Myth #1: College coaches are looking at you
Every student athlete should take the proper steps towards being recruited.
Recruitment budgets are shrinking.  This limits the number of athletes that college coaches can seriously look at recruiting.  Even top high school athletes should prepare for the recruitment process by building professional campaigns.

Myth #2: Bigger schools have bigger recruiting budgets
This is not necessarily true.  In many cases, smaller schools have more than adequate budgets but just like the biggest programs, they can’t see every athlete.  That’s why it’s up to the athlete to BE SEEN!

Myth #3: Every college offers athletic scholarships
When researching schools and athletic programs, it’s important to find out what sort of financial aid each college can offer.  Student athletes often overlook small schools/programs because they think they won’t offer scholarships.  The truth is, smaller schools do offer financial aid and sometimes even have scholarships that go unused.

Myth #4: A letter from a coach means you’re in
Just because you’re contacted by a college coach does NOT mean that you’re begin recruited.  Receiving a letter from a coach is a good sign (the coach is aware of who you are) but by no means guarantees you a spot on their team.  Use this letter as a jumping off point to further your recruitment campaign.  Once a coach is interested, offer to send him/her additional game footage, letters of recommendation, or other important campaign elements.

Myth #5: College coaches only want the best athletes
Of course coaches look for athletic talent in all prospective recruits but they also take other traits into account.  Coaches look for well-rounded students who will be successful both on and off the field.  Your recruiting campaign should reflect this.  Coaches are looking for recruits who will fit in well with their current teams.  These aren’t always the star players.  If an athlete is willing to work hard both on and off the field, then the odds of being recruited will rise.

Myth #6: Athletes shouldn’t start looking at colleges until their Junior/Senior years
Recruiting for college athletics is already extremely competitive.  It gets more competitive every year.  Why should student athletes start looking at colleges during their freshman and sophomore years?  Because other students that age already are.  They’re fighting over a limited amount of spots and those who wait too long to build their recruitment campaign will have less opportunities.

Myth #7: Recruiting is expensive
Many people overpay for their recruiting campaigns.  Recruiting can be expensive but it doesn’t have to be.  Steel Athlete will help guide student athletes through the recruiting process and provide them with a way to BE SEEN by college coaches for thousands of dollars less than their competitors.

Myth #8: Schools prefer to recruit locally
College coaches want the best players they can get.  They don’t care where these athletes are from as long as they’ll make a good fit on their team.  That being said, shrinking budgets limit coaches from traveling everywhere a promising athlete plays.  This can give local athletes a slight advantage over out-of-state athletes but a successful recruiting campaign can get the attention of coaches around the world.

Myth #9: Parents and high school coaches are responsible for recruitment.
This is absolutely not true.  Student athletes are solely responsible for their own recruitment.   Coaches have a team of athletes who’ll need help getting recruited.  Parents aren’t always familiar with the recruiting process and are often too busy to give their children’s recruiting campaign the attention it requires.  Even if coaches and parents are willing and able to help, it’s ultimately up to the athletes to BE SEEN and get themselves recruited.

Myth #10: Coaches make their decisions off of stats and game film alone
Recruitment campaigns are made up of much more than statistics and game film.  While these two elements are certainly an integral part of presenting value to coaches, there are a number of other important elements to include.  Coaches also need to see academic transcripts, letters of recommendation, and a confirmation that you’ve registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center.  Recruitment campaigns should give coaches a good idea who the student athlete is both on and off the field.