Being able to scout effectively AND efficiently is a key part of enjoying the game. I understand that some folks actually like spending more than the ~20 minutes or so it takes me to scout every year, but for people who find the time and resource-consuming method of hand-selecting recruits to scout up each level to be too much like work to find enjoyable, using the method below can help. I share this with the folks I mentor, but I figured I’d put it here, so I don’t have to write it out again every 45 days. Many know this, and I’m not pretending I invented it. But many are still doing it the hard way when they don’t particularly enjoy it, and to me, it’s kind of like doing long division by hand when you have a calculator right next to you.
The first premise to understand is that any given recruit in the world can be fully scouted up to level 4 for less than $200, as long as you get the order of operations right, and correctly limit the pool. Again, a lot of folks have figured this out. But to those who haven’t, this is a little surprising. It’s true. Even international recruits can be scouted fully for <$200, as long as the pool is correctly limited.
At D1, there are 2 very efficient methods I use, I would call them “local” and “global”. The big difference boils down to how much money I have, and how competitive I think I can be for elite recruits. With fewer scholarships available (which tends to also happen during years when I may be less eager to make promises) I tend toward the local approach. With resources for 3 or more scholarships, and when I feel I have a couple starting spots to promise, I will tend to opt toward global. So here is my process.
1) The first thing I do is decide local or global.
2) I divide my scouting budget by 200. This is the maximum size of the pool I aim to construct. So if my starting budget is 23k, my target pool is max-115. If my starting budget is 51k, my target pool is max-255. Hitting that max target leaves me with a little left over, just in case I want/need to look for transfers in the 2nd session.
**if local**
3) I decide whether I want to do a private camp. They draw from 500 miles, and it’s helpful that before it runs, it tells me how many sign up, so I can figure that in. If I’m in the east, I generally can’t get everyone up to 500 miles away, so if I only have a couple scholarships open, I usually skip the camp. *If you do a camp, be sure it runs before sending out the assistant, otherwise you’re wasting money*
4) Use the FSS (scouting service) to fill out the pool. Using a camp complicates this, because the camp attendees are also part of the states scouting service numbers. As long as you do both before using the assistant, you’re not wasting any money, but you should run a check on your recruit pool numbers to make sure your scouting service hasn’t made it too large. If you forgo camps altogether, you can simply choose the states nearby you want to scout, and use their numbers to roughly put your pool together, keeping in mind the top 100 recruits in the D1 pool also factor in.
5) Use the assistant. You can check your recruit pool again to check the number of recruits within each radius. When running the assistant, be very sure to correctly limit the pool - Set it to the correct radius, and be very sure to uncheck “find new players”. You don’t want your assistant adding to your pool, just completing the reports on players already in your pool. At D1, I usually start with a 300 mile radius in the east, and a 500 mile radius in the west and midwest. You can go out farther if budget allows, or you can reserve some cash for a hybrid approach of hand selecting some distance/international recruits. Keep sending the assistant out, 25 at a time, until the pool is fully scouted (you can tell by watching the budget, when it stops moving, the assistant has completed work on that part of the pool).
**if global**
3) Forget camps, go straight to building your pool. Use the scouting service to get Canada and internationals first.
4) Send out the assistant as with step 5 above, except do not limit radius.
5) Check the size of your pool. It should currently include all top 100 and international players. Subtract that total from your max target number, and that’s how many more you should be looking for via FSS. You can even shoot a little higher, because some of those players will already be fully scouted, if they are top 100 guys. You can do a recruit pool check to see that the number of level 1 players is where you want it. Pick any states to FSS, doesn’t matter, as long as you keep the pool below that max target number. The Top 100 guys do sometimes mess with your totals, depending on where you’re recruiting, so it’s good to increase your pool a few states at a time, rather than do all FSS at once. It’s better to start with the big states, CA, NY, TX, if you’re going to scout them, and use smaller states to fill in later, IMO.
6) Send out the assistant again, as above, after each round of FSS. If done right, you should have a few thousand dollars of reserve.
Keep in mind, this is focused on the D1 pool. If you’re scouting the D2 pool, there are other efficiency considerations (for example, the D2 international pool can be scouted completely without worrying about any top 100 players sneaking into those reports). If anyone has has figured out an efficient way to account for the top 100 when building your pool, please feel free to add that in.
6/4/2018 12:19 PM (edited)