-athlete (PSA). There are several reasons that it is important for PSAs to be working directly with coaches rather than having their parents or coaches do it for them including:

• When someone other than the student leads the communication process, it is a red flag that the student isn’t actually engaged in the process.
• Outreach by the student indicates that they are interested.  Gaining admission or committing to a school is far more likely to happen if the student is deeply engaged. Coaches want kids who want to go to their school.
• Self-advocacy and independence are important skills and shows the level of maturity most coaches like to see in their prospective team members.
• You will be spending a lot of time with your college coach. Students should want to establish a personal relationship with the coach before arriving on campus so that you can be sure your goals align. Coaches feel the same way about getting to know you.
• What PSAs want and what parents want aren’t always the same thing. It can be difficult for a PSA to find their own voice and achieve their goals if parents are always talking for them.

So parents, do your kids a favor and let them lead the way on their recruiting journey. The analogy that I like to make is that kids should be driving the bus, and parents should be on board. If this is something that your child needs help with (and most do!), get in touch. Many families find that it is beneficial to have an advisor other than their parents to help them during the recruiting process.

In your work with PSACC…

We take a similar approach as college coaches. Our goal is to help PSAs learn about themselves throughout the recruiting process while maximizing their college options. In order to do that we need to work directly with the PSA. However we very much want parents to be included in some elements of the process. We all need to be on that bus and know where it’s heading.

Ideally, PSAs will feel comfortable sharing all of their work and progress with their parents, and ideally parents will be supportive of their child’s decisions. Many PSAs have close relationships with their parents, the people who first introduced them to sports, drove them to practices and competitions, and sometimes coached their teams. Parents are often a PSA’s most trusted advisor. We hope that PSAs will engage in open conversations with their parents, especially at the beginning and end of the process when they are making big decisions.

Conclusion

The role of parents in the recruiting process is to support their child. It’s not to do the recruiting process for them. Yes, kids are busy, but you wouldn’t write your son’s English essay just because he had a lot of work on his plate, right? Same thing here. Doing the process limits grown and learning.

At the end of the day, remember that golf is a game. It can feel like there is a lot on the line, but remember that, as a parent, the best way you can support your child is by telling them “I love to watch you play“.