Thanks for the video answer. Based on your first response, all things being equal, in-state kids are more economical for college programs. I know Dan Hawkins feels it's very important to get the “best” players each year from the state for his football team, and it would seem like a good policy for in-state programs to follow as a general rule, especially state-funded schools. I know many of my athletes receive congratulatory form letters each year based on their participation at the state meet (cross country and/or track), and those letters have never come from a Colorado school. They've come from Iowa, Minnesota, Alabama, Iowa State, Colby, Fort Hayes, Chadron, Georgia, Iona, Cornell, and a host of other schools, who obviously take the time to look at our state results, look up the school address, and drop a quick note in the mail with the athlete's name to the coach's attention. And I can tell you those little form letters make a big difference to a lot of kids. I think it's easy for us, as adults, to maybe forget what that period of life was like, and make light of something as simple as a form letter. But over and over again, I've watched kids make a decision because someone showed an early interest. My son felt a real sense of obligation to Minnesota because they were the first school to send a real letter and follow up with monthly e-mails. Even though that option was never very feasible for our family, their early, consistent interest made a big impression. I also know from talking to other coaches in the state, that they feel the same sense of neglect from the state schools. I don't know if high school coaches all over the United States feel the same way as some of us here in Colorado, but we're not sure why they don't send out the “we know you exist” letters the athletes receive from some institutions, and we don't know why they (or their assistants) don't show up at our clinics (with some minor exceptions) as presenters at every opportunity so that they can build networks with high school coaches and share their philosophy of coaching. Maybe we, as high school coaches, put college coaches on too high a pedestal and expect too much of them. I know I've had parents with unrealistic expectations about their child's academic/athletic abilities, and we don't want to make the same mistake with the college coach. So, college coaches, tell me what's unreasonable or unworkable about this game plan that many of us high school coaches have discussed. (In our ignorance) we think, if we were college coaches, that we would let all the top athletes know that we were aware of their achievements with letters. We'd host a dinner/work night, we'd sit down with state high school results, and we'd use supporters of our programs (parents, athletes, ex-athletes, interested community members) to help with letter-stuffing. We'd contact the state coaches' association and find out when they had clinics so we could attempt to work our schedule around them, and we'd let them know that we'd be happy to present so we could network with high school coaches and share our coaching philosophy. We'd also contact the coaching associations in bordering states for the same purpose. We'd develop relationships with a core group of reliable adults who could give us the “skinny” on the kids in the state so we could focus on kids who were a good fit for our program. We're used to being pied-pipers in our coaching situations as we compete for athletes with football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, etc. because track/cross country isn't viewed with the same glamour as many of the sports in high school. So we figure out ways to outwork other coaches who might take kids for granted, and we do camps, dinners, breakfasts, camping trips, midnight runs, road trips, ultimate frisbee fests, etc. and we recruit kids based on relationship and passion. We know kids respond to that passion and we hope they'll find programs where it's not just about a great training philosophy but about the “family” and the chemistry they've experienced at the high school level. With the obvious jump in volume and intensity of training, a passionate, encouraging coach is going to be that much more crucial in helping athletes make the transition from high school to college.

From all I read in the paper and comments I've heard from those who've met him, I think Dan Hawkins is a pretty good example of the kind of coach we'd like to see. He's enthusiastic, accessible, participates in many community functions all over the state, and is a supporter of the whole university because he knows where his bread is being buttered. He is Avis to the rest of the Big 12's Hertz because he has less to work with from a facilities standpoint. He sells relationship, integrity, enthusiasm, organization, and a strong desire to succeed. I know(hope) those qualities are present in many of our college track/cross country coaches, but I don't think they are as aggressive as they could be in looking for venues to share that vision. Given some of the responses I've read from Jay, it seems pretty clear that the head coach needs to have an enthusiastic assistant. But, again, looking at the football model, it seems like Hawkins is being paid for two different skill sets: his football knowledge and his ability to recruit. (I know the difference in pay is quite substantial between a head football coach and a cross country/track coach, so is this about “getting what you pay for”?) Thanks for any light you can shed on the way programs strategize their recruiting.

Like, why would you turn down a 50% to walk on somewhere else?

The best way to pick a school if you are going for an education is to find one that is really good at training people to do what you want to do in life. Very very few collage athletes will run as a career (the number has increased from my day I think, but still it isn't many and it's a very tough life), so you must always focus on the after.

In addition, a 50% at a private school is obviously not worth what a 50% might be at a public school, because the most relevant number is what is left over for you to pay … and can you pay it … and at what cost to your family finances.

But if athletics is an important part of what you want to do in college, you want to find a program that fits you and fits what you can do/become. There are a lot of colleges with below average programs … which may be frustrating to you if you join one, or it may allow you to achieve individual goals that you could not achieve elsewhere. It is clearly variable. There are better and worse coaches. There are coaches that work on all athletes on the team and coaches that coach only the very select athletes on the team. So many variables.

I did the full gamut from academic scholarship to no scholarship, to scholarship that exceeded costs, to full ride scholarship in my five year four school career. It was interesting to me how doing it because I wanted to (no scholarship) was in many respects much more enjoyable than doing it because I had to (full scholarship). I was successful at both D1 schools I attended, but how I felt about it was much different. Sometimes less can be more from this perspective.

As a high school coach in Michigan, I have found my role to be one of support and a resource for parents and athletes when needed. When an athlete has demonstrated the ability and the desire to compete at the collegiate level, I typically have a talk with them. Here I prompt them to consider many aspects of choosing a college for them, not intending to influence their decision, but guide their selection. I have check list of about 30 criteria. I agree whole heartedly that it is important for recruits and parents to ask questions. Remember, as the recruit or athlete, you are going through this for the first and likely only time, the College coach does this all the time. They are familiar with the questions and will be able to give you the answers to guide your decision.

As I see it, the two biggest obstacles in college recruiting is emphasis some recruits place on the scholarship; as if it is an award such as “All-State”. When selecting a school your primary concern should be your education, then the fit for your as an athlete, and of course the financial viability. The scholarship is not about status, it is about giving an athlete an opportunity to further their education and their athletic career.

I enjoy your discussion, keep up the great work

Brian Salyers
Milford Cross Country
Milford Track & Field

As usual, you bring clarity to confusion. I never knew about those early conversations you had with Father McGuire, not that I needed to. Additionally, I can only imagine how time consuming the recruitment process is and how a head coach can not put the time in there when his/her current athletes need them! I can barely get to my parent emails and phone calls as a feeble high school coach. I look forward to future installments as you and Alan hash this great conversation through.

My son and I had our waffles this mornin' and feel pretty humbled by the experience.

Peace.

John's father, early on, made it clear that CU was not MIT or Stanford and that those two, along with the Ivy League schools, were going to be schoosl from which John would choose. During this information gathering, I was on the phone with father McGuire, not Mark; if the issue is that the head coach isn't taking the time to gather this information then let me be blunt and say that's a waste of the head coach's time – that's why you have young, enthusiastic (poorly paid?) assistants making phone calls 5 nights a week. And I'm being blunt only because you and I will be friends for many more John's and Kevin's and it's important to understand the reality that head coaches, in my humble opinion, shouldn't spend their time making the initial contact. It's time away from their current student athletes and, as Mark loved to say, “you need to contact 20 recruits to get 10 to visit to get 1 to sign.” So if the next stud from D'Evelyn wants to go to Oregon and he gets a call from a coach named Powell before he gets a call from a coach named Vin, you shouldn't be offended – nor should the kid.

That said, there is no doubt that Martin Smith most have done something special in the recruitment of Kevin; my assumption, prior to your comments above, was that Bobby Lockhart did much of the leg work, yet obviously Martin “closed the deal” well.

And that's a great point to end on – the assistant coach does the majority of the leg work and the head coach “closes.” Every head coach has a slightly different style when trying to close, but in most big DI programs that's the template.

I hope that was helpful Micah. And to those of you not named Micah, please comment or ask another question so we can fully illuminate this/these issues.

In response to your ego question. I guess my easy answer is “all of the above.” However, I can only play from my experiences. I am going to use two athletes I have had that I have been blessed to coach, John McGuire and Kevin Williams. Both my and the athlete's took a blow when it came to the University of Colorado. Jay, please don't take this comment personally . It almost seemed to be the Bowerman approach … they needed to show that they wanted to run a CU as opposed to CU wanting them to run there. Is that an accurate or fair perspective? The ego of the runners and parents are effected here. As a high school coach I thought I had made them marketable to many top programs. When it came to John, Stanford really wanted him, under the guidance a coach that would not be there come fall. In the case of Kevin, Martin Smith made Kevin feel that he was wanted. Both cases obviously resulted in the athletes going to those respective programs. I could have cared less, to some degree, as I knew the choice needed to be theirs and the programs that they had to choose from were good. I stayed out of the way, as I didn't want to negatively influence a decision. Is it professional for a high school coach to push an athlete in the direction of any particular school? This led me to my second question about training philosophies. If an athlete is leaning toward a school that isn't the right fit, in terms of training, what role should a high school coach have in persuading a decision? How flexible are college coaches when it comes to the athletes who choose their school? Do egos effect what is best for young runners? I am not sure I have cleared anything up here … maybe just added some fog.

This is stuff that is absolutely learned only through experience. Thanks for helping me through the learning curve…

–
coach mac