Most people do not think of the athletic recruiting process as a
high-wire balancing act, but collegiate Division I coaches are not
most people.
When scouting a prospect, coaches such as women’s rowing
coach Amy Fuller Kearney must weigh the importance of academics
against the abilities of the athlete, all while keeping the
chemistry of the team in mind.
Although Fuller Kearney is relatively new to the recruiting
game, as the UCLA rowing team was a club team until only five years
ago, she has no desire to trade intellect for talent.
“The first thing I want to know is what (the
recruits’) grades are,” Fuller Kearney said.
“They have to be able to be student-athletes. It’s such
a mental sport that the people that get ahead have that mental
discipline.”
Despite looking for at least a 3.5 high school GPA and a 1200 on
the old version of the SAT, Fuller Kearney has found ways to pull
in elite athletes while maintaining those standards.
Even with UCLA’s tough academic program, Fuller Kearney
has to do little convincing for recruits to become Bruins.
“(The recruits) usually make first contact,” she
said. “We think the school sells itself.”
In addition to UCLA’s athletic and academic reputation,
women’s golf coach Carrie Forsyth believes simply having good
team chemistry will breed good recruiting.
“A lot of it just has to do with going through the whole
process,” Forsyth said. “Having good people on the team
has a huge impact on recruiting. We have (the recruits) talk to
players on the team and get a sense of what we believe in and what
it is like to be a student-athlete.”
There are times when even the bluest of the blue-chip prospects
may not fit well with the team and the coaches pass on the athlete,
Forsyth said.
“It’s very tempting to take an athlete who is a good
player but doesn’t fit the team,” Forsyth said.
“Talent’s always a factor but it takes more than just
that.”
With so many NCAA recruiting rules protecting that talent from
floods of collegiate suitors, it is all too easy for coaches to
accidentally commit violations.
“I think it happens fairly often, but most coaches are
honest, catch themselves and turn themselves in,” Forsyth
said.
Sometimes not even the recruits know the regulations.
Forsyth met sophomore Tiffany Joh face-to-face for the first
time after a tournament on July 1 of Joh’s junior season in
high school, the first day to meet recruits under NCAA laws. Even
though Joh knew she wanted to come to UCLA, she was unsure of the
rules regarding officially committing and asked Forsyth, “Is
it too early to commit right now?”
Knowing Joh would be a good fit on the team, Forsyth was pleased
but also surprised ““ no other recruit had committed on the
spot before.
Quick decisions like Joh’s are the exception, not the
rule.
“There’s definitely a process that you go
through,” Forsyth said. “Bringing them on campus and
getting to know them personally. That’s kind of a time of
mutual sizing-up. It’s just about finding the people that are
excited about UCLA.”