2022 Webinar Series on High-Academic Recruiting (feat. Diamond College Advisory Team)

February 23, 2022

Throughout the spring, Headfirst and our partners and friends over at Diamond College Advisory Team (DCAT) are once again hosting a series of webinars on the high-academic recruiting process. As we record and post each part, we’ll update this blog post with the video.

Take a look through to watch all three parts below.

 

Part 1: Approaching the High-Academic Recruiting Process

In Part 1, we give an overview of what “high-academic recruiting” means, and why it’s different. We also discuss:

  • How to identify your target schools and build a college list
  • What’s unique about the high-academic recruiting process
  • What makes for effective coach communication at this time of year for different high school grad years

Below are the topics and their timestamps in the video – feel free to watch straight through, or skip to the part of your choice!

Overview, Agenda & Introductions: 0:00

Identifying Target Schools & Building a School List – School Qualities: 7:07

Building a School List – Softball Assessment: 13:03

What’s Unique about the High-Academic Recruiting Process: 26:06

The Unique Timing & Timeline of High-Academic Recruiting: 29:29

Intro to Effective Coach Communication: 39:50

Live Q&A: 54:38

 

 

Part 2: Getting the Right Exposure in 2022

Part 2 focuses on how to get the right exposure to advance your recruiting at target programs – particularly those high-academic and competitive-admission schools that are on the school list for many of our student-athletes:

  • Different types of exposure (showcases, video, digital, tournaments)
  • How to use video effectively at different stages of your recruiting process
  • How to specifically target high-academic programs to get the right exposure to YOUR targeted list of baseball programs

Overview, Agenda & Intros: 0:00

Different Types of Exposure: 6:16

Digital Exposure – Video & Profiles: 6:30

Travel Ball & Tournaments: 8:40

Individual Showcases: 14:40

School Prospect Camps: 18:18

Using Video Effectively: 32:10

Personalizing Video Exposure: 39:54

Targeting High-Academic Exposure: 44:54

The Timing of High-Academic Recruiting: 45:10

Concentration of Target Programs & “Lookalikes”: 46:40

Multi-Context Exposure & Face-to-Face Engagement: 48:05

Live Q&A: 55:00

 

 

Part 3: The “Dos & Don’ts” of Recruiting

How to avoid some common mistakes and pitfalls in the recruiting process, including the “dos & don’ts” of:

  • Communicating with college coaches
  • Getting the right recruiting exposure
  • Approaching and preparing for showcases and/or tournaments

Overview, Agenda & Introductions: 0:00

The Dos & Don’ts of Effective Coach Communication (personalization, non-email touchpoints, PROOFREADING!): 7:33

Timing & Cadence of Coach Communication (be persistent, but don’t pester): 22:47

Getting the Right, Efficient Recruiting Exposure (be proactive, building a recruiting plan): 33:30

Performance at a Showcase or Tournament: 44:10

General Recruiting Dos & Don’ts (building a school list, researching programs, being proactive, high-academic recruiting timing): 57:57

Live Q&A: 1:09:46