How To Recruit Athletes for Track & Field
Moderator: George Payan
-
George Payan
- Posts: 409
- Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2002 9:07 am
How To Recruit Athletes for Track & Field
How do you recruit athletes for track and field?
Last edited by George Payan on Mon Dec 30, 2002 1:16 pm, edited 3 times in total.
-
George Payan
- Posts: 409
- Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2002 9:07 am
Recruiting Athletes
The following are ideas by Coach Andrea Johnson. Andrea address the above question as follows:
Recruiting athletes for track and field is a continuous, never ending, year-round process. The goal of recruiting is to get as many athletes involved in your program as possible in an effort to increase your talent pool. No cuts is a way of life in the sport of track and field. Every individual who goes out for a team can fill a particular role. Even the least talented individual can fill the role of recruiting athletes (friends), fundraising, and even acting as a statisician as long as they follow all team rules and guidelines.
Whether you are an on-campus person or walk-on coach, two things are of major importance - communication and a visible person on campus and at school events. The best situation for recruiting athletes is as an on-campus teacher/coach, but as a walk-on coach recruiting athletes on campus is also achievable if you take the time and effort to recruit. Listed below are different means to assist you in your recruiting endeavors:
Incorporate a Track & Field Unit into your physical education program. Make this unit mandatory for every student enrolled in physical education.
If you are a physical education teacher on campus. volunteer to teach this unit or team teach it with other physcial education teachers. Sell the unit based on the fitness components associated with Track & Field. Many people have lobbied within school districts and successfully have incorporated this unit into physical education.
Stress the importance of making running a positive experience...not a punishment.
Communicate with all physical education instructors about yourself and your goal of building a track and field program. Ask for their assistance in recruiting top students in physical education and ask for a copy of their results of physical fitness tests.
Communicate with Athletic Director(s) and Athletic Director's secretary. Get rosters of all sports teams from the previous and current year.
Communicate with all coaches and get their support and athletes out for track & field. Track & Field benefits all sports in one way or another. Also support and attend other sporting events and sports programs.
Contact middle schools or feeder school's physical education teachers and get their physical fitness test results, athletic roster and top times from Physical education runs.
When counselors and administration make contacts with the middle schools and feeder schools to your campus for class enrollments, have them poll each student with an athletic questionnaire that has names and phone numbers for potential athletes. From questionnaires contact potential student-athletes at appropriate and legal times.
Bulletin Boards. Display track & field pictures on a year-round basis. Get bulletin boards in the office, classrooms, locker rooms, team rooms.
Display pictures, marks, names, especially fun pictures of special trips, events, athletes with medals and trophies.
Display trophies and awards in visible places.
Be visible on campus before school at lunch, after school in the quad and communicate with students. Do not intimidate. Athletes will come out for a caring coach.
Provide every teacher with a track & field poster to display in their classrooms. Make it a poster that teachers would want to post.
Plan special events/trips such as BBQ's, pasta feeds, beach trips, etc. Take pictures and display these on your bulletin boards.
Share your scores and results from races/meets. If you win, let everyone know. If you lose, recognize top performances and accomplishments.
Utilize local newspapers, school newspapers, daily bulletins - write your own articles.
T-Shirts/ Bumper Stickers are great ways to promote your program. Sell them as fundraisers and, from profits, give some away to visible people.
Athletes should wear t-shirts with the school logo on meet days or have a
day of meet dress day. The team is unified by wearing t-shirts or dressing up with girls in dresses/boys in dress clothes, etc.
Thank you for your interest in CoachesEducation.com. Please direct your questions or comments to the Coaches Forum where coaches can best answer your specific area of need.
George Payan
www.coacheseducation.com
Recruiting athletes for track and field is a continuous, never ending, year-round process. The goal of recruiting is to get as many athletes involved in your program as possible in an effort to increase your talent pool. No cuts is a way of life in the sport of track and field. Every individual who goes out for a team can fill a particular role. Even the least talented individual can fill the role of recruiting athletes (friends), fundraising, and even acting as a statisician as long as they follow all team rules and guidelines.
Whether you are an on-campus person or walk-on coach, two things are of major importance - communication and a visible person on campus and at school events. The best situation for recruiting athletes is as an on-campus teacher/coach, but as a walk-on coach recruiting athletes on campus is also achievable if you take the time and effort to recruit. Listed below are different means to assist you in your recruiting endeavors:
Incorporate a Track & Field Unit into your physical education program. Make this unit mandatory for every student enrolled in physical education.
If you are a physical education teacher on campus. volunteer to teach this unit or team teach it with other physcial education teachers. Sell the unit based on the fitness components associated with Track & Field. Many people have lobbied within school districts and successfully have incorporated this unit into physical education.
Stress the importance of making running a positive experience...not a punishment.
Communicate with all physical education instructors about yourself and your goal of building a track and field program. Ask for their assistance in recruiting top students in physical education and ask for a copy of their results of physical fitness tests.
Communicate with Athletic Director(s) and Athletic Director's secretary. Get rosters of all sports teams from the previous and current year.
Communicate with all coaches and get their support and athletes out for track & field. Track & Field benefits all sports in one way or another. Also support and attend other sporting events and sports programs.
Contact middle schools or feeder school's physical education teachers and get their physical fitness test results, athletic roster and top times from Physical education runs.
When counselors and administration make contacts with the middle schools and feeder schools to your campus for class enrollments, have them poll each student with an athletic questionnaire that has names and phone numbers for potential athletes. From questionnaires contact potential student-athletes at appropriate and legal times.
Bulletin Boards. Display track & field pictures on a year-round basis. Get bulletin boards in the office, classrooms, locker rooms, team rooms.
Display pictures, marks, names, especially fun pictures of special trips, events, athletes with medals and trophies.
Display trophies and awards in visible places.
Be visible on campus before school at lunch, after school in the quad and communicate with students. Do not intimidate. Athletes will come out for a caring coach.
Provide every teacher with a track & field poster to display in their classrooms. Make it a poster that teachers would want to post.
Plan special events/trips such as BBQ's, pasta feeds, beach trips, etc. Take pictures and display these on your bulletin boards.
Share your scores and results from races/meets. If you win, let everyone know. If you lose, recognize top performances and accomplishments.
Utilize local newspapers, school newspapers, daily bulletins - write your own articles.
T-Shirts/ Bumper Stickers are great ways to promote your program. Sell them as fundraisers and, from profits, give some away to visible people.
Athletes should wear t-shirts with the school logo on meet days or have a
day of meet dress day. The team is unified by wearing t-shirts or dressing up with girls in dresses/boys in dress clothes, etc.
Thank you for your interest in CoachesEducation.com. Please direct your questions or comments to the Coaches Forum where coaches can best answer your specific area of need.
George Payan
www.coacheseducation.com