subject: College Football Recruiters - How To Play [print this page] "I want to talk to you a little bit about what to expect on an official or unofficial visit with college football recruiters or coaches. More specifically - I know it sounds silly, but - what to wear. You want to be able to make a good first impression on the coach - you don't want to look sloppy or look bad. So what I recommend is wearing a nice shirt (maybe a polo shirt) and khaki pants - something comfortable, but also something you'll look nice in. Because you want to be confident when you're talking to college football recruiters or coaches, and if you look confident you'll feel confident and then you'll come off as confident. First impressions is a big part of making connections with people, especially if you're talking to someone like a coach who you want to make a good impression on.
So, I know if sounds silly, but dressing nice on a visit where you're talking to a coach is definitely very important. It's a little bit flexible, depending on where you go. For instance - I went to Hawaii, and because of the culture and the climate I wore khaki shorts and a polo shirt with slippers, which was perfectly acceptable, but I still looked presentable. That's one thing you want to keep in mind when you're talking to college football recruiters or coaches and making your visits to different colleges." -Joshua Rice (former football player for the University of Hawaii)
"One saying that is always in the back of my mind - that I always think about is - 'don't give up what you want most for what you want now'. And I know, for me, I want to play college football - I knew that college was something that I wanted to do, I wanted to get a college degree. And if there was a way that I could get it paid for through football, if it was able to help me get a scholarship to pay for it, then that would be a huge blessing, and a big plus - not only for myself, but also for my family it would help out financially. It definitely meant a lot of sacrifices, but I wanted to play college football.
If what you want most is to play college football, or maybe even at the professional level, don't give it up for temporary things right now. Which might mean going and hanging out with friends all the time - not that it's bad to hang out with friends, but you shouldn't do it excessively. You should be going to the weight-room or taking care of your school work, doing those things that will help you to get to the next level, making those sacrifices. If you do those things, then you'll be able to accomplish your goals, so always keep in mind what you want most, and I think that's what has helped me even until now - I always try to set goals, and sometimes there will be temporary things that seem fun that I want to do at the moment, but if it's not helping me work towards my goal of finishing school or becoming a coach, (maybe for you it's becoming an athlete at the college level), then just think twice about the decisions that you make." -Inoke Funaki (Quarterback for the University of Hawaii)
"Football's pretty big in the community where I grew up, and so I always focused on how to get recruited for college football. I didn't think that I would be able to play at a division I. I guess I always saw myself - because I saw my brothers playing at a smaller college - that I would also play at a smaller college. But, fortunately for me, the University of Hawaii and some other schools came around toward the end of my senior season.
School is definitely very important to focus on. If you don't have the academics, if you're not taking care of school right now (at the high-school level) - as much as any coach would want to recruit you, or bring you to their college, they won't be able to if you don't have the grades to be eligible. So that's always been a big priority of mine.
Something that my parents have always emphasized to me is 'School first'. Also continue to work on your skill - whatever sport it may be - as an athlete. You can be the greatest athlete in the world, but if you don't have the grades to get you into college then it's going to be an unfortunate circumstance. School is a very important part of how to get recruited for college football. Definitely take care of school as you continue to develop yourself in your sport." -Inoke Funaki (Quarterback for the University of Hawaii)
