Becoming a Cavalier: Guide to recruitment

By Amanda Zacharias
November 19, 2019

athelitics

The recruiting process can be different for everyone. As an NCAA Division III school, Cabrini’s process is fairly easy. Student-athletes can be seen as community leaders on campus as they are required to maintain academic standards while competing. According to the university’s athletics website, it is required that all student-athletes be enrolled as full-time students. 

Screen shot from the athletics website for information on how to become a Cavalier. Photo by Amanda Zacharias

Step 1: Choose a Sport

This part of the process may seem the easiest. Most college athletes have been playing a sport for many years. Others may be trying out something new for the first time. Cabrini offers a total of 19 teams with eight men’s and 11 women’s varsity level sports teams. A complete list of team offerings can be found here

Step 2: Fill out the questionnaire

After choosing your sport it is important that you fill out the questionnaire so that the respective coach can best determine your eligibility. The form will be sent to the coach who will read over it and reach out to the prospective athlete if they feel they fit with the program.

Screen shot from the athletics website with a list of sports offered. Photo by Amanda Zacharias

Step 3: Find your coach

Great! So you have found your sport and filled out the questionnaire. Now you should reach out to the coach of your team personally to start a conversation. Expressing your interest early on in the process will show initiative and make your name memorable. A coach’s contact information can be found here. 

Step 4: Get the details

Now is the time when you need to learn when tryouts are and start preparing yourself both mentally and physically. 

Step 5: Get in shape

For some athletes, they may have a long offseason that can lead to less work out time and more downtime. Before tryouts, it is important to get back into peak conditioning status. 

Step 6: If all else fails, walk-on

If the recruiting process doesn’t work out for you, that’s okay! There is still hope that you can play a varsity-level sport at Cabrini. Reach out to the coach for tryout information and just show up! Being a walk-on does not guarantee you a spot on the team but it does give you a fighting chance. The walk-on procedure is different for every team so be sure to contact your respective coach for further information. 

Take it from a pro:

Matthew DeMaria, senior digital communications major, was recruited to play tennis. DeMaria says it took only two weeks to hear back from the coach after filling out the questionnaire and that the process was fairly easy. “One of the coaches came out to my high school match too,” DeMaria said, “and I performed very well. That made me feel confident about my recruitment to Cabrini.” 

Advice from a coach: 

The assistant director for recruitment and retention, Steve Colfer, provides insight into the recruitment process. When looking for recruits it is important to look at both athletic and academic performance.

“The most important part of the (recruitment) process is making sure that we find the right academic fit. Especially as a DIII school,” Colfer said. For students who self identify as potential student-athletes, it can feel frustrating to think that their emails are not being read or that they are feeling kept out of the loop of information.

Colfer said that there are over 35,000 emails in the athletic system so it is impossible to respond to each and every one. “Getting that number down to 12 guys for our team is a process,” Colfer said.

Beyond Cabrini coaches, there are many resources available. If a student wants to play on any college team they should be using their high school and club coaches as resources as well as the college admissions office.

Didn’t make the team and still want to be involved?:

Cabrini’s athletic department hires student employees to work in the athletic department. This is a good way for students who want to be part of the athletic lifestyle but aren’t able to commit to playing a sport. According to the athletics website, these employees manage office duties as well as game operations and statistical assistance.

Cabrini athletics logo. Photo from Cabrini athletics Twitter.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Amanda Zacharias

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Perspectives

Special Project

Title IX Redefined Website

Produced by Cabrini Communication
Class of 2024

Listen Up

Season 2, Episode 3: Celebrating Cabrini and Digging into its Past

watch

Scroll to Top
Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap