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Ross Greenstein and the SFA team chat with Paul Settles, Head Coach of Men's Tennis for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Settles reminds us that having good character, a passionate mentality, and a solid academic resume are overlooked, but highly crucial keys to successful recruiting.
Questions and Answers
Paul Settles, Head Coach at
CMS Colleges courtesy, CMS Athletics
Scholarship For Athletes (SFA): What advice do you have for the parents of high school student athletes about the recruiting process? Paul Settles (PS): The happiest student-athletes are the ones whose parents have let them take the lead in the recruiting process. I think the best model to follow is the parent as consultant - a good listener who can ask the right questions and get their son or daughter to articulate what's important to them in a school and tennis program.
SFA: What information should an athlete know prior to making their initial school list?
PS: They should evaluate where they would be happy if tennis weren't a factor. I think this is both the starting and ending point in creating a list of schools to consider.
SFA: Should the athletes let you know what tournaments, games, and events, they will be playing in and their results from these events?
PS: The astute coach is on top of this information, but still wants to know that the prospective student-athlete cares and desires communication. I find that the "upcoming events" or "latest results" communications are often an entree to more substantive exchanges between the recruit and coach. The academic equivalent of tournaments and events - grades and standardized test scores - are equally important to me, since the academics here are top notch. I want to know what's coming up and how it went.
