Been thinking about the degrees of "success" for UML's recruiting and trying to understand why an athlete would choose one school (or other option) over another. I have come up with at least 12 criteria that an athlete probably considers when making a decision. Depending on the individual, each item would have a different weight.
Some of the criteria listed below are in UML's control (such as recent success of the program) and others are not (Beanpot School). For now I made the assumption that the individual is comparing D1 schools from top conferences such as Hockey East, WCHA, etc - so did not include this in the criteria. Here is the list.
1. Coach
2. Program's hockey style/system
3. Current depth at desired position
4. Recent success of program (last 3 years)
5. Overall success of program (all time)
6. Future projected success of program (next 4 years)
7. NHL stepping stone / NHL connections
8. Quality of Education / Educational Fit
9. Practice Facilities/Game Rink
10. Beanpot School
11. Campus
12. Fan Support
So, what's the point of the list? I am trying to look at things from a school's perspective and identify what may be important to a potential recruit. Then, see if there are areas that can be improved upon to increase the chances of landing a recruit. Of course this is all hypothetical and just a conversation starter, but that's what we do on this Board.
What items above do think are important or really not relevant? Anything obvious that I may have missed?
