DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED
Getting recruited is such an exciting process, but DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED. It is a time that allows you to feel all of your blood, sweat, and tears pay off. It’s what gives you clarity and a renewed vigor and passion to push yourself harder to make your dreams come true because they are closer now than ever before. It’s meeting new people, having conversations that challenge and push you and it’s thinking about your future in ways that you never have. Along with all of the excitement comes confusion and organizations that prey on people during this time, so please DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED.
Amateur sports have turned into a multi-BILLION dollar industry. Many times people are looking to exploit kids and their parents by playing on the fear that they don’t know what it takes to get recruited and that they “need help” or that more specifically “they can’t do it on their own.”
Our mission at Hoops College is to EDUCATE you and your family to develop and expose your greatness. We will make you aware of the pitfalls that happen when you are not prepared. We will help you discover your level and find the best fit for you so that you are happy and can enjoy your college career. When you make informed decisions along the way and DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED by trainers, travel coaches, recruiting services, college coaches etc., you will have a peace and confidence that the process will work for you.
So, we have provided a list of things so you DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED during the process. They are not in a particular order and there are probably some things that we have forgotten; but you’ll get the point!
*These things have been actually said out loud. We aren’t making them up.
- A full athletic scholarship is a “free ride.”
- Hard work is enough.
- You need a recruiting service to get a scholarship offer (eye roll emoji)
- College coaches search for emails from recruiting services. (double eye roll emoji) #spamfolder
- “I can get you a scholarship” but they have never seen you play.
- “I can get you a scholarship” but they have never played or coached basketball in college.
- “You can go to college XYZ“ but they have never seen you play.
- Getting invited to camp at a college means that college is recruiting you.
- You can get into any college with bad grades because you are THAT good.
- You can get into college with no SAT/ACT score because you are THAT good.
- 4-year university/colleges are the only options after high school.
- All Junior Colleges are bad.
- All Prep schools are bad.
- Prep school means you’re a failure.
- Going to prep school means you’re going D1.
- You can’t communicate with college coaches.
- Colleges are interested in you but you haven’t talked to them.
- Coaches who offer you but can’t talk to you, because they are busy with their dog. (double eye roll emoji) #absurd
- All college visits are the same.
- You can “sign” when you are anything OTHER than a high school senior.
- A verbal commitment to a college is binding.
- When you sign, your job is done.
- A school can’t offer you until you’re a junior.
- A scholarship means you’re guaranteed playing time.
Not all coaches and trainers are bad, but DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED by people who…
- Guarantee they can get you a college scholarship.
- Have limited/no experience.
- Spend more time getting selfies & video for THEIR shine than actually teaching YOU.
- Come up with “innovative drills” that have ZERO game application and are just weird.
- Run around and yell but don’t actually teach you anything.
- Spend time talking to you or your parents than actually working with you.
- Have 100 kids in the gym and can’t remember your name.
- Can’t/won’t/don’t break down a skill and teach you why you are doing something.
- Claim they are the reason a player is in the NBA (eye roll emoji)
- Were really good players but haven’t studied the game and have no idea how to actually TEACH the skills.
- Think “handles are LIFE.”
Finally, DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED by…
- People or services who don’t teach you anything about the actual recruiting process.
- “Great deals” for THOUSANDS of dollars (save that money it can pay for lots of snacks in college lol).
- Services who make you pay regardless if you get a scholarship offer or not.
- Coaches who do “fundraisers” but you are still paying an absurd amount of money to play on the team.
- Anyone who says that nothing has changed in college recruiting since your great uncle Jim was recruited to play college football 50 years ago…. 😉
We hope some of these made you laugh and others made you think. At Hoops College, our desire and passion is to INFORM our clients about the recruiting process through breaking down the myths and exposing the truth. We are
honest with you about the underlying messages that people are sending you during the process, especially college coaches. With our help, you will take control of the process and not feel like you are just a pawn in the game. You will learn lessons from our experiences and our perspectives. We want celebrate in your successes, fight with you through your disappointments and most importantly help you design a process to take control of your future.
We have worked with some awesome players and people already. Are you next?
Start your process today so you DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED.