As a potential hockey recruit you should have a good understanding of how competitive the recruiting process is. Hockey recruits looking to earn athletic scholarships need to be competitive. They also need to be informed about colleges that offer hockey scholarships and what those college coaches are looking for in potential hockey recruits.
With the start of the new hockey season it means recruits are going to have to work twice as hard to get in touch with college coaches. Recruiting in the midst of hockey season is always difficult, which is why high school, prep, and transfer students need to get ahead by making sure they have filled out hockey recruiting questionnaires and been in touch with the college coaching staff before the start of the season.
How Hockey Recruits can get ahead in their recruitment process
Doing team investigative work is all part of the college recruitment process. We’ve heard every excuse possible from recruits, especially when it comes to not having enough time to locate hockey colleges and get in touch with coaches. This mentality will not make for a smooth recruiting process. If you want to compete at the college level you need to set aside time to tell college coaches who you are.
What hockey coaches want you to know and why
Doing a little research on my own I was able to easily locate the top hockey colleges, the coaches contact information, the number of returning players, and current player’s stats. All valuable information for potential recruits, because it gives you a sense of what it will take to make it to a top college team. Of the ten top hockey colleges I researched I was able to locate social media links and blogs, and one of the top teams even had a specialized recruiting form telling recruits everything they would ever want to know about the university, the team, the players and coaches.
What you can learn from hockey team information
This information is placed on hockey athletic pages for a reason. Top schools are getting slammed with hundreds if not thousands of emails and phone calls from all levels of college bound hockey recruits looking to become a part of their program. If you are a recruit who has at least taken the time to review and become familiar with the team’s material and see what needs to be reviewed then you will come across as a prepared athlete- and an athlete that coaches will want to recruit.
Key items to look for when locating hockey scholarships
Anything that says for prospective recruits or prospective players- These are items that the school and team want you to review first. Even if it is just a recruiting questionnaire you need to fill it out or read it completely. It was placed on the site for a reason, so make it a point to click on all buttons relevant to prospects first.
Team stats- This information can be useful to you as you will be able to see the stats for the team and each individual player. Some colleges have detailed statistics and some are more general. Either way, you will get a feel for what is expected of each player at each position.
Team Roster- We have said this in many blogs previously, you can learn a lot from team rosters, including, where players are recruited from, what year in school they are and how many years of college eligibility they have left. Detailed rosters, will even list the junior level team the athlete competed on previously. One top hockey college even went as far as listing key players that did not make eligibility requirements after competing on the team for at least one season. This will not only tell you how many players the team lost, but how difficult competing on a college team and attending school really is.
Junior Teams- Most college hockey players must play Junior Hockey prior to playing for an NCAA team. College coaches recruit from Junior A leagues. If you are having trouble finding a Junior A team to play for, playing for a Junior B team can help you find a Junior A opportunity. You can also ask coaches what Junior teams they recruit from and which ones would be good for you to try and play for.
Even if you think you have no time for researching schools, make time. The more you know about each team the better your chances for recruitment. Even if you think you are doing all you can for your hockey recruitment there is always going to be players out there doing more.
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