Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/41637
Staying involved in recruiting a pleasure BEHIND THE DESK BARRY ALVAREZ • UW DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS F or the three or four years, we've been huddling with recruits from all of our sports before home football games at Camp Randall Stadium. We have a tent set up out- side The Shell and we try to take advantage of the atmosphere on a game day. We'll even have the band come through and play for them. Before the start of the game, we'll get them on the field, too. We just want to expose them to the excitement and the overall envi- ronment as part of their recruit- ment. Inside the tent, we have a map of the United States with pins showing where everybody is from, whether they're playing softball, or football or women's hockey or basketball. What we're trying to do is have the kids from the different sports mingling whether they're from similar or different parts of the country. Each of our coaches will get up and say something. And then I'll speak to the group. The first thing that I tell them is, "Don't make recruiting more com- plicated than it really is. Simplify things." It's not about the mountains. It's not about the ocean. It's not about the weather. It's not about mortar and bricks. It's about peo- ple. And it's about going to a place where people care about you. I tell them that our athletic de- partment is very close and you're going to get support from all the coaches, not just the coaches in your particular sport. I like the opportunity to meet different people. If certain head coaches have a special recruit, I'll meet with them one-on-one in my It's not about the mountains. It's not about the ocean. It's not about the weather. It's not about mortar and bricks. It's about people. And it's about going to a place where people care about you. office. All the coaches use me for recruiting during the year. I'm just trying to give them a lit- tle attention and an overview. You have to figure that most places that they're going to visit, they're not going to be sitting down with the athletic director. From all my years in coaching, I probably have a different view on recruiting than other athletic di- rectors as far as talking to kids and their parents. I always enjoyed going into homes. If our coaches are doing their jobs, they will have a bio on the kid and a list of things that they're interested in. One of the things you always do as a recruiter is find the hot buttons. You're trying to find out the main interests that an individual may have in school and athlet- ics. Why are they going to make a decision? What's the decision based on? Is it distance from home? Is it what the school has to offer academically and socially? Is it a chance to play? Is it a chance to get on the field or the court and play right away? Everybody is different and everybody has a different person they rely on. For some, it's their high school coach. For some, it's their parents. For some, it's a rela- tive or a neighbor. You just never know and that's the thing that you find out during the course of recruiting. Who has the most influence on this person? Who are they listening to? I like it when they ask ques- tions. I had one group come in here that included the recruit, twin brothers and mom and dad. Every one of them had questions for me and I actually had to quiet the boys down. They had too many questions. But, to their credit, they were absolutely prepared.