RECRUITS ARE LOST AND CONFUSED One of the biggest misconceptions about recruiting is that more information and more opportunities have made the process easier. On the surface, recruiting appears simple. Create highlights. Attend camps. Contact coaches. Perform well. Make the grades. Get recruited. But beneath the surface is a world of competing voices, conflicting advice, and constant pressure that many families struggle to navigate. They’re being pulled in every direction. Parents have opinions. High school coaches have opinions. Travel coaches have opinions. Trainers have opinions. Friends have opinions. Former players have opinions. Social media has opinions. One person says stay close to home. Another says leave the state. One says focus on academics. Another says chase the highest level possible. One says be patient. Another says commit now. Everyone sounds confident, yet nobody fully agrees. AND college coaches often have opinions that completely contradict everyone else’s. At the same time, recruits are surrounded by more noise than any generation before them. Every day they see commitment graphics, rankings, scholarship announcements, campus visits, transfer portal news, and highlight videos. They’re constantly comparing their journey to someone else’s best moments. The pressure of “D1 or bust” only makes things harder. Many athletes grow up believing that if it’s not Division I, it’s not success. The reality is that incredible opportunities exist at every level: D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO, USCAA, NCCAA, and more But too many recruits spend their time chasing someone else’s definition of success instead of defining it for themselves. They’re also trying to please everyone. Their parents. Their coaches. Their teammates. Their friends. The people who invested time and money into them. All while trying to figure out what they actually want. And perhaps that’s the hardest part. Recruiting isn’t just choosing a school. It’s choosing where you’ll live, who you’ll learn from, who you’ll compete with, and what the next chapter of your life may look like. All while trying to decipher what the financial aid package really means for their future! That’s a lot of pressure for a 16, 17, or 18 year-old who is still trying to figure out what tomorrow looks like and who to truly trust. The recruits who navigate the process best aren’t usually the ones who listen to the loudest voices. They’re the ones who eventually learn to tune out the noise, stop comparing themselves to others, and define success for themselves. Because recruiting was never meant to be about impressing the most people. It’s about finding the place where you can grow, belong, and become the best version of yourself.