Come back every Tuesday for Recruiting Horror Stories™, athletes' first-hand stories on what can go wrong during the recruiting process.
We publish a lot of Recruiting Horror Stories at 2aDays from the perspective of a recruit…but what about when the shoe is on the other foot? Turns out, recruiting hosts can have horror stories of their own.
Here's mine: basically, this recruit who looked like she was 25 showed up for an official visit. The recruit nastily spoke to her mom, which turned me off, and her mom proceeded to ask us if we intended to take her daughter to a frat party. My response was, “of course not,” to which her mom responded, “I trust you,” and off she went. So far, (a bit awkward, but) so good.
While walking back to the dorm, the recruit asked me an odd question, “No offense but why do some of the people here look so weird?” I was shocked and responded, “We are a liberal arts school.” Honestly, I did not know how to answer her, and that was the first thing that popped into my head. She then started to brag about Yale and Brown and how they were also recruiting her and that she liked the schools better than mine. She proceeded to tell me how her high school coach and the team did not like her and that she thought it was because they were jealous of her. Sure.
At this point, I'm thinking to myself: this is going to be a long night.
Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities, and Campus Visits
As the night rolled in, we joined my team and the other recruits. All the hosts wanted to make sure the recruits met one another so they would feel comfortable mingling–but my recruit became disengaged. She would not get off her phone, she did not speak to the team or the other recruits, she was snippy with her responses and acted as though she was better than the rest of us. Not great.
When it came time to go out to a party (not the frat party her mom was so scared of), I asked her if she would like to go to a party without alcohol. Reluctantly, she agreed, but I could tell she was not happy that she would not be able to drink, even though we both had a seven in the morning clinic the following day. Nevertheless, we got ready, and as we started out the door I noticed that she had my new shirt on–she even dared to take the tag off and just wear it as if it was her own! I had no words or the patience to even talk to her about the situation.
When we arrived at the home of the men's basketball players, she immediately started preying on all of the guys. She was asking people for alcohol, she was saying bad things about the other recruits and being disrespectful. I felt as though I was in the Twilight Zone.
Long story short the disrespectful recruit ended up drinking and yes, karma did get her–she woke up hungover and she did not play well at the clinic. The coaches and the team focused on her mishaps, and the general comments about her were not good. She did not receive an offer from our school, and we are a better team without someone who disrespects herself and others.
The funny thing is, she texted me the day after her visit saying “I miss you so much!” and “my mom says hi!!” Needless to say, I did not respond.
Have a horror story of your own? Email us at [email protected]
* Originally published on November 8, 2022, by 2aDays Staff