RecruitPKB: What NOT to do with an intro email

This past week I received a message from a college coach who wanted to share an email she had received. This email had so many things wrong with it that she wanted to make sure others knew and didn't make similar mistakes. I won't share the actual email but I do want to list out the mistakes that both myself and the coach concluded were necessary to address. Keep in mind this email was considered an "introductory email" where you are trying to make the best impression on a coach. The email was written and sent by the parent and not the player, a major turnoff to most all college coaches The email was typed on a phone and not a computer, leading to numerous formatting, grammatical and spelling errors. Simple words like "you" and "and" were shortened to "u" and "n" The very first sentence addressed [...]

By |2018-02-15T12:27:52-05:00February 15th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Include Your References

"This is frustrating.  A request with no opportunity to respond. It would be good if you could do a blog to your mailing list and tell kids to be specific about times, places, (swing) coach's numbers for responses and figure out whether or not the coach is interested....... By the way, I think it's rude if I just no-show a kid and I wouldn't do that if it was possible to avoid it, but this makes it tough to avoid.  My goal is to treat all players with dignity and kindness whether or not we are interested or not." This past week a college coach at a top 75 ranked DI program forwarded an email to me that she received from a 2020 recruit. She thought if I shared why the email frustrated her as a coach it might help others not make the same mistake. The [...]

By |2018-01-26T12:28:34-05:00January 26th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

Recruit PKB: Do Your Research

"I always appreciate it when a recruit has done a little research on college golf, and my team in particular." - Emily Kuhfeld,  GA Southern Women's Head Coach Part of the recruiting process is to learn more about the school, coach, and golf program as you communicate with a college coach, but do as much initial research as you can. You can learn a lot thru the resources that are available online such as the school and team website, PING College Guide, CollegeBoard.com, Golfstat.com, Golfweek.com, and social media. Also doing your research on the NCAA rules will show a coach that you’re serious about this process and understand what can and can’t happen at different stages. This will help you not make mistakes or misunderstand why a coach may not be responding to your emails or phone calls.   If you do the research you will be much more prepared for [...]

By |2017-11-30T13:08:24-05:00November 30th, 2017|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: What is the NLI?

As we wrap up the NLI Early Signing Period, I wanted to share some insight on FAQs about signing an NLI. What is the NLI? The NLI (National Letter of Intent) is an agreement signed by the student-athlete, parent or guardian and the institution that states the student athlete’s commitment to attend the institution for one full academic year, in return the institution agrees to provide athletic financial aid for one full academic year. How is it different from a verbal commitment? The NLI is different from a verbal commitment in that it is legally binding and it's an agreement between the student-athlete and the institution (not the coach). Also, the NLI can only be signed during designated signing periods (see below) whereas a verbal commitment can be made at any time. When is the NLI signed? For golf, there are two signing periods, an NLI can only be signed [...]

By |2017-11-09T14:22:54-05:00November 9th, 2017|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Don’t Panic but Be Proactive

"Just wanted to let you know that for 2020 we have one verbal commitment and another offer out.  Assuming that gets accepted we would only have walk-on opportunities available for 2020." - Top 25 Ranked DI Women's Golf Program In consulting my 2020 recruits, I have received several responses like this from coaches who are already wrapping up their 2020 recruiting class, during the fall of a recruit's sophomore year.  I know it's hard to believe and part of me doesn't like to share this because I know it makes players panic and stresses them out. But I have also seen the lack of knowledge and understanding of the reality of the recruiting process and they find out this information too late. Thankfully on a positive note, I have also had several 2018 recruits, current seniors, who have just wrapped up their recruiting process by making their decision in [...]

By |2017-10-13T21:50:40-04:00October 12th, 2017|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: College Coach Wisdom

"All around good in every area. Over-achieve in academics, golf, life and community service. Be a role model." - Division 1 Women's Golf Coach While at times it may feel hard to do it all, especially as a high school athlete, do your best to overachieve in as many areas as you can. Manage your time wisely so that you can commit yourself to activities that don't all revolve around just playing golf. It's ok to take a little time away especially when it means you are doing some community service work to help others or focusing on your academics for an upcoming exam or test. While being an elite level golfer requires a lot of time and dedication, when you keep your life well rounded it helps you keep everything in perspective better.

By |2017-09-13T11:44:41-04:00September 6th, 2017|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: I am Proud of Who I am

I am usually posting about college recruiting and complete player content here on the ReruitPKB blog but I wrote this post last week on my personal and BJGolf social media and it really seemed to hit home with a lot of people. I thought I would share here as well in case there is a young girl out there going through some of the same things I did as a high school and college golfer. When I was in high school, my insecurities made me easily influenced and naive. - When I was in college, my insecurities made me guarded and immature. - When I was on tour, my insecurities made me easily intimidated and anxious. - After my tour days, my insecurities made me uncertain and unsettled on who I was without being a golfer. - And now I realize that my insecurities have simply made [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:44:41-04:00August 31st, 2017|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Team Roster

Seems pretty easy but it's surprising how little a recruit pays attention to the team roster. Here are a few tips on what to look for: 🔹 How many players are on the roster? 🔹 How many seniors would leave the year before you would join the team? 🔹 Did those seniors contribute to the team? 🔹 Are there international players on the team? 🔹 If so, what percentage of the team is international? 🔹 Are there more in-state or out of state players on the team? 🔹 What are the other junior golf bios of the players on the team? These are just a few general tips for what to pay attention to when looking at the team's roster. - While you can learn a lot from the roster there are also a lot of variables that you won't know, such as, how the scholarships are divided, if the program is fully funded [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:48:13-04:00August 10th, 2017|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Q and A with Georgia Southern Coach

Recruit PKB College Consultant Brandi Jackson recently caught up with Georgia Southern Women's Head Coach Emily Kuhfeld to get her thoughts on the college recruiting process and her own coaching philosophy. What is your own coaching philosophy? My coaching philosophy is to help my players build their characters, understand time management, and encourage and inspire them by having unlimited belief in each of them. My college coach was equal parts believe in us, love us and push us to be our best, and I really look up to her in what kind of coach I want to be. What do you love about being a college coach? I love Coaching for so many reasons. The relationships with my players and their families, helping them improve on and off the course, being ‘in the hunt’ in competition with them, and being able to work for a wonderful University [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:48:13-04:00July 20th, 2017|College Recruiting Articles|1 Comment
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