College Sports Are Fun, Right?
Tyson Dewey and Brock Marino gives us an inside look on what it is like to be recruited
Most high school athletes dream about going to college for sports. Most don’t go because they are too small or not good enough. Or in some cases, they don’t think the schools recruiting them are a good fit.
Tyson Dewey, a football player, was being recruited after a great junior year. “My recruiting started after my junior year of football,” Dewey explained. When asked about what he did and didn’t like about the process of recruiting, he gave some interesting answers. “It makes you feel like you’re a good player and makes you feel more confident about your sport.” Tyson had a great year his junior year but still questioned whether he wanted to go to the next level, but not for the reason you may think. “Sometimes, it’s a lot to keep up with because you’re in contact with a lot of different people. Constantly on the phone or texting them can get overwhelming.”
Dewey has also talked about what he has learned from being recruited. “If a school shows interest in you and you do your research and find out that you don’t like the school, just cut it off instead of dragging it on with them thinking you still want to go there when you don’t,” Dewey explained. Dewey may not be going to college for sports, but it is what he thinks is the best decision for him.
On the other hand, Brock Marino, a basketball player, also started to be recruited after his sophomore year. “I just started playing AAU basketball for the first time and college coaches noticed me,” Marino explained. Basketball has more ways you can be recruited compared to football. Marino took that in a positive way.
“It opens up doors to a lot of new opportunities. You end up learning a lot more about college than I would have if I wasn’t being recruited,” Marino said. “Going on visits and being taken care of by the coaches is a ton of fun. Meeting the guys at colleges is also fun to meet.” But, there are also things that Marino doesn’t like about being recruited. “It’s really stressful. Writing emails, making highlight reels, calling coaches can take up a lot of your time and just a lot of extra things you have to worry about throughout the whole process.” Being recruited for sports is awesome and all, but can also put a lot of pressure and stress on yourself.
Marino had a lot to say when asked about the lessons he learned from being recruited. “Biggest lesson I learned was to run your own race. Don’t compare yourself to everybody else because your time will come. You may see everyone else committing or getting offers but as long as you keep working hard, the right fit will come to you.”
Athletes for both football and basketball are getting recruited to play in college every day. Knowing all the good and bad things about being recruited, for some athletes it is good and for some, it’s not for them.