The April evaluation period is already upon us and college basketball staffs are preparing to hit the road to watch the next crop of talent compete in tournaments across the country. While the basic skills needed to evaluate talent and develop relationships do not change, the technology used to plan and coordinate the recruiting process has progressed rapidly in just a few years.
What once was done in shared spreadsheets and on office whiteboards is quickly moving to the digital world along with so many other great basketball resources. The entire recruiting workflow can now be done using software products and mobile applications. These tools allow coaches to plan and coordinate more quickly, and many of the manual tasks required of coaches to track tournament schedules and player information can now be automated.
So what tools should your staff consider? Here are some of your options:
FastRecruit (https://fastmodelsports.com/)
From the company: FastRecruit is a one-of-a-kind iOS mobile application that provides tournament schedule updates and scores quicker than ever (goodbye, paper grids) and takes the pain out of staff coordination.
Pros: FastModel has been around for a long-time and most coaches are familiar with their product suite. Many coaches found FastRecruit very useful in previous years.
Cons: Beware of the bundle! Many coaches have reported FastModel trying to force them into a bundled package of FastDraw, FastScout, and FastRecruit. With new products now available in the recruiting space, coaches should know that they do have options.
From the company: Just Play provides coaches with basketball playbook and scouting tools to prepare faster and engage with today’s athlete. This now includes a Recruiting Coordinator add-on complete with event schedules, staff calendars, player profiles and automated recruit lists.
Pros: Just Play is a relatively new company but they are growing fast and many programs are making the switch. We’ve heard nothing but good things from their clients.
Cons: This will be their first year with a recruiting product. However, if it’s anything like the roll-out of their playbook and scouting report platform, you’re probably in good hands.
BeTheBeast (https://www.bethebeast.com)
From the company: BeTheBeast’s goal is to be the player information standard that enables student athletes to use their profiles to register for participation. They also have recruiting solutions for college coaches. Last year they introduced an event scouting app and this spring they are launching a CRM solution for college coaches to manage their recruits.
Pros: BeTheBeast deals directly with most tournament operators providing them tools for managing their event. This gives them exclusive access to tournament schedules and player registration information which can be used by coaches in place of the traditional tournament booklet.
Cons: BeTheBeast has focused on the athlete, dealing primarily with player profiles. In the past, they have not had a full solution for recruiting, but they are working on a product for coaches to manage their targets, and it is said to be launching this spring.
From the company: Gridbusters is a company that takes the existing schedule for a recruiting event and inputs it into an Excel grid, providing a much easier schedule to read while you’re at events.
Pros: Gridbusters is a trusted name for the service of providing traditional tournament grids to coaching staffs. By selling individual grids at $20 each, it is an affordable option for programs on tight budgets or who are looking for a complimentary service for another recruiting product.
Cons: Gridbusters simply provides grids. They lack any of the robust features that the other companies provide with their products.
Tagged with: recruiting
