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AFM Magazine


RECRUITING AT A SMALL SCHOOL WHEN YOU HAVE NOT HAD RECENT SUCCESS

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By Derek Schlieve Head Coach

Mayville State University

Taking over a program that has not been successful has many challenges. We are facing those challenges here at Mayville State University right now. Here are some of the ways we are meeting that challenge.

Be Honest:

As you recruit and sell your program you will be tempted to make things appear to be better than they are because you have so many obstacles to overcome. Your reputation will be on the line with next years’ recruiting class based on how you communicate with this class. Start off on the right foot by being honest. If you make something up, it will come back to haunt you. Plus, it is easier to do it right and be honest in the beginning. Also, the players that you get will be happier that they are at your school and in turn you will be happier that you have them.

Story about what you have:

A motivational speaker told a story about a worker who said he hated his job, so the speaker told the worker to list all of the positives with his job. The worker said that there was nothing positive about his job - that is why he hated it. The speaker asked him why he works for free. The worker said I don’t work for free - I get a paycheck. The speaker said well then that is something that is good. The worker agreed. The speaker asked him if he had to work holidays and the worker said that he did not have to work holidays. Then the speaker said he must like having holidays off to spend with family. The worker agreed. This continued for a couple of moments. Before it was all said and done, the man was making quite a list of the things that he liked about the job, the same job that he had just said that he hated.

Find the positives and then sell them (football and school):

Even if something is bad, you probably have a lot more positives than you realize if you will take the time to sit down and look at all that you have. When I got here we did this (a program going on 20 plus years without a winning season) and even though you would think that there would be little or no positives, we came up with this list:

  • 5,940 sq. ft. weight room.
  • Brand new locker rooms (2) – with oak, pro-style, lockers.
  • Opportunity to compete to play early in your career.
  • Student to faculty ratio of 15 : 1.
  • Average class size of 19.5 students.
  • Every student gets a lap top computer – included in tuition and fees.
  • Very affordable education – great value for quality product.
  • Placement rate of 99% for our graduates over last decade.

When we did this exercise, we realized how nicely our list was coming together. It did not take long to really believe in the list that we put together and see that the motivational speaker was on to something. Instead of making a list of what you do not have to sell, make a list of what you do have.

 Have a plan – stick to it:

When you are losing, a lot of people (and I mean a lot) will have suggestions for you. They will figure that it can’t get worse, so you might as well try it their way. We actually had someone at the university come up to us and say that we should put all of our offensive recruiting (all of it) into a quality quarterback. Just one player, then it would be easier to recruit (again – because we only had to get the one player). He said that when we do this our offense would be great, because we would have an outstanding quarterback. We pointed out that we would not have good players all around him if we did that and there is the analogy about putting all of your eggs into one basket.

Know what you are looking for, then go find it:

We knew that we needed more players and better players if we were going to make this work. How do you decide what type of players to go after? We decided that we were looking for five attributes out of our players. Those attributes are:

  • Character
  • Work ethic
  • Coachability
  • Attitude

THEN

  • Talent

We look for players using these five criteria in that order. We do so because if you it do it in the opposite order, then you end up with talent that gets in trouble, has run-ins with the law, and ultimately winds up ineligible. We also are not delusional about evaluating talent. We are looking at 17 year old boys and trying to determine if they will be good when they are 21.

The NFL scouts make a ton of money, and look how many players they miss on. At this level, we have a 10 minute conversation on the phone and a 10 minute clip of highlights to evaluate before make a decision. We need an opportunity to talk with coaches and counselors and know that there is more than just talent. If we do not look at the top four criteria, we will never keep players around long enough to let them develop and give the school the success that it deserves to have. It is not easy but it will be worth it.

 

About the Author:

Derek Schlieve is the head football coach, defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach at Mayville State University, having been promoted to the head coaching position last spring. Schlieve earned his undergraduate degree in education at Mayville State with a major in elementary education and a minor in coaching, graduating magna cum laude, in 2002. He earned a graduate degree in sports management from St. Cloud State University, also graduating magna cum laude, in 2007.


 






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