By Emma Westendorf
Athletics have suffered quite a bit during the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2020 spring season of high school sports was shut down. This season, all sports have been pushed towards the second half of the year, with the winter season finishing out the year ending in June. What’s that mean for the incoming college freshman? Uncertainty. Scouts weren’t able to watch spring games anywhere, they were subjected to highlight reels, and virtual conversations. Covid has affected each sport’s recruiting process a little differently through the last year. Take basketball for instance, Skagit Valley College’s basketball teams have experienced disparities inside the men’s and women’s teams alone. Deb Castle, head coach of Skagit’s women’s basketball team, said that recruitment was slowed down during Covid. Skagit’s Carl Howell, head coach of Skagit’s men’s basketball team said that for him, recruiting barely changed at all.
The recruiting process for many sports often happens during their respected off season. This year, many teams had to do their recruiting during their play-in season. This means that coaches are running their teams for the season while also looking at other athletes for the next year. Castle says that her recruitment season looked no different than a usual year for the most part. For women’s basketball at Skagit, the recruitment period is done heavily in February and March of the current season. The team would usually still be playing during those months, so recruiting during their play-in season hasn’t phased them one bit. The men’s team however has seen the recruitment period to “not be more difficult just different,” according to Howell.
Coaches have had to follow certain protocols within the conference and the health department during the past year too. This means certain recruiting strategies had to be put on hold, and others had to be thought up. Most teams said that the only thing they were really missing out on was attending prospective athletes’ high school and all-star games. Zoom and Google Meet were common ways that coaches were contacting all players no matter where they were from. Castle said that she will “probably use it more with out-of-state players.”
Numbers are looking different this year too. SVC coaches seem to be slightly below the average number of recruits this year. Skagit’s women’s basketball team had virtually no recruits this year, while the men’s basketball team was “basically the same” this year according to Coach Howell.
Recruiting means that coaches use incentives and strategies to convince wanted athletes that they should join their specific program. Coaches want the best of the best on their team, and in order to do that, they often times need someone from out of state or even out of the country. Using Zoom and Google Meet for the first time, Skagit’s Howell said that he has managed to obtain five out-of-state players for the upcoming season. He also has about seven from the Tacoma area and one player coming from his own backyard of Skagit County. Deb Castle has yet to sign anyone new to her roster for the upcoming 2021-2022 campaign. She does however, have nine players set to return.
Because of Covid, the 2020-2021 season isn’t counting towards athletes’ eligibility years. This means that those who would be playing their last season with Skagit this year can come back for another season next year if they choose. Those that didn’t feel safe were also allowed to opt out for the season. Skagit hasn’t had many athletes in the basketball program take advantage of their extra season. Castle says that she doesn’t let her sophomores stay longer unless they haven’t completed their associate’s
degree. For this reason, all of the sophomores from the women’s basketball team will be moving on in the fall. The men’s team however, will have one of three of their sophomores staying for an extra season. None of the Skagit basketball players chose to take a leave of absence due to covid this season, so both coaches had their full rosters available for game play in March.
Each year teams are allowed a certain amount of money to give to athletes as scholarship money to go towards academic tuition, room and board and other amenities. With Covid allowing players another year of eligibility, scholarship money is up in the air. Howell says that the amount that he is allowed to award in scholarship money has drastically changed due to the amount of returning players that he has for the upcoming season. Castle differs on the amount she gets to award however. Even though she has yet to sign anyone for the next season, she says that her scholarship will be staying the same.
Athletic departments have staff on hand that specialize in recruiting for their teams. However, junior colleges don’t always have the same resources to pull from. The head coaches of each athletic team on Skagit’s campus do the recruiting all by themselves. With help occasionally from their assistant coaches, these teams of talented players are formed carefully and strategically. Each coach wants the best of the best possible playing for them. This year, that has been no exception. Through every technique that could’ve been used, coaches were still able to overcome and recruit the best possible players for their respected programs.
