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Star search means road work

So many places to go, so little time to recruit. That's one of the problems facing university coaches like Iowa State's Robin Pingeton, assistant women's basketball coach, and Randy Brown, assistant men's basketball coach, as they woo potential players. Photo by Michael Haynes.

If this is July, this must be Mason City. Or Miami, or Minneapolis or Midland. If this is July and you're an assistant coach for an ISU athletic team, you're most likely on the road, the phone or the run in the name of recruiting.

All the rankings and trophies mean little to a team's success if the next Sage Rosenfels or Stacy Frese isn't poised to take up residency in the record books. Strong recruits are the lifeblood of any athletic program, and coaches are forced to play Willy Loman year-round to stay competitive. The hours are long, the stakes can be high, rivals are parked in every driveway, and at the end of the day, it's another empty motel room or a long drive home.

Here's what you don't read about in the media guides.

Those days are gone
Picture a steamy high school gymnasium, the smell of popcorn in the air. The star forward has just put in the winning basket when a collegiate coach joins the cheering crowd on the creaky gym floor, throws an arm around his or her sweaty shoulders and says, "How'd you like to come play for me?"

Those days are gone.

Now, bound volumes of NCAA rules and regulations dictate a coach's every recruiting move. Restricted recruitment periods for many sports force coaches to work their magic on drastically reduced schedules. "It's like being dropped off in Chicago and told you have one day to find a home," explained Randy Brown, assistant men's basketball coach. "There's so much to do, see and evaluate, but such little time in which to do it."

Most coaches agree even the clientele has evolved.

"We have a society now where kids need to be won over, and dazzled by material things," said Linda Grensing Crum, head volleyball coach. "These days, kids want to know what are the facilities like, how does the locker room look, what kind of publicity will I get. Kids get on Web sites now and check out programs -- they're looking for winners and they're looking for flash." (Including a request for a tanning bed in the locker room, according to Robin Pingeton, assistant women's basketball coach.)

Bob Elliott, associate football coach who joined the Kansas State coaching staff last month, is more blunt in his assessment.

"We're seeing more kids who want immediate gratification," Elliott said. "They want to play right away, and if that doesn't happen, coaches are asked, 'What's wrong with you?' Patience is at a minimum."

Small armies surround some players
Today's coaches find themselves wooing small armies surrounding some players -- consumer-conscious parents toting folders brimming with their own requirements, prep coaches, high school counselors, grandparents, buddies. The growing pressure for prep athletes to commit early to a school also has changed recruiting dramatically.

"Sophomores already are telling us they've narrowed their choices to two or three schools," Brown said.

Roadblocks aside, the competitive nature of the coaches themselves fuels the motivation needed to succeed on the road. "If you have any pride at all in your job or in your school, it's not a problem," Elliott said. "Actually, the competitive nature of recruiting is what I like best about it."

And it helps when your team is winning.

"Anytime you end up on national television, you have that many more people who know about Iowa State," Pingeton said.

Even shoo-ins get away
But, on occasion, even the shoo-ins get away. "If you get really tied in to a kid and then he goes somewhere else, that hurts," Brown admitted. "But you just have to be prepared for that, and be lined up with a real big number of quality kids. There's a pecking order to everything."

"I still tend to take it personally, and that probably isn't real healthy," Pingeton said. "There are so many factors that go into a recruit's decision, and many of those factors are beyond your control. It may be they want to stay close to home, and they're looking for a certain academic field. But it is still very tough."

And yet, they persevere, logging thousands of miles each year to snag that elusive star. They juggle the needs of their own families with those of complete strangers. They promote health and fitness when theirs must take a back seat to their grueling schedules. They spend hours in airport terminals frantically catching up on the rest of their professional responsibilities.

"In the end, you've just got to be real organized, have thick skin, and spend an awful lot of time at it," Brown said, "'cause if you don't get good players, you don't win games. And if you don't win games, you don't keep your job."

-- Debra Gibson
   University Relations