The Recruiting Process w Path Fore Success

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome. Cause you are now listening to from the CART Pass with your host, Trent Roberts, bringing you tips, support and player recognition and education with the experts for parents and junior golfers in Indiana. This is from the CART Path with your host, Trent Roberts. [00:00:25] Speaker B: Foreign. This is Trent Roberts with From the CART Path. I want to welcome back Lauren Smith from Path for Success. Lauren and I have been having some chats lately and we want to get more into the recruiting process because it is getting that time of the year where the current sophomores are going into that June 15th date and recruiting is going to get heavy. Lauren. [00:00:53] Speaker A: Yeah, it is. It's right around the corner. I mean, the fact we basically are already through March by the time this is released. So April is here and it feels like golf season now. [00:01:05] Speaker B: It does. You know, we're in that Indiana weather up here at least, where it's 70 degrees one day and it's 38 degrees with 35 mile per hour winds the next day. It's. It's my philosophy of playing a tournament in March in the Midwest is dangerous, but I respect all those kids that are out there playing in some of those tournaments right now. [00:01:23] Speaker A: Heck, yeah. I mean, I, we've talked about this a lot before, but anytime you can play in a competitive event, I'm all for it. So, you know, even if the weather's bad, go for it and it'll only make you stronger down the road. [00:01:35] Speaker B: Lauren, I'm speaking from the parent side. I don't want to sit outside in this weather, but I know the kids want to be out there playing. [00:01:41] Speaker A: You're speaking from the car. That side, so. [00:01:43] Speaker B: Exactly. Well, and speaking of from the car path, you know, we just purchased one of those cart covers. [00:01:49] Speaker A: Oh. [00:01:49] Speaker B: So that's going to. Maybe we should start playing in that, that cold weather. [00:01:53] Speaker A: Yeah, those car covers. Hey, especially as my time as a college coach. Anyone with a cart cover, you knew they were an experienced college coach. Yeah. [00:02:01] Speaker B: What is it? [00:02:02] Speaker A: Block a few times. [00:02:03] Speaker B: And as a parent, you're supposed to be the experienced parent. It's taken us five years to get one of those, so we might just have been dumb for five years and now we're smart because we just bought one. [00:02:13] Speaker A: That's all right. It's all right. You'll make up for a lost time with it. [00:02:16] Speaker B: Absolutely. Well, hey, Lauren, I know we wanted to get going on talking about the process and obviously you work with a lot of junior players across the country and I know you've picked up some people from Arizona lately from the podcast, which is awesome. And someone from Arizona that actually pays attention to me, that's. I think it's amazing that they like me. Makes me feel special. But anyways, let's get into talking about. I am a new player that's starting the recruiting process. Not a new player, but new to the recruiting process. Let's talk about getting me started and what I'm going to have to do. Some of the basics of what you do with your players. [00:02:57] Speaker A: Yeah. So the first thing we talk about is academics. Any college coach is going to make sure that you're doing well in the classroom. And 99.9% of the golfers that we work with, for the most part, don't have any issues in the classroom. It's really important on the golf side of things because we miss so much class and the college golf world. And a college coach is going to be, you know, looking sure. Making sure that you can handle time management skills on the road. Because you're on the road a lot. You're missing a lot of Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday classes. So they want to make sure that you, as a high school student, are performing well in the classroom. And, you know, that can correlate to college classes. And of course, you're going to have support at the college level. But, you know, first of all, they're making sure that, you know, the kids that they're recruiting are doing well in the classroom and have, you know, a high academic standard. So that's. That's kind of where we start the recruiting process. And I would never want to lead, you know, a player or a family down the road of, oh, yeah, we can do all this for you. And then, you know, they have a 2.0 GPA and might not be eligible to play and, you know, ncaa. So those are the things that we start with. Like I said, for the most part, not an issue for most people, which is a good thing. But if, you know, if there's someone listening that is struggling academically and thinks they can get by athletically, you know, with golf, I would say keep working hard in the classroom. You know, golf is a game that you can play for life, but academics are really, really important. [00:04:31] Speaker B: Would you think the juco ral is a direction if they're struggling academically to help them out? [00:04:36] Speaker A: Yeah, there's. There's definitely different routes, and I want to make sure that's clear, too. Like, if we have someone that comes to us who is maybe not academically eligible, there are different routes that you can take, and the juco route being one of those where you can play competitive golf for two years at the junior college level and then transfer to a D1 school once your credits are where they need to be. So, yeah, that's definitely a route or, you know, taking a gap year or something like that. So we've seen it done, you know, a couple of ways, but like I said, for the most part, we don't have to worry about it too much. But academics are important. You know, maintaining a strong GPA at a high school level is important to college coaches. And, you know, just making sure that you're. You're doing what's needed in the classroom. [00:05:20] Speaker B: That's great. I think you're right. I think academics are key because I don't think a coach wants to bring in someone that's not going to work hard in the classroom. [00:05:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:05:27] Speaker B: Because that probably means they may not work hard on the golf course or their focus is just the golf course and not remembering why they're at the school in the first place, which is to get a degree. [00:05:38] Speaker A: Yeah. And what, what's the saying? I mean, you know, you. You talk to people all the time, and you're a student athlete, and the word student comes first for a reason. And, you know, not to get into the nitty gritty, but it is a college coach's responsibility to make sure that they graduate those students on their roster. And, you know, you're. You're graded based off of that. You get graded by the university level, and your athletic director, especially on the golf side of things, expects all of your student athletes not to have any issues. So, yeah, it's. It's important. And I think if you can show a strong work ethic on the high school level, that'll only continue into the college side of things, which is, you know, what those college coaches are looking for. Great. [00:06:17] Speaker B: I know one of the things we've talked about before is your social media presence. [00:06:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:06:23] Speaker B: Talk a little bit about that with me. [00:06:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I think, you know, step two, it's. And I wouldn't necessarily say that social media is step two, but nowadays especially, I mean, I know we've had a podcast about nil, but nli. Wow. I've said NIL and NLI so many times, I get them confused. But social media is really important. I think I. I've seen a lot of golfers recently who are developing brands for themselves, and they have thousands of followers on social media, and college coaches are taking note, and they can see their practices throughout the day. They can see what they're doing on the weekends. They can, it's kind of an insight into their world. And Instagram has become really popular for, for doing that. You know, when I was coaching, Facebook was the thing that you would go on and technically name into an Instagram. You know, it really didn't exist. But now Instagram is kind of Snapchat. There are probably other social media, you know, apps that I'm missing here. But you know, those are ways that a college coach can get an insight into your life without actually, you know, being with you on a daily basis. And like we've talked about before, you can't always what you want to about a kid through an email, you know, that initial email that you're sending. So, you know, being able to look them up on Instagram and getting an insight into what, you know, what they're like, what they like to do outside of golf, all those things is something that we at Path for Success try to help the kids with and developing a, you know, golf specific Instagram. And it's, you know, something that we want them to look back on in a couple years and think, wow, I'm glad I have all these memories and videos and stuff to look back on because it's all part of the process, something that they can be proud of. So yeah, I mean, social media has become a huge, huge factor in the recruiting process and one that coaches take very seriously. [00:08:13] Speaker B: I would say that Instagram's probably the biggest one from the coaches and from the schools that I am seeing. Obviously with what we have done with from the car path, we have all of our avenues with TikTok, we have our Instagram and then we have our X slash Twitter. [00:08:28] Speaker A: Right. [00:08:29] Speaker B: I can't give them the name X at this point. However, with that all being said is I'm seeing more and more of the Instagram following for the coaches. [00:08:39] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:08:40] Speaker B: Because it's easier for them to see certain things with the connections to a swing or a, a quick video about how they played somewhere or time it update. [00:08:50] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's a perfect insight into a kid who, especially if you're, you know, a kid from Indiana who's interested in playing in the Southeast or in the Southwest or wherever it might be that you're not located near the university that you want to play at and the coach isn't, you know, regularly seeing you play in person. The Instagram page can really give them what they're looking for and kind of develops a relationship through that. And it's, it's really important. And as important as, as Instagram is I also want to note that it can also be a detriment to your correct recruiting process. I have seen multiple cases where, you know, an Instagram post or a comment on a post, you know, the college coach finds it or the assistant coach finds it and they market it get off their list just based off of what they've seen. And it's no like, oh, you know, why did you say this? Well, no, you don't get a chance to explain yourself, you know, in that process. So, you know, careful, careful what you're posting. I always tell our kids, post something like, your grandparents would see it and be proud of it. You know, if grandma and granddad are looking at it and think, oh, gosh, why did little Susie or little Johnny post about this? Yeah, it's not the right thing to, to be posting because like I said, college coaches are seeing everything. So. [00:10:09] Speaker B: And I think too is one of the things I have learned real quick is if you put music on in the background, make sure it's appropriate, make sure it's not so explicit. At the same time, I found myself the other day, I posted one and I'm like, ooh, delete real fast. Because I didn't realize some of the words that were going to come out of the mouth here. [00:10:26] Speaker A: Yeah. And I definitely think, I mean, you know, college coaches aren't, they're, they understand that that's going on. The, the way of the world is changing and. But at the end of the day, they're trying to recruit you to be a representative of the university and their college golf team. So you're going to be traveling with that logo on your hat and that logo on your polo. And, you know, you're going to, you know, whether it's Ball State, App State, Arizona State, Cal, Florida State, whatever, you're representing that university with pride and hopefully in the right way. [00:11:03] Speaker B: Same on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back. [00:11:06] Speaker A: Absolutely, absolutely. Especially in the golf world because obviously, you know, have that name on the back of the polo. [00:11:12] Speaker B: So that'd be kind of interesting if somebody tried that out. Maybe I'll do that next month. I'll put the name of my, my last name in the back of my polo for you, Lauren. So you can find me at the golf course. [00:11:23] Speaker A: Yes. [00:11:24] Speaker B: So we've got our, we got our website, we've got our academics going. What do I do next? [00:11:31] Speaker A: So next key step, we're going to research schools. And it sounds cliche, but we need the list of schools to be long. We also need to be honest about where we are with our current golf game and assess those schools with their current rankings, current scoring averages, all that stuff. We, we talk to a lot of our clients who come in, have dreams of playing at certain schools, and that's absolutely wonderful. I want you to have dreams to go big, but at the end of the day, we need to make sure that some of the schools that we're looking at make sense for our current golf game. And I, I pulled some information just so that people, you know, listening would have a few stats. And I think, you know, at the end of the day, it's important because golf, golf is all numbers. Numbers don't lie. We always preach. Look at the scoring averages. And one of the first questions we ask is, do you want to be on, you know, the, the playing roster, the starting five of the college golf team? And most of the time, the kids say yes. And my next question is, do you have any idea what the kids on that team are shooting? And if they say no, then we try to help them find that information. So Clips does a good job of posting that information. Go ahead. [00:12:54] Speaker B: So let me ask you this, Lauren, because I have two years of eligibility left, and I want to go to Auburn. What am I going to have to shoot if I go to Auburn? [00:13:05] Speaker A: So, Trent, I've never actually seen you play golf, but I'll send you some videos. Yeah. On the men's side of things, Auburn is ranked number one in the country. Go Tigers. Right. They average per round. So again, I don't know. I'm assuming a lot of people know this, but in golf, you travel with five kids and you count four scores. So Auburn men's golf averages 273.6 around, and that's some really good golf. They're the number one player on their team averages. Averages is 68.2, and the number five player on their team averages a 69.7. So if you want to go play for the number one team in the country on the men's side, you have to average below a 70 for all rounds played. And there's a reason why they're number one in the country, you know, and won a national championship last year, and, you know, they have some of the best golfers in the world playing for them. But the great thing is that there are other schools on the list if we're not averaging a 67 point, you know, 68.2 or 69.7. I pulled some other schools, like Temple, for example, who is ranked 225th in the country and they average a 297.5 per round. So you're talking about a, you know, 24 shot increase per round between the number one ranked men's college in the country and the number 225 ranked team in the country. And if you want to play for them on their top five, the, the number one player right now for them averages 74.0. So now if I'm a college, you know, if I'm a high school athlete, saying okay, I can maybe that seems more attainable right now for where I am. And their number five player average is a 76.7. So those are things we do. And on the women's side, Stanford's number one, they average a 275 per round. Their number one player average is a 68.5. And we'll, we'll jump down to the number 225th ranked team, South Carolina, upstate, near us in South Carolina, they average a 312.2. So again, if, you know, we're doing the work we need to do, we can find colleges that are most likely going to fit your scoring average. But it's really important to do that research beforehand because I don't, you know, I, I've talked to so many kids and realistically, the schools that they're naming are, they're all really good schools. But you know, right now, as maybe a freshman in high school, you're averaging an 83 or an 84, and that's fine. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. But if we have Auburn on the list, as a guy, you know, that means we're gonna have to shave off, what, 14 strokes in two years. And I don't know about many people, but that's pretty difficult to do. And again, it's not my job to tell you whether it's wrong or right, but it's my job to make sure that the schools on your list realistic. And that's, that's all that we preach, like, make sure you're setting realistic goals for yourself. [00:16:21] Speaker B: Yeah, real quick. You talked about the teams. I looked at Ball State women's real quick, and they ranked number 159 with a scoring average of 303.6. And then I even looked up one of the male players on the boys team, Carter Smith is ranked 420th in the country, averaging 72.9. So you're right, there's a place for everybody and Carter's a great player, but, you know, it's, you hit the nail on the head is if I average 77.8 at 6700 yards, I'm going to have to be able to drop my score up to 7,000 yards to get to where I want to go at that point. [00:17:01] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think we just don't want to set you up for failure. And I think so many kids go through this process with dreams to play at big schools. And that's, like I said, that's wonderful. But let's make sure that we're researching everything on the list. [00:17:18] Speaker B: What information do you have for like D2 averages, D3 or NAIA? [00:17:23] Speaker A: So I've, I've got the D2 information in front of me, and I don't have NAIA, but I can get that for US men's D2. So I want to, you know, put this out there, too. And I think the. I talk to so many people who say, oh, you play college golf or, you know, you want to play college golf, you can get a scholarship. Those times are gone. Maybe, you know, 30, 40 years ago, that was the case. But yeah, that's. Yeah, you might get a percentage of a scholarship, you might get academic scholarship. That's great. But getting full rides just because you know how to pick up a golf club, it's not happening anymore. And the D2 level is just as strong. The first 10, 20, 30 schools. [00:18:06] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:18:07] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, Colorado Christian is ranked number one. On the men's side, they average a 274.7, which is just a stroke higher than Auburn. Now, I know they're playing different golf courses, potentially at different lengths. I know that. But that's some darn good golf that they're playing. Their number one. Their number one player average is a 67.6, and their number five player averages a 71.4. So if you want to get in that van to go play golf at the D2 level for the number one team in the country, you need to be breaking 70 for the most part. Now, if we drop down to a school ranked 50th, Embry Riddle on the men's side is ranked 50th. They average a 291.2 per round. Their number one player averages right now is 72.3, and their number five player average is a 74.8. So if I'm looking at those scores and I think, okay, that might be more attainable. On the women's side, Anderson is the number one team in the country currently, and they average a 285.8 for a round. And they're real quick yeah, Real quick. [00:19:08] Speaker B: For our listeners, that's Anderson in South Carolina. I want to make sure we confirm that because we do have a D3 program in Anderson, Indiana called Anderson. So I just. Sorry to interrupt you, Lauren, but our listeners are like Anderson's. I just want to make sure we have, we have that correct. [00:19:23] Speaker A: Yeah, that's Anderson, South Carolina, and their number one player shoots averages of 71.2. So even on the women's side of things, you know, all the time we, we have questions like, oh, D2 such a step down. Well, really, because it doesn't sound like it's much of a step down to me. I know some very high quality players who are playing on the D2 level and the D3 level and the NAIA level. [00:19:48] Speaker B: Right. [00:19:48] Speaker A: Let's not, you know, get anything twisted here so that I want to make sure, you know, people know it goes back to the initial conversation. There's a place for everyone. It's about doing the research and finding the spot. But there's some really good golf being played across the board on all. [00:20:04] Speaker B: While we're talking about naia. I know we're going to get some more information on scores to people, but I wanted to point out Marion real quick. The ranked number five in the country with a scoring average of 295.8. And when you think about that, it's, that's a great scoring average. And we also know that Marion plays a lot of D1 teams in the fall and sometimes in the spring as well. So they play a great schedule. So I think when you're talking to me about all these different schools, you need to go look at their schedules as well. On top of that, just worry about what division are they. To give you a quick idea, Emma Wheeler from Marion averages 73.5. So here she is averaging 73.5 playing in a IA level. And I know the family and she could have played at bigger schools, but I know she loved the coach at Marion and I know Dan's talked about coming on the show, so I wanted to make sure we point that out real quick too. Like you said, there's a place for everybody and I want to make sure our listeners understand that as we're. Because I don't want a player to be like they're so focused on playing the power five conference. [00:21:15] Speaker A: Right. [00:21:15] Speaker B: And then they realize they don't even call me back or email me or look at my stuff. Well, that's because you're not playing in some of the things we're going to talk about later. The Right. Tournaments. [00:21:25] Speaker A: Right. [00:21:26] Speaker B: The, you're not shooting low numbers, all that stuff. So let's, I just wanted to point that out real quick. Sorry, I went, you know me, no, it's fine. [00:21:33] Speaker A: And I mean, on the men's side there are 308 ranked D1 teams. So I was giving examples of teams that are obviously ranked. Yeah, very high on the list. But I want you to know, you know, if you scroll down that list and look at some of the scoring averages further down for those kids not breaking 70 every round, you're going to find a school for you and you know that happens on the men's and women's side. D2, D3, all of those rounds. So it's all about, you know, doing the research and that's, that's ultimately what's most important, you know, doing the research. And that's what, you know, we do at Path for Success is help you with that research. And I think it can become overwhelming with all that information. And you know, that's just stuff I pulled this afternoon to look at and it's a lot of numbers. And you know, I show that to a 14 year old and they're looking at their parents like, what does that mean? Well, you know, that, that's our job to make sure that, you know, those, those numbers make sense. [00:22:32] Speaker B: And how do you talk to a young player that sees that and they still, why can't I play that? And how do you explain to them we need to open up our. [00:22:50] Speaker A: Yeah, I think, I think the proof is in the pudding. I think golf is a unique sport that we have information that's live from current golf tournaments that, you know, either the junior is playing or the college that they're really interested in is playing and we can see what those players are shooting. And you know, if again, if they come to me and say, hey, I want to be top five at, you know, Stanford as a female and you know, they're not breaking 70 every round. I'm going to say, okay, well, you know, the chances of that aren't likely, but I'm going to support your dream and we're going to send those emails and stuff. But, you know, it's, it's a hard line. And I think, you know, I don't have any kids personally, but I feel like they're all my kids. And I feel like as a mentor to all of these kids, you never want to break anyone's heart. But I think it's important. Again, I talk about it all the time, being realistic and I, I never Want tell a kid like, oh, absolutely, you can go play at Stanford, you can go play at Auburn when the numbers don't support it. [00:23:59] Speaker B: But I think, and I think that helps the parent too, as a parent going through the process of the realization of. As much as I would love for any kid to be able to go to an Auburn or Duke or you name the top tier program. [00:24:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:17] Speaker B: You have to be realistic as a parent, too, to understand, hey, they may not get to go to the big time program that we've always dreamed of, but guess what? They still get to go play somewhere and they get to go play somewhere that's right for them. [00:24:31] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think, you know, most of the kids that we work with, they're super competitive and they want to go play, and most of the kids that we work with want to go play immediately. And if I have the chance to go to, you know, Ball State or South Florida or Toledo or Temple or whatever, they're ranked whenever they're ranked and be a contender to play immediately as a freshman, I mean, you know, I'm, I'm in. Yeah. Because trust me, as a player who had to sit at home a few times in my college career, excuse my language, but it sucks to sit at home. And I think that's something on the high school level you don't experience for the most part because everyone gets to play. You know, everyone gets, and everyone gets the. It's changing. But, you know, you get your participation trophy at the end of the year. Well, yeah, when you get to college, I mean, you know, you're, you're duking it out and that can be a podcast for a different time, like what happens on the first day of college kind of thing. But you are duking it out with your teammates for a spot on, you know, in the playing five on the roster. And it's not always pretty, but it's, it's something that I think, like I said, if we're doing research and, and find a spot, let's do it. [00:25:47] Speaker B: So we've been researching. [00:25:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:49] Speaker B: I've, I've found my list of schools I want to reach out to or I need to. What do I do next? So some of the basics next, right? [00:25:55] Speaker A: Yeah. So we're going to write the list of schools down and then all we're going to do is start contacting coaches. You're. And it doesn't matter how old you are when you contact a coach. I think people see the rules and think, oh, I can't contact them until June 15th. You know, after my sophomore year at. That's not true. You can contact a college coach whenever you want to send emails, get on their radar. We tell kids who are, you know, young all the time, send. As a college coach, I had a folder in my email account, and I would get an email from them. We'll fast forward it, you know, kid in 2027, 2028. And I would read it and I'd move it in that folder. And when June 15th came around, we would open that folder up and go down the list and see who was, you know, consistent, basically. So we're going to reach out to those coaches of the colleges that we listed, and we're gonna, you know, write a really impressive email. And I think that's the one thing that gets lost in translation. Everyone can send an email, but you don't get a chance to make a first impression except for one time. Right. So, you know, what. What you say in that email, what you include in the email is very important how. And something I've learned about, you know, this generation of kids that we're working with is they have a hard time talking about themselves in a positive light. And so, you know, trying to boost. Boost them up and say, hey, this is your time to kind of brag about yourself. What did you do? Well, this year, you know, I can ask any kid, what was the worst golf shot you hit? And they can name it immediately for the most part. But I asked them, okay, what's the best golf shot yet? I don't remember. Well, same thing about when you're talking to yourself like a college coach is going to understand the bad, but they want to know what you do well, what are you going to bring to their program? What. Why can't they live without you? And so, you know, that that's all the stuff that I'm sending the college coaches and, you know, you're sending your resume, your tournament schedule, anything that, yeah, you think is important to that coach. You're. You're including it. Gpa. Because again, that's what's important. Future schedule, past results, anything that's going to, you know, say, oh, wow, you know, they shot 70 at this golf course. It's really hard. Oh, they shot, you know, 72. They. Oh, I was at that tournament recruiting another kid, and the conditions were tough, and they played pretty well. Anything like that. We're just trying to get on the radar is, you know, that initial contact. That's what we're trying to do. [00:28:28] Speaker B: What do you say to kids that sometimes hide bad tournaments? [00:28:32] Speaker A: You can't hide bad tournaments. You can try to hide bad tournaments, but a college coach is going to find them. And then, honestly, it makes things more awkward down the road when the college says, hey, what about that tournament? And you know, in Pinehurst in December, like, what? Why isn't it on your sheet? [00:28:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:28:50] Speaker A: And then you say, you know, it makes for an awkward conversation. And you never want to start a relationship with a coach with white lies. Right. So never hide behind tough scores. That's when communication with coaches becomes so important. It's, you know, I have a background and I'm reaching out to a coach saying, hey, coach, you know, this is. You obviously probably saw what I shot this weekend. This is what's going on. This is what I'm gonna work on. This is what I learned. It's really important. Like, you. You don't want that college coach to see you shoot 82, 83 and sit there and wonder like, oh, I'm gonna take them off the list now. No, we're gonna contact them and let them know what's going on, what you need to work on, what we're striving for. Hey, you could be going through a change. You could live in Indiana and not played on grass for the past three months. Those are things that college coaches need to know. [00:29:43] Speaker B: We all understand that in Indiana that none of us. Boy, I would tell you middle October to be getting in November is when you're no longer hitting on grass. And if it's too cold out, you're heading into a wall. [00:29:56] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, I. I played college golf in the mountains of North Carolina, and we would, you know, hit foam golf balls through an upright on the practice football field and then go compete, you know, in h. Had the weekend after that. And. Yeah, I mean, so even on the college level, like, you're going to run into times where you. You get kids who aren't as prepared. But I think being honest about your situation and what you're going through is really important for the coach, and it just helps build that relationship with that coach. Right. They're going to get to know your story a little more. They're going to get to understand who you are as a person that you're willing to be open about, you know, your. [00:30:35] Speaker B: Your. [00:30:35] Speaker A: The positives and the negatives and what, you know, all that kind of stuff. So just being open and honest and. So much of the recruiting process is about communication, and it's. It's just really, really vital. [00:30:49] Speaker B: Well, one of the things we talked about a few times Is tournament selection. [00:30:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:54] Speaker B: And so let's talk a little bit about tournament selection. [00:30:56] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:57] Speaker B: And before that, I forgot to ask in the beginning, but you know me, I like to go back and forth when we talk about tournaments. Have you been to any tournaments lately? [00:31:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I. A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go the Peggy Kirk Bell Tour. They were hosting a pretty big event at Finley, which is University of North Carolina, Chapel Hills home tournament. And I hadn't been on that golf course, they just renovated it within the past year. And I played a college event there way back, way back in the day. So the course has changed quite a bit. [00:31:32] Speaker B: They have metal woods back back then. Lauren, when you play. [00:31:35] Speaker A: Okay. I was playing with persimmon. Yeah, persimmons and the golden ages. But anyways, it was great to be back at Findlay and then kind of get a sneak peek of their college facilities. You want to talk about some of the best in the country. I mean, they're. They're definitely doing it right there at Carolina. But I got the opportunity to, you know, do a practice round with one of our clients. And that's, that's what I love most. Right. Like being on the golf course and trying to help bridge the gap. I talk about this every time that someone asked me what, what I love to do. And it's bridging the gap between junior golf and college golf and trying to help them understand, you know, the yardage book and how this yardage book is going to help me. Like, no, it's not something that my, my dad or mom paid 25 or $30 for. This is a tool. [00:32:23] Speaker B: Guilty. [00:32:24] Speaker A: Yeah. This is a tool to, you know, it would just, it would be like, like you showing up for a test that you haven't studied for. Right. And I would say most of us, like, yeah, that might have happened to one or two of us, but for the most part, we're gonna try to take some time to study before the test, and that's what the practice round is for. And it's really interesting. I mean, the, the girl that we were playing with, she played her practice round with a girl who is committed to an ACC school and she also played with a girl, a young, young up and coming superstar in North Carolina. And to see the differences between the three, I mean, you've got one who's already looking ahead to college, one who's trying to make a decision for college, and one who's loving life on the golf course and just wants to play golf. [00:33:16] Speaker B: No stress with recruiting yet. [00:33:17] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's the beauty of the sport. You know, that those three girls at three different levels were able to play a practice run together and get along and, you know, come away and take a, take a picture on the 18th tee and say, hey, you know, these, these three girls had a great time. So, yeah, I mean, being on the golf course, that's the most recent tournament I was at. That was your initial question. [00:33:40] Speaker B: So that tournament, let's use this as our example that the player that you work with, how did the two of you decide this would be good for her? [00:33:50] Speaker A: It's a tournament that we were able to go back on from past results that Peggy Kirkwell posts and see that the field of that tournament has been strong in years past. And I think for a student athlete who is looking to, especially if they have any interest in playing, in our case here in North Carolina, in the Southeast, if you're playing closer to schools that you have an interest in, it gives that college coach the ability to come see you. You know, if you're playing in Indiana all the time, but you're really interested in schools in the Southeast, you're probably not going to see as many of those coaches. So, you know, this family put that on their, their radar as a, as a tournament that they were going to see if they could travel to, and it worked out for them. It also comes with cost. I mean, you know, it costs a lot of money to play in these golf tournaments. So I think you have to pick and choose wisely. You, you, you need to play in tournaments that historically have a decent field. If you're looking to go D1, like competitive D1, if. And, you know, you had a podcast with Tugger, the rankings, you need a certain amount of tournaments to play in. You want to play against better players so that your ranking can continue to go in, you know, a good direction. It's all those things that we take into consideration. You know, if you're playing against in a tournament with two or three competitors, it might not even count towards rankings. And, and now, as important as rankings are becoming to college coaches, I would highly suggest, you know, doing more research on those tournaments before you sign up for them. And the great thing is now, I mean, back in the dark ages when I was playing golf, you signed up for an event and you got a list of tee times, right, and you just hope that there was a lot of girls that were playing. Now you can see, you know, the participants that are playing and, you know, kind of get an idea for who's playing. [00:35:49] Speaker B: And it Just made me laugh real quick. Lauren. I remember my days at the Little Caesars Junior Tour in Indiana where you talk about the sheets that you would get in the mail. You get excited, and then you had to rank in order the six tournaments that you wanted to play in over the summer, and you didn't even know which ones you were getting into until they mailed you back and said, here's where you're playing. [00:36:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:36:11] Speaker B: And to go to the world now where it's like, click, click, click, click. I'm done. [00:36:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:36:16] Speaker B: Man, these kids are lucky. They have no clue. [00:36:19] Speaker A: But, you know, it's not, it's not. Again, I know cost is a huge factor for these terms. So if, you know, we need to pick and choose like four or five that are really important or qualifiers or whatever it might be, like, that's, that's something that we take pride into, like sitting down with the family and going through a schedule and saying, hey, you know this how. And another thing we talk about, how have you played at that course in the past and why do you keep going to this course if you suck at it? [00:36:49] Speaker B: Right. [00:36:50] Speaker A: You know, and it's, it's a thing that a college coach will do too. Like on the college level, if your team historically doesn't play well at an event, we'll look for a different event. And there's no shame in saying, like, oh, just a course doesn't set up well for me now if it's, you know, the Indiana girls or Indiana Boys State am, like, we're gonna go play and compete because those are big tournaments. But if they're 12 day events that there's other things happen, happening around, around that time frame that, you know, we can playing instead. It's, it's decisions like that that make a difference. And then, you know, you're probably happier playing in another event on a golf course that you're maybe more comfortable on. So those are all things we look at. [00:37:26] Speaker B: Like you said, it's normal where the coaches are too. Like you just mentioned the Indiana Junior PGA and the Indiana Junior Tournament. And the Ball State coach mentioned in a meeting that that's his, the three day tournament's his favorite one to go watch the kids play because it is a three day event with a cut. So he wants to see the kids under pressure. So you're right. Find the events where the coaches are. [00:37:46] Speaker A: Yeah, find them and, and trust me, they'll be there at those events that are highly ranked. And there's no better practice that you can get as a junior golfer than playing in a three day event. Because most likely, you know, all the college events you're playing in are going to be 18, 18, 18 or 36 holes, 18 hole events. And I mean, you're going to be dog tired after them. But, you know, proving to a college coach that you can play those, you know, longer events and make a cut and even if you're barely making the cut, like, and if you miss the cut, even. Where were we trying to make the cut on the past, you know, last couple holes or, you know, can I look at your scorecard? And you finished double, double, double, and you didn't care and you wanted to pick your ball up and go home. Those are all things coaches are looking at. [00:38:31] Speaker B: So one of the things I've already kind of gotten out of this is when you're doing your research and you're doing your tournaments, you've got to put some goals in place while you're doing all that, because obviously you want to make sure you're doing the right thing. So talk a little bit about setting your realistic goals. [00:38:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's, you know, at the end of an initial phone call with us, that's one of the things we talk about, like what are next steps and what are our goals going forward? And it's different for every person we work with. And that's the beauty in what we do. You know, nothing is the same. I think the, the realistic goals come from researching your realistic schools and being really honest about where you are in your current golf game. And I want to make sure everyone knows, like, just because you're at point A as a golfer in high school doesn't mean that you can't get to point B and become better. You know, that's. I, I don't want to, I want to make sure everyone knows that like our, our goal is to help you through this process and our other goal is to try to watch you become a better golfer in high school. [00:39:36] Speaker B: You made a great point knowing setting your goals and trying to get to that next level. And we talked about Tugger a little bit earlier and one of the greatest things that they put on their side is that glide path. Because a kid averaging 81 as a freshman in high school is on path and on direction for a mid tier, Division 1 program where if you're sitting at home and you're a freshman averaging 81.5 or 0.6, just you're on the right, you're going the right direction. And I want to make sure that the listeners Understand that, that just because your kids are freshmen in high school does not mean they need to be shooting 67 to play at Auburn today. [00:40:15] Speaker A: Correct? Yeah. And I wanted to make sure that was clear. My point to all that was, hey, you have to be realistic about where you are currently too. Correct. Make sure the schools that we're researching make sense. And I think that's all part of the goal setting. The thing we like to do too is involve, like, we're very open about not being your swing coach. Like, we'll, we'll bring in your SW coach, try to build a relationship with them and see, you know, where you are. And if we see things in a practice round that might, you know, be red flags and trying to build relationships with them. And because at the end of the day, our goal for you, setting goals is to become the best player and person you can be whenever you decide to be done with us. So, you know, when you walk away from the recruiting process, we hope that, that we can help that player and that family with that. [00:41:06] Speaker B: You know, Lauren, when you met me a couple years ago, you thought this will be a three to four year relationship. And I don't think you realize you were walking into a lifetime relationship. So my wife apologizes ahead of in advance here. So. No, I, I just wanted to make sure to point that out for everybody and I. [00:41:25] Speaker A: And I think that's true too. Like, you make a good point. I feel like we become family with everyone that we work with. And you know, we, we had a kid, did get an official offer a couple nights ago, and she got off the phone and called us before she talked to her parents about it. And it just goes to prove, like, yeah, like you might get difficult phone calls and you might not get the answer you wanted right away. [00:41:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:49] Speaker A: It doesn't mean that good things aren't going to come. And it might not be on the timetable that you originally set for you, you know, on your set of realistic goals. [00:41:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:58] Speaker A: Question. But I, I think it goes to show that all of our hard work does pay off and it might not be the dream, you know, you initially came to us with, but, you know, two, three years on the road, our, our ultimate goal is to find your ultimate spot. [00:42:14] Speaker B: So the right place for you. Exactly is, I think, the best way to put it. And not just the name on the front, the right place that fits you and you're not trying to chase something that may or may not happen. So I think those are some of the goals we talked about. So now we've Gone through all this. Let's talk a little bit about the timeline line. [00:42:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I think. And that's, you know, we can add that to some of the. Some of the first steps that we do is just helping families understand. And again, everyone comes to us at different time. I. I say it's never too early to start the process, and I think that's important to put out, too. We work with kids who are 28, 29. Had a call about a 30 grad. So I'm just saying, you know, it's. [00:43:03] Speaker B: That's making me feel really old. [00:43:05] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, me too. So, you know, it's. It's never too early to start. And right now, the big, big thing is the June 15th date. That's what everyone looks for after sophomore year. But the key is, you know, if you're not leaning towards that D1, D2 route, some of the rules that you follow are different. So we want to make sure that, you know, whatever route that you're on, we set a timeline for you. And you know what that's looking like. And you know what the NCAA rules are, and, you know, that can or cannot contact you. A lot of times we. We get disgruntled texts from parents saying, hey, I ran into this coach, but they didn't respond to me. And I'm like, yeah, your daughter or your son is a little too young to, you know, you're. The coach wasn't putting you off. They were just following the rules. [00:43:56] Speaker B: Correct. [00:43:56] Speaker A: And I think that's important, too. Like, and. And I know we're seeing a trend of maybe coaches not following the rules like we're supposed to, but we're rule followers here, and we preach the rules. And I think it's important to know that those coaches, we hope, are also abiding by those rules. And, you know, you're. Maybe you say hello to a coach and they say hi back, and you think it's going to lead into, well, what'd you had for breakfast? Or how far, you know, how was your trip? Or whatever? And they just kind of walk away. And, you know, it's, oh, by the way, you know, your. Your kid's too young to have that conversation. [00:44:29] Speaker B: And we were at a conference, and I won't name the coach or the school. And we went up and introduced ourselves, and you could tell he could do that real quick because he was speaking at the conference, and right away it was like, great seeing you and great seeing you back. And you both. Both of them knew that they could, you know, the communication needed to be quite limited because of the situation. And I had so much more admiration and respect for that particular coach because he knew he. He does a great job of educating in the area, but also I think he knows, hey, you're going to be on my radar, potentially, hopefully for that situation. But at the same time, got to be respectful. And I think the kids need to learn that as well as. Just because the coach from Auburn didn't say hi to you doesn't mean they don't know you or like you. [00:45:21] Speaker A: Exactly. And I. I think the other point to that conversation is coaches are going to, you know, do what's best for their program, and parents should do what's best for their kids as long as everyone's abiding by those rules. Correct. But the other thing you see out there, if you really pay attention to it, is that coaches keep coaches accountable. And, you know, you'll see an instance where maybe it looks like a coach is having a conversation with a parent for too long and, you know, the other coaches staying back, and then they'll talk to that coach and say, hey, just by the way, you know, I'm. We're all out here trying to recruit these kids. Like, let's. Let's make it an even playing field. So it's. It's really competitive out there. I mean, you know, you're gonna. Yeah, you're gonna play in tournaments where you see three, four, five coaches on the same hole and, you know, like, oh, yeah, those coaches are recruiting that kid. And it's. It makes. [00:46:12] Speaker B: So I. So I'm a 20, 27. Seven. [00:46:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:15] Speaker B: I cannot talk to D1 or D2. [00:46:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:19] Speaker B: Who can I talk to? [00:46:21] Speaker A: We can talk to everybody else. Yeah. And we're sending emails. You're texting. You're. You're trying to build relationships. Because I'll go back to the very beginning. D1 Golf is very competitive. D2 Golf is very competitive. D3 Golf is very competitive. Naigo. Naia Golf is very competitive. Juco Golf is very competitive. So at that point, like, if I'm too young to contact college coaches who can contact me back, I'm sending emails to everyone else. And then you're going to get a phone call, maybe from a kid or from a coach. And the other thing I'll say, too, one of our big hacks, and I shouldn't put it out there, but I'm going to because I like from the cart path. [00:47:02] Speaker B: I'm your favorite. I know. [00:47:03] Speaker A: Don't be afraid. No matter how old you are, to make a Phone call to the college coach, because a college coach can technically pick up the phone in their office or whatever. So. And even if you leave a voicemail, I'm telling you, it makes a world of difference in the recruiting process. Any, any little thing you can do to, you know, because, yeah, you might be playing with your best friends in Indiana, but at the end of the day, you're also competing for a spot against them. Right. Whether that's at a local university or university in the Southeast or southwest or whatever. So it's competitive and anything for you to have a one up on, you know, somebody else. You're, you're looking to make positive, lasting impressions. And that's, that's what we try to preach. [00:47:50] Speaker B: So that's great, Lauren. So key points I've got out of this conversation. Number one, maintain your academic eligibility. Number two, create a strong online smart presence. I'm going to add the word smart for obvious reasons. Three, research potential schools, Reach out to the coaches, emailing, other ways that you just mentioned. Play in the right tournaments, set realistic goals. And I, I'm a big believer in that one and know your timeline of what you're trying to accomplish. [00:48:21] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:22] Speaker B: So these are some great things that you brought up. So, you know, as always, thanks. But real quick, before we go, what are some upcoming plans, upcoming tournaments that you have coming in? It's out. [00:48:32] Speaker A: Yeah. So we have, I mean, spring has sprung in in the southeast and events are happening every weekend. So we're, we're traveling and I don't know, I'm looking. We're actually maybe competing in a tournament ourselves in a little four ball event to be determined if we let you know what we shoot in that event. [00:48:54] Speaker B: Is Carrie going to be your partner in this one? [00:48:56] Speaker A: Yeah, we're. And we're going to have two other partners. So if we let you know, next podcast what we shot, it prob probably went well. If we don't, we're just gonna pretend like it didn't happen. [00:49:07] Speaker B: You know what's a great tool out there? [00:49:09] Speaker A: What's that? [00:49:10] Speaker B: The Internet. Yeah, I will find it. [00:49:13] Speaker A: No, you won't. [00:49:14] Speaker B: Oh, I will. [00:49:15] Speaker A: Well, we all have the Masters to look forward to coming up. [00:49:18] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:49:20] Speaker A: I think that really is a springboard for spring golf. Kind of gets the itch going. [00:49:25] Speaker B: I wouldn't say the Masters is the first one for me. There's a little tournament right before the Masters that these collegiate women are playing in that I think is probably one of my new favorite events. Okay, so what do we got coming up with that one. [00:49:41] Speaker A: Which event are you talking about? [00:49:43] Speaker B: Augusta. With the women? [00:49:46] Speaker A: Well, yeah, what an unbelievable opportunity for the top amateurs in our country, right? Or in the world, really. They get a chance to play on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National. And I think it's an opportunity, you know, when you look at the history of Augusta national and the Masters, to think that women are now, you know, the week before, being able to, you know, play around before. And I think the greatest part is you can watch it on Golf Channel. It's televised. You can watch the best women's amateur players compete at, at the best golf course in the world. I know they play, you know, champions retreat, I believe, the first two days. So. And then obviously the kids that don't make a cut, they still get the practice round at Augusta national, which is awesome. But yeah, just. And then the people that get the tickets to go to watch the A and wow, how cool is that? [00:50:45] Speaker B: And then the drive chip and putt right after that. We have a former national champion here in Indiana that I'm interviewing this week, weekend Caris Reed. [00:50:53] Speaker A: Well, there you go. [00:50:54] Speaker B: And then we have another young lady that will be down there, Taylor Ross. So there's a lot going on here with some great players in Indiana. [00:51:02] Speaker A: So you're right. A lot of golf before the Masters to get it going. I, I don't know why I even miss the awa. That's usually the tournament. You're right. [00:51:10] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:51:10] Speaker A: And then the drive chip and. But I mean, do you wake up on a Sunday and cry more than that Sunday when you're watching those kids just fulfill their dreams and the dreams of their parents too, let's be real. But, but yeah, just watching their stories. And then the coolest part is those kids that we first watched at the draft but are now playing on the collegiate level. And I think that's something too. Like, if you are working with a kid who is the age that you can still qualify for those events, go play in them. I mean, there's nothing better than trying to compete and, you know, qualify your way to one of the best golf courses in the world. So, yeah, it's. Yeah, it's a tear jerker for sure, watching those kids play. [00:51:53] Speaker B: Absolutely. Yeah, I'm looking forward to all that, Lauren. I'm looking forward to you getting out there and playing and us finding online what your team shot. And I will find some videos as well if. I'll make Carrie take some for me and we'll, we'll kind of go from there. But as always, you know, me. We have a great relationship. You do a great job working with our family at Path for Success and anybody that wants to reach out to you. What is the best way to reach. [00:52:19] Speaker A: Out to Deal Instagram Path for Success Email Info path for success.com we'll be there. [00:52:27] Speaker B: Well, Lauren, again, thanks for all your time. I appreciate it. And I can't wait till we chat again soon. [00:52:33] Speaker A: Sounds good. And if anyone needs anything, you know how to reach us. [00:52:36] Speaker B: All right, perfect. Thanks, Lauren. [00:52:38] Speaker A: Thanks, shrimp. Oh, thanks for listening to this episode of from the Card Path with your host, Trent Roberts. Please be sure to like and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so that you never miss an episode.