You're not recruiting. Your player is. But you're the one who signs the forms, drives to the camps, and writes the checks, and you're the one who gets the pitches. This guide is for you.
Your role
Official rule
The NCAA says parents or guardians often lead the recruiting process in 9th and 10th grade, but by 11th and 12th grade, students should take ownership and lead communication. Source: NCAA Recruiting.
Coach recommendation
Be the manager, not the player. Handle the paperwork, the calendar, the budget and the questions about money. Let your player do the talking as he gets older. Coaches notice. They're evaluating how he'll handle college, not how his parents will.
What parents do well:
- Keep the calendar and deadlines.
- Keep the budget for camps, travel and tests.
- Help your player stay on top of academics and Eligibility Center tasks.
- Ask the money questions on calls and visits.
- Keep your player balanced: rest, school, friends, faith, fun.
Red flags: recruiting services and scams
Heads up
Be careful if anyone:
- Guarantees a scholarship, an offer, a roster spot or a level. Nobody can.
- Charges thousands of dollars up front, or puts you on a long installment contract that's hard to cancel.
- Pushes you to decide on the spot ("this price ends tonight").
- Won't tell you the price until you're on a sales call.
- Says they have "special relationships" that will get your player a look, and charges for it.
- Wants a fee tied to an offer or placement.
- Sells "exposure" in the form of profile boosts or mass emails without telling you who actually reads them.
- Asks for your player's private details and won't say who gets them.
Official rule
What the NCAA says about agents and services: entering a written agreement with an agent is one of the circumstances the NCAA Eligibility Center reviews in athletics certification. Division I football programs may only subscribe to recruiting and scouting services approved by the NCAA's Enforcement Certification and Approvals Group. Sources: NCAA Guide; NCAA Recruiting and Scouting Service.
Coach recommendation
Before you pay anyone, ask:
- What exactly will you do, and what will you not do?
- What is the total price, in writing, including every fee?
- Can I cancel, and what do I owe if I do?
- Who will see my player's information, and do you sell or share it?
- Can I talk to three families you've worked with?
- Where's the official source for the claim you just made?
If they can't answer clearly, walk away. Everything here, you can do yourself for free.
What we do, and don't
ExceedVarsity is education. We publish the information free. We offer one low-cost kit of templates and trackers, bought by a parent, one time, with clear refund terms. We don't guarantee anything, we're not an agent, we don't market athletes to colleges, and we never sell athlete information.
Protecting your player
Checklist
- Use a parent email for contact until your player is older.
- Don't post your player's address, phone number or daily schedule publicly.
- Ask each company or site what it does with your player's data before you share it.
- Keep copies of every document and every agreement.
- Talk with your player about what to do if an adult he doesn't know sends a message: tell you.
Support, not pressure
Most players won't play at the highest level, and that's not failure. Most will play somewhere, or study somewhere that's a great fit. Make sure your player knows that your love doesn't depend on an offer.
Personal strategy
Know your family's priorities. Some families put cost first. Some put playing time first. Some put academics or faith or distance from home first. Decide together, and write it down. It will keep you steady when the pressure comes.
Your next step
You've reached the end of the free guides. Use the Recruiting Roadmap to plan by grade, or see The Playbook if you'd like the templates and trackers in one kit.
Sources checked
Official pages used for this guide, and the date we checked each one. Rules change, so confirm before you act.