Don’t Expect Your Club Coach or Director to Get You Recruited

Here’s the truth most players learn too late: your club coach or director of coaching probably isn’t going to get you recruited. And honestly? You shouldn’t expect them to. If they do, consider it a bonus.

Club coaches are juggling dozens of players, parent emails, practice plans, game day logistics, and their own careers.

Even the most well-connected DOC isn’t sitting at their desk pitching you to college programs every week. That’s not a knock on them — it’s just reality!

Your Recruiting Is Your Job

The earlier you accept this, the better off you’ll be. College recruiting is a personal journey, not a service your club owes you. The players who end up on college rosters are almost always the ones who took ownership — building their highlight reels, emailing coaches, researching programs, and showing up to ID camps. Nobody wants it for you more than you should want it for yourself.

Think of it like applying to college academically. Your guidance counselor might write a rec letter and point you in the right direction, but they’re not filling out your applications. Same deal here.

When Your Club Coach Can Actually Help

That said, relationships matter in this sport. If your coach genuinely has ties to college programs — meaning they’ve placed players there before or know the staff personally — use that. But use it the right way.

Don’t ask your coach to “get you recruited.” Instead, ask if they’d be willing to validate your interest or vouch for your character with a specific program once you’ve already started a conversation with that college coach. A quick text from your club coach saying “yeah, this kid is the real deal, worth a look” hits different than a cold email from a player.

Be specific with your asks. “Coach, I’ve been emailing with Coach Martinez at [School]. Would you be open to dropping him a line?” is way more effective than “Hey, can you help me get recruited?”

What You Should Actually Be Doing

Take control of the process. That means:

• Building a highlight video that’s 3–5 minutes of your best stuff
• Emailing college coaches directly with your film, schedule, and academic info
• Attending ID camps at schools you’re actually interested in
• Keeping your grades and test scores where they need to be
• Following up — recruiting is a long game and silence isn’t always a no

Your coach might open a door here or there. Your job is to walk through it — and to find the other 50 doors yourself.

Ready to take ownership of your recruiting journey? Ninety (go90.io) is built for high school boys who want to get seen by college programs on their own terms. Start building your profile today.