A friend of mine had this image posted on her Facebook page and when I read it, I thought about a client I worked with Makenna Christ. The image is the one you see in writing to the left of this post, “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”
I am always so appreciative when families write testimonials and share their experiences with others. It’s nice to be able to share stories with new clients because there is just so much you can learn from other families mistakes and triumphs throughout this process. The recruiting process is filled with ups and downs. This was especially true for Makenna Christ, and so when I saw this I thought of Makenna Christ and her experience with the recruiting process. Makenna Christ is a ‘Make it Happen’ student athlete!
Makenna’s family began with another recruiting service early on in her junior year of high school. This service sent emails out on behalf of Makenna, contacting programs weekly with videos and a profile. Makenna didn’t receive any interest using this approach. Another challenge, the service didn’t spend much time getting to know Makenna. What was she looking for in a college experience? What is her intended major? This criteria is pertinent to finding the perfect collegiate fit, however the service she was using was more focused on finding any program that was interested.
As a student athlete or a parent, you may be impressed by these fabulous profiles that are available these days with these recruiting websites. It’s true, they are bold and impressive! Even when I got started with this business I was blown away by how cool and impressive the profiles were. However, when a college coach receives these profiles they typically delete the email and view it as spam. YES, you read that correctly! Do you want to know why coaches typically do not view these emails? Remember what I said above? The recruiting service above sends out emails weekly with profiles and videos without taking much consideration as to what the student athlete is searching for in a college experience. So when a college coach receives these profiles, they don’t know for sure if you are really interested in their program or not. Rather then waste their time on those athletes, they would focus on genuine emails personalized to the coach because their is a stronger likelihood that player is truly interested in their program.
Makenna worked her tail off the last four years with the ultimate goal, to earn an athletic scholarship to play volleyball in college. She definitely experienced ups and downs! Her family felt they were doing everything correctly. Hiring a pro to help her with the process, post some video with an impressive online profile, but as time went on, her teammates were committing left and right nothing was happening for Makenna. How could this be? She has an impressive arm swing, she’s consistent, trains several days a week doing private lessons, team practices, and strength training.
Makenna’s family approached me on March 13th 2012, more than halfway into her senior year of high school. My staff at My Recruiting Solutions and I acted quickly, tracking down footage and posting it that day, working on her prospective list of programs that were an athletic and academic fit, and working to understand Makenna’s goals. Makenna received all the tools necessary to be recruited from us and within hours she had received interest. Two weeks later she had scheduled 5 official visits and 6 weeks later she signed with Western State College of Colorado. She was ultimately triumphant making her a ‘Make it Happen’ student athlete. What kind of student athlete do you want to be? A ‘Want it to Happen’ ‘Wish it would Happen’ or a ‘Make it Happen!’
