A Nearly Impossible (But Not 'Totally' Impossible) Recruiting Situation to Win

And if you are going to win it, you'll need to approach it all carefully. Here's how:

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Here’s a great - and nearly impossible, but not totally impossible - recruiting situation a coach is facing. And, it’s something that most of you usually face regularly, too:

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Sound familiar?

• You want a prospect to commit early.

• The prospect is saying he or she wants to commit early - if the money works out.

• Your school’s final financial decisions/packages don’t go out until spring of the prospect’s senior year (because college admissions and financial aid offices largely still seem to be working from a 1970’s model, but that’s a different topic for another time)

So, what makes this ‘nearly’ impossible?

Money. They need or want it to go to college, and you often don’t have control of that decision to the extent you want it to be. Without that control, it’s out of your control. And when it’s out of your control, it makes things nearly impossible.

Timing. You’ll notice, in this example, that the prospect here in 2025 is a 2026 prospect in her junior year. So, the money hurdle isn’t going to be cleared until a year from now, in this instance. Without that control, it’s out of your control. And when it’s out of your control…well, you know the rest of the story.

What makes this a ‘not totally’ impossible situation?

Answer: You. And, how you execute the steps I’m going to outline.

Step 1: Accept that the odds are against you. We’re not talking about the odds of getting that prospect in your program. Specifically, we’re talking about the odds of getting your prospect to commit early despite the declaration that money is going to make the difference in being able to commit early or not. As we go through these steps, just remember that, and don’t be unnecessarily pessimistic…just be realistic.

Step 2: Make sure you have outlined your timeline and deadlines. Again, back to this topic we’ve tried to hammer home many times over the past few years as we’ve tracked results. If coaches will incorporate what we have seen work over and over again, they’ll control the process. If not, the athlete does.

Here’s how you establish fair but firm timelines and deadlines with your prospects:

A Step by Step Guide for Coaches on Setting Timelines and Deadlines

Step 3: Ask the prospect, “If we were able to somehow get you the full financial