Old Recruiting in a New World

Over the past two decades, sports have become more dynamic, adaptable and connected. Online applications of all kinds are being created every day to ensure parents, athletes and staff get the most out of the game. 

But new technology doesn’t necessarily make things easier. For example, since technology makes sports more connected, today’s athletes have to compete with many other athletes for a spot on a roster. A team may hold a tryout knowing that 85% of their team is selected already, but hundreds of players will attend just for the taste of grabbing those remaining positions.

Teams face similar difficulties. They sift through scouting reports and analyze player information, all while watching as much gameplay footage as they can from hundreds of athletes. Teams invest resources to build great training camps to recruit players, but with so many athletes competing it’s difficult for them to feel satisfied after selection knowing that a better athlete may be out there.

Some teams are fortunate to have players to choose from. A lot of teams struggle with the complete opposite—not having full rosters. Many teams struggle to fill their rosters for reasons such as:

• Geography: Athletes and teams tend to stick close to home base.
• Lack of Information: Athletes aren’t made aware of opportunities.
• Competition: Teams feel intimated by larger organizations and athletes feel the same about other players in larger centers.

So is the old recruiting methodology really working for athletes and teams? Not really! Teams also need to promote themselves to potential players. More often than not players are choosing where they would like play, so it makes sense that teams just like players need to promote themselves to each other.

The word “networking” has been around for a very long time. Most consider its primary use to be for business. But it is a necessary function for so many things in life, including sports recruiting.

Take hockey for example. Most players go through minor hockey and their parents spend a ton of money on developing their player. What is all this development for if the parent or player doesn’t tell, show, advertise or promote it? Imagine if students went to University to train for a career then went home and waited for the employers to find them.

Thankfully this doesn’t happen too often or we’d see even more kids living in their parents basements. But the ones that want success go out and make it happen. They promote themselves with resumes and online on job boards and use recruiters to get their name out there.  They don’t sit and wait for someone to find them. They network with the right people and make success happen for them.

Now let’s apply this to sports like hockey. Players who want success need to do the same things as the new graduate. They need to promote themselves, they need a resume, they need video and they need to know their strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, they need to network. 

Networking is a big part of recruiting and if done properly more opportunities will become available for athletes and teams. The new world recruiter and recruit understands this.

This article was written by Bryan and Bailey Brant. Bryan is the President of Roster Point Hockey and Bailey is his son and business partner. Roster Point is a platform for hockey players and teams to network with one another to find new tangible opportunities. Their goal is to break down logistical barriers that restrict players from advancing their careers.