Behind the Scenes: The Recruiting Process

Feature by Michelle Berman, Swimming World intern

PISCATAWAY, New Jersey, September 20. AS members of a collegiate swim team how do you deal with the "recruits" when they come in? How hard is it to "sell" your school and are there hidden secrets? Do you use fake team unity to show the team as a family? And, are there really schools with teams with legitimately cohesive members anymore?

The recruiting process for any university is clearly crucial. Recruiting is what makes or breaks a team. Who you get to come to your school is how you make your team better, and is the only way to keep team tradition alive. No more people coming in, means no more winning, no more championships, and no more team.

Therefore, what does the process entail? Are every team's rules the same and does every team think about the importance of recruits in the same way?

Cody Weik, 21, is a member of Indiana University's men's swimming and diving team. Weik explained how important it is to have a cohesive team, and how that cohesiveness can create an enjoyable recruiting atmosphere.

"For the first time since I have been here at IU, we have had a team that wants to hang out together," Weik said. "There is no bickering when there are team activities, and even when we have free time from team activities we find ourselves always with each other anyways."

This kind of team unity, as Weik said, is hard to come by but can be very rewarding when it is achieved.

The basics of recruiting are simple. Recruits come in, you take them around campus and show them what your school has to offer. The hard part is not selling the school, it is selling the team. Therefore, meeting the team is quite possibly the most important part of any recruit's trip. If prospects don't feel welcome by the team, then they likely won't even consider coming. This is sometimes where the potential for problems arise.

Many teams, regardless of gender, have their issues. So the question is how do you put the issues aside for the few days when you have recruits? The problem is that some do put them aside, and a recruit sees the pretty perfect picture, but doesn't realize the reality.

Breezy Gonzales, a sophomore at Washington State University, explains her take on this aspect of the process.

"I remember my recruiting visits to schools and I could tell when a person trying to just ‘sell the program,' and that made me want to go to that school even less. So I believe the best answer is the truth," Gonzales said.

The "selling" attitude is real, but the truth is the best and safest route to take.

Another big issue that more often than not comes up while recruits are on a campus visiting is partying. Some recruits wants to "experience the life" at the university, and make it a point to attend a party while on campus.

However, many teams now refused to allow recruits to attend college parties while on an official visit.

"We don't take our recruits to parties, however we try to have as much fun as possible with them so they aren't bored or feel like we do nothing [fun]," Gonzales said. "For example, we usually try to have a food and movie night, or a little dance party."

Jacquie Ward, a junior at Rutgers University, explains how her university deals with the party situation.

"No drinking whatsoever by anyone on the team (21 or not) or recruits is allowed," Ward said. "I'm pretty sure we're allowed to take them to a party scene though and show them stuff that happens here."

Clearly every school is different. However, more and more schools have the same basic principles. No drinking with recruits. Although some universities may not follow this as of now, it is likely that schools around the country will likely join these ways if they haven't yet.

The next topic regarding recruiting revolves around just that, the word recruit. Some universities consider it rude to call them a recruit, some see no problem with it.

"I still call them recruits and probably always will, but we're supposed to be calling them prospective student-athletes," Ward said. "It's a tough habit to kick. When they come to visit, I slip up sometimes around them, and quickly correct myself and apologize, but I don't think they could really care less. They're being recruited; that's something to be proud of."

"We call them recruits," Weik said. "I don't see anything wrong with that, when they come to IU on a visit our job is to recruit them to come to our school, just like every other university it trying to do the same."

At the end of every trip there are always questions about the recruits who have visited. The question is, how do these questions get dealt with? Is there a normal process of likes and dislikes about each athlete, or is it solely left up to the coaches to decide the athlete's fate?

"As bad as this sounds sometimes, it's absolutely necessary for the team to come together and decide if he/she will fit in on the team in every aspect, swimming-wise, socially, and academically," Weik said. "We have such a diverse team and being that we all get along, it's rare to find someone that we would all vote ‘no' on. Even if the recruit is incredibly fast and would be a huge asset to the team, if he or she clearly would not work alongside the team and be a positive influence in other ways, then in the end he or she is not worth the investment."

"We don't have any meeting after," Gonzales said about her team's input into the recruiting process.

Clearly, like every other thing about the recruiting process, every school is different. No school is exactly like the other, and everyone obviously has different things to offer.

"I feel like the recruiting process is very exciting, not only for the recruits but for us as well. We get a chance to meet and help out, hopefully, a future teammate," Gonzales said.

Michelle Berman is a junior swimmer at Rutgers University who is serving as an intern at Swimming World this semester.

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