The Call
Who should you call? Ask for the individual in charge of recruiting (Usually the Recruiting Coordinator). Ask them what would be the best time to visit campus on an unofficial visit for a kicker or a punter. How do I get their number? GOOGLE IT! How do you do anything in life? Usually go to the athletic page and find an email and send an email to the coach or find a phone number to the athletic department. Chances are, you will get a secretary who can connect you to the correct person. If they are rude and unhelpful, be polite, and then call every single day or week and hope that your kindness and effort pays off.
What Questions should you already have answers for?
What position you play
What's your grade point average
What town are you from
What school do you go to
What are your stats
What do you want to major in
The Visit
What to Know and Expect when taking a college visit
Unofficial Vs. Official Visits
Unofficial Visits:
Unofficial Visit - is any visit prior to your senior year.
You are more scouting out the school than the football program: Make sure that you are comfortable with the campus, class size, distance from home, etc.
You have unlimited unofficial visits.
You are entirely responsible for all costs: i.e. Travel, lodging, food, etc.
Coaches can coordinate travel but cannot pay.
Athletes may stay with a player/member of the team or with any other student or family.
You may be invited to a practice.
You cannot tryout or participate in practice.
Official Visits:
You are limited to only 5 Official Visits your senior year.
You are in the market to find your home for the next 4 years of your life or more. Make sure that: you are comfortable with the campus, class size, distance from home, etc.
You are comfortable with the facilities and try to get to know your teammates as they will be your family for a big chunk of your life.
You cannot take more than 1 official visit to a single school, make it count and learn as much as you can about life as a student athlete on that campus.
You will be given a host to show you around and introduce you to the team. This host will be a player on the team. Ask them questions! Everything and anything.
Do not do drugs or get into any kind of trouble or do anything to hurt your chances of being on this team. Your host is responsible for you and will be asked to give a full report to the head coach and position coaches about your Character and if you are a good fit for their team.
Official Visits do not last longer than 48 hours.
You will usually get one free ticket to a game on an official visit (often times sideline passes).
You will be invited to see practice or a walk through practice.
You cannot tryout or practice with the team.
Meeting with a Coach
You may meet with a coach on either type of visit (Unofficial and Official)
This is your chance to get to know this coaching staff and learn what to expect when you report. Take everything with a grain of salt as coaches are in sales mode. Go with your gut feeling.
Be confident, humble, respectful, and grateful.
Look the coach in the eye, shake hands firm, and remember that coaches want Confidence when looking for a kicker (different than cocky).
What to look for on Official Visits:
Try to stay in a dorm. This is where and how you will be living for the first few ears. Try not to stay in off campus housing with one of the players.
Do NOT be too cool for school! This is an interview of you! Coaches will ask your host and other players about rather or not you will be a good fir for the program.
Try and sit through a class. It is easy to view this as a vacation, but you are there making a decision on the next 4+ years of your life. Make sure that the classes area good fit for you and your academic needs. (No sense in going to a great football team only to flunk and not be eligible to play.)
Try to eat in the dinning hall during your stay. (It ain't mama's cookin' no more).
Take a campus tour to meet other people and ask questions to those who aren't on the football team.
Go out with the boys, see how the football team spends their off-time. Don't be a wet blanket but also, Do Not try to become a legend either.
What Not To Do:
Do not ask the coaches information you should have already looked up. i.e: What conference are you in? What division is this, etc.
Do Not Lie about offers from other schools. Coaches talk to each other, EVEN THE RIVALS. This is a big No, NO and can lead to a lot of bad issues. If you do have scholarships however, feel free to let schools know, if they ask.
Do not lie about stats or measurements. They will check and it is a big RED FLAG when you lie.
Focus on yourself and don't talk about other recruits that you are competing against.
Do NOT POST alcohol, drinking, smoking, cussing, using racial slurs, talk politics, etc. Schools check and have teams dedicated to checking SOCIAL MEDIA for recruiting and during your duration on the team. Even if it's set to private, DELETE ALL NEGATIVE OR HARMFUL CONTENT ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS! Your life is bigger than your likes and your goals and plans are more important that what your high school buddies thought was funny months ago. Move on!
Finally Remember, Have fun! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so enjoy this process. It will be stressful but remember that life is good, you've earned these opportunities, and most of all you get to play the game you love on a stage you have been dreaming of since you've been a little kid around the yard. ENJOY and BEST OF LUCK! -Trinity Kicking