Have you ever thought about what college coaches' perspective is on transfer athletes? If you're considering transferring and curious about what your coach might think, I conducted an interview with Rollins College women's head lacrosse coach, Dennis Short, to find out first hand. Short began his career at Ohio State before starting up the women's lacrosse program at Rollins College, and has since led his team to the NCAA tournament several times. 

To understand how the transferring process works, Short provided details about the regulations and overview in depth. “In a nutshell, a student athlete  must speak to their coach or compliance director and complete paperwork to enter the transfer portal,” he said. “There is an educational module the student athletes  must complete prior to having their name added to the portal.  Once in the portal a student athlete can be contacted by coaches from other schools much like the recruiting that occurs during high school.” Short added that this process is for all divisions and athletes can switch between divisions. 

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Transfer logistics are one thing but how do coaches really know if a transfer athlete is going to  be worth reaching out to? “ I think recruiting transfers is a lot easier than high school players,” Short said. “They tend to have a much clearer picture of what they are looking for.  They generally are more honest and focused about what is important to them.” This may beg another question for potential transfers: What do they need to do to stand out? In short, nothing they haven't done before. “We use the same process/questions to try and get to know a transfer as we do a high school player–with a couple of exceptions as they already have some college experience in both the classroom and on the field,” Short said.  “But the same thing is still important to us: what kind of person are they and do they have strong values and character?  I just find it's a lot easier to identify if a transfer possesses the same values as we do.  They usually have already had a less-than-great experience and want to make sure the second time around they get it right.”

From a coach's perspective, there are several steps to be followed to see if the athlete is a good fit. According to Short, the process typically starts with “watching a video to see if athletically we are interested. Second, we get academic info to see if we can even get them admitted to our institution. Third, some phone calls to the transfer, possibly the former college coach, and definitely the high school  and club coaches. If we feel good about those conversations, then we will get them to campus for a visit.”

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From there, the process is speedy. “Typically the process with a transfer goes much faster,” Short said. “Usually all of that is done within 4-6 weeks and a decision is made”. If the transfer process is so seamless on paper, what could go wrong? Ironically, more experienced athletes can face significant hurdles.  “I think it's much trickier to make sure a [graduate student] is bought into your team culture,” Coach Short said.  “They can be great, but I am much more skeptical about the 1-year transfer than a player who has multiple years to fully invest in your culture.  Your culture is the most important thing to the success of your program.”  

At the end of the day, transferring is always about what's best for you as a student and an athlete. Coach Short's advice for those who are considering transferring? “ Just make sure you are clear about what is important to you,” he advised.  “You've had at least a year to experience college.  A lot of things were probably different than you expected.  Use your experience to find a better fit.”

Have a story idea or know an awesome athlete/coach we should interview? Email us at [email protected]

* Originally published on July 15, 2022, by Sophia Schindel