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WATCHING OUT FOR IMPROPER RECRUITING

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High school athletes being recruited by one or more colleges must always be alert to improper tactics used by some recruiters. Most college coaches are honest men and women who are interested in you as a total person. Some few, however, are interested in you only if you can help their athletic programs. Such coaches are to be avoided. Fortunately, they are pretty easy to spot. If you are being contacted by one or more college coach?s, keep these pointers in mind:

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

1. Be aware of the coach who bum raps other schools and coaches. Some coaches try to make their own light shine brighter by blowing out everyone else's. When they resort to this tact, their own light isn't very bright in the first place. You want to know this. The coach who talks only about how great his or her program is. It may be a good one, but if that's the only thing he or she talks about, you are being recruited only to keep it good. College for you is much more than helping someone else maintain his or her reputation.

2. The coach who promises you a starting position right away. Obviously, there are some entering freshmen who are good enough to be first string right away; but they are few and far between. Listen to the recruiter who is honest with you now, because only then will he or she be honest later.

3. The coach who doesn't give an oral commitment to a four-or five-year scholarship. The NCAA allows only a one-year, renewable scholarship, but honest recruiters can promise more than one year. Make sure the recruiter makes such a verbal commitment to you, your parents, and your coach.

4. The coach who puts you in contact with a booster from the college. The NCAA permits no contact with boosters. If you even talk to one, you jeopardize your future. The coach who promises easy admission, easy professors, or an easy schedule. He or she has no interest in you as a student.

5. The coach who says that his or her school's academic program in your field of study is the best in the nation. Have your counselor check this out for you.

6. The coach who promises to let your best friend walk on with the team. Rarely is such a coach concerned with the best interests of your friend. He or she is using your friend only to get to you.

There are other tactics to watch out for. Whenever you have a question or a concern, be sure to talk to your coach or your college advisor.

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