RecruitPKB: COVID-19 and its Effect on College Recruiting

As we all are fully aware we are in the midst of a very crazy time in the world. Many people are being affected in much more serious ways than just the outcome of the college recruiting process but I will allow the news to cover all of that information and focus on how this may or may not be affecting you as a student-athlete.

First thing, there has been a mandatory DEAD PERIOD put into place until at least April 15th for all DI and DII coaches. This means that a coach can’t have in-person contact on or off-campus with a prospective student-athlete and they can not watch a student-athlete compete. Also, NLI signings have been suspended until April 15th as well.

Coaches are however ALLOWED to communicate via electronic communication (phone, text, email, social media) during this temporary dead period if you are a 2021 recruit. So it is very important that you remain in touch with the coaches and send them updates. Take advantage of the connection you can make with them right now and the fact that they aren’t as busy as they normally would be. Keep in mind it has been a whirlwind of a few days for them as their seasons unexpectedly came to an end.

If you are a 2022 or younger, still take advantage of this time to update coaches and let them know what is going on with you.

A couple of resources available to you during this downtime that you may find helpful:

• Tap In To College Golf Podcast episodes
• PING College Golf Guide (highly recommend the Expanded membership for its search engine and comparison capabilities)

I hope everyone stays safe out there. Use this time to find a way to come out of this better than you were before. Control the things you can control. Don’t focus and worry about what you can’t control. Give yourself a chance to have a little pity party about how this all affects you, then move forward. Focus on what you CAN be doing, not what you CAN’T be doing. We are all in this together in many different ways. See if you can find a way to help others during this time (while still following the guidelines).

Here is an IGTV episode that I shared this week.