This year, 22 of Choate’s varsity athletes have committed to play a sport in college. Many of these students had found opportunities to connect with college coaches during the spring and summer months of their sophomore and junior years. Athletes who have endured the college-recruiting process often agree that it is stressful and time-consuming. Students have to balance communicating with coaches, improving athletic ability, and maintaining a high level of academic performance. This year, however, Covid-19 has presented uncertainty and additional stress to aspiring collegiate athletes.
Spring athletes who relied on the season to get exposure to college coaches are now scrambling for other options. Mia Scarpati ’21, an aspiring college athlete and a member of Choate Girls’ Varsity Golf said, “The golf season of junior year is the most important season in terms of being recruited. Right now, all coaches have from me are my scores from last year, which aren’t necessarily indicative of the progress I could have made this spring and summer. Not to mention that my performance this season is what had the potential to bring me up to the level of some of my reach schools, and losing the season could mean I lost those schools as options.”
Additionally, many sports have, in some form, a summer season or tournaments, most of which have already been postponed or canceled. Many prospective collegiate athletes play at elite camps at the schools they are interested in attending. There, athletes are given the chance to talk to the coaching staff, meet some players on the team, and familiarize themselves with the campus. These camps are crucial for college coaches to gain a sense of how a player compares against other prospective athletes.
Drew Cormier ’22, a tri-varsity athlete with hopes of playing college football, said, “Most of the football camps for the summer, which are important for getting noticed and building connections with college coaches, have been canceled. The only thing we are able to do right now is make videos doing fieldwork and drills to showcase our skills and send them to coaches.”
“My performance this season is what had the potential to bring me up to the level of some of my reach schools.” Mia Scarpati ’21 Girls’ Varsity Golf.
Many high school athletes have resorted to this method. Some are even filming videos in which they answer questions in hopes of sharing their personal- ities and a coach’s attention.
Although spring and summer sports programs have already been heavily affected, this year’s autumn recruiting season may also differ from the norm. Many juniors and seniors commit to schools in late summer and early fall, which poses an obvious challenge if schools are still practicing remote learning next year. Some have proposed the alternative of committing over Zoom or other online platforms; however, most agree that college coaches would likely be hesitant to offer a spot to an athlete whom they have not recently seen perform. This may cause the recruitment timeline to be pushed back by several months.
The current timeline for recruiting differs for each sport and division, so certain athletes will be more affected than others. In most sports, coaches cannot make offers to athletes until September 1 of their junior year. However, if the coaches are still trying to recruit athletes in the senior class, the September 1 date may be moved.
Another factor that may alter recruiting for the next few years is the NCAA’s decision to grant athletes another year of eligibility. As of now, it is unclear how many athletes are going to take advantage of this opportunity, but the more they do, the fewer recruiting spots there will be for the following year. Many coaches are trying to convince their star players to stay for an additional year, but they also realize the importance of growing their programs with new recruits.
For many, it seems that the only thing to do is wait until more news comes. Athletes who want to stand out to college coaches know that they must stay in shape. Girls’ Varsity Softball stand-out Lauren Ben-Ezra ’22 said, “Losing the season definitely feels like a step backward from where I want to be. Working all year to be able to put up numbers for the team and to generate interest from colleges being taken away is hard to deal with, but all that you can do is keep working at home and be ready for next season and future opportunities.”
