I just realized the other day that I graduated from university 15 years ago. So while I’ve been through the college hockey recruiting process myself, it’s been a while. When I talk to players, parents and teams about this topic, I always tell them how important it is to speak to players who have gone through the process so that you can hear about the challenges they had and how they navigated the whole process. Because we all know there isn’t a scholarship fairy who just shows up in the middle of the night and puts a scholarship under your pillow when you’re sleeping. Realizing your dream of college hockey takes a lot of work and it’s not going to be easy. 

Since starting Total Female Hockey nine years ago, I’ve helped over 100 players navigate the tricky college hockey recruiting process and I’ve learned a lot along the way. But while my advice and insights are useful from the perspective of a coach, I think it’s important that you hear from the players who have gone through it in the past few years. 

So I interviewed eight of my former players about their college hockey process and I’m sharing the answers to this question: What’s the No. 1 piece of advice you’d give players going through the recruiting process?

As you read their answers, keep in mind that they are all very different players from very different backgrounds. Three of these players played on their provincial team before attending university. Two of them played for their under-18 national team before going to university. Four of them are from small towns and four are from cities. Three of them went to universities that were less than two hours away from where they grew up. Two of them did a gap year (sometimes referred to as a “victory lap”) before attending university. And while all of them played at the varsity level, only three of the eight played a lot in their first year and five of them were playing a lot by their third year. 

I am sharing all these numbers with you because you will be able to identify with at least one or two of these players. They’ve been through it and they didn’t all have a smooth journey along the way. So read their answers closely and use that information to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead. Everyone’s process is different and your path will be a unique one too. Here are their answers:

• Pick up the phone and call! I never would have ended up at my university if I hadn’t mustered up the courage to call the coaches and ask where I was on their depth chart and what I needed to do to move up that chart. In my first phone call, I got honest answers to questions I needed to know –  I was fifth of five on their depth chart, they liked my academics and they were impressed that I had called to show my interest. Coaches don’t get a sense of who you are as a person (which is the single most valuable thing for both parties involved) if you simply send emails and fill out questionnaires. Call, call, call! It seems scary and intimidating, but the coaches who are recruiting genuinely love talking to you.

• Don’t worry about all the shiny bows and frills that some schools have to offer. A great relationship with your teammates and coaches will stay with you for the rest of your life.

• Take an active role in the process, don’t wait for coaches to come to you. Go to them and make yourself known, always ask for feedback and don’t be afraid to take criticism. Coaches are interested in long-term development. They’re looking for players that will get better every time you’re on the ice for 4-5 years.

• The best piece of advice I was ever given is to make sure that when you pick a school, it is one that you would still be happy at even if you couldn’t play hockey. Because, believe it or not, hockey isn’t everything.

• Believe in yourself. Recruiting may have changed over the last couple of years, but the one thing that has stayed the same is players promote themselves. I wrote emails before and after every tournament I went to in my grade 11 year. I wrote a letter to the teams I was interested in, including information about myself, my transcript, and game schedule, and made sure that I exposed myself (playing in showcases, attended summer tournaments and camp, etc.) so that teams would not miss me. I wanted to play in the NCAA, and I believed that I could. My actions spoke for how much I wanted to be there and the belief in myself. 

• The best advice I can give to someone in the recruiting process is don’t rush it. It may seem like you need to make decisions right away, but give yourself enough time to visit the schools you want to see and get all the information you need before finalizing anything. It’s better to give yourself extra time to weigh out all your options than to rush into something and regret it later. You have more time than you think you do and waiting that little bit longer will not make or break your future. 

• One piece of advice (as obvious as it seems) is to ask lots of questions! There is no such thing as a dumb question, especially because you want to figure out which school will be most beneficial for you with regards to education, hockey, geographically whether you want to be close to home or far away, etc. Asking questions will help you receive all the necessary information to make a well-educated decision. Along with asking questions, it is so important to reach out to coaches and schools to ask them about their program and get in touch with them yourself. Don’t wait for them to come to you.

• The biggest piece of advice that I could give to players during the recruiting process is to trust the process itself. Whether it takes you until your grade 12 year to figure out your dream school, or maybe much sooner than that, there is not a time limit. University coaches will wait for players if they truly and genuinely want you to become a part of their program. It is not a race, it is a process.

• In order to make the most of the four-year student-athlete experience, it is important to do your research, reach out to current players and alumni, train, eat healthy, rest, do your homework, and most importantly listen to your current coaches who are trying to help you get there. 

All great advice. I hope that some of it hits home for you and that it fires you up. As you read above, it’s going to take some work, but it’s going to be worth it. 

To help you figure out and navigate the college hockey recruiting process, I’ve created a step-by-step guide called THE SCHOLARSHIP PROJECT. It walks you through everything from how to get noticed, how to contact coaches, how to narrow down your choices and how to make your decision. Check it out here: http://totalfemalehockey.com/scholarship-project.