Although the NCAA gymnastics competition season doesn’t officially kick off until January, teams across the country are competing non-stop during the fall—but not on mats. Coaching staffs spend much of their “offseasons” delving heavily into recruiting, with fall being the peak time of the year for official recruiting trips and the early signing period looming in early November.
Every year on Aug. 1, college coaches are allowed to begin offering official recruiting trips to prospective college gymnasts who are, at least, in their junior year of high school. These trips, paid for by the schools, are a coach’s way of showing off their team and campus to entice recruits into wanting to commit to their program, but also a way for coaches to get a better feel of the recruit. Each recruit is only allowed to take five official visits to five different NCAA Division I schools, meaning every coaching staff is going to be working their hardest to make every trip special.
So, what happens on a recruiting trip?
Friday, 10 a.m. – Arrive on Campus
Per NCAA rules and regulations, all official recruiting trips are limited to a maximum of 48 hours once a recruit arrives on campus. With the clock always ticking, coaches can’t waste any time making sure a recruit and their family makes the most out of their trip.
Friday, 10:30 a.m. – Campus Tour
Like with most things, a recruit’s first impression of a school could be a lasting one, making a campus tour a standard practice on any recruiting trip. California co-head Coach Justin Howell says it’s important for a recruit to envision herself as a student-athlete at the university, which starts with making sure the timing is right for an official visit.
“It’s really important for us to have official visits when school is in session and we have students on campus,” said Howell. “You want to give these recruits and their families the best snapshot possible of what life is like on our campus with our student body.”
Friday, 12 p.m. – Lunch With Coaching Staff
An official visit isn’t only a great opportunity for a recruit to visit campus, but it’s also one of the first times that a coach gets to sit down and have personal interaction with a recruit.
“The most crucial part is the face-to-face interaction. There’s so much that can be gained from the ability to talk about what the program is really like, what expectations are and hear from the parents and their perspective,” said Lisa Bowerman, head coach at Texas Woman’s University. “It can give parents a little bit of comfort too, feeling like they know what they’re getting into with their daughter potentially coming to your program.
Friday, 1 p.m. – Meeting With Academic Advisor
Both Bowerman and Howell stress how important it is for a recruit to see all aspects of what being a student-athlete is going to be like, and a big part of that is academics. If a recruit has an idea of what she is hoping to study in school, making sure she and her parents meet with an advisor from that department is a priority. Even if a recruit intends enroll undecided, they meet with advisors who can give them a glimpse of all the school has to offer.
“Everybody knows coming into a campus that they’re going to get a great athletic experience. But that’s not the only reason that they’re here,” Howell said. “They’re here to get set up with the tools to be successful adults later on in life. So for us, showcasing the resources and support that we have to help build their toolbox is really important.”
Friday, 3 p.m. – Watch Practice
In addition to academics, athletics is the other obvious piece needed when showing a recruit what it’s like being a student-athlete, making observing a practice a necessary element of a recruiting trip. It’s an opportunity for a recruit and their families to get an idea of a team’s energy and the relationships between teammates and coaches.
Friday, 7 p.m. – Dinner With Team
Friday, 8 p.m. – Downtime With Team
Building the relationship between a recruit and coach is important, but a recruit building a relationship with her potential future teammates might be more important. In the time a recruit has with the team, free from parents and coaches, Bowerman hopes both her team and recruits are open and honest, to truly see if they’re the right fit for one another.
“We want them to be real, and we want them to be honest,” said Bowerman. “When recruits are on campus, we’re not here to put on a show or show them a picture of what we think they want to see. It’s important to be very authentic.”
On most official visits, each recruit is also assigned a “host” who is a current gymnast on the team. Hosts accompany recruits on activities throughout their entire trip, and at some schools, recruits stay overnight with their host in the dorms as well. Hosts are a great guide through unscheduled time during recruiting trips, help the recruit build relationships with the team and provide an outlet for questions.
“Sometimes the prospects are more comfortable asking the student-athletes questions than they are the coaches. I love when our student-athletes say they had a ton of great questions because they’re getting honest answers straight from the ones in it and living it daily,” said Bowerman.
Saturday, 7:30 a.m. – Bagels and Coffee Run With Host
Saturday, 8 a.m. – Watch Practice and Photoshoot in Team Leos
Saturday, 12 p.m. – Picnic With Team and Coaches
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. – Football Game/Activity
On any fall recruiting trip at a school with a football team, most likely the big Saturday activity is going to be a football game. They’re massive, school-wide events where athletics are at the forefront and provide yet another opportunity for the team and recruits to bond.
“We like to utilize football games as much as possible. You really get a sense of the spirit of the school and the campus community,” said Howell.
There are several schools, like TWU, where football games aren’t the focal point of a recruit’s weekend, so teams schedule other activities where recruits can mingle with the team. Bowerman believes not having a football program at the school actually gives them an advantage, and that if a recruit is looking to go to a football school, TWU is obviously not going to be the right fit.
“We’re in a position that we’re not competing against football or basketball for resources or time or even acknowledgement. These girls are very valued by our department, ” Bowerman said. “It’s a huge advantage.”
Saturday, 7 p.m. – Dinner With Team
Saturday, 8:30 p.m. – Movie Night
Sunday, 8 a.m. – Breakfast With Coaches
Sunday, 10 a.m. – Depart Campus
After a jam-packed 48 hours, a recruit’s official visit must officially come to an end, but it’s usually far from the end of their recruiting journey. Howell says that his staff usually waits a few days for things to settle down before following up with a recruit, their family and sometimes their club coaches. During those days, the staff reviews how the trip went and starts to make decisions based on if they’re the right fit for the program.
“The recruits all have to get up the next morning and go to school, so we give them a little bit of time to go home, get back into their normal rhythm and back into their gyms and practice before we follow up,” Howell said. “After we’ve had all of our visits, we really try to process all of it and think, ‘Who is the best fit for our program?’ At that point, [we] start to make offers.”
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