Ask The Experts
Roundtable: Role of the Parent in College Recruiting (Part 2)
by Blair Henley, 11 May 2015
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Last month, we asked our panel of coaches to give their best advice to college players and their parents when it comes to navigating the recruiting process together.
Today we have more coaches responding to the following questions:
Q) What is the ideal role of the parent in the recruiting process? How much should the parent communicate with the coach vs. the child? What are coaches looking for in a parent/child relationship?
Andrew Girard, head coach, CMU Men and Women
We welcome parents and family to be a part of the Carnegie Mellon tennis program, but the involvement we like to see varies at different stages of the recruiting process.
We prefer to see recruits be the main voice for themselves. It is important for us as coaches to get to interact directly with recruits and vice-versa, so all parties can get to know each other. Thus, I encourage parents to give their son/daughter their own space in the process. Recruits should use their own email addresses for email communication, be the ones making and taking phone calls, etc.
While we want the main focus of interaction to be on the recruit, we know parents will also have questions, and we are happy to speak with parents about any aspects of our program. In fact some topics, such as financial aid, may be most appropriately discussed with the parents instead of the recruit.
After a student enrolls at Carnegie Mellon, we encourage parents to remain active parts of our program as fans and supporters during the time their son or daughter is in school and beyond. Lots of them frequently travel to matches and the support they give is phenomenal.
Elizabeth Schmidt, head coach, Rice Women
In my opinion, a parent should be a source of support for their child in the recruiting process. And, ultimately, trust their child as they make their college choice, knowing that as parents they have helped their child develop the tools to make the best decisions for themselves.
While I enjoy meeting the parents and answering any questions they have, it is also important for the student-athlete to engage with us, speak for themselves and take ownership of their recruiting process. To me, this type of behavior is a good indicator that he/she will be able to transition well to the college environment.
I really watch the interaction between parent and child in the recruiting process. I look to see how the potential student-athlete interacts with their parents. I listen to how they speak about their parents, how they communicate with their parents and also their non-verbal communication when their parents are talking. Ultimately the relationship between the parent and the student-athlete is an important one. A strong family bond is important in team sports because a team resembles the structure of a family in many ways.
