An interesting question from one of our readers:
Hello again coach,
I'm curious about how much information coaches share with each other during the recruiting process. How often do coaches refer other players to each other? For example if a certain player looks good in their DVD but the school it was sent to doesn't have a need for that position, is it freely forwarded or shared with another coach at a different institution or just end up in a 'dead file' box? My hope of course is the former action being done to provide additional exposure for my daughter. Is that something which should be included in the cover letter to the 1st coach, e.g. "Please feel free to share this with another institution should you have no fit for me with your program"?
Thanks , Mark
By and large, Division I schools do not help each other much. There may be certain cases where a couple of coaches are long time friends and keep an eye out for each other, but this is the exception and not the rule.
What is more common place, is having Division I coaches help non-Division I programs. Late in the recruiting cycle, I will receive a few calls from Junior College and NAIA coaches that are looking for a last minute player or two. It also happens occasionally with Division II coaches that I have known for a bit of time.
I think the reason it is rare to share Prospective Student-Athlete information between Division I coaches, is that we don't want to help someone beat us later. Of course this sounds a bit extreme and there are over 300 Division I Women's Volleyball teams, but the basic idea is sound. When a Division I coach helps a non-Division I team, there is nothing that will come back later to haunt them.
Unfortunately, most of the DVD's do go into the "dead file" box or as I call it, the round file (trash). Each DVD will get looked at, but forwarding this to another coach in Division I is not going to happen.
My suggestion with DVD's and information send to Division I programs is to have a 'fire and forget' mentality - send it off, but forget about that information going anywhere else other than that address.
