The Dark Side of the NCAA Recruiting Process
High school sports are an interesting time in a person’s life. Many kids are trying out new sports for the first time and just playing for fun with their friends, while others are taking it seriously trying to gain a scholarship to continue playing in college. This can lead to a lot of mental struggles throughout a student-athletes 4-year experience as told by two multi-sport athletes from Arlington High School.
College athletics has grown to a point today that no one 15 to 20 years ago could have dreamed of, with that bringing a lot more anxiety for those trying to pursue their dreams of playing college sports. NIL, social media, and the overall landscape of the NCAA have put pressure on these teenagers to have to perform at a high level at such a young age or feel like a failure.
Talking to these two football players who have now finished up their recruiting process and are set to graduate, it was evident the amount of pressure and anxiety that was built up inside of them throughout their high school careers.
“The biggest one [challenge] is feeling like you’re not good enough. Most athletes set a standard for their performance so high that they can’t take a step back and look at what you have. During the recruiting process you start to feel a sense of lonesome when you haven’t found the right school yet or you are just scared for the next chapter in your life,” said Luke Lavello.
While this pressure of having to find the right school, or not feeling good enough has always been around, it is brought even more to the forefront with social media. Being able to see every other player in the country’s recruiting process wins, and not the lows they go through can skew the mind of an aspiring athlete making them rethink if they are really good enough.
“I think social media definitely affected the way I looked at where I was in the recruiting process. Seeing other players getting crazy offers and going on visits got to me a little bit and made me feel behind the curve. It took a while but I realized everyone has their own path and things happen at the right time,” said Joe McGann.
While in Joe’s case, he was able to realize that everyone’s paths are different and that sometimes things aren’t as good as they seem, some kids never come to that realization. This is what leads to many mental health struggles and ultimately burnout in those sports for kids still in high school. I asked Joe and Luke for the advice they wish they could’ve given to their freshman selves on how to stay focused on their goals and aspirations during an uncertain time in their life.
“Stay patient. Focus on your academics, which can open a plethora of doors during the recruitment. Be proactive and take initiative, something I wish I did. I tried to just not say the wrong thing rather than try to say the right thing when speaking with college coaches. Maintain a balance between school, social life, recruiting, and training,” said Lavello.
Being able to maintain that balance between social life, sports, and academics is something already extremely hard for 20+-year-old student-athletes in college, now imagine that intensified for 15/16-year-olds still figuring themselves out while having all these responsibilities. Throughout the college recruiting process for high school athletes, no matter the sport, make sure you take care of your mental health first before anything, because if you cannot live and enjoy your life, you’ll never be able to play your sport in college, let alone high school,” said McGann.
- New Yorkers can reach out to NYC 988 on behalf of themselves or someone else. Young people can call on behalf of their parents or caregivers, and anyone can call NYC 988 on behalf of a child. — https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/health-and-wellness/mental-health
