Every high school athlete knows that the college recruiting process is extremely competitive, frustrating, and stressful. The process is so daunting for a (hopefully) mature, educated senior that it is difficult to imagine how fourteen year-olds Choate applicants handle the same steps. While many Choate athletes may boast that they are recruits, Choate recruiting is a world of difference from that of colleges. The admissions and athletics departments at Choate refer to “recruits” as “students with special interests,” whose talents are not limited to athletics. The admissions office tries to give roughly equal priority to students who would enhance the athletic, artistic, academic, or social aspects of the school. The News intends to focus on recruiting in several of these areas. For this article, we focus on athletics.
One difference between Choate and the colleges is that Choate athletic “recruiting” involves less active scouting by coaches. Athletics liaison Patrick Dennehy commented, “At our level it sends the wrong message…the focus should be academic.” Rather, the main part of the process is connecting the applicant to adults and students at Choate with similar interests and fostering a personal relationship. The extent of recruiting also depends on individual coaches, as some are more active in pursuit than others. Since many coaches are teachers and dorm advisers, they are far too busy to search unless they have outside connections, like the head swim coach, Sara Massa who is also a full-time USA Swimming coach. “Our coaches do a good job…they’re competing against full blown coaching departments [at other prep schools],” confided Dennehy.
Although most coaches do not contact students until they have made a connection during the interview, they work with the athletics and admissions department to address specific demands. Three athletic liaisons, Pat Dennehy, Amanda Belichick, and Sarah Nutting, work in admissions as “go-betweens” to notify coaches how applicants are faring in the admissions process. Head of Athletics Ned Gallagher meets individually with each coach in early winter to discuss the sport’s specific needs. Mr. Gallagher then reports the results of these discussions to the admissions office. Coaches continue to meet with athletic liaisons and must prioritize their prospects in late February. Once a student-athlete is accepted, second visits are key because kids whom Choate accepted are often competitive at other schools.
Coaches may assess the ability of players through game tapes and recommendations from the applicant’s current coach but cannot use scouts to find potential players. Choate adheres to further “recruitment” rules outlined by the Ten Schools Admission Organization. For example, a coach can only initiate one contact to a student, but can reply to an unlimited number of student-initiated contacts. While the athletics department claims not to prioritize specific sports, ice hockey is a particularly intense sport in prep schools, “seen as a great proving ground for those who want to play in college,” according to Dennehy, a coach of boys’ ice hockey. Soccer, lacrosse, and tennis are also sports that receive several prospective students, which Mr. Gallagher attributes to the fact that fewer kids play other sports at early ages.
It’s important to remember that while this process takes place, the Admissions Department stressed that Choate looks at the applicant’s academic strength first and then looks for what else the prospective brings to areas of special interest. The athletics department admits that it would have a discussion with admissions if a talented athlete was below Choate’s academic standards. However, Ned Gallagher assesses that a coach would never push admissions to accept a child who isn’t qualified. “The coaches are sensitive…no one want a kid to come here and fail,” explained Gallagher. Although some schools will set aside a number of spots for promising athletes, Choate refuses to do so. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, admissions doesn’t think it’s a good idea…we want our kids to be part of a package,” Gallagher emphasized.
While Choate does not take its desire for athletic talent lightly, the process is not as in-depth or daunting as it is for those applying to college. Choate wants to be sure to maintain standards of academic excellence foremost and sees athletic talent as a supplement to the applicant’s qualifications.
