5 Types of College Experiences for Athletes (which one do you want?)

Hey, how you doing, Alex here. Thanks for joining me. In today's episode, we're going to be talking about the most important question in recruiting that you should ask yourself, or if you're a parent, watching this, having a conversation with your son or daughter. And that question is, what type of college experience do I want? Or what type of college experience do you want if you're talking to your son or daughter? Because this is really important to think about because this can help position you and put you on the right path, if you will, to target the right schools so you're not just winging this and end up at a place that he or she will not like. And then the next thing you know, you're entering the transfer portal, which just is a whole mess in it of itself going through this. And if you're new to my channel, my name is Alex Swenson. I'm a former Division I college coach, scout, and recruiter with 11 years of experience. And now what I do is help high school athletes and their parents navigate this college recruiting process and put them in the best possible position to play at the next level. We go through the exposure process, getting noticed, getting seen, getting on the radars of these college coaches, and that's really the name of the game, because college coaches can't recruit athletes that they don't know about. All right, so that's really big. And then the communication, how to best do that in this new landscape of recruiting, as well as camp showcases, tournaments, all these things, what's worth it, what's not to highlight? Video. We put together that as well in the premier athletes profile. But it's step by step. If you're interested in working with me, possibly one on one. If you're looking for more professional help, you can visit my website right down here or down in the description, please. If you get anything from this episode or if you're on the podcast, please like and review and subscribe. And let's hop into the first experience. So there's five type of experiences that you can have at the college level. And you can go after this and there's no right answer, and you can have a little bit of a mixture of all these. And really the reason why I do what I do now is because I had such an amazing college experience, which I'll dive into more, that I'm just trying to provide that back to as many guys and gals as I possibly can going through that. So the first experience that we can talk about here is playing time. All right? Is opportunity to Play early important or is your son comfortable earning his spot over time? This is a big one, like having an opportunity. I usually try to suggest this. Go to a place that's going to be a good fit for you athletically and not just athletically, academically as well, but that you're going to have opportunities to play right away. Very, very rarely. And if a college coach really guarantees a starting role right away, there's red flags in it. You have to earn your spot through the fall. But having opportunities to play early is a big deal for guys to hey prove and to play throughout their four years. Going through that and the way you can do that is just the reputation of the coaches. What have they done in the past with freshmen, A freshman been able to have opportunities to play is a big deal. The second one is high academics. Does your son prioritize a top notch academic environment alongside baseball? Are academics really the main focus going through it? And baseball is secondary. A lot of athletes going that route, which again I kind of recommend there as well too because big picture, in the long run all of us will stop playing our sport eventually. And having a good degree and a good network behind you goes a long way and will help set you up for your 40 year career after your sport, if you will. So targeting schools that are a good fit for you again, not only athletically, but maybe more importantly academics, that could be what the type of experience that you can go after. And there's a lot of schools with that. And then we have number three, professional aspirations. Is playing professional the main goal and will this school support this dream? What are the historic athletes that come came out of those schools? Have they gone professionally? Okay, so it's a great aspiration. It is a very big challenge. It's a just a challenge to play at the college level. Whether it's D1, D2 or D3. There's about a 7% success rate doing that and that's a big deal. And then of course you have the professional levels thereafter. But going after that and understanding the programs that will help you get to that level is big championship culture. I love this. Is your son driving or driven by competing for conference titles, postseason runs and winning culture. That can be very important to athletes and families going through this. I totally understand that. At the same time you might be looking at hey, opportunities to go in and make an impact right away as far as playing time, they need help. They're trying to turn over that program that might be struggling. Okay. And you're going to have opportunities to play but jumping into a championship culture is a big deal. And having and going after coaching staffs that have a good reputation of winning and developing players on and off the field. And lastly, a normal college experience. Does your son desire a balanced experience that includes strong campus life, social events and activities beyond baseball or whatever sport you might be going through? So that's important. I say all that with a caveat of being a student athlete in college is very, very demanding. With 6am workouts to oh man, classes from 8 to 12 or 1 and then you got practice at 2 or 3 depending on the school. Then you go in practice around six or so, you eat, you might have study hall. I mean it is a very demanding sport. And especially depending on your sport you're traveling, all of that. So there are certain levels like D3 level. You're going to get more of that in AI, you're going to get more of that normal college experience. When you're at D1 it is very demanding. There is no normal college experience from a student or a traditional college experience there. So something just to think about. Again, this is all this is trying to help you go and target the right schools so you can best position yourself going through this or your son or daughter going through this to play at the next level. And good, a good college experience. That's what it's all about. Again, not only on the field, but all socially and academically as well. If you have any questions, please comment down below or shoot me an email and we will go from there. Good luck.