Fisher’s Leap

To my fellow athletes: 

My story of being recruited and how it affected my life: 

My story starts in the 9th grade. 

I will never forget the surreal excitement in the air as I received the call. While sitting on my bed that day, with my parents by my side, I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. 

The discussion was the first call of many, the type that ends in “Yes sir, thank you so much, sir.” 

That was my first verbal offer. I had just finished a promising freshman season, but these coaches saw something in me that went right over my head. 

I played basketball during this season and recruiting found its way into my everyday life at school. The immediate reaction from most of my school was exciting, but there were plenty of jealous seniors on the team that I had just exceeded in scholarships who didn’t take too well to my good news. 

Their negative vibes further instilled a feeling of doubt in my potential and made me want to work harder to prove them wrong. 

The rest of the year was filled with in-person visits from coaches that needed to see me in person before pulling the trigger. Some of the most memorable moments from my recruitment were these conversations from out-of-place coaches in a sea of carefree high schoolers.

I still keep every business card they gave out and jot down each coach’s descriptions after we talked. Some coaches followed the rules religiously; others completely disregarded them. 

One unique memory I have is of a coach locking eyes with me in a door window, then bending down to slide his card under the door slip. 

These experiences were all topped by unofficial visits. They allowed me to include friends in my gameday experience and watch all the biggest rivalry games from the front row. There were also a few “friends” that told me what games they wanted to go to…

To this point, I had just been riding the seemingly endless wave of recruiting. I texted a few coaches every day and even set up checklists to call specific teams once a week. 

There was no nitty-gritty, just small talk. How naive to think that’s all it is.

It took a few months for recruiting to get its grounding after Covid hit, but it came back more intense than ever. Coaches discovered zoom and squeezed in hours of their time into my life every night. It was cool at first, all the edits and slideshows, but the excitement began to fade like all things in recruiting. 

Some coaches salivated at the chance to show off their school without having to show me around in person; others resented the job of selling such a massive decision without the ability to play show-and-tell in person. 

I was under the impression that my time missed visiting would be made up for in full. Once again, how naive of me. 

I entered into June in chaos with nothing but a list of a couple of dozen schools and a journal. For those that don’t know, the past 18 months had been a dead period (meaning no in-person contact with coaches), but June of 2021 was going to be the “fix-all.” 

Just as recruiting during the dead period had been a whirlwind of conversations through a screen, the live period attempted to overcompensate the imbalance through visits. I was given five official visits, usually on weekends, to fit into a four-week month on top of full swing summer workouts and an already busy schedule. 

In the end, it worked out; but this condensed way of recruiting left many athletes gasping for air, and an immense amount of stress heaped onto this already complex decision. 

I began my official visits with the highest standards imaginable, as I had been looking forward to these for years. This was the last time I made the mistake of being naive. An official visit generally looks like an all-expenses-paid vacation until you sit down with the coach and talk business. 

Besides making lists and narrowing down where I wanted to visit, this was the first time the ball was ever in my court. I like to use an analogy that I had gotten good at keeping my cards close to my chest, but my hand was being forced in June. 

Some coaches told me that I have a deadline to decide; others still needed to figure out what “I’m looking for.” 

This prolonged buildup of pressure finally began to burst after just a few of these visits. It felt like a giant wave was looming over me, and I didn’t know how to escape it. Finally, someone told me that I don’t have the answers – that I need to seek wise and experienced counsel. 

Showing my offers to the people around me was the first time I realized I had made progress in so long; it felt relieving. After months of feeling like my prayers were not working, I finally came to the realization that God was not going to tell me where He wants me. I needed to take a leap of faith, knowing that I will be for the Kingdom wherever I go. 

Committing was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. 

God constantly reminded me that faith is rewarded with joy and that He really be with me wherever I go. It was an unforgettable experience to top off one of the most unique recruiting processes in college football history. I have gleaned so much during this adventure, and my goal now is to help other people become more knowledgeable and to aid others going through the same things I did,

Thank you for reading, and if you know someone who should hear this, please share. 

God bless