Guest Column: MSU Men’s Golf Coach Casey Lubahn
The recruiting process in collegiate athletics can be a difficult one to navigate for student-athletes, players, and coaches. With the advancement of technology via our various devices, more information relating to both sides of the recruiting process is available than ever before.
However, getting out from behind your Internet and social media devices is the best way for junior golfers to be noticed at the collegiate level. 
Coaches can access tournament results and do research on almost every regional, state and national tournament. In a normal year, a college coach can have some form of contact with hundreds of student athletes from all corners of the globe.
While this has opened many opportunities for recruiting connections, from a coach’s perspective, a personal relationship is one that is built to last. Before a player’s career is over at the collegiate level, coaches will know their player almost like a son or daughter. They will know the smallest of details: from what a player likes to eat, what music they listen to, what they like to do for fun, how they like their clothes to fit and what drives them internally and externally to achieve in life. In frequent cases it is a relationship that will carry on for decades.
Because of this dynamic, coaches really want to start this personal relationship during and through the recruiting process. Therefore, the following are suggestions to begin building those key relationships:
#1 – Get Out From Behind Your Screens
While technology is great, face-to-face interpersonal contact is where you can create a lasting and personal relationship through recruiting. Do all you can to create an opportunity to meet coaches in person. Because current recruiting rules do not allow coaches to call or message student athletes until September 1st of their junior year of high school, all interaction that occurs before this must come at the direction of the student athlete.
Coaches can receive telephone calls before this date at the direction of the student athlete, with the caveat that the coach must answer the call and cannot, under the rules, return messages. Please keep calling until you reach them to begin the conversation. While coaches can read emails, texts or tweets, it is almost impossible to respond to every one of them. Be persistent and do not let an electronic dialogue be enough.
#2 – Create Your List of Potential Schools and Visit
It is highly encouraged that students take unofficial and official visits whenever possible. While these visits cannot happen until September 1st of junior year, visits are an important part of the process. Contacting coaches and asking to come visit will pay great dividends. Information can be gathered on academics, athletics, and what each coach is looking for in their program. Pick 5-10 schools across the spectrum where a fit may be possible and be persistent on visiting in person.
#3 – Understand the Numbers and Be Grateful for Every Opportunity to Sell Yourself
The average Power 5 golf program in America has approximately 9-10 players on their team. That means that they are accepting 2-3 new players a year for their program. The competition is intense, and the decisions are very difficult for coaches and student athletes.
Do all you can to separate yourself and work hard to create a situation where a coach has to review your application to be a member of their program. Even if the answer is no, you will create a connection that can help in most cases.
In summary, the recruiting process is complicated. Ask as many questions as possible and treat every opportunity as special to interact and create a relationship through this great game. Good luck!
