Recruiting preparation must begin earlier.
Let’s be honest about where college football is heading.
College coaches are not coming to get kids fresh out of high school the same way they used to. The transfer portal is open. Coaches can recruit players who have already been inside a college program, already trained at that level and already proven they can play college football.
High school athletes are also competing against kids from places where football is played, trained and promoted all year.
That does not mean kids from the Hudson Valley should give up on playing college football.
It means we have to prepare earlier.
Recruiting Cannot Begin During Senior Year
Too many athletes are entering their junior or senior year before someone finally tells them they need film, verified numbers, a player profile, good grades and relationships with college coaches.
By that point, they are already in the final lap.
If college coaches are not looking at you early, your chances are already getting smaller. That does not always mean you are not talented enough. Sometimes they simply do not know who you are. They have not seen your film. They do not know your numbers. They do not know your grades. They have no reason to begin tracking you.
Talent matters. But talent by itself is not a recruiting plan.
Athletes have to learn how to market themselves. They have to understand how to build a real profile, keep their film updated, communicate with coaches, track their development and put themselves in position to be evaluated.
The days of putting your entire career in somebody else’s hands are over.
Your coaches can help you. Your parents can support you. Trainers can develop you. Platforms like KOT845 can tell your story and put more eyes on you.
But at the end of the day, every athlete has to take ownership of their future.
If the transfer portal has taught us anything, it is that nobody can just sit around and assume someone else is going to protect their opportunity.
This Should Start in Middle School
We are not only talking to varsity players.
This conversation needs to begin when kids enter modified football and become connected to their public school football program.
That is when they should start learning what the process actually looks like.
They do not need to act like finished products. They do not need to chase offers in seventh or eighth grade. But they can begin learning how to train properly, carry themselves, take care of their schoolwork, track their growth and understand what will eventually be expected of them.
The earlier they start learning, the more time they have to develop without panicking later.
A young athlete can record a real starting point and return each year to see how much faster, stronger and more explosive they have become. They can learn how to speak during an interview. They can begin building confidence. Families can learn what information matters and what does not.
By the time that athlete reaches varsity football, none of this should feel new.
Education Has to Be Part of the Conversation
This may be the most important part.
A lot of young athletes say they want to play Division I or Division II football without knowing the academic requirements they will eventually have to meet.
The NCAA currently requires a minimum 2.3 core course GPA for Division I and a minimum 2.2 core course GPA for Division II. Athletes also need 16 approved core courses, and a normal school GPA may not be the same as the GPA the NCAA uses for eligibility.
That is information families need before high school starts getting away from them.
You cannot wait until junior or senior year to discover that certain classes did not count, your grades are too low or you are behind on required courses. Athletes should be talking with their families, counselors and coaches early so that football and education are moving together.
The goal should never be to barely become eligible.
The goal should be to build the strongest academic record possible so more schools can recruit you, accept you and help you afford an education.
Film can get a coach’s attention. Your grades can determine how many doors stay open.
Start With the Truth
A lot of athletes say they run a certain time because somebody timed them with a phone. They say they are faster or stronger than last year, but there is no real starting point to compare it to.
That is one reason we created the Best of the 845 Showcase.
On August 15, athletes will have an opportunity to record verified numbers in the 40-yard dash, 10-yard split, vertical jump, broad jump, 5-10-5 shuttle, L drill, and max-rep bench.
These numbers are not meant to label a young athlete or decide what they can become.
They are a starting point.
If a Class of 2030 athlete comes out now, we can begin tracking that athlete through the next four years and beyond. No matter where they train, they will have official benchmarks that show where they started and how much they improved.
KOT845 will also use the event to interview athletes, build player profiles, identify future storylines and create a stronger record of football talent across the Hudson Valley. Athletic Republic Hudson Valley will bring professional testing and development experience to the process.
This is bigger than one day of running drills.
It is about helping local athletes understand what preparation really looks like.
We Are Not Selling Dreams
Nobody should promise a child a scholarship.
We are not doing that.
We are trying to help athletes and families understand what needs to happen if they want to give that dream a real chance.
College football is getting more competitive. Rosters are changing. Recruiting is changing. The portal is changing the way programs find players. Walking into this process unprepared is only going to become more difficult.
We should not let that discourage our kids.
We should use it as motivation to get them ready.
Dream as big as you want. Believe you can play at the highest level. But understand that believing is only the beginning.
Train early. Handle your education. Record real numbers. Build your film. Learn how to communicate. Take ownership of your name and your future.
Do not wait until the final lap to find out the race already started.
The Best of the 845 Showcase will take place August 15, with August 16 reserved as the rain date.
