By Tori Plugge, Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator at Texas State
Let’s talk today about recruiting mom and dad—and YES, you should be recruiting them (or the guardian), too. I’ll give you one simple trick that can be a game-changer in your recruiting.
It is very common for parents to want their daughter to “make the decision on her own,” “have her own recruiting process,” or “figure out what she wants, not what we want.”
And all those things are GREAT, but recruits will very rarely commit without some input from mom and dad. So, my question to you is: Do you trust the PSA to get your very specific, calculated and perfected recruiting plan back to the parents word for word? My guess is probably not … so follow this rule:
After you’ve had your phone conversation with the recruit, before you hang up, ask if mom or dad is around so you can introduce yourself. Let them know you had a great conversation with their daughter but that you were curious if they had any questions. If they do, answer them; if they don’t, that’s OK, too.
Just remind them that you’re available to speak with them in addition to telling their daughter anything she might want to know. The “in addition” part is key here—you don’t want them to feel like they’re overstepping their daughter’s recruiting process.
This does a few things. First, it gives the PSA’s parents relief since they know who their 16-/17-/18-year-old daughter is spending her time talking to. It also opens the line of communication between you and the parents to effectively share your recruiting plan.
If the parents know and trust you, it is that much easier for a PSA to say “yes.” So, introduce yourself; I promise you won’t be disappointed.
This article is shared as part of our Fair Dealing Policy. For the original article, please visit: https://www.avca.org/Blog/Article/348/How-to-Effectively-Include-Parents-in-the-Recruiting-Process-Presented-by-Sports-Imports