recruiting tips

  1. start early

 

Reaching out to coaches early can help put you on their radar and allow them to track your progress over a number of years. Sharing your stats with them each season, by the time you reach Year 12 you’ll have been in contact with these coaches for a while and they should have a good idea of who you are. Whilst this might seem arbitrary, your dedication will help differentiate you from other players. It is common for coaches to not respond to emails if you send them your basketball resume in Year 9 or 10 so don’t feel discouraged, it’s the first step towards name recognition.

What should I be doing?

  • PLAN

    Consider your subject choices at school (see Academic Requirements)

  • REGISTER

    Register for an NCAA Profile Page or Certification account

    If you’re falling behind academically, don’t take shortcuts. Put the effort in and you’ll be rewarded.

    Get exposure to AAU Basketball (see AUSA Tours)

  • STUDY

    Check you are on track to complete the required courses

    Get exposure to AAU Basketball (see AUSA Tours)

    Update your NCAA account with sports participation information

    At the end of the year, ask your school to submit your official transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Centre

  • GRADUATE

    Play AAU Basketball in July (see AUSA Tours)

    Introduce yourself to some coaches at the appropriate level with grades, highlight tape, any plans to play AAU in April etc.

    Promote yourself via Twitter

    Request final amateurism certification (NCAA D1/D2)

    After you graduate ask your school to submit your final official transcript with proof of graduation to the NCAA Eligibility Centre

2. Practice Formality

 

When emailing coaches, remember to format your emails correctly, use proper grammar and have a clear understanding of what you are saying. An email should be much more formal than something like a text message, ensuring that you address the coach properly and sign off with your name at the bottom.

Ensure you have a professional email address – nobody wants to recruit bigdaddy@gmail.com… Instead, use something like joshsmith1@gmail.com

Do some research about the coach and schools basketball program. If you are able to comment on things you like about the program and express this interest, it adds to the conversation. Your ability to communicate with coaches can play an important part in earning a scholarship.

Learn more about contacting coaches.

3. Highlight Tape

To really make a coach sit up and take notice of a player from the other side of the world, you’re going to need a great highlight tape. Coaches get sent hundreds of videos, so they look for specific elements that could set you apart.

The most important thing for yourself is to know who you are as a player. Are you a defensive-minded point guard who is pass-first? Are you a high flying wing who knocks down open threes?

Read more about how to create a great highlight tape.

4. Research the schools you want to attend

An important and often overlooked step in the recruiting journey… research. Here are the most important factors to keep in mind:

  • Academics: Visit the school’s website to see the average grades and test scores. Plus, consider which majors are offered and remember to ask the coach which majors are popular among athletes on the team.

  • Athletics: Players can use their high school or club coach to help them assess where they can make an impact, or they can visit a team’s roster and analyze the athletes’ key stats.

  • Cost: How much can your family afford and how much aid is the student-athlete eligible to receive at each school?

  • Personal Preferences: Think about housing options, school size, social aspects, distance from home and even the weather.

As you start to find programs you’re interested in, we recommend sorting them into three categories: target schools, dream schools and safety schools. Most of the schools on a players list should fall into the target category. Check out https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/ to help filter by

  • Two or Four year colleges

  • Sports

  • Athletic scholarships

  • Areas/majors/subjects of study

5. Improve your academics

Players often underestimate the advantage that academics can have on their scholarship potential. If you meet the minimum qualifications for an academic scholarship, this won’t count towards the athletic budget of the coach. Whilst this isn’t a guarantee, it does mean that you could be placed on a team above your athletic skill level as coaches are more willing to take on athletes who are guaranteed to raise their team’s GPA.

Read more about academics and international requirements.

6. Provide multiple references

The more references you can provide, the better-rounded you can appear as both player and student. Ask your coaches and teachers if they are willing to provide a reference for you to go to college. Most likely they will be more than happy to assist you in this regard. Without these, you may appear like someone who people aren’t willing to support.

7. Promote yourself using Twitter/X

This might seem weird to us as Australians, but Twitter/X is big for a reason. The US uses this in all facets, including Basketball Recruitment. All college coaches, scouts and recruiters are on Twitter/X, looking at players profiles, videos and communicating with those they think could be potential recruits.

If you are unfamiliar with the process, here’s a step by step guide.