From Courts to Concert Halls: Recruit for Music Like a Basketball Coach
There are more and more studies out there that highlight the similarities between athletes and musicians. All you have to do is google “similarities between musicians and athletes” and you’ll get hundreds of articles, opinion pieces, and research centered around the topic. I particularly like this comparison by Jim Farber for the San Francisco Classical Voice.
The similarities are definitely there, and as a musician myself, I can vouch for many of them! Musicians are often called the “athletes of the small muscles”. Both musicians and athletes must have the following:
They need to be able to condition their bodies in a way that benefits their performance and maintains their longevity
They must have the drive and perseverance to get better at what they do every day
They must be able to work as a team on the field and in the concert hall
While some people have the “innate ability” to excel at sports or music, most of the excellence comes from systematic and dedicated practice
Mentally, both musicians and athletes have to condition themselves to perform well in front of large audiences as well as persist through tough performances.
Music and athletics can both be highly competitive, with only a small percentage becoming superstars in their careers
We can clearly see that music and sports play a huge role in developing many of the skills that will be beneficial throughout a student’s lifetime. However, I believe that these similarities also extend to the actual recruiting process for collegiate programs. What coaches and music faculty do to bring in a strong class are more similar than what folks might think, and both coaches and music faculty can learn from each other.
At many college music programs, there are “roster” spots to fill. Music faculty and ensemble directors need a certain amount of violinists, oboists, percussionists, trumpeters, etc. to fill their ensembles and keep their music studios full! Some years, there might only be a few spots open to fill the ensemble, making music admissions very competitive. Other years, there might be many more spots open. Like athletic coaches, music faculty are looking for specific skills and level of talent in order to create the best ensembles and maintain a prestigious reputation among their peer schools. Both faculty and coaches strive for a great track record of recruiting and working with the best players for their institutions.
In order to do that, coaches can be extremely involved with building relationships with their recruits, developing strong pipelines from high schools, and supporting their students long after they commit to the university. For more insight into what coaches do on a regular basis, I reached out to University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh’s head basketball coach, Matthew Lewis. Here’s my interview with him (with my own commentary in parenthesis):
When you're starting to recruit for an upcoming class, where do you start/how do you find your leads?
In athletics, we use many avenues for finding potential student-athletes. We talk with high school coaches, club coaches, look through player rankings, watch a ton of high school and club games, and use social media leads. We try to have awareness of potential student-athletes starting their sophomore and junior year of high school. Starting in the spring of their junior year, we really focus on our best targets.
(For music recruiters, you can look in similar places! High schools with strong music programs, youth music organizations, all-state band/orchestras/choirs, private music teachers, etc. You could even try “scouting” at local Solo and Ensemble competitions, concerto competitions, high school concerts, and more!)
How often do you communicate with your top recruits, and how do you communicate with them? What method is most effective in getting a student to commit to UWO basketball?
Our overall goal is to have consistent communication. We text, call, mail, go to their games/competitions, and have recruits visit campus. Our hope is to be consistent, but not overwhelming or annoying. The timing of our communication depends on the type of communication. As we get to know them more personally, we tailor our communication to each recruit. We need to be able to establish a meaningful relationship founded upon trust.
(In my opinion, communication is probably the most important element of recruiting. Students want to be wanted at your institution, and they also want to know that they’ll be supported by their music teachers in college. When they are ignored or not communicated with at all, then they tend to write off that school. In addition, making sure you’re in good communication with your music admissions liaison is extremely important as they might have information about your top recruits that you don’t have. Admissions officers and music faculty are on the same team!)
When you need to fill a roster spot but there's only one or two spots open, how do you recruit the best talent to fill that spot when it's highly competitive for the students?
Only having a few spots to fill in your team/studio/ensemble and competing for the best talent possible, is a challenge. We explain to recruits that we only have room for a few recruits this year and are going to be highly selective. Some coaches offer only the specific amount of spots they have available. If one passes on the opportunity, they offer the next best candidate the spot. This can present challenges as you may lose the next best candidate if the person you have offered the spot to takes longer to decide. Some coaches, especially when athletic scholarships are in play, will put a decision deadline in front of the recruit. This deadline may be dictated by an 'NCAA signing period' or the coach may establish their own.
(Music faculty, please work with your admissions colleagues on what kinds of scholarships are available for students, and if you can impose any deadlines for students accepting those scholarships. There are rules and codes of ethics surrounding this topic, so make sure you’re not promising something to a student that can’t be guaranteed. Each school may approach this differently.)
When a student starts at UWO, how does your relationship with that student change (if at all) from the time you're recruiting them to the time you officially become their coach? How does that relationship develop over the four years the student is on the team?
When a student starts at UWO, our hope is that we have built trust with them during their recruiting, and our relationship continues to grow and strengthen over their four years. No doubt, the student will face challenges and will need to be supported. They also will need to be pushed, challenged, and held accountable. During the recruiting process, recruits are not held accountable by the people recruiting them. We explain to them that they will be held accountable by us once they arrive on campus in order to prepare them for this. As they graduate and move on into the next phases of their lives, we hope the relationship we have built continues and we are a part of their life for many years to come.
When you have rebuilding years, how do you keep team morale up? I know it can be tough after having a few winning years and then all those great players graduate. When recruiting during a rebuilding year, how do you attract students to UWO?
Building and sustaining a positive, successful group relies upon constant investment, sacrifice, and passion from all involved. If it's a 'rebuilding year', all members need to believe improvement and success is possible. Trusting one another, holding each other to a very high standard, and celebrating the small successes can provide joy for the group. When recruiting during a rebuilding year, we talk about the vision for the program/group. We show how we are going to get from where we are to where we want to be, and how the potential student-athletes can help us get there.
If you’re a music faculty member, you’ll see some similarities in recruiting tactics right away. Consistent communication, building relationships early on (with students AND high school programs), and lots of hard work and collaboration with admissions is what brings in an excellent class. Of course, this is just one perspective of athletic recruiting, and I understand that recruiting for D1 programs or larger schools may look quite different, just as it is with different music schools. Faculty capacity, scholarship availability, and a variety of other factors can all influence how students are recruited. Find what works for you and your department, and lean on each other as well as admissions staff for support when needed. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box!
In my experience as an admissions professional and recruiting consultant, I have found that when music faculty think about recruiting like coaches do, they are more successful in bringing in the students that fill their studios and ensembles. So, if you’re feeling stuck in a rut with recruiting strategies, reach out to a coach!
Huge thanks to Matt Lewis for contributing to this article. Hope your recruiting efforts are going well and best wishes to another fantastic season for the UWO Titans!
Ready to up your music recruitment game? Let’s chat.
