March 21, 2024

Living the dream with author, former high school coach, and college sports recruitment expert Jared Zeidman

Show Notes
Transcript

Send us a text

Discover the insider secrets to college sports recruitment with Jared Zeidman, the former high school coach turned consultant and author, who's changing the game for aspiring athletes. In this eye-opening episode of 'Living the Dream', Zeidman reveals the misconceptions parents and students have about college athletics, the impact of COVID-19 on his career, and his mission to bridge the information gap for high school players. Tune in for a playbook on navigating the recruitment process, understanding the new landscape of college sports, and why attitude might be your golden ticket to success.

WEBVTT

00:00:00.569 --> 00:00:09.710
> Speaker A>Welcome, um, to the living the Dream podcast with curveball. Um, if you believe you can achieve, cheat, cheat.

00:00:19.010 --> 00:00:35.829
> Speaker B>Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, a show where I ain't a view guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today I am joined by coach, consultant, and author, Jared zeitman.

00:00:36.250 --> 00:00:39.049
> Speaker B>Jared was a high school coach.

00:00:39.469 --> 00:00:56.960
> Speaker B>He stepped away from it due to a COVID-19 illness, and now he's focused on helping other high school coaches who are trying to set up recruitment programs for high school players. So we're going to be talking to him about everything that he's up to.

00:00:57.490 --> 00:01:00.159
> Speaker B>Jared, thank you so much for joining me today.

00:01:01.009 --> 00:01:03.393
> Speaker C>Thank you so much for having me. Curtis, how are you?

00:01:03.512 --> 00:01:07.299
> Speaker B>Pretty good. Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

00:01:08.069 --> 00:02:22.969
> Speaker C>Sure. Um, I am, uh, a college coaching veteran. I spent the last 15 years, uh, coaching at the collegiate level. And then I would say over the course of that time, I got a pretty good reputation amongst my peers as a teacher of the game, but also as a recruiter. Um, I'm a pretty energetic cat, and, uh, that seemed to draw me to some really good conversations with, uh, prospective college athletes. Uh, in the spring of 2022, um, I got COVID and suffered, uh, a series of immune complications with that. That, ah, after about a little less than a year, um, it just became apparent that I would need to take a break from coaching. Doctors recommended that I take a break from coaching, and, uh, I have decided to use this time now, while I'm away from actively coaching, to try to bridge some information gaps. Um, basically to make college, um, athletics more approachable and accessible for high school students to, uh, answer questions that they may have. And then also just to make sure that high school athletes and parents are best, uh, preparing themselves for a college athletics career if that's what they want to pursue.

00:02:24.110 --> 00:02:32.270
> Speaker B>Well, what do you think is the biggest misconception for college high school athletes and their parents about college sports?

00:02:33.969 --> 00:02:59.425
> Speaker C>I think there is a lot, um, but if I were to make it into one big generalized statement, I would say that, um, high school athletics and travel athletics are largely, um, collaborative and feature a lot of involvement, and the mission of a college campus and college athletics is really individual development.

00:02:59.538 --> 00:03:10.569
> Speaker C>And I think, um, a lot of times, parents and young athletes want the experience to be more. I guess I would describe it as transactional.

00:03:11.289 --> 00:03:22.349
> Speaker C>Uh, my child made a college team, so they should be playing or if you're a child, um, I was really good on my high school team. Therefore, I will automatically be really good on a college team.

00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:36.737
> Speaker C>And what they tend to not realize is that it's a big reset. When you take, uh, a step up from high school to college sports, you are once again at the bottom of the barrel. Having to work towards everything.

00:03:36.903 --> 00:03:50.759
> Speaker C>And everyone at the college level was one of the top players on their high school team. So I try to help, um, players better prepare themselves for the adversity ahead. I would say that was the best way to describe it.

00:03:51.210 --> 00:03:59.861
> Speaker B>So with all the new NIA, all people, uh, being able to jump in the portal these days is definitely changing.

00:03:59.925 --> 00:04:06.090
> Speaker B>It's different. So where do you see the future of, uh, college recruitment headed?

00:04:06.750 --> 00:05:27.639
> Speaker C>So my biggest concern, and I think you just nailed it, Curtis, is, um, I think that because people are transferring at a higher rate and because nil is kind of changing people's motivations for transferring, it used to just be something, know, if you weren't getting a lot of playing time or if you thought you'd be better suited elsewhere, you'd transfer. But now you're transferring for financial opportunities, you're transferring up. Um, and I think what's happening is coaches, before they traditionally recruit, are oftentimes now looking to the transfer portal because it's easier for a college coach to coach someone that already understands the college level and already has some experience than it is for them to develop a first year athlete. And I've spoken to a lot of college coaches that, especially if you're at the division one level and you're under a contract, and if you do not win games, you lose your job, it's the easier thing for you to do is, uh, get a transfer athlete. So what I've been trying to do, basically is almost with like, a leadership curriculum, try to get more high school athletes understanding what it is that's going to be expected of you so that you can present yourself as college ready right now. Because, Curtis, there could be an underprepared high school athlete that's visiting campus on a Tuesday, and on a Wednesday, it could be a sophomore in college that already has that experience.

00:05:28.649 --> 00:05:40.410
> Speaker B>Well, I'm glad you mentioned that, because my next question is, what do you feel like a college coach is looking for in a high school recruit?

00:05:41.230 --> 00:06:15.278
> Speaker C>So, obviously there is a talent threshold. Um, depending on the school, there could be a positional need and there's going to be a floor and a ceiling for each level. When I coached earlier on in my career at the division three level, we had an awareness of what the floor was, but we also knew that maybe this kid's going to go d two or d one. And we probably shouldn't spend as much time on that recruit. But in addition to that, talent level coaches are looking for very specific attitude components. And, uh, I talk about it in the book, I describe it using the acronym gear.

00:06:15.290 --> 00:06:29.802
> Speaker C>Um, the specific attitude components that I think could really help a recruit shine is a, a recruit that's growth oriented, that's the g, a recruit that's willing to engage. So they're taking the initiative in conversations, and coaches can tell that they're really locked in.

00:06:29.855 --> 00:06:32.581
> Speaker C>That's the e. Um, the A is aware.

00:06:32.725 --> 00:06:44.314
> Speaker C>So a, ah, high school athlete that understands their own strengths and limitations, understands what they want out of the experience, and is committed to developing further awareness, be that in game film or in practice.

00:06:44.442 --> 00:07:23.529
> Speaker C>And then the r is once you put those three things together, you've developed a little bit more of a resilience and you're ready to go. Um, so I think that life comes at you fast, and a lot of times you go through, uh, the K twelve system in our country, relatively structured and protected, and all of a sudden you show up on a college campus and A, you have tons more free time than you used to, and it's up to you how you use it, and b, the expectations from both your professors and your coaches are much higher. So if a coach can assess on the recruiting trail that you have the attitude to hang, it can really be a separator that differentiates you from the rest of the pack. Curtis.

00:07:24.110 --> 00:07:32.160
> Speaker B>Well, what do you wish most more young athletes understood about sports that they might not understand right now?

00:07:33.009 --> 00:08:14.326
> Speaker C>I think a lot of athletes, especially in this social media age. Curtis, I think that, uh, the results and the stats tend to be the flashiest things I can tell you in my recruiting experience. Um, I have watched a kid score 25 to 30 points in a travel game and not recruited them, but recruited their teammate who just was giving 100% effort every single play of the game, was playing lockdown defense and was really, um, exhibiting a great attitude that was contagious amongst their teammates. So the biggest lesson I want young people to understand is not always about in baseball, how many home runs you hit, in basketball, how many points you score.

00:08:14.437 --> 00:08:26.639
> Speaker C>There are a, uh, multitude of roles on a team in the collegiate level. You do not have to be amazing at all things. You have to excel in the role and the coach will find you.

00:08:27.089 --> 00:08:40.659
> Speaker B>Well, let's talk about some of the emerging trends in college sports that you see popping up right now. What are, ah, some of them that the, uh, young people need to be aware of.

00:08:41.509 --> 00:08:51.240
> Speaker C>I would say there's a couple. Um, and I can most expertly speak for basketball because that's where my experience is, Curtis. But I would say some of these transfer.

00:08:51.429 --> 00:09:17.389
> Speaker C>Um, one is young athletes are going to need to be able to manage their time and take feedback at a rate that is higher than their peers. Um, there is a difference between being coached by a high school coach, where your sport is a true cocurricular, and being coached by a college coach where you have been recruited to help move a program forward, especially if you are receiving nil compensation or a scholarship.

00:09:17.629 --> 00:10:06.861
> Speaker C>Um, I think there are communication expectations. So, for example, you talking on defense in high school is optional. You talking on defense in college is the base expectation in order for you to earn more playing time. I actually saw a coach post on Twitter today that she's broken down. This is a college coach that she's broken down. A ton of recruiting film over the last couple of weeks, and she's not finding enough kids that are just aggressively approaching defense with the same hunger and tenacity that they approach offense. So if I were to, uh, put it concisely, regardless of what sport you're playing, there are no shortcuts, and you have to commit to getting better at the things that make you uncomfortable as well. It can't just be building on your strengths. It has to also be addressing your limitations, I guess.

00:10:06.916 --> 00:10:14.480
> Speaker B>Now, one of the things that has changed in the past is high school student athletes have handler services.

00:10:15.350 --> 00:10:17.139
> Speaker B>How do you feel about that.

00:10:19.029 --> 00:10:27.714
> Speaker C>For where the pendulum has swung for college athletics? Right now, I'm a little nervous about handler services, uh, particularly.

00:10:27.761 --> 00:10:30.162
> Speaker C>I want to explore like that a in awareness.

00:10:30.225 --> 00:11:30.570
> Speaker C>Curtis? Um, if you leave the process up to somebody else, and you leave it up to somebody else to make all the connections for you, and you leave it up to a concierge service to try to matchmake and speak on your behalf, a lot of times you can show up and you don't really know the coach the way you need to, and conversely, the coach doesn't know you the way they thought they did. And the other thing about going through this process yourself, rather than having a handler, is part of life, is developing that resilience and dealing with that rejection. So, for example, if I'm a coach and I reach out to five recruits who I was really impressed by, I just expect that some of those recruits are going to say, no, maybe the school I work at is not the right school for them. Maybe I'm not the right coach for them, and that's okay. I think that's harder for a high school student to manage. They're hearing no for the first time as they go through this process sometimes.

00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:39.179
> Speaker C>So I want them to go through that experience so that they develop the resilience, but also so that they find the correct fit for them.

00:11:39.629 --> 00:12:53.970
> Speaker C>Oftentimes what I see with handlers is they will push a student towards the best fit for the handler and not necessarily the best fit for the student. Um, to give you an example, and I have great relationships with a number of great club and high school and AAU coaches. So I'm not saying this to bash the profession, but I can also tell you I coached at the division three level for ten years. I reached out to so many coaches who never responded to me, even though my level at that time, d three, was probably the best fit for their player. There were so many handlers that never took my calls and never returned my emails. And within two weeks of me working at the division one level, I received outreach from ten people who'd never previously returned my calls. And it just had to do with me being at the division one level. So that experience really opened my eyes to what this can look like if you associate yourself with someone who might be using you to also continue marketing their services on your back rather than just operating in your best interests.

00:12:54.549 --> 00:13:03.720
> Speaker B>Well, why do you feel that there is such a lack of understanding from people about college sports these days?

00:13:05.049 --> 00:14:11.129
> Speaker C>That's a great question, and I actually think some of the blame falls on college coaches as well. Um, I can tell you college coaches are incredibly hardworking. They're responsible for maintaining every part of their program, and especially as college has gotten more complex, they're sort of the go to fixer and responsible for the overall well being of their team at all times. And they work a crazy job that they think is normal, and they just assume that a recruit has somebody in their corner that's explaining to them what college sports actually looks like, and that's oftentimes not the case. So, um, the kind of advice that I'm giving is actually to address the question you just asked, which is, I would like to see more high school teams just visit college campuses as a team, attend a workout, attend a practice, do Q and a with a college coach. Again, just to bridge that information gap, because I honestly think that everybody's lives are so hectic and so busy that they forget that what's normal to them is completely foreign to their neighbor.

00:14:11.870 --> 00:14:18.559
> Speaker B>All right, well, let the listeners know about your book. Tell us the title, where we can get it, and what we can expect when we read it.

00:14:19.169 --> 00:14:22.110
> Speaker C>Sure. Um, the title is nail the recruiting process.

00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:55.546
> Speaker C>It's also the same as the website I'm operating under right now, which is nailtherecruitingprocess.com. Um, it was very important to me, Curtis, and I don't know if you've had this experience dealing with other people. I didn't want to come off as overly preachy, and a lot of the other books in the category were just written by people that the COVID of the book was about getting recruited, but it was them wearing a sport coat, and the book was actually all about them. Um, I really wanted to address common questions and make this a comprehensive guide for the recruiting process.

00:14:55.648 --> 00:15:38.779
> Speaker C>So what I did is, um, I collected a bunch of data. Um, I got responses from 50 coaches. It was almost 50 50 scholarship to non scholarship level. I then conducted interviews, um, with 15 more coaches, and then talked to my mentors on top of that. And then I took all that information. I actually talked to some of my favorite former college athletes, um, to basically fact check the data in case the coaches were really on one about some specific thing. But it turned out that the former athletes felt differently. And, uh, the book essentially is a very quick and easy to read guide that walks you through the recruiting process from the very beginning, using the advice that those former athletes have based on their experience.

00:15:39.470 --> 00:15:45.100
> Speaker B>All right, tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that people need to be aware of.

00:15:45.690 --> 00:16:12.340
> Speaker C>Um, so right now, I am working on, um, trying to build as much outreach, uh, through social media as I can. You can follow me on, ah, Twitter, Instagram, uh, TikTok at Jared the coach. All one word at Jared the coach. And I'm also just trying to collaborate with high school and AAU coaches to come in and, uh, talk to high school athletes and just give them a bit better of a sense of what they can expect, uh, through the recruiting process.

00:16:13.110 --> 00:16:21.169
> Speaker B>All right. Closes out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on, or just any final thoughts you have for the listeners?

00:16:21.330 --> 00:17:02.549
> Speaker C>Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think there's a lot of young people that have really promising futures as college athletes, but elect not to pursue it. And if any of you happen to be listening to this podcast, I want you to hear me when I say you can do it. Um, there are parts of this process that can be overwhelming. You can develop the skills to tackle those. You can talk to a college coach, you don't need somebody to do it for you. You can, uh, build your skill set. You can find the right mentors for yourself. And the more parts of this process that you individually take ownership of, uh, the more I think on the back end, proud of yourself you're going to be for what you've achieved and what you've overcome.

00:17:02.549 --> 00:17:08.599
> Speaker C>M I can help, but I really think you could do it, and I'd love to see more high school athletes give it a try.

00:17:09.289 --> 00:17:13.240
> Speaker B>All right, ladies and gentlemen, nailecruitingprocess.com.

00:17:13.690 --> 00:17:32.153
> Speaker B>If you know of any high school athletes and their parents that could use this lecture, use Jared's book. Check out his website follow rate review. Share this to as many people as possible. If you have any guests or suggestion topics, cjackson 102 uh@cox.net is the place to send them.

00:17:32.352 --> 00:17:37.390
> Speaker B>As always, thank you for listening. And Jared, thank you for joining us and sharing your expertise.

00:17:37.809 --> 00:17:39.710
> Speaker C>Thank you so much for having me, Curtis.

00:17:40.289 --> 00:17:48.238
> Speaker A>For more information on the living the Dream podcast, visit www.djcurveball.com.

00:17:48.403 --> 00:17:52.922
> Speaker A>Until next time, stay focused on living the dream.

00:17:52.986 --> 00:17:53.289
> Speaker B>Dream.