Athlete Recruitment in a Pandemic

According to Monmouth College Women’s Soccer Coach Nick Rizzo, he has found ways to adapted to new techniques on recruiting future players in the middle of a global pandemic.

Coach Nick Rizzo has had five recruiting years at Monmouth College, “Logistically this year has been the most difficult in terms of sporting events and getting to watch potential recruits play in person.”

The pandemic has made it hard for Rizzo to get face-to-face with potential recruits so that he can become familiar with them. Prior to the pandemic he had never done Facetime or a Zoom call with a potential recruit. Rizzo stills finds personable ways to communicate with players, by writing letters.

“The most difficult thing for me,” said Rizzo, “has been, as coaches, trying to navigate trying to get the players they want, as well as keep the current players happy.”

This process has been different for the recruits as well, including Freshman Soccer Player Olivia Turley. She first got recruited by MacMurray college in the spring. Two weeks after her recruitment, MacMurray shut down.

“Rizzo was never able to watch me play,” said Turley. “I made a highlight file… he watched it and asked me to be on the team.”\

Devin Cross - Contributing Writer