Winners Don’t Play The “Name Game”
So many high school student-athletes out there get caught up in the idea that they only want to play for a big name program.
After going through the recruiting process myself, I beg you not to do that.
I had quite a few teammates in high school that would say things like, “I want to play college sports, but I don’t want to play at a D-III school.” Or “I don’t want to go to a school that no one has heard of”.
They say the D-III part like its an embarrassment to play at any level other than Division I.
Obviously those kids didn’t really want to play in college that much.
I promise you, college athletics is college athletics no matter where you are!
It does not matter if you play for an NAIA school in North Dakota or Texas A&M; you are still a college athlete! I have friends at every level of the spectrum and they all love where they are.
If any school calls you, pick up the phone. You never know where your future home is going to be, so be open to all possibilities!
It is better to be open to every possibility early in the process and narrow the choices down later. If you don’t have any scholarship offers you have no right to be picky anyways!
Your goal in the recruiting process is not to go to the most high profile school; it is to find the right fit for you as a person. There are so many factors that go into your overall happiness, so I beg you not to make your decision based on the factor that really is the most irrelevant in the long run.
I just finished up my Senior season at Sacramento State and I can tell you with complete honesty that I would not rather have played anywhere else.
Sac State was the perfect fit for me and I thrived there. It wasn’t by luck either! I could have gone back to junior college for a second year with the hope that I could get an offer to a “better” (bigger name) school, but in my heart Sac State felt right.
So I took that opportunity and never looked back. If you take nothing else from my blog, please trust me here. The ultimate goal is not to find the biggest name; it is about where you will be most happy and successful.
To learn more about the college athletics recruiting process, visit us at signingdayscience.com.
Your friend in the college athletics recruiting process,
Augie Heath
Founder
Signing Day Science
