It’s officially “game on” as many high school athletic sporting events can resume in Illinois. But will shortened seasons be enough to attract the attention of college recruiters?
Dan Rothert, who coached college soccer for 25 years and now helps high school athletes navigate the recruiting process, said there is still time to make an impression on recruiters.
But he said athletes must not limit their options.
“It’s one of those years where you can’t just put down your dream school, your safety school and your backup school in terms of the schools you’re looking at. You can’t just have three,” Rothert said. “Reach out to a really large number of schools.”
Rothert is the founder of Top Student Athlete Recruiting.
“There’s options out there, I will tell you that. But you have to be willing to have an open mind and really reach out and do some legwork here to get coaches interested in you and know about you,” Rothert said.
He said that means letting coaches know when you’re playing, even if the games are live-streamed.
Local
“Coaches want to recruit those kids who they trust, that have reached out to them, who have continued communication, are good at responding,” Rothert said.
High school soccer player Jonny Rodriguez, a senior at Thornton Township High School, said having some games is better than none.
"I really want to use it to the best of my advantage, so I’m definitely going to, whatever I have to do to get my games recorded," Rodriguez said. "No matter like how many emails I’ll have to send, I’m just trying to get myself out here."
