GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — It might not be good for the players and that goes for the big time schools too, but Davenport head coach Sparky McEwen believes Division II schools could actually benefit from the restrictions the ongoing pandemic has had on recruiting.
“There is a potential the kid can fall to you if D-I schools didn’t have that ability and that opportunity to have that last look at them at summer camp,” McEwen told 13 ON YOUR SIDE recently.
With kids and coaches stuck at home, the game of recruiting has changed considerably in the last couple months. One might think it would slow the process down, but interestingly enough, McEwen says the opposite has happened.
“I can tell you this,” the 52-year-old coaching veteran brags. “We have 15 offers out there already.”
Amazingly, that’s 12 more than they had at this time last year. McEwen, now entering his fourth season as the Panthers head coach, credits his staff for doing the recruiting online through social media outlets such as Twitter and TikTok.
But despite that success, he admits it’s a bit of a risk to make an offer without having met the student-athlete in person.
“The face to face of going to the game, you know giving the guy a high five, the physical contact. That part of it has changed tremendously.” he laments. “That part bothers me because you are never going to be given a chance to know the kid.”
McEwen knows this is how it’s going to be for a while but he has no problems adjusting.
“It’s where we are at and you better be active,” he explains. “If you are not active, you are going to lose out on these student athletes.
And for McEwen, that’s a loss he never wants to endure.
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