Factors in the Decision

I apologize for the lag in blog entries. These last two weeks have flown by with season preparations and our first round of fall recruit visits. This past weekend we had four prospective student-athletes on campus for Discover Grinnell. Our visitors spent the day learning about admissions, academics, and athletics at Grinnell. We had guests from Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, and Illinois.

When I sit down with recruits we talk about many aspects of our program. We always speak about what factors will play a role in their decision. I stress these three areas of consideration:

1. Academics: First and foremost I speak about academics to our recruits. I talk to them about our class sizes and the interest our professors take in the students. I speak about the different levels of academic support students receive and how I have close communication with all my athletes' professors. Lastly I stress where Grinnell academics can take them and I speak about graduate programs and international work experience. I want them to understand that the Grinnell name is recognized and appreciated beyond the cornfields of Iowa.

2. Team Culture: I stress the importance of understanding our team culture and the athletes that are currently part of the program. Connecting with current Pioneers is the best avenue to discover the ins and outs of our program. Our students will share Grinnell's strength and weaknesses and can report first hand about being a student-athlete here.

3. Grinnell without Athletics: I always ask the question, "What if basketball doesn't work out?" The future is unknown and you never know when an injury may put athletics out of reach. I want to be sure our recruits excel during their collegiate years regardless of athletic success. I stress understanding Grinnell as if there were no athletics. This may seem strange for a basketball coach to do, but I want our recruits to see beyond basketball, see what other opportunities Grinnell has to offer.

I really enjoyed meeting our recruits and their families this past weekend. We have another Discover Grinnell event occuring on November 13th. I look forward to meeting more student-athletes interested in becoming Pioneers!