Preps learn basics in Recruiting 101
Warren High School presents 1st college recruiting symposium
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Wiry and disruptive and naturally intuitive at being the middle of play, Libertyville defender Mason Williams is competitive and tough. He has already seen all sides. As a starting right outside back, Williams was a cornerstone of a tenacious Wildcats defense.
The North Suburban Conference school's offense monopolized the headlines -- a natural when you have a team led by Ryan Wittenbrink, an Indiana recruit and one of the country’s best players. Wittenbrink did his magic, routinely and brilliantly, with 39 goals and 17 assists. The Wildcats’ backline, with its 13 shutouts, was also tenacious, playing as crucial a role in the team’s success.
Libertyville took an an undefeated season into the Class 3A title game and took two-time defending Class 3A state champion Naperville North to the brink before dropping a 1-0 decision in a scintillating state title game last November.
For Williams, a junior, that game marked a new beginning. “We had a great season a lot of success, and now I am starting to get recruited,” Williams said. “But I realized I have to educate myself, and I have to learn about the process, all the details, and inform myself with my family.”
On Tuesday night in the auditorium at the east campus of Warren High School in Gurnee, Williams took a crucial step in understanding the full range of his college options by taking part in a special symposium on recruiting for Lake County high schools organized by Warren head coaches Jason Ahonen (boys) and Ryan McCabe (girls). Williams joined a crowd of 150 that included coaches, parents and athletes.
Six coaches representing the four distinct levels of college play were invited to speak.
“Before the event, we were nervous,” McCabe said. “We did not know if there would be seven or 70 people there.”
Ahonen said the symposium lasted for one hour and 45 minutes, but it could have gone much longer.
Ten out of Lake County's 23 secondary schools had at least one player representative from either the boys or girls’ programs in attendance. Warren, Libertyville, Wauconda, Highland Park, Grant, Mundelein, Lakes, Grayslake Central, Carmel and Antioch had at least one player on hand. Many schools had multiple players.
Stan Anderson, the keeper coach for the men’s program at Division I Illinois-Chicago, moderated the event. He has 21 years of coaching experience at the top level. The Flames were the only Illinois program to qualify for the NCAA men’s tournament last fall.
The other panelists were Minos Vlamakis, the assistant men’s coach for the Flames; Brittany Nikolic, the women’s coach at Division II Wisconsin-Parkside; Steve Domin, the head men’s coach at Division III Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis.; Josiah Larson, the head men’s coach of Trinity International in Deerfield, an NAIA school; and Aron Gentry, who directs the men’s program at the College of Lake County, a junior college in Grayslake.
Anderson directed the questions for the coaches, beginning with more conceptual ideas about what the coaches seek out in prospective recruits. The program was designed to break down the process, and challenge or upend existing thoughts or preconceptions about how the process works. The panelists explored essential questions about when recruiting starts, the need for a highlight video, formal communications between coaches, recruits and their families, how players from smaller or developing high school or club programs are discovered, and and the vital importance of academics.
In a follow-up interview, Anderson said the greatest misconception about recruiting is two-fold.
“They don’t understand the academic piece and how that affects not only their recruiting but also their college entrance,” Anderson said. “The second part is what they see with football and basketball does not correlate to soccer, with either men or women. In Division I football, basketball and volleyball, in those sports you get a full ride or you get nothing. In all other sports, you get a partial (scholarship). Now, with soccer, ... teams get 9.9 (scholarships), if they are fully funded. If you have a 30-man roster, not even a third of the players are covered.
“The reality is your academics are probably more of your (recruiting) package than athletics in many scenarios.”
The panelists had a fact or fiction breakdown, and they also discussed the advent of recruiting services, how social media has altered recruiting and the evolving roles of players, parents, club and high school coaches and the college coaches. Human nature, Anderson said, is to hear what you want to hear. The panel worked hard to disentangle beliefs with a more rounded and fuller picture of how recruiting actually unfolds.
The panelists broke down the typical day for the athlete, how many scholarships their schools have, off-season training and how the programs determine an athlete’s suitability with the program. The coaches detailed their recruiting timelines, how they coordinate visits and develop their training.
In line with Anderson’s comments, a significant part of the program addressed academics, breaking down admission requirements, application fees, the role of academic advisors, graduation rates, college disciplines for soccer players, and how athletes apportion their time when training, traveling and playing affects their academic demands.
Importantly the symposium acknowledged differences in the recruitment of young men and women. “They talked about how the process for women’s soccer starts earlier than it does on the men’s side,” Ryan McCabe said.
Warren is a foundational program in Lake County. Ahonen has won two-thirds of his games during his 10-year coaching career. He engineered back-to-back state finals appearances in 2011 and 2012. The Blue Devils beat Naperville Central 2-1 in overtime to win the Class 3A state title in 2012. Ryan McCabe directed the greatest season in girls program history last year in directing the Blue Devils to a Class 3A sectional final.
“When I first started (at Warren), I was more concerned about establishing myself as a coach and our play on the field,” Ahonen said. “Over the last decade I came to realize having them be successful after high school, with the right values, was very important and we had to figure out the best path possible. As educators, our job is never done.
“I am always learning.”
Ahonen and McCabe each conduct end-of-the-year evaluation with their players. Ahonen heard from several of his underclassmen of their desire to seek out playing opportunities in college. He knew it was vital to get his athletes up to speed.
“The impulse behind the (symposium) was how my players have fared in their overall college experience and to look at how we have positioned ourselves in helping them go forward,” Ahonen said. “In talking with my former players, some have had a great experience, but a lot have not had the experience they hoped for.”
He approached his athletic director, Mark Pos, about his idea, and they quickly began putting the pieces in place. They created a special flyer to distribute to other coaches and athletic directors in Lake County.
The purpose of the event was not only to create a dialogue but open up the lines of communication so that players, their families and coaches had a direct path to a credible source -- the college coaches.
Ahonen noticed his own patterns in examining why some of his former players had a more beneficial college experience.
“I think a lot of players get caught up in the (college) tiers, Division I, Division II, and about one being better than the other,” Ahonen said. “It is less about the opportunities and educational experiences as much as what level they are going to play. I think they are limiting what is out there, as a player and as a student.
“I think the ones who have the best experiences have gone into college without a lot of preconceived notions,” Ahonen said. “When you don’t know what you are going to experience and are honest about what college is going to be like, you are going to open yourself up to opportunities.”
In the more open, even freewheeling part of the program, Anderson invited questions from players and their families. Using a special app, the assembled were able to anonymously text queries.
By the time it ended, the central figures saw a great deal to be optimistic about.
“Was it perfect?” Ahonen said. “No, it wasn’t. If that’s our start and foundation then it should be great. I’d like to make it an annual thing. With high schools it’s all about building relationships, and this was another opportunity to further benefit the players down the road.”
Mason Williams liked what he heard.
“It was definitely valuable to go there, and I was very happy I went,” he said. “I learned a lot about the process. I want to play in college, so this was important.”
Warren High School presents 1st college recruiting symposium
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Wiry and disruptive and naturally intuitive at being the middle of play, Libertyville defender Mason Williams is competitive and tough. He has already seen all sides. As a starting right outside back, Williams was a cornerstone of a tenacious Wildcats defense.
The North Suburban Conference school's offense monopolized the headlines -- a natural when you have a team led by Ryan Wittenbrink, an Indiana recruit and one of the country’s best players. Wittenbrink did his magic, routinely and brilliantly, with 39 goals and 17 assists. The Wildcats’ backline, with its 13 shutouts, was also tenacious, playing as crucial a role in the team’s success.
Libertyville took an an undefeated season into the Class 3A title game and took two-time defending Class 3A state champion Naperville North to the brink before dropping a 1-0 decision in a scintillating state title game last November.
For Williams, a junior, that game marked a new beginning. “We had a great season a lot of success, and now I am starting to get recruited,” Williams said. “But I realized I have to educate myself, and I have to learn about the process, all the details, and inform myself with my family.”
On Tuesday night in the auditorium at the east campus of Warren High School in Gurnee, Williams took a crucial step in understanding the full range of his college options by taking part in a special symposium on recruiting for Lake County high schools organized by Warren head coaches Jason Ahonen (boys) and Ryan McCabe (girls). Williams joined a crowd of 150 that included coaches, parents and athletes.
Six coaches representing the four distinct levels of college play were invited to speak.
“Before the event, we were nervous,” McCabe said. “We did not know if there would be seven or 70 people there.”
Ahonen said the symposium lasted for one hour and 45 minutes, but it could have gone much longer.
Ten out of Lake County's 23 secondary schools had at least one player representative from either the boys or girls’ programs in attendance. Warren, Libertyville, Wauconda, Highland Park, Grant, Mundelein, Lakes, Grayslake Central, Carmel and Antioch had at least one player on hand. Many schools had multiple players.
Stan Anderson, the keeper coach for the men’s program at Division I Illinois-Chicago, moderated the event. He has 21 years of coaching experience at the top level. The Flames were the only Illinois program to qualify for the NCAA men’s tournament last fall.
The other panelists were Minos Vlamakis, the assistant men’s coach for the Flames; Brittany Nikolic, the women’s coach at Division II Wisconsin-Parkside; Steve Domin, the head men’s coach at Division III Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis.; Josiah Larson, the head men’s coach of Trinity International in Deerfield, an NAIA school; and Aron Gentry, who directs the men’s program at the College of Lake County, a junior college in Grayslake.
Anderson directed the questions for the coaches, beginning with more conceptual ideas about what the coaches seek out in prospective recruits. The program was designed to break down the process, and challenge or upend existing thoughts or preconceptions about how the process works. The panelists explored essential questions about when recruiting starts, the need for a highlight video, formal communications between coaches, recruits and their families, how players from smaller or developing high school or club programs are discovered, and and the vital importance of academics.
In a follow-up interview, Anderson said the greatest misconception about recruiting is two-fold.
“They don’t understand the academic piece and how that affects not only their recruiting but also their college entrance,” Anderson said. “The second part is what they see with football and basketball does not correlate to soccer, with either men or women. In Division I football, basketball and volleyball, in those sports you get a full ride or you get nothing. In all other sports, you get a partial (scholarship). Now, with soccer, ... teams get 9.9 (scholarships), if they are fully funded. If you have a 30-man roster, not even a third of the players are covered.
“The reality is your academics are probably more of your (recruiting) package than athletics in many scenarios.”
The panelists had a fact or fiction breakdown, and they also discussed the advent of recruiting services, how social media has altered recruiting and the evolving roles of players, parents, club and high school coaches and the college coaches. Human nature, Anderson said, is to hear what you want to hear. The panel worked hard to disentangle beliefs with a more rounded and fuller picture of how recruiting actually unfolds.
The panelists broke down the typical day for the athlete, how many scholarships their schools have, off-season training and how the programs determine an athlete’s suitability with the program. The coaches detailed their recruiting timelines, how they coordinate visits and develop their training.
In line with Anderson’s comments, a significant part of the program addressed academics, breaking down admission requirements, application fees, the role of academic advisors, graduation rates, college disciplines for soccer players, and how athletes apportion their time when training, traveling and playing affects their academic demands.
Importantly the symposium acknowledged differences in the recruitment of young men and women. “They talked about how the process for women’s soccer starts earlier than it does on the men’s side,” Ryan McCabe said.
Warren is a foundational program in Lake County. Ahonen has won two-thirds of his games during his 10-year coaching career. He engineered back-to-back state finals appearances in 2011 and 2012. The Blue Devils beat Naperville Central 2-1 in overtime to win the Class 3A state title in 2012. Ryan McCabe directed the greatest season in girls program history last year in directing the Blue Devils to a Class 3A sectional final.
“When I first started (at Warren), I was more concerned about establishing myself as a coach and our play on the field,” Ahonen said. “Over the last decade I came to realize having them be successful after high school, with the right values, was very important and we had to figure out the best path possible. As educators, our job is never done.
“I am always learning.”
Ahonen and McCabe each conduct end-of-the-year evaluation with their players. Ahonen heard from several of his underclassmen of their desire to seek out playing opportunities in college. He knew it was vital to get his athletes up to speed.
“The impulse behind the (symposium) was how my players have fared in their overall college experience and to look at how we have positioned ourselves in helping them go forward,” Ahonen said. “In talking with my former players, some have had a great experience, but a lot have not had the experience they hoped for.”
He approached his athletic director, Mark Pos, about his idea, and they quickly began putting the pieces in place. They created a special flyer to distribute to other coaches and athletic directors in Lake County.
The purpose of the event was not only to create a dialogue but open up the lines of communication so that players, their families and coaches had a direct path to a credible source -- the college coaches.
Ahonen noticed his own patterns in examining why some of his former players had a more beneficial college experience.
“I think a lot of players get caught up in the (college) tiers, Division I, Division II, and about one being better than the other,” Ahonen said. “It is less about the opportunities and educational experiences as much as what level they are going to play. I think they are limiting what is out there, as a player and as a student.
“I think the ones who have the best experiences have gone into college without a lot of preconceived notions,” Ahonen said. “When you don’t know what you are going to experience and are honest about what college is going to be like, you are going to open yourself up to opportunities.”
In the more open, even freewheeling part of the program, Anderson invited questions from players and their families. Using a special app, the assembled were able to anonymously text queries.
By the time it ended, the central figures saw a great deal to be optimistic about.
“Was it perfect?” Ahonen said. “No, it wasn’t. If that’s our start and foundation then it should be great. I’d like to make it an annual thing. With high schools it’s all about building relationships, and this was another opportunity to further benefit the players down the road.”
Mason Williams liked what he heard.
“It was definitely valuable to go there, and I was very happy I went,” he said. “I learned a lot about the process. I want to play in college, so this was important.”