Phone call and campus visit season is in full force now that we have completed the summer evaluation period! We continually get questions from potential student-athletes and their parents about what questions they should be asking. What follows is the first of three postings on questions that you might want to consider asking.
I think that it is important to remember that you want to interview the coaches about their program, as much as they are interviewing you. It can seem like an uneasy position to be in, but you will be much better off asking questions up front. Remember, this is the next (and most likely last) 4 years of your career as a student-athlete. You want to do everything in your control to ensure that you find the right fit for you to have an enjoyable and successful career - both on and off the court. It's really an investment in your future, and will most likely have an impact on who you are and what you do, well beyond your college years. That shouldn't be intimidating, but rather an exciting opportunity!
The three categories of questions that I will post are: general questions, basketball questions and recruiting specific. By no means is this meant to be an all-inclusive list - as there are many questions that may arise as you talk to coaches and visit campuses.
To start things off, here are just some general questions that you might want to ask:
1. What is the enrollment at your institution?
2. How big is the city?
3. Is the campus in a very urban setting?
4. What sort of academics is your institution known for?
5. Approximately how many majors do you have? (this will help give you a good idea as to if you happen to change majors, are they still going to have something you would be interested in academically)
6. Do most of your players graduate in 4 years?
7. Do they have ______ major (whatever you might be interested in)
8. What are the challenges of being a student athlete at your school?
9. What kind of academic support is available to your student-athletes?
10. Do you require your players to take summer classes?
11. What is your favorite part about living in ____?
12. What is your favorite part about being at ______(whatever school)?
13. How is the relationship between professors and student-athletes or the athletic department?
14. What sort of things does your athletic department do to help prepare student-athletes for finding a career upon graduation?
15. Where do your student-athletes live?
Some of these questions of course you can research and find out online, which - I do encourage doing. However, sometimes it is nice to ask the questions of someone personally so that you can get a sense for their level of pride in their institution/city/program etc. Coaches are passionate about what they do, and the more questions you can ask and conversations you can have - the better. Not only will it get your questions answered, but you can start to get a feel for a personality of a coach (and a program) and begin to evaluate if this is someone you can see yourself playing for.
Along the lines of questioning... especially if you are really interested in learning more about a school, it is important to engage in a conversation with coaches. Not just simply answer their questions. Nothing was more painful when I was making phone calls to recruits, than getting yes and no or one world answers. Not only did it make me want to get off the phone, but it also made me question whether the recruit was someone that I would want to work with for the next 4 years.
In the next couple of days I will post a host of basketball questions and share more thoughts on the whole process. Until then... in the words of one of my former coaches and mentors...
Be Your Best!
