Back in March, not many students were thinking about how big of an effect the pandemic would have on their college application process. Student athletes especially did not expect the big changes that have come about in the college recruitment process. All their lives, athletes have been preparing for traditional recruitment, but COVID-19 has changed all of that. 

There have been many changes to the recruitment process, bringing new challenges for student athletes. Asked what the most difficult thing about the process has been so far junior Mya Wheeler, a Women’s Soccer player, responded, “Definitely not being able to play games, so coaches aren’t able to see me play and see if I would be good for their program… And junior year is the biggest recruiting season.” 

Junior Antonio Cabrera from Men’s Baseball also found this hard, commenting, “We can’t see coaches face to face so we have to communicate more with text, email, and videos. It’s harder to be seen so we have to perform with the few chances we get.” Coronavirus has put more pressure on athletes to perform their best when given a select, rare opportunity to play for a college coach. Just to play baseball, Antonio says, “I’ve had to travel to places I’ve never gone before like Utah and Iowa.” California has strict laws in regards to sports, so student athletes have to take the risks that accompany traveling just to be seen by coaches.

Junior Men’s Basketball player Aidan Burke says, “I’ve travelled to Arizona a few times in the past few weeks for basketball tournaments. I also went to St. George, Utah, for a tournament this past weekend which I had never heard of before COVID happened.” He’s been “calling and texting coaches periodically to check-in,” and adds, “My dad has filmed the games that I’ve been playing in throughout the summer, so we can send those out to coaches as well.”

The college recruitment process has seen many changes due to COVID-19, but student athletes continue to adapt, work hard, and overcome these challenges to ultimately commit to the next four years of their lives.