After jerseys are hung up for the season, there is still a lot of work to be done by coaches to prepare for the next year’s incoming players.
In the offseason, Keene State College coaches spend the majority of their time on the job recruiting potential talent to put in an Owls uniform. This is a process which takes time, dedication and research that doesn’t end once the season starts.
“There’s never a down time. I think that you’re continually recruiting all-year-round,” KSC Women’s Soccer Head Coach Denise Lyons said.
Coaches are often recruiting dozens of athletes at any given time, a pool from which they must select only a few athletes on which to focus their efforts.
Lyons, who is losing five seniors to graduation in the spring, said that she is already looking for new players to pick up the weight left by her departing players.
Tim Smith / Senior Photographer
“[They are] Big shoes to fill, but I have a good freshmen class right now coming in that I think we’re going to be okay,” Lyons said.
Lyons said that there is one thing in particular that she looks for when recruiting potential Owls: a hard-working mentality.
“I hate a lazy player. I won’t put up with a lazy player. I don’t care how skilled they are, if they don’t work hard on the field and they don’t work hard in practice, then they’re not going to play,” Lyons said
Along with a recruit’s skill and mentality, coaches look to see if recruits would fit in well with the rest of the team.
Men’s Soccer Head Coach Rick Scott said he looks for team chemistry in his players.
“I want kids who are going to get along with my team that I have, get along with each other and really create a strong team chemistry,” Scott said.
Coaches spend much of their time scouting recruits at showcases, talking to student athletes and parents, inviting potential players on overnight visits to the campus, giving tours to possible incoming student athletes and doing everything they can to bring quality players to KSC.
Sometimes, however, that doesn’t always work.
“A lot of times, money talks,” Lyons said.
According to KSC Athletic Director John Ratliff, as of now, the NCAA also prohibits coaches from speaking to student athletes who are juniors in high school and younger, off-campus or in person.
The student may call the coach, but the coach may not call the player.
This limits the recruitment pool and makes it difficult for coaches to keep tabs on players as they prepare for college.
However, NCAA members have amended this rule and will allow coaches to speak to athletes after or in high school, as well as invite them to an official campus visit, giving coaches more of a head-start on the recruiting process.
Since KSC is a Division III school, it is not allowed to offer athletic scholarships to student athletes.
To compensate for this, coaches must find other ways to woo recruits and their parents, such as showing them the facilities where they would spend much of their time training and competing. The first priority, however, is academics.
“For me, the heart and soul when we’re recruiting is the academic support that we offer these kids. Parents love to hear about that,” Scott said.
“They love to know that we track our athletes academically throughout the whole year, not just the season. We make sure that if they need help they get tutors. So academic support is big,” Scott continued.
Scott also noted the admissions and financial aid offices as effective in working with student athletes and their families to make it possible for recruits to become students at KSC.
“Those departments, they couldn’t be any better . . . They’re the heart and soul, they’re backbone of this school . . . They help an awful lot in the recruiting process,” Scott said.
Ratliff said there are about 350 to 400 student-athletes attending the college, which accounts for eight to nine percent of the school’s population
“Next to admissions, our coaches are the biggest recruiters for new students on this campus. They’re doing a lot of work with a lot of benefit for bringing students to Keene State,” Ratliff said.
Recruiting has played a part in the success of many of KSC’s athletics teams. Women’s soccer won its second consecutive Little East Championship Title and men’s soccer made it to the finals in the Fall, along with other accomplishments by KSC teams. Efforts to bring in prospective student athletes are vital to giving the Owls a competitive edge.
Jacob Barrett can be contacted at jbarrett@kscequinox.com
