Carmel is filled with elite athletes, but only a few continue at the collegiate level By Bobby Browning

With the number of talented athletes at this school, Athletics Director Jim Inskeep has seen many of them go through the recruiting process. While it may be the dream many high school athletes to be recruited, Inskeep said there are two different types of athletes that tend to be recruited.

“There are those rare exceptions where you have a student-athlete where a college is looking for them because they are at a certain level in their sport,” he said. “And then you have the flip side of that, where there’s a student athlete that wants to play at the next level, and they’re looking at opportunities. They are not necessarily being sought out by colleges, but they have something to offer a program. If you think of it as a two-way street, that’s the other side of the spectrum.”

Inskeep said most of the recruiting process goes through the athlete and his or her family and their school or private team coach. He added that there are different periods of time, depending on the sport, in which  college coaches can have direct contact with the student-athlete.

“(The recruiting rules) are there not only to protect the student-athletes and their families but also to protect institutional integrity, whether you are in contention for a national championship every year or you are at the bottom of your conference every year in a sport. They are trying to level the playing field by doing those things,” Inskeep said.

According to Inskeep, the school holds a workshop once a year to educate student-athletes about recruiting, but the most important part is the academic requirements.

“A student-athlete that is in their freshman or sophomore year that has any inclination (of playing in college) really needs to take a look at what the academic requirements are,” he said. “Once you start falling off that path at the end of sophomore year, it’s really difficult to become eligible for that first year of college.”
Signed Seniors By Bobby Browning

As an elite athlete, Sarah Bennett has quickly come to know the recruiting business. She has been a runner-up in the IHSAA State Final in cross-country, has finished third in the IHSAA State Final cross-country meet, ran for two State championship-winning cross-country teams and has run on the 4×800 meter relay teams for three State championships.
Because of her success in both cross-country and track and field, Bennett was recruited by multiple schools for her talents. After much deliberation, Bennett chose to attend Dartmouth College to run cross-country.

“There was not just a single main factor that caused me to choose Dartmouth,” Bennett said. “It was the fact that everything about the school was right. The team atmosphere between the runners and the coach was amazing and they were the people I could see myself being on a team with for the next four years. Also, I was getting the opportunity to get an amazing education while still participating in the cool traditions and celebrations that they do at Dartmouth.”

However, for Bennett, the recruiting process was not all fun and games.

“At first, I was a bit intimidated by (the recruiting process). I was nervous when speaking to coaches from schools I really liked and anxious turning down schools that weren’t right for me,” she said.

“The most challenging part was learning how to turn down schools that had been recruiting me. I felt like I was being harsh or something, but if you let them know you are thankful for their interest and that it is about finding the right fit for you, the coaches are all gracious and understanding about the decisions you make,”

Senior Katie Bosler, who committed to play softball at Indiana University, agreed with Bennett, and said she tried to keep a positive attitude about everything.

“The most challenging part was the fact that you had to prepare yourself to be let down, and to not get your hopes up too much because not everything will go your way,” Bosler said. “I learned that there are many ups and downs of recruiting, and coaches may change their minds in an instant and there is nothing you can do about it. You just have to move on.”

Bennett and Bosler both said one of the most exciting parts of the recruiting process was taking the official visits to campuses. Bennet said she learned how to create relationships with coaches throughout her recruitment.

Bosler said the recruiting process helped her to finally reap the benefits of her hard work over the years

“Being recruited was a very exciting process for me,” she said. “I felt like all of my hard work throughout my whole life was finally paying off and it was an amazing feeling.”

While it was both “intimidating and exciting,” Bennett made it through the process with advice to give to anyone who will go through the recruiting process. Bosler also said she has advice to give to athletes who will be recruited.

“You need to act fast,” Bosler said. “If a coach shows interest in you, you need to decide immediately if it is something you want to consider or not.”
Bennett offered a similar piece of advice.

“The best advice I got was to just speak your mind,” Bennett said. “Be yourself, and remember that recruiting is not some sort of test. If the team wasn’t interested in you, they wouldn’t be calling.”

Despite not signing until senior year, juniors are still contacted by recruiters. By: Andrew Wang

Swimmer and junior Lacey Locke has been recruited by many Division I colleges. According to Locke, there are different rules for recruiting for her as a junior compared to a senior, and the rules also differ by sport.

Colleges have more limited contact with students during their junior year compared to their senior year, and Locke said colleges have not approached her personally yet. She said she has received some letters, but colleges are unable to strongly attempt to recruit her until her senior year.

According to NCAA.org, for Division I sports besides men’s and women’s basketball, men’s football, women’s ice hockey and gymnastics, colleges can only have off-campus contact with juniors after July 1 following their junior year.  Locke said so far she has received letters from many colleges, she still has not decided which college she wants to attend.

Although Locke has not yet decided where she wants to attend, she said as a junior she is able to verbally commit to colleges, which still doesn’t restrict her to only attending that school.  She said next year when she is a senior, she could sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI), which is a binding agreement to go to the college.  According to NCAA.org, once a student signs an NLI, other institutions must cease recruiting him or her.

The National Letter of Intent home page says the NLI is an agreement between a student-athlete and an institution that binds the student to attend the institution for a full academic year, and the institution must provide athletic financial aid for the year.

Students can feel extra pressure from scouts to perform better, and although she has been scouted and recruited by colleges already this year, Locke said she has stayed focused on swimming.

“I love swimming,” Locke said. “And I think that if you have fun doing something, you shouldn’t have to worry about people watching you.”

According to Locke, the whole experience is pretty new to her, but she is looking forward to it.

“I don’t really know where I want to go,” Locke said. “I’m going into it blind, but my older friends have said that it should be fun, and I’m excited.”