TSA Tips - College & Junior Recruiting

As the Hockey season begins to heat up across the country, College Coaches and Junior Scouts have been spotted all over the rinks. Here are four tips that can help your player get identified.

1. Connect With The Coaches- If you are a Midget aged player at this point you have probably attended junior or college camps. It is important for the player to continue to follow up with those coaches that have seen you play. This can be done simply by shooting them an email or even better a text message. Coaches and scouts typically do not respond to each kid but they definitely remember names, more times your name across their screen the better. However, it is important to understand that this can be an over-utilized tool. Players should provide a monthly update on what they are accomplishing and highlight any important showcases or games that are in the near future.

2. Showcase Series - At TSA we try to educate our players on how the scouts and coaches operate. Which is why we try to get our players performing at their highest level at the most important time. Everyone has been to showcases where they are spread across several rinks with 100's of teams participating. It is important to identify the main arenas in which the event is taking place in and the prime scouting hours. Our advisors and scouts look at our client's schedule and highlight for our players their most important games. Understanding the most important game of the weekend is vital to your performance and your visibility as a player. 

3. Understand The Tournament, Your Skill Level And Diversify- Understanding what scouts are in the building then reaching out is a very basic way of expediating the process of scouting for your player. For example, if you are at a NAPHL event the player should be putting most of their efforts into reaching out to the NAHL scouts and coaches as they will be required to be there. Too many players send blanket emails to every college and junior program which simply put is not efficient or effective. The other trap players fall into is the fact they do not diversify their reach. Staying with the NAHL example, players and parents become so fixated on playing in the NAHL they fail to get noticed by other great leagues and programs. Every year players fail to make the NAHL and have no plan B, our advisors at TSA plan for that rainy day for our clients to make sure they are taken care of with several options. 

4. Performance And Key Player Attributes- Some key components that will make any player standout to a scout or a coach are the following: Compete level with a constant motor, physicality, blocking shots, capitalizing on your opportunities and puck management. Every coach wants the most talented and skilled player that goes without saying. However, role players such as checking line forwards, PK guys, long rangy defensemen and guys that are hard to play against draw just as much interest as the most skilled player on the ice. For our clients, we identify their elite skill set and make sure they play to their identity. Player's way too often think they are a type of player they are simply not, understand who you are and dominate that role. 

Getting scouting/identified is not an exact science and a lot of times it is all about right place right time. If you are a player all you can do is put your best foot forward. That's why at TSA we give our clients with education, resources and planning, emotional support and exposure to the right programs. With players at the NCAA level, USHL, NAHL and Canadian Junior our advisors work and connect your player to the right programs that fit your athlete.

If you are looking for help send us an email at info@tri-stateathletic.com with recruiting help in the subject line and a little career history about your player, for a free consultation. 

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