Technology has forever changed the landscape of college recruiting. College coaches soliciting recruits through letters or phone calls are labeled as “old school” recruiters. Those strategies still do exist, but to get on the same level as a high school athlete, college coaches must ‘speak their language’. That language is technology.
The easiest and quickest way to contact a high school athlete is through some form of social media. The majority of high school athletes have cell phones with apps that make them accessible 24/7. College coaches are always looking for a competitive advantage when it comes to recruiting strategies, and the “new school” tactics are paving the way for college coaches to connect with high school recruits.
This shift in recruiting tactics has opened the door for a company called RecruitLook to help coaches and athletes connect easier than ever before. “We are changing the college recruiting game and helping athletes and college scouts to connect,” says Mike Enright, CEO of RecruitLook.com. “RecruitLook allows for coaches and athletes to connect in real-time through an interactive social networking platform directly from their laptop or mobile device.”
RecruitLook caters to 19 different NCAA certified sports, and offers personal assistance to high school athletes and their parents if they need more help navigating the college recruiting process. RecruitLook provides the platform for athletes to post athletic and academic info, game statistics, game schedules, photos, and highlight videos. Athletes can also have their own personal blog, and link their social networks all into one central location for college scouts to view.
College coaches are taking advantage of this technology, too. Coaches are now able to recruit a larger territory and in a timely manner by accessing athletes’ profiles directly from the RecruitLook network.
“It levels the playing field for everyone involved. Athletes can now get in front of coaches all across the country, and coaches with limited recruiting budgets can connect with athletes they might not have been able to evaluate before,” says Jim Delaney a Regional RecruitLook Scout.
RecruitLook has successfully assisted with over $6,000,000 in athletic scholarship money for families, helping athletes further their education at all major college division levels. There has also been a recent surge of the ‘high-major’ athletes seeking recruiting assistance on RecruitLook.
“The recruiting process is overwhelming and surprisingly very competitive, and some of the top level recruits are turning to RecruitLook to ensure they get the recruiting guidance to land the best possible scholarship”, says Delaney. “With our business model and user-friendly software, we make the recruiting process less stressful and easier for everyone involved.”
RecruitLook started in Kansas City, and has now grown to Regional and Area Scouts all across the country. The staff is forming partnerships with parallel companies, and in some cases has purchased ownership rights to offline recruiting companies. The RecruitLook brand has started hosting football combines, hosting skills video production sessions, and running AAU basketball tournaments. This past July, their AAU basketball event called the KC Prep Invitational brought 64 teams together from 16 different states, and 200+ college coaches came to the event to see the top high school talent compete over 4 days during the July recruiting period.
“We are excited with the direction the company is heading both offline and online. The offline recruiting events are a great feeder for our online business. We know the online market is our bread and butter, and that is why we have hired a great team to further develop our social platform.”
The RecruitLook staff wouldn’t get into all the particulars of their new website developments, but they said it will incorporate ‘game changing’ tools for coaches, athletes, and even fans. Technology has certainly changed how we connect in society, and RecruitLook is bringing it to the forefront of college athletic recruiting.