Elle Porisch and Jun Vang’s Instagram

Highschool athletes get recruited to various colleges after working hard for college offers.

BSM has many talented athletes; these athletes have gone on to play at the college level, but the road to get there was not easy. The recruiting process can be rough for some athletes; there are many camps and showcases that you have to attend outside of normal practices and games. Coaches are looking for a select few people who are willing to put in the extra effort and become college athletes.

Many colleges put on showcases for high school athletes to get noticed by coaches. These showcases help athletes get exposure to the way college sports programs are run and help the coaches to see these players in action. The best way to get on a coach’s radar is to go to these camps and showcases because coaches cannot be everywhere at once. By hosting these camps, coaches see many prospects at one time. “The main thing is to go to camps…it’s important to go to the school and go to them. They don’t necessarily come to you,” junior softball captain and Augustana commit Ellie Porisch said.

Another way to get good exposure to colleges is by personally reaching out to coaches. By asking club team coaches to reach out and emailing college coaches on your own there is a greater chance that you will be noticed by colleges. Connecting with coaches while at the camps and showcases will make it easier for them to remember the player and continue to look for that athlete while they are playing at tournaments. “I emailed [coaches] a lot. I would ask my coach to contact them because he had a lot of connections, and then I would attend camps and ask them as many questions as I could,” junior lacrosse captain and West Point commit Jun Vang said.

The recruiting process can be very challenging for athletes, but by pursuing this process, athletes are able to compete at the next level. No matter what level they are going to compete at, athletes put their time and effort into working towards this goal. Athletes skip out on school events, hanging out with friends, and other activities to go to camps and showcases to pursue their dream of becoming a college athlete. The stress of getting an offer while those around them are getting offers adds to more nerves, and the whole process becomes nerve-racking. There is a process to being recruited, and it does take time and energy, but the reward makes all of it worth it. “Even though it’s hard, keep putting yourself out there, and the most important thing is don’t compare yourself to others; everybody’s experience is different. The way you get recruited might be entirely different from another person, but trust the process,” Porisch said.