Investigation of recruiting criteria of leading NCAA Division I softball coaches.

Purpose of this investigation was to determine the recruitment criteria of the 50 winningest active coaches in NCAA I collegiate softball. Twenty-seven of the NCAA Division I head coaches completed a survey designed to assess their recruiting evaluation standards and measures. The survey 15 items based on the evaluation of a recruit including statistics, use of recruiting tools, measuring intangibles and tangibles, the preference of a multi-sport high school athlete or a multi-position player, when to begin recruiting, most desired positions recruited, and the important elements of a successful recruiting athletic program. Based on the analyses of the survey date, most of the coaches use similar criteria. Results indicated similar explanations and findings in current talent identification, recruiting techniques, and applications. There are 400,000 student-athletes enrolled in 1300 universities playing 23 sports under the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, 2009). According to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), of the 1300 universities, approximately 1100 sponsor softball programs, and of those 1100 schools, 262 are Division I schools (NFCA, 2009). Coaches must act as athletic recruiters, who scout and enlist new members to play on their team. Recruiting in collegiate athletics is a dominating factor in facilitating success of an athletic team, program and university. "Recruiting drives team performance, but recruiting is also affected by prior team performance" (Langelett, 2003). Championship athletic seasons bolster enrollment, funding, donations, reputation, pride, exposure and advertising in universities (Humphreys & Mondello, 2007, Letawsky, Schneider, Pedersen, & Palmer, 2003, Smart & Wolfe, 2000). Recruiting Criteria At elite sport levels, the most skilled players are often the most athletically talented and possess the strongest work ethic (Smith, 2003). Ten NCAA Division I coaches from male and female sports other than softball listed the following as essential elements of success: a positive attitude, motivation, competitiveness, coachability, and willingness to improve athletic skills (Giacobbi, Roper, Whitney, & Butryn, 2002). "Multidimensional and dynamic talent identification and development models need to reflect both performance dispositions and the capacity of an individual to develop" (Abbott & Collins, 2004, p. 401). Athletes who are driven and open to learning are more likely to make significant improvements. Important athletic determinants of developmental capacity are motivation and appropriate learning strategies (Abbott & Collins, 2004, p. 401). Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study was to identify the criteria used by the elite coaches of NCAA Division I softball programs. The recruitment of athletes is vital to the success of a sport program. Identifying recruiting criteria used by many of the elite coaches may be important information to both collegiate coaches and athletes interested in being recruited by a Division I program. By systematically examining the criteria of a successful program for recruiting athletes, a recruiting foundation may be established to build a successful collegiate softball program. Method Participants All participants in the study were volunteers selected from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, 2009). The top 50 winningest (by percentage) active Division I softball head coaches' in the nation were asked to participate. Of the 50 coaches, 27 (54%) returned the completed recruiting survey. The range of college coaching experience was 6 to 29 years (M = 17.6) and 59% of participants were female. Survey Instrument A 15-item recruiting survey was developed. The survey was based on the researcher's review of 22 NCAA Division I university recruiting player questionnaires located online through collegiate softball web pages. …