Questions To Ask A College Coach Before Committing
Athletic recruiting is a long process, and the ultimate goal is to find the program that fits you on various levels. It’s critical to do your research, ask questions, and get all the information possible before you do make a commitment decision.
Before committing, you’ll want to ask your potential future coach everything you can expect as a student-athlete in their program, from minor details and concerns to more broad logistics and elements of the experience, including academics, athletics, and personal matters.
There are infinite questions that you can ask a college throughout the recruiting process, but there is more specific information that you’ll want to obtain before actually making a commitment. We recommend that you understand the different types of questions you can ask a coach before committing. The goal is to be thoroughly informed so you can manage expectations and find an opportunity that is mutually fitting for both you and the school.
Questions Regarding The Athletics
For many prospects, the main concern about joining a program revolves around the athletics themselves. When it comes to playing on a team, there’s a wide variety of aspects that might be unique to different programs. This might include the coaching and playing style, your anticipated playing time and level of contribution, the overall team performance, and other concerns directly related to the team and the athletic organization.
It’s necessary that you ask questions regarding these topics because as a recruit, the ultimate desire is to carry your athletic passion to the next level, and the experience can vary greatly depending where you play, so finding all the right information is key.
Coaching/Playing Style: Every coach has unique philosophies that impact the team’s playing style and overall approach to the game. It’s important to ask coaches about this because it can give key indications as to how you will do your job on the playing field and how you might prepare to adjust. For example, imagine that you were deciding whether or not to commit to playing basketball at a slower paced team. Upon asking the coach about his program’s style, you’ll learn that they play a very disciplined, defense-oriented game, limiting opponents to very few points and competing in low-scoring games. This information might greatly affect your decision because a lot of other programs will utilize different methods that may or may not fit your individual skills and attitude differently. The goal here is to visualize whether your individual game will fit with the greater approach of the team or if you might be able to adapt to it.
Daily/Weekly Routine: A great thing to ask a coach before committing is for an overview of a typical day or week in the life of a player. This might include workouts, practice, meals, film sessions, meetings. Every team follows unique schedules and this can impact a number of things, so it’s good to know what to expect your life to look like on a daily basis. With this, you might want to inquire about general free time available to student athletes, and how this might impact social life and extracurricular opportunities. Again, the important part of asking questions is about gauging expectations and getting the specific information that will influence your commitment decision.
Playing Time/Role: Different schools compete at different levels, play different schedules, and have different amounts of talent in every class. Most athletes want to know what the coach has planned specifically for them in terms of playing time and overall role. It might also be helpful to ask this question with regard to your entire career at the school, inquiring where the coach sees you in year 1, year 2, etc. This topic is often about finding a balance between overall competition level and personal capability, and how the coach envisions you in this equation as a player. You might have different programs on your radar that would grant you different opportunities, such as being the star player of one team and a lower level role player on another team. These questions allow you to get honest feedback from coaches and weigh your decision with respect to your anticipated role on the team.
Expectations And Goals: Similar to the above, you might want to ask the coach what his or her expectations and goals are for you as a player and for the team overall. You’ll want to know what the coach anticipates the team will accomplish over your career. Perhaps they’ve struggled recently and want you to be a part of a rebuilding process, or they’re defending champions and expect to compete for another title. The coach’s goals for the team and goals for you as a player will likely be connected, so it’s helpful to know the type of commitment and approach will be required of you as a player if you were to commit to the program.
Future Opportunities: This might not apply to every college program, but a lot of athletes dream of playing beyond college in the pros. If this is something you’re interested in, you should ask the coach if they have a history of sending players to the next level, and if so you should further inquire about that process and how the program can help you reach those opportunities. Whether your future goals beyond college include playing in the pros or doing something completely different, it’s important that the coach is aware of what you want to do and how you might be able to achieve it following your collegiate career. It could even be a specific job that you dream of having after school, and conveying this to the coach can be helpful because they might be able to introduce you to different networks or opportunities that will lead you to where you want to be.
The key thing to remember is that every school has different methods and approaches for playing style and routines, and as a result your specific skillset and attitude may or may not fit in certain programs. By asking questions regarding the overall athletic environment, you’ll hopefully be able to decide as to whether the program is a right fit for you on an athletic level.
Academics
On top of a demanding athletic schedule, players also bear the academic responsibilities of being a student-athlete. Asking the right questions about academics will allow you to know if committing is the right choice with regard to your personal goals and capabilities in school.
Athletic/Academic Balance: Playing a collegiate sport is a massive time commitment, yet you will still have the same academic responsibilities as other students. You should inquire on this topic by asking the coach how most athletes manage to balance the requirements on both ends. Are there designated study hours for players? Are there tutors available? How many credits do I have to take during the season? Questions on these topics can help manage the anxieties of the student-athlete commitment and allow you to prepare to succeed and handle your responsibilities.
Academic Rigor: Every school has different academic standards, and every student athlete has different capabilities with regard to work load and course difficulty. You should ask questions that give you a sense of how challenging the school is, the number of hours of work that will be required each week, and the adjustments that you might have to make to prepare for the school’s academic environment. Inquire about class sizes, credit hour requirements, and anything else that might speak to your curiosity with regard to the overall academic strain you will face.
Majors Available: A lot of athletes have passions off the playing field and life aspirations beyond sports. If there is a particular field of study you are interested in, you should ask the coach if it is offered at the school and if it would be manageable to complete as a student athlete.
Team GPA/Eligibility: You might be curious about the team’s overall commitment to academics and if it lines up with your own mindset, and you can answer this by asking the coach about the team GPA and general academic performance of different players. Also, you might want to know the specifics about academic eligibility while enrolled in the school, and the coach will be able to outline these for you.
Academics can be a deciding factor in a commitment decision, so it can be helpful to ask the coach about the student-athlete balance and the different academic paths the school has to offer.
Financial Information
Tuition, Scholarships, And Financial Aid: College is extremely expensive, but the circumstances can be different for athletes. You should talk to the coach about any financial concerns and questions you have, including tuition, scholarship opportunities, and financial aid. Finding an affordable option can be a deciding factor in committing to a school, so you should clarify all of these specifics with the coach before making your decision.
Remember that tuition is not the only financial burden when enrolling in school. You should ask the coach about typical housing costs, meal plans, insurance coverage, and any benefits available so that you’re able to make a holistic judgment of the potential costs before making a commitment.
Things To Keep In Mind
Know What To Expect: The goal of asking a lot of questions before committing is to know exactly what to expect out of your potential experience on various levels. By inquiring about athletics, academics, finances and other logistics, you will know what to expect and limit the uncertainty about your commitment decision.
Finding The Right Fit: Remember that committing to a school is all about finding the right fit, not just as an athlete but as a student and member of the school’s community. Asking the right questions about the team and the greater experience within the school, you will hopefully be able to gauge whether or not committing is appropriate.