As I've been out lately - and especially this Monday night - a couple things keep happening or popping in my head, so now is as good of a time as any to address them. Here goes.
- This is a promise from me. I'm recruiting from a very wide base. The number of high schools in this base is around 250 (I'm rounding slightly down) and that includes both boys and girls teams, with the exception of maybe a dozen. Yes, I have direct people that I notice in box scores that I'm looking at so I'm not blindly going to games where I know I won't be interested in anyone, but that doesn't eliminate much. We'll say about 450 teams. I may only get to watch you play once. If I come up to you after a game and get told 'now isn't a good time', I promise you this: there won't ever be a good time. I understand maybe you took a tough L or your boyfriend/girlfriend is mad at you, but in many cases, I don't have time for 'another time'. It's now or I won't, and something I've never done since I was a high schooler myself (not long ago) is bow down to people unhappy for trivial reasons. There are obvious ones, such as injury, that are exceptions. But if I get the 'not tonight' speech, there are plenty of other people that would be glad to take your spot and I'll move on.
- I mentioned above that I'm not too far removed from the high school days myself. 23 years old, if we want specifics. I did the King of Kings prospect boys league last year, so I look at least familiar to many, but plenty of people already know me on the circuit. Girls' basketball is a brand new venture for me - and as you may surmise, recruiting high school girls' basketball as a guy my age isn't the world's most comfortable position to be in. I'm particularly distant in the way I talk/communicate compared to the boys - I have the boys' cell phone numbers, and I have the girls' parents cell phone numbers, for example - and I make sure I make it known what I'm there for. Many times, I scope out the parents and talk to them first. Nevertheless, I have good ears, and girls games are quiet. I can hear the comments. It comes with the territory, I know. Next time you see the 6'6" guy with a binder in his arm, just try to keep the gawks and the 'who's that creep watching high school girls' comments at a minimum. That's all I ask!
As for today, I'm splitting up with a girls' game early and a boys' game late. Hoping to continue a nice string of luck lately with a trip to watch Millbrook/Coleman Catholic girls in the afternoon, then swinging back up to watch Hudson's boys team late. Catch you on the flip side!
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