Considerations in Building a Powerful College Recruiting Mission Statement

By Tom Kovic

College coaches are brilliant recruiters and look for 3 key components when evaluating prospects. Firstly, they look for strong students who meet and exceed academic eligibility and admission standards. Secondly they are looking for direct impact athletes who thrive at their position and will drive the team to higher levels. Finally, they desire self-aware young men and women who bring a strong character component to the table.

Building a Powerful College Recruiting Mission Statement can help elevate your position on a college coach’s radar and compliment your recruiting effort. Below are 3 considerations in developing your statement:

College goals

When you share your college mission statement with a coach it should be powerful and display a high level of self-awareness. Make time to sit down as a family and identify critical operatives that your ideal college choice will possess. Primary on the list and the glue that binds additional operatives should be the quality of the academic experience you desire.

A good college coach and exceptional educator should not be recruiting you just for the next 4 years, but the next forty years. A caring coach desperately wants you impact his program on the athletic side, but he also wants you to thrive academically and position yourself for future advancement. You don’t get a second chance at a first impression…Make this point stand out.

Athletic Contributions

This segment of the statement may appear simple, but considering you likely have a long list of athletic accomplishments, you want to streamline these accolades into a clear and robust statement to how you plan to impact a college sports program.

There is a fine line between being cocky and confident and you want coach to believe in your personal conviction. Create a bold statement that combines your current athletic skill-set with an elegant confidence that you have not nearly met your full potential.

Leadership

College coaches are looking for the best and the brightest prospects to help drive their program to higher levels, but they are putting a greater premium on the inner make-up of the prospect. Coaches are looking for boys and girls who display loyalty, dedication, perseverance and a diligent approach to their everyday lives. They are no doubt seeking direct impact athletes on the team, but they desperately want kids who will become “strong links in the team chain.”

Given a choice between a blue chip prospect whose statistics are off the charts, but a potential “loose cannon” on the inside of the team and a solidly skilled athlete who offers prodigious potential to lead the team from the inside, most college coaches will support the latter candidate 9/10 times! Team leadership offers intangible growth at the core of the program but it also builds consistent team momentum…The ship always remains on course.

Below is an example of a balanced mission statement:

“I envision my college years to be a quest and all-around personal growth period where my goal is to explore my interests in orthopedic medicine and positively impact a worthy college gymnastics team. I will apply myself not only as a gymnast, but as an integral team leader. I am confident my work ethic, determination, leadership ability, and time management skills will position me to be a successful student athlete.” Most importantly, I will conduct myself with honor and respect, knowing that the way I carry myself reflects my team, my coaches and the school I attend.”

The final draft of your mission statement should be intrepid, confident and well-balanced. Give coaches every reason to believe you are looking for a quality education that will position you strongly upon graduation. Drive home the point clearly and confidently that you have the athletic tools to impact a worthy college program. Finally, establish yourself as a team player and extend your loyalty and respect to the coaches as a prospective student-athlete who is the complete package.

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Tom Kovic is a former Division I college coach and the current President of Victory Collegiate Consulting, where he provides individual advisement for families on college recruiting. Visit: www.victoryrecruiting.com.