The lights blind him as he runs onto the field with the rest of the 100 or so other players. The crowd roars. He looks up into the stadium filled with hundreds of thousands of football fans. The night he has been waiting for his whole life – his first home college football game. Senior Stephen St. Clair has had this dream since he was six years old, he hopes to live this dream next year. However, the opportunity for dreams like St. Clair’s to become a reality is exceedingly rare.
Of the many students who desire to play Division I sports, only 10 to 15 students out of the about 250 members of each class are recruited each year. The majority of these students are recruited for women’s soccer and lacrosse and men’s basketball and lacrosse with occasional other sports interspersed.
Bucknell University and Colgate University have both approached St. Clair about playing for their football teams. “My dream was to play for Notre Dame, but I wasn’t that good,” said St. Clair with a shake of the head. The college recruiting process leaves students with little control over what will happen.
As athletic director Larry Dukes put it, “Students have the responsibility to present themselves.” The students can put themselves out there on the field, but cannot force a college to consider them.
For students interested in being seen, club sports are the only option, with the exception of football. College coaches have games of their own during the week. The time that they reserve for looking at high school athletes is on the weekends.
At most, a student can put themselves out there. “My coach sent out film highlights, which got them interested. Several coaches have come to see me play,” said St. Clair.
After seeing a student play in a game, a college coach may approach him/her about playing the sport in college, but this is no promise. The main confusion of college sports recruiting arises from the agreements between the college coaches and the athletes. A verbal agreement is never the same as signing a letter of intent. “College coaches may tell a hundred students that they are interested in them, but in reality they only have 10, maybe 20 spots on the team,” said guidance counselor Carrie Siemsen.
“Most students do not understand what it means, how slim their chances are,” said Siemsen. An indication of interest is exactly that: interest, not a commitment. Following the indication of interest, a letter of intent, even though it sounds more promising, is by no means a guarantee. To keep it straight, a letter of intent is signed before an athlete gets into the college. By signing the letter, a student is telling the college he/she will play for them if he/she gets into the college. The key phrase is “if the student gets in.” The student is not guaranteed a spot in the school. The admissions counselors at the college still decide whether a student will get in.
The myth has always been that sports can get anyone into any school. Dukes rebuked this idea: “Athletic ability means nothing.” Students still have to get into the school academically before they can get on the team. Dukes admitted, however, that if there are ten equally qualified students for one spot, the student athlete will probably get it. “Students need to look at where they are and what the expectations are at the college they desire to go to. They need to take a realistic look at whether they truly fit,” said Dukes.
Another myth floating around is that student athletes can get a full scholarship to college. In fact, Dukes said, “It rarely happens, very rarely.” Dukes compares the number of scholarships awarded to the number of fingers of his hand. “We have never gotten anymore than that,” he said. “No need to get out any toes.”
Once on the team, the road does not become any easier. “Many of our recruited students get there and realize they are on the field with some truly amazing athletes. It’s a hard wake up call,” said Dukes.
Siemsen concludes, “My advice for freshmen seeking sports recruitment would be to realize academics are just as important as athletic ability. Concentrate on both.”
Besides athletic ability and academic record, sometimes fitting into what a college needs is the most important aspect. “Stephen is a good prospect for colleges. He is not concentrated in one area. His well-roundedness is a great asset for him, because colleges can see a lot of potential in him,” said Dukes.
St. Clair may get his dream, but for other student athletes, sometimes a realistic look at themselves is required.
Rachel Kokoska can be reached for comment at [email protected].