by Carrie Bigbie, Selling for Coaches 

The number one headache for most college coaches these days?  Keeping good compliance records for all of their recruiting contacts.   

In response, recruiting technology leader Front Rush have launched a new release that contains improvements in its functionality, and have added some amazing new features (even for the headache of keeping all of your compliance records straight!).   How did all this come about?  By getting insight from coaches actually using the product.

“The end users (coaches) are getting more technological and are reaching out beyond the scope of the original design of Front Rush,” says Sean Devlin, V.P of Product Development for Front Rush.  “They are calling and letting us know what they are needing the product to do for them to make it more efficient.”

One of the main features of the new release is to help college coaches with reporting for compliance.  Some of the added features are:

• Outgoing Call - Coaches can add start and end time, total time, phone number called, phone number called from.  Once its in the system, it can be accessed from anywhere a coach has an Internet connection.
• Official and Unofficial On-campus visits – Coaches can add the start and end date, start and end time, how long the visit lasted.
• Off Campus Contact - Recruiters can add start and end time of any off campus contacts with prospects.
• Reporting – Produce a full report on each of the items above for their college's athletic department.

According to Devlin, the coaches were getting asked by the compliance officers to be more clear on reporting their recruiting activities on and off campus.  Using this feedback, Front Rush began making improvements on the functionality their product but also made it more user-friendly as well. 

“When Front Rush was developed, we wanted the product to be cost-effective so coaches from Division I, II or III could have access to the same technology,” says Devlin. “As we continue to improve our product, we will keep a running dialogue with coaches from all divisions to keep enhancing it to meet their needs – big or small.”

And, the best is yet to come when it comes to recruiting technology tools.  Front Rush is in the process of coming out with a major release in the near future with the focus being on increased speed and usability for coaches using the system. 

Want a free demo of Front Rush from the comfort of your college office?  For that, or to get other questions answered, contact Sean Devlin personally at sdevlin@frontrush.com or call 866.634.1186 x105.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

by Carrie Bigbie, SFC Newsletter Editor 

Simplicity. 

With today’s technology, that is what we have grown accustomed to (and, it is what we look for!). 

However, come August 1st, Division II and Division III will be joining D1 in banning text messaging, making it more difficult to communicate quickly (and conveniently) with recruits.

Or does it?

“With the ban on text messaging, coaches will be looking for alternate ways to communicate,” says Leidy Smith, President and CEO of Front Rush, a leading web-based recruiting contact manager.  “Fully-branded emails can send a dynamic and strong message to their recruits.”

There are some loopholes in the new rule for D2 and D3 coaches, which is the same ban that went into effect for their Division I counterparts last year.  Coaches will still be permitted to use email even though the messages are often accessible on cell phones.  The ban, however, does not stop athletes from texting coaches, but coaches are not allowed to text back.

According to the NCAA, the President’s Council agreed to support the ban after the D3 SAAC said coaches’ use of those technologies is an intrusion on recruits’ personal time.  The SAAC also believes that text messaging and other similar communications are intended for social interaction among friends, and that colleges should use more formal ways of recruiting.

“Now that the ban has been approved, coaches will just go back to emailing and probably do it more frequently,” says Smith.  “Front Rush gives them a way to manage that process and track their messages and replies.”  And, of course, there is no limit to the number of e-mails that a coach can send a prospect, or that a prospect can send a coach.

In addition, it also eliminates instant messaging, communicating through social networking websites, video phones, and video conferencing, forcing coaches to limit electronic correspondence with recruits to emails and faxes only.

According to a recent article on Scout.com, Kerry Kenny, vice chairman of the D1 SAAC said, “We believe that text messaging and instant messaging are both highly unprofessional in the recruiting process.  You wouldn’t use text messaging to contact an employer when searching for a job, and it’s unlikely that an employer would contact you with a text message to offer you the job.”

So, as you communicate more "formally" with those athletes moving forward, you can give your program an edge by using great looking, easy-to-use web-based contact management systems like Front Rush to put your best message forward.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

True story: 

I'm leaving a college in the Boston area on my way to catch a flight.  I'm running late, which was fine with me because many of our On-Campus Workshops do run over (there are a lot of you laughing right now as you read this...you know why I'm late, how it's actually your fault, and how close I usually cut it when it comes to getting to the airport on time).

I'm stressing out a little, but love the challenge of beating the odds for some strange reason.  Then, it happens.  The printed map I have doesn't account for a road closure I just discovered at the on-ramp I'm supposed to be taking to Logan International.  How do I find the right road to take, and also make sure it's not packed with traffic on a weekday afternoon?

I turn to Google. 

Don't we all?  Admit it...what don't you look up on Google these days?  But did you know that Google actually has a lot of great, free tools that you can use to make you a better recruiter?  Even when you are in your car?  It's true.  I know, because I use a lot of those same tools to serve all of you on a daily basis (and to save myself from missing flights thanks to unexpected road closures).

So today, I wanted to share some of these great tools, tips and tricks with you as you gear-up for a new year of recruiting.  These are good, and will help make your life as a recruiter much easier:

1. Google Maps for your mobile phone.  Back to my Boston mis-adventure for a minute: When we last left our poor Californian facing the closed on-ramp, he was reaching for his cell phone.  How did Google save me that day?  I had downloaded Google Maps for my mobile phone .  Let me tell you that Google Maps for my phone has saved me time and money over and over and over again when I'm traveling.  It's one of the best tools I've ever seen.  When I was stuck in Boston, I went to my Google Maps program, and typed in "LGA" for the Boston airport code that was my destination.  Google Maps for your mobile phone also comes with free GPS tracking, so it automatically knows where I am.  It then routed the best way for me to access the same freeway.  As I'm driving, a little blue dot (my car) moves along the highlighted route that it has saved for me.  It also gives me turn by turn instructions on screen.  I made it to the airport on time (O.K., just barely) and I have Google Maps to thank for it.  It's free, comes with everything I just mentioned, and is just plain wonderful.  You can get a link for downloading the tool to your phone, as well as watching a quick demo of the product, by clicking here.  I can't recommend it enough. 
2. Google Maps for printing directions and maps.  Google, in my opinion, provides more tools than other map programs like Mapquest.  It provides clearer maps, is easier to print larger maps, and even lets you re-route your path after it comes up with your suggested route just by clicking and dragging the highlighted road with your mouse.  Getting maps to a recruit's house or high school is easy when you use this tool, combined with the mobile version.  Click here to go to Google Maps.  If you like Mapquest, you'll love Google Maps.
3. Google Maps to track your competition's recruiting.  Want to see a national map view of where the University of Texas recruits are coming from?  Click here.  Or, how about tracking the entire ACC when it comes to football recruits, and where they are coming from?  Click here.  I could go on and on, but you can try searching for maps that meet your specific needs.  Since these are largely created by obsessed fans, there is no shortage of interesting data on your competition.
4. Use Google for free directory information when you are driving.  Never call 411 on your cell phone or from your office line.  The charges for this service are outrageous ($1.50 or more on cell phones).  Instead, get better information for free by using Goog411, the free directory service from Google.  Dial 800-GOOG-411 (800-466-4411) and use their voice-activated menu to quickly get the information you need, and connected to the number.  All for free.  You can see how it works and get more information on it by clicking here.  
5. Get visual landmarks for your next recruiting road trip.  I do this a lot, especially if I have to drive a long distance from the airport to a college.  You can get 3D satellite imagery from Google and "drive" the route from the air using Google Earth.  You download it to your computer, and then zoom in on any area on earth for a really detailed view of the area.  Again, this is a tool that has helped me a lot in looking for landmarks when driving in new areas.  Find out more by clicking here.  Gotta tell you, this one is just out-and-out fun to have on your computer.  Amazing, also.  Take a look.
6. Get free e-mail updates on prospects you are recruiting.  Many of you have asked about services that you can subscribe to that will send you news about the prospects you are recruiting.  If you want to pay someone to do that for you, be my guest.  Or, you can do the exact same thing yourself - for free - with Google Alerts.  You just type in the name of the prospect you are recruiting (or anything else you want to keep track of) and every time new information or news about that person or topic appears in a newspaper or on the Internet, you are sent an e-mail alert that gives you the link to the information about that person.  This one is a no-brainer for any college coach, and you can't beat the price.  See how it works by clicking here. 
7. Create a blog.  I've discussed blogging at length before here in this forum, and will also be spending a lot of time going over new tips and training on blogging for coaches at the upcoming Recruiting Kick-Off Conference this August in Indianapolis.  Every coach should have a blog.  Period.  I won't get into all of the many reasons why it makes sense, since I don't want to give away our new information that we'll be discussing at the Conference (have you registered yet, Coach?) but if you already know why it's going to be essential for recruiting in the near future, go to Google to create your free blog.  Click here to get started.

There are a lot of other Google tools that you might find useful in your coaching and personal life.  You can take a look at a list of them by clicking here (I also recommend Picasa and the Calendar programs, so take a look...they are great!). 

Using Google for recruiting can make your recruiting life easier, and more efficient.  And, these are tools that fit into any budget and are easy to use. 

So get familiar with them now, and get a jump start on learning to use these helpful tools as we start another year of recruiting!   

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week's article on more organized recruiting got a lot of good feedback from our readers, and even got some additional tips out of our recruiting technology expert Leidy Smith, founder of Front Rush.

In addition to keeping the paper questionnaire form brief, as we recommended in last week's newsletter, Leidy came up with a great idea: "How about also giving them the option to fill out the
form online? Wouldn't an option to fill out the information another way logically increase the response rates?"

He went to observe that something in short supply in most houses today is a postage stamp, so having an online option should mean one less hurdle to getting the information back to the coach.  "While the recruits are online filling out the form at the customized questionnaire web page, they can read more about the team, the coaches and the school," says Smith. 

The other major problem a web-based system solves is the time consuming task of entering in information from paper forms.  Once the responses come in, who on the staff has the time to re-key the data into whatever the coaches use to track the information - assuming the information is legible to start with?

With Front Rush, all teams receive a custom online recruit questionnaire to give recruits this added flexibility of responding - and reading more about the program. And since it is integrated with Front Rush's web-based contact management tool there is no data entry for the coach. Users just click on the notification of the submission, read the information and reply with a branded email with two clicks of the mouse.

What about our recommendation to make your questionnaire forms shorter?  With Front Rush, a coach can decide what information will be filled out and what information can be saved for later. And, if there are any required fields, those can be edited and added easily and quickly. In addition, some fields can be check boxes, radio buttons or drop down menus. The recruit can also upload a picture, transcripts or paste in links to their online recruiting sites, or YouTube videos.

"And what's really cool is a recruit can come back later and update the information," says Smith. "So making a form short to increase response is a great idea, but also giving the recruits another way to send in the information that coaches need. 

Combining a short written form, which is something we help our SFC Premium Members develop, along with driving them to a branded online site that will give coaches more information on the prospect they are recruiting.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jim and his staff are like most other college coaching staffs: Lots of travel, and even when all of their program’s coaches are on campus together, they don’t seem to be in the same place at the same time for very long.

He saw a problem developing when it came to their recruiting efforts.  They were trading voicemails and text messages with each other, swapping files back and forth, and keep track of new progress with their prospects by a series of Post-It notes stuck all over the folder.

“We knew that this wasn’t the best way to track recruits and assign recruiting responsibilities, but we just didn’t have the time or the know-how to come up with another way to do it,” recalls Jim.

For their program, Front Rush was the answer they had been waiting for. 

“When we heard about Front Rush at a coaching workshop that Selling for Coaches did at our school, we decided to give it a shot,” says Jim.  “I figured it couldn’t be any worse than the system we had in place already.”

Once the web-based system was in place, and Jim’s coaches had beautiful graphic rich e-mails to send to prospects, they stumbled upon something that they ended up loving:  Front Rush’s ability to assign tasks to various members of the coaching staff that were involved in recruiting.

“That was huge,” says Jim.  “Now, no matter where each coach is I can assign them a specific task that everyone can see and keep track of.  And because the Front Rush system is web-based, they can login in from anywhere – at home, on the road, in the office - and update a prospect’s file so that the rest of us know what we need to do to keep the process moving forward.”

Cost and the ease of use were the other pleasant surprises about the system.  But for Jim and his staff, the challenge of keeping each other updated on the latest conversations and commitments is the feature that has them sold on an easy-to-use, feature rich prospect tracking system like Front Rush.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 03:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ask Gretchen Hunt about recruiting, and her answer today would probably be a lot different than it was six months ago.

That was before Coach Hunt, in her seventh year as head volleyball coach at Bethel University, got a call from a salesman.  Some guy named Brad from a company called Front Rush.

"I was ready to hang up," recalls Hunt.

Brad was telling Coach Hunt about a new recruiting contact management system from Front Rush, and the more she heard, the more she liked what it would offer their Division III program.

"Most recruiting products similar to Front Rush were pretty expensive, so I had backed away from seriously considering that kind of technology in the past," says Hunt.  "But I have a 2-year old at home, I'm on the road a lot, and my assistants aren't full time.  So the fact that there was a solution out there where everyone could log in and use the system and have it benefit everyone was really interesting to me."

"The affordable pricing was a huge factor."

Once the Bethel staff started using Front Rush to keep track of their prospects and communicate with them, Coach Hunt was pleasantly surprised at what the system offered her program.

"The e-mail template they produced for our program was really high quality," says Coach Hunt.  "It was much better than I was picturing it would be."

Hunt pointed out that it also helps their staff keep track of their conversations with recruits, and getting updates on the latest conversations with recruits that she and her assistants have.  She and her staff have also been surprised at how fast the web based system runs.

In the end, the Front Rush system is just another tool that Coach Hunt and her staff use to connect with their recruits.  "It's all about relationships," says Hunt.  "It's not some magic wand that we wave around, but its a great part of how we've been able to deepen relationships with all of our recruits."

"Plus", adds Hunt, "at the end of the day I don't feel as stressed about where everything stands with our recruiting."

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Looking at the college football landscape, its obvious that something's up.

Appalachian State stuns Michigan.  This past weekend, 40-point undergo beats 2nd ranked USC.  Add to that the list of college basketball upsets on the men's and women's side witnessed during the past few months, and you can tell that the playing fields (and courts) have been getting more and more level.

The big question is, "Why"?  What is causing this rash of parity to hit the NCAA at all levels and in all sports?

Many point to technology as the reason many programs are now able to compete with their once formidable rivals in the recruiting arena.  Technology, it is argued, is helping to level the playing field when it comes to attracting great recruits to schools that don't have the history or tradition as some of the traditional powerhouse schools.

The Sporting News points out this fact in their most recent issue:

"With only 85 scholarships available per team, the best teams can't stockpile talent the way they could in good old days of Bear Bryant's Alabama dynasty and the Ten Year War between Bo Schembechler's Michigan Wolverines and Woody Hayes' Ohio State Buckeyes.

Increased television coverage, streaming internet video, and satellite coverage helps recruiting, too. On Saturday, North Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette could be watched with a satellite dish. There were probably more cameraman and announcers than fans in the stadium but, nonetheless, the Mean Green and Ragin' Cajuns could be seen from coast to coast by future major college football players."

The other key component to this leveling of the playing field is the computer and Internet technology that is available to almost every coach at every level in every sport.  Recruiting technology leader Front Rush is an example of innovative software designed specifically for a coach's college recruiting needs while being inexpensive and easy to learn and use. 

"Tools like our web-based recruiting management software really helps college coaches do their job of getting a prospect interested in their program so much more efficiently and easily," says Leidy Smith, President of Front Rush.  "And because our pricing makes sense for basically any program's budget, we're seeing clients who are from smaller programs being able to compete at the same level technologically as some of the big powerhouse programs."  Because of that, adds Leidy, their recruiting tool is helping college coaches at all levels with their recruiting and contact management.

What does this all mean as we look into the future of where recruiting technology is going in college sports? 

"I think you'll see college coaches continue to be creative in how they use the newest technology that grabs a kid's attention," says Dan Tudor, author of two best selling books on recruiting for college coaches.  "The NCAA recently banned text messaging, but coaches will find the next hot technology trend to use in their recruitment of great prospects.  Technology is advancing at such a rapid pace, within a year or two you'll see a whole new set of recruiting tools hitting the desks of savvy college coaches."

When it does, look for increased parity - and more "upsets" - in the future throughout college athletics.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It all started a few years ago.

Brad's post-college roommate was a graduate assistant coach, and came home one evening with an arm full of file folders, sheets of paper, and Post-It notes.  He was getting ready for a full night of calling recruits.  Brad was coming up with a great business idea.

His idea?  A complete content management system for college coaches.  It's called Front Rush, and it allows college coaches to keep their prospects organized, tracks the recruiting process, helps with NCAA compliance, and makes it easier for recruiters to creatively communicate with their prospects.

Brad Downs, now Director of Sales for the company, brought in Sean Devlin who was helping developing technology for Monster.com to help start the endevour.  Front Rush started developing their web-based technology in December 2005, got their first client last October, and now boasts more than 200 clients.

The secret to their fast growth?  Front Rush is easy to use, and built for almost any coach's budget.

"We looked at the market and thought it would be great for every coach at every college to be in a position to use Front Rush," says Leidy Smith, the company's CEO.  "We found that coaches are looking for an easy-to-use technology solution, and we wanted to price it so that we weren't competing with the higher-priced big boys that were already in the market."

That being said, Front Rush now has their share of D1 believers around the country, as well as a lot of D2, D3 and NAIA coaching clients who have come to rely on their software to be more effective recruiters.

"None of our competitors had mastered 'usability' when it came to their products," says Devlin.  "We really feel like we've developed a good feel for what coaches want in a product, and we've made it simple for them to use."

Devlin gives the example of one Division III coach who is a Front Rush client who began seeing results from the product's e-mail functionality.  The coach dreaded sending mass e-mails to recruits using his regular e-mail provider.  But with Front Rush, publishing graphic-rich e-mails to targeted recruits enabled that coach to land two big recruits that he wouldn't have normally gone after before using Front Rush.

There are some key features to Front Rush that college coaches point to as a big reason they are becoming big fans of system:

• The ability to send out great looking bulk e-mails to all or part of their prospect list.
• A cool online submission form for recruits to submit their information to a coach that is recruiting them.
• A complete branding tool that gives prospects a consistent look and feel for the program that is recruiting them.

The best part about the software, say Smith and Devlin, is that coaches tell them it's easy to use.  In fact, most coaches are up and running - and fully trained - in less than an hour. 

For an online demo of the Front Rush system, or to ask about their affordable tiered pricing options for teams and entire athletic departments, visit them online at www.frontrush.com or call Front Rush at 866-634-1186.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week, we gave our SFC Premium Members a detailed 11-page report on the NCAA text message ban.  We told them what it meant, and strategies for how to make it work in a positive way.

Now, some late breaking news that could put it all on hold.  The American Football Coaches Association has sent a letter to the NCAA requesting that they delay the ban, and come up with a more balanced approach on the issue of text messaging.  This news is only a few hours old, and you can read all about by clicking here.

Some of the nation's top prospects are also weighing in on the topic.  Most don't like the decision, saying that text messaging was a convenient way to stay in touch with coaches.  Some, however, say that they're glad that the texting will stop.  Read more about the prospect's view on this issue by clicking here.

The bottom line for college coaches: This issue seems far from settled.  Stay tuned for the latest news, and how it can effect the way you recruit.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's an ongoing struggle for the NCAA to keep up with the newest, latest, most up-to-date ways that coaches are able to communicate with their prospects.  It's a daunting task, as told in this great article by Tulsa World sports writer John Hoover:

Technology, it seems, is limited only by the imagination.

It is not, at this time, limited by the NCAA.

A long time ago, the NCAA placed limits on the number of phone calls a college recruiter could make to a prospective recruit. But a long time ago, there was no such things as text messaging, instant messaging, video conferencing or MySpace.com.

What in the name of Buck Rogers has happened to recruiting?

"It's constant," says Terrance Toliver. "But I think it's a good thing."

Continue reading "NCAA Struggles to Police High-Tech Recruiting" »

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In our book, "Selling for Coaches", author and coaching consultant Dan Tudor talks about the importance of having your program's website be the best it can be.  That doesn't mean more pictures and moving graphics than the competition's website.  Sometimes, that can actually hurt you when it comes to getting a recruit interested in you through your Internet site.

Dan Tudor explains more in this excerpt from his book: 

"Three out of four prospects that come to look for you are going to go to your website to find out more about your program, and how to contact you.  With your teenage prospects embracing e-mail and text messaging in the electronic age, it’s not surprising that those same prospects spend hours and hours a week online.

"Here’s one thing I’ve noticed about a lot of college program websites (not yours, of course…everyone else’s):  They are hard to navigate, not that graphically appealing, and make potential recruits hunt for a way to get in touch with your program.  One college website I visited recently made me click 13 times through different pages and links before I found an area where a potential recruit could fill out a recruiting form.  Not good, coach.

"You’re competing for your prospects attention online.  Are you winning that competition?  Is it easy for prospects to find you?  Once they do find you, will they like what they see?  Does your program’s online image fit the image of your program?  Serious question, coach.  Because your prospects are looking at your site and your competition’s sites, and gaining their first impression of you and what you offer.

"Here are a few quick keys to offering a good website for your prospects:

The graphics and pictures need to be first rate and interesting.

A typical web viewer sees a webpage beginning in the upper left hand corner, scans right, then back to the middle, then right again.  Layout is important and means something to your viewer.  You pay a lot of attention to your written marketing materials and brochures…you need to do the same with your website (more kids look at

Don’t make prospects hunt for a way to send you information or fill out your recruiting form.  Savvy teen web users aren’t very patient when it comes to poorly designed websites.

Make things simple for your website visitors.  Simple, clean, interesting graphics coupled with easy to navigate pages and forms.

So, coach:  How does your website stack-up to what a good website should be?  Like we say in the book, its probably more important than what comes through the mail in terms of getting an athlete interested in your program.  Take a good, honest, open-minded look at your program's website.  If changes need to take place, make it happen.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As fast as technology is changing today, it shouldn't surprise me that web geeks are coming up with new and creative ways to promote your college program to fans and prospects.  But here's the latest incarnation of reaching out to football prospects, a blog called www.everygamecounts.blogspot.com. 

Blogs are great tools for coaches (do you have one yet?), and this is now being used to have athletes get to know that programs that are recruiting them.

Here's the whole story, courtesy of TheState.com in South Carolina:

With the new college football season underway, there is a new virtual water cooler for the sport’s most ardent, and chatty, fans.

NCAAfootball.com now includes a blog, which can be linked to off the main page or by clicking on EveryGameCounts.blogspot.com.

The site was already a gateway to scores, statistics, schedules, polls and news updates on teams from Division I to Division III. This week, a new push began to involve the fans.

“NCAA Football's charge is celebrating all of college football, and our new blog is a contemporary way that we can reach out to fans and enlist them to perpetuate the NCAA Football brand, " David Bertram, NCAA Football's Executive Director said.

NCAA Football's website was created in 1997 to promote college football. It is a joint venture between the NCAA and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. (NACDA).

A group called Sports Media Challenge, created in 1988 to help teams and sports personalities market themselves, is venturing with NCAA Football to create the new blog.

The plan calls for the blog to feature celebrity guests, audio and video of classic games, coaches interviews and bloopers.

A section dedicated to fan spirit will feature tailgating recipes, cheerleaders and bands, and, of course, a place for fans to discuss the games (read: talk trash).

In a press release last week, NCAA Football said coaches Mack Brown of Texas, Phillip Fulmer of Tennessee and Charlie Weis of Notre Dame have already committed to contribute guest blogs.

Here's a warning to fans:

Like everything else in college sports, I see the potential for a firestorm over unfair recruiting advantages. If the coaches of those three heavyweight programs guest blog, you can bet the coaches of lesser programs won't be far behind. Thankfully, there is plenty of room for all of them in cyberspace.

Even though Tennessee is coming off a losing season, the Vols are already out in front on the blog. The front page on Friday featured a Q&A with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning talking about the virtues of Tennessee's program.

Earlier in the week, a blog entry referenced Matthew McConaughey (complete with a photo in an obvious ploy to attract female fans) and his love for Texas football. Again, there's room for everyone.

Monday night's Miami-Florida State showdown was also a popular topic.

The Internet is chock full of message boards and blogs dedicated to discussing, dissecting and launching dissertations on college football teams. So what do the designers of this new site think will set it apart?

“Our goal is to create a virtual stadium where the college game is king every day of the week and fans can share their passion,” said Kathleen Hessert, Sports Media Challenge's president.

Sounds like a lofty goal to be sure.

But, in the end, it's another outlet for fans to display their obsession with college football.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Internet message boards and fan recruiting sites are big draws for fans and players.  Now, they're becoming a big destination for college coaches, who find the need (and opportunity) to check in on the latest rumors and happenings surrounding the kids they're recruiting.

From the article in the Palm Beach Post:

Coaches who read the boards have differing opinions.

"Sometimes they make sense, other times they're just talking," Central Florida's George O'Leary said.

Asked for his opinion about the boards, Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer wasn't as tolerant: "You really want me to say? I don't know if I can say all that and print it."

Like them or not, schools monitor the boards. Steve McClain, who heads the sports information department at Florida, has staff members check message-board content the same way they always have clipped newspaper articles about the program.

"When you think there's no more room for growth, it continues to grow," McClain said of the message-board chatter. "It makes you wonder how much room there is for growth. But I wouldn't be surprised if in five years I'm making the same statement."

Bare-bones Internet chat rooms sprung up in the mid-1990s, but were accessible primarily to the computer-savvy. A decade later, everyone can easily join the discussion.

"It's not like it used to be, when everybody got up and read the sports page," Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said. "Now everybody gets on and logs on to the Internet and either reads it or posts on it.

"It changes how people get to interact with the world of sports."

Click here for the entire article.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 11:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Your program's website is a key ingredient in attracting quality prospects to your team, as you probably know.  So why are so many college athletic websites poorly designed, hard to navigate, and not that good at getting athletes to give their contact information to you?

In our new recruiting guide, "Selling for Coaches", author and trainer Dan Tudor talks about college sports websites, the mistakes they make, and why change is needed in the way most programs approach teen prospects:

Here’s one thing I’ve noticed about a lot of college program websites (not yours, of course…everyone else’s):  They are hard to navigate, not that graphically appealing, and make potential recruits hunt for a way to get in touch with your program.  One college website I visited recently made me click 13 times through different pages and links before I found an area where a potential recruit could fill out a recruiting form.  Not good, coach.

You’re competing for your prospects attention online.  Are you winning that competition?  Is it easy for prospects to find you?  Once they do find you, will they like what they see?  Does your program’s online image fit the image of your program?  Serious question, coach.  Because your prospects are looking at your site and your competition’s sites, and gaining their first impression of you and what you offer.

Here are a few quick keys to offering a good website for your prospects:

• The graphics and pictures need to be first rate and interesting.
  

• A typical web viewer sees a webpage beginning in the upper left hand corner, scans right, then back to the middle, then right again.  Layout is important and means something to your viewer.  You pay a lot of attention to your written marketing materials and brochures…you need to do the same with your website (more kids look at it than read your materials that you send them through the mail).
  

• Don’t make prospects hunt for a way to send you information or fill out your recruiting form.  Savvy teen web users aren’t very patient when it comes to poorly designed websites.
  

• Make things simple for your website visitors.  Simple, clean, interesting graphics coupled with easy to navigate pages and forms.
  

Ready to overhaul your website and marketing plan, or at least find out where the weaknesses are?  Contact us at dan@sellingforcoaches.com and find out how Selling for Coaches can assist in developing GREAT recruiting materials, and train your staff how to recruit and communicate like champs.  Visit www.SellingForCoaches.com for more information on our On-Campus Seminar programs and how we work with your staff to re-energize your recruiting efforts. 

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week, I had a coach from a college I won't name receive our weekly Selling for Coaches newsletter.  Nothing unusual there.

But later that day, our staff received this auto reply back from his e-mail, with no subject line, and obviously meant for someone other than us.  Here's a sample of what came back to our Inbox:

Dear Prospect,
 
 
Thank you for your interest in the *(name of the college and sport)*.   We are excited about your potential to help our program.  You have been recommended as a potential scholarship candidate.
 
The next order of business is to get you to our campus.  If you are interested in us, we need to get you here!  Let me take this opportunity to invite you to our summer camps... *(info and dates given about the camps)*

Some additional information on your academic standing and character will need to be gathered...

Thanks again for your interest in our program here at ....  Please visit... for all of our camp information and additional info on our program.
 

It was signed with the coach's name and contact information.

The letter sounds like many other automatically generated e-mails from any one of a thousand colleges.  Here's the concern I would tell the coach about: Automatically generated e-mails are dangerous.  Especially if they are outdated, or (like this one) meant for someone other than the person reading it.

Why are they "dangerous"?  Because your prospects are smart.  Smarter than a lot of you think.  And you never know what will cause them to lose interest or become more interested.  Little things matter, coach.  What this e-mail that I received could tell me, if I were a prospect, is that this program doesn't pay a lot of attention for detail, and isn't really taking a personal interest in me.   

Am I being a little too harsh?  Maybe.  But the coaches that I talk to and train seem to be concerned about every single competitive edge that they can get - whether its big or small - when it comes to recruiting.  I just think it's a shame when those intense efforts get thwarted by someone asleep at the wheel when it comes to the little things. 

By the way, this is just one example of dozens that I could talk about.  It extends to the mediocre voicemail greetings that are on your phone, and the bland copywriting in your recruiting letters.  My message in all this is urgent, coach!  You're losing recruits because of all the easy-to-fix little things in your process of communicating with your prospects. 

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

E-mail communication between college coaches and the athletes they recruit is growing steadily, and is quickly becoming the preferred method of communication (in addition to instant messaging and text messaging).

E-mailing, in my view, as an advantage over instant messaging and text messaging.  With instant messaging and text messaging, it has the greatest impact when it's "live" and the receipient is getting it the moment it is sent.  So that's one hurdle that coaches have to clear to make those two mediums really effective. 

With e-mail, the whole concept is built around "read it when it's convenient for you".  Your prospect picks up your e-mail message two days after you sent it?  No big deal...that happens all the time, right?  However, if you take the same basic message and send it in a text message that isn't read until two days after it was sent, and it doesn't carry the same impact.  That medium, as with instant messaging, is built for immediate "live" interaction.  E-mail, on the other hand, is an "at your convenience" medium.

So, now that we have that established, the big question is: How can you effectively recruiting using e-mail?  I'll give you four tips that I guarantee will improve your e-mail response from your prospects... 

Continue reading "The Secret to Recruiting With E-Mail" »

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

  They're called Athletishare, and they are trying to make an impact in the recruiting world by letting high school athletes upload highlight video and game tapes to their website at no charge.  They're hoping the absense of fees encourages prep athletes to share give college coaches a look at their talent that might otherwise get overlooked.  Here's an article featuring a California high school that uses their service.

Go to www.athletishare.com to find out if what they offer is right for you.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)