"Athletes: Want to Stand Out in the College Sports Recruiting Market?"

By Bo Hanson - 4x Olympian, Coaching Consultant & Director of Athlete Assessments

Sport today is more competitive than ever. Getting into College on a scholarship is a dream for most high school athletes (and their parents). We all know how important positioning yourself in the best possible light to any prospective coach or College program is if you want to achieve this dream, but how will you do it amongst other talented athletes?

When I was 18 I made my first Olympic Rowing Team. I guess that is one way to stand out to Colleges. At the time I made a decision to continue to pursue my rowing in Australia. My career eventually stretched to four Olympics and three Olympic medals in total. But I would dearly have loved to pursue the opportunities I had to attend US Colleges also. Be great to have your cake and eat it too! Today I assist High School athletes to achieve their ambitions in sport by giving them a way to stand out amongst their competition.

In a recent article called, Finding the Right Coach and Program for You, (as seen on the site, be recruited) it mentioned how critical it is to have an understanding of your prospective College's and Coach's philosophy on sport, coaching and education.  I would also add the balance that must exist between those three areas. The article was excellent in how it outlined some important questions you will need to be assertive enough to ask if you are to gain this vital understanding. I chose my Coaches very carefully. I believe my Coach, who is actually now the US Rowing Head Coach, is the best Coach in the World. Maybe I am a bit biased. But he is a Coach who has his athlete's best interests at heart. Nothing is more important that for him to see his athletes succeed in their life (not just their sport) and to be the best that they can possibly be. What a great philosophy. In my business, Athlete Assessments, we call this philosophy, Athlete Centered.

I strongly believe you need to search for an Athlete Centered Coach. A coach who wants you to win for yourself and the glory of your team and the College you represent. Of course Coaches want to experience the victory too, it is just a matter of priority for them, that is, they will enjoy it because it means so much to you.

The other great aspect of Athlete Centered Coaches is the way they will coach you. They will tailor their coaching style to suit the type of personality you have. They will coach you in a way that is appropriate for you. These coaches are excellent at building the strong bonds of rapport with you. And remember, rapport is all about trust and respect. Athlete Centered Coaches will trust and respect you and in turn you will naturally trust and respect them. The relationship will then truly become, over time, a collaborative one. In this collaborative relationship, you can develop techniques, throw different ideas around and essentially develop immeasurably as an athlete and person.

For you as an athlete to stand out, you must demonstrate a high level awareness of your knowledge of yourself. Athletes that have self-awareness know what they need and why. They can motivate themselves, can prepare consistently well to perform when it counts and they understand how to make changes to their behaviour to fit into any team. To learn this about yourself is simple. We have created an online first, in the Athlete Assessments AthleteDISC profile. This is a personality profile that gives you this vital information in a 21 page report. We even have built in the most effective way to stand out from the others by allowing you to ask your fellow team members for feedback on your performance, your strengths and even how you can improve. When you show your prospective Colleges and Coaches this information and report what do you think they will think of your professionalism? I mean how many of your peers do any mental skills self development.

How many times have you been told that a large portion of athletic success is in your head?

From my experience, the most successful athletes are the ones who are able to manage themselves through a complete understanding of who they are and how they behave. Coaches love this information because for them it takes the guess work out of trying to get to know you. You do not have the luxury of time when being recruited. Coaches must be able to gauge your suitability quickly. Imagine having your prospective Coach, look at your AthleteDISC profile, see the positive comments from your fellow team members and former Coaches and to appreciate that you are the type of athlete who is going to leave no stone unturned in your approach to sport and academic success.

I almost forgot...perhaps what I most respected about my coach, was this. He expected me to improve myself, to make changes, to continually search for ways to be better. Before he expected this of me though, he demanded it of himself. He was continually looking at ways to improve himself. So add that to your list of questions that you have for your next prospective coach. Just ask them, what development programs they have been on this year. I know this may be tough, but a coach must be prepared to role model the types of behaviour that they want to see in their athletes. It is that simple and I feel strongly about this and hope this helps you to select the best possible College and Coach so that you can enjoy and learn as much from sports as I have. Sport and Coaches have so much to teach and life is about learning.

Discover more information about the AthleteDISC profile for athletes and CoachDISC profile for coaches. Or contact us to find out how we can help you further develop your coaching.