Prep Dig Exposure and Recruitment Tips

There is no doubt that you, the athletes & parents are working hard and making every effort to make and execute your recruitment plan that consists of setting goals, targeting a list of schools that'll be a good fit academically and athletically, expanding the athlete's exposure, establishing or maintaining contact with college coaches and securing a college roster spot. During the month of August, the Prep Dig Stock Up Showcase and the Prep Dig Freshman Showcase came with an opportunity not only to make an impact, but handout information was also provided with a basic guide on some of the basic things any athlete and parent can be doing while in pursuit of accomplishing the goal of college athletics.

It doesn't matter if you're in your Freshman season or Senior season. It doesn't matter if you're competing in high school or competing in club only.

Some features of the handout

Want to compete in Division I or II Sports? Obtain an NCAA Eligibility ID Number.

Visit this website to learn about and set up your NCAA player profile account based on the level your athlete will be competing. Although each coaching staff will assist the athlete and parents with completing this, it never hurts to be ahead of the game. This is also effective when contacting colleges and advising that you've already obtained your ID number and very helpful when completing questionnaire forms that request this information.

Coaches look forward to consistent communication from the athlete. Their emails will be inundated by players from across the country however, no email also means no contact which says, no interest.

Here are some general content ideas & timeframes for emails. The content is suggestive but for several players, this has proven to be a helpful factor. The larger the school, the more often you should email as to not get lost in the shuffle.

Email #1

July/August – Introduction, brief bio, college degree program of interest, current club &/or HS team, position, jersey #, impending schedule, athletic photo, and a link to the most recent highlight clip(s).

Email #2

September/October/November – Re-introduction, full club schedule, link for most recent HS highlight clip(s). This is also a great time to review the college team's season & send recognition accordingly.

*** SENIORS - THIS IS PRIME TIME TO CHECK ADMISSIONS APPLICATION DEADLINES ***

Email #3

January/February – Club season has started & qualifiers are scheduled. This is an opportunity to further your college program interest, wish them a happy new year, resend your club schedule, request their attendance & include a link with updated highlights from your Dec-Jan tournaments.

Email #4

April/May – Send remainder of schedule, link with updated highlight clips from Feb-Apr, request to schedule a call, zoom call, visit and/or camp information in preparation for the upcoming summer camp season.

It is strongly recommended that after you've done your academic research of the school you have interest in, go to the school's sports website and complete the Prospective Recruit Questionnaire, but be mindful not every college will have a questionnaire.

Although this step is not mandatory, it does make a difference in expressing to the college coaches that you are interested in their program. This online form will ask a variety of questions that include things like the number of years you've played the sport, awards and accomplishments, program and team you compete for, social media handles, high school or club coaches name, phone number & email address, transcript & more.

Completing this questionnaire will also place the athletes' names in that college's database for distribution of specific & general summer camp invitations that the college may be involved with or hosting and gives all coaches access to direct contact information of the athlete.

Once you have determined your targeted list of schools that are located in the region you desire to attend, holds your interested areas of study, possesses opportunities for you to continue your academics & athletics, it is absolutely crucial to research and determine that institutions admissions deadline date. Know this will allow you to meet the required date, and it'll also allow you to complete the FAFSA application in a timely manner. Failing to do this can hinder your acceptance and entry.

GPA's / ACT's & Class Courses Matter

Sometimes, a college coach will request your unofficial transcript that will display your courses taken, class rank, GPA, ACT score(s) & final grade. This can have an impact on admission, what courses you're eligible to start with post HS & how much financial aid may be available.

Recommended websites to create athlete profiles & generate or post highlight clips for exposure:

Prep Dig* / University Athlete* / Sports Recruits / Field Level* / Hudl* / YouTube* (* App located in your app store)

Use one or more of these sites to create your athlete profiles that can be distributed, accessed then followed by coaches, recruiters & scouts. Several of these sites/apps host internal AI systems that are configured to help you generate & post highlight clips. You are also able to research college and sport information, obtain the profile links to send in personal emails, receive notification when your profile or highlight videos have been viewed, etc. YouTube does not require a subscription for coaches to access public videos.

SOCIAL MEDIA can easily make or break your ability to be recruited!

It is very important to keep your social media clean and free of anything that you would not want a college coach, recruiter or scout to see that can impact their decision negatively on your recruitment. We also encourage having a separate social media page dedicated specifically to your athletic sport that contains recruitable information along with clips, pictures, articles, etc.

* DO NOT BECOME A SOCIAL MEDIA RISK * HAVE A RECRUITABLE BIO ***

Posting, sharing, collaborating and tagging with use of explicit or illicit pictures, videos, language or content is strongly discouraged. We encourage you to follow many college volleyball program pages & college coaches on your social media sports page(s), as many of the coaches will follow back. This gives you the opportunity to expand visual exposure by posting & tagging coaches, but make sure your bio is updated. Be mindful, that once they follow you, they can now see everything posted on your page, not just the clip(s) you tagged them in.

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YouTube Video for details for all information above: https://youtu.be/skBsFte1-Tk?si=NwioOGun5wFRsffU

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We're the boots on the ground for you, so we're here to help you set up a plan, answer questions, provide directions and assist in the process. The entire plan is grounded in the foundation of Exposure! No plan=No Exposure, No emails or messaging to coaches=No Exposure, No Evaluations or Highlight Clips for coaches to see=No Exposure, etc. After the emails, after the recruit questionnaire form, after the phone call, the coach STILL wants to see you (tournament, camp, ID clinic, private workout, etc) which means.... EXPOSURE IS EVERYTHING.

!!! EXPOSURE IS EVERYTHING !!!

Parents & players, if this information was helpful to you, and you'd like to access more content such as videos and detailed information regarding recruitment, evaluations, guidance and tips to the trade of helping your athlete get recruited, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. Subscribe to access full articles, full evaluations, rankings, the ability to contact coaches & get notified when a college has viewed your profile. Apply coupon code: NEVADA30 at checkout for a discount. Don't miss out!

Players, here's what you can do to help us, help you as the athlete...

Create & claim your FREE PLAYER PROFILE on Prep Dig for scouts, recruiters, colleges & coaches within our network. Go to https://prepdig.com/prospect-index/ . Direct message us @prepdignv or @atjjjones on IG for instructions.