As the class of 2025 works to balance school work, extra curriculars, and college applications, some students are devoting their time to finalizing athletic commitments. For many, the recruitment process — while at times strenuous and exhausting — is a rewarding experience. The initiation of the process can start as early as the summer of one’s junior year, while preparation and training often start even earlier in their high school career.
Henry Eichner, a senior at B-CC, dedicated the past year to the recruitment process, and finalized his decision late this summer to play at the University of Massachusetts Amherst — a Division I school — for baseball. Of the 470,000 high school baseball players in the United States, just 2.4% are recruited to play at a Division I college or university. For Eichner, this meant a treacherous uphill battle. He knew that he wanted to play baseball at the collegiate level ever since he began playing on the B-CC Varsity Baseball team and on a travel baseball team. The first step he took was “emailing some coaches and going to a couple camps to see how they work and what coaches might have given [him] some interest …” Eichner added, “My coach told me to make sure that I was emailing people every week, staying on their mind.” Consistency is extremely important throughout the duration of the recruitment process, as it is easy for the colleges to get swept along to the next best player; having momentum throughout the process makes things move along quicker.
The Varsity Girls Volleyball coach at B-CC, Dennis Lopez, recalls taking it upon himself to “reach out to college coaches and give them the athletes tournament schedules and other helpful information.” There are two times of the year that are most essential to seeing growth and improvement in order to prepare for better chances in the recruiting process: the high school season and the club season. Coach Dennis believes that “High school is very different from club … you are expected as an athlete, especially depending on your program, to produce results.” Both seasons share a common goal — making it to either Nationals, for the club season, or States, for the high school season. While the relative difficulty of the two seasons is up for debate, both are definitely challenging and competitive for the athletes. Eichner recalled that, “Most of the school season was actually what helped me the most because I had a lot of high quality video against good teams and it helped get my name out there.” Being able to recognize the benefits of each season allows the athlete to work on certain skills to perform better later in the seasons.
Not only are coaches available to reach out for guidance, but sport directors and other staff in the athletic department are willing to help students find their way. Mr. Krawczel, the athletic director at B-CC, has also worked with student commitments in the past. He advises anyone interested in committing to, “send emails to all different levels of school, like D-I, D-II, D-III schools, small, medium, big, just to see what’s out there.” Krawczel added, “We have a lot of kids who wait for coaches to come to them — however, you’ve got to go to the coaches because there’s a lot fewer of them than there are players.” Procrastination and hesitation can be a very common characteristic in young adults, so students are encouraged to ask for help if unsure of how to move along in the process.
