Water Polo Recruiting Made Simple: The 4 Things You Need (And Why Starting Around 14 Matters)

If recruiting feels confusing, it’s usually because you’re trying to do too much at once—without a clear structure.

The reality is: water polo recruiting comes down to four essentials. When you build these four pieces in the right order, you stop feeling lost and you start feeling in control.

Here are the 4 things you need for recruiting:

1. Transcripts

2. Athlete Profile

3. College Coach Contacts

4. Highlight Video (this is the hardest part—but it’s also the biggest separator)

And one more key point that saves athletes years of stress:
The best time to start building your recruiting foundation is around age 14.
Not because you need offers at 14—but because you need time to prepare properly.

Let’s break down each part in a simple, practical way.

1) Transcripts: You Already Have This (Just Don’t Ignore It)

This is the easiest one because you’re already doing it every day: school.

Coaches don’t need you to be perfect. They need to know:

• You’re consistent

• You can handle the workload

• You’re eligible and responsible

The good news: you don’t need to “create” a transcript. You already have it.

What to do:
Take your grades seriously, and keep your academics stable. That’s it. If you’re unsure where you stand, ask your counselor what your transcript currently shows and what your GPA is.

2) Athlete Profile: I Teach You Step-by-Step How to Build It

Your athlete profile is your recruiting “home base.” It’s what a coach looks at to understand who you are in 60 seconds.

A strong athlete profile typically includes:

• Name, graduation year, position

• Height/weight (if relevant), dominant hand

• Club + high school team

• Academic info (GPA; test scores if you have them)

• Tournament schedule (so coaches know where to watch you)

• Coach contact info (so they can verify)

• Links (highlight video + full game film when available)

Most athletes either don’t have a real profile… or they have something messy that doesn’t feel serious.

That’s why inside my Recruiting Course I show you exactly how to create your athlete profile step-by-step, including what to write and how to format it so it looks clean and coach-friendly.

Quick tip:
Make the profile simple and easy to skim. The goal is clarity, not a life story.

3) College Coach Contacts: Inside the Course I Show You Exactly Where to Find Them

You can’t get recruited if you don’t have a direct way to reach coaches.

The biggest mistake I see is athletes either:

• emailing random accounts, or

• relying on “someone else” to connect them, or

• not contacting anyone because they don’t know where to find emails.

Here’s the truth: college coach contacts are available—you just need to know where to look and how to organize it.

And this is important:
Inside the Recruiting Course, I show you exactly where to find college coach emails and how to build your list the right way.
So instead of wasting hours, you follow a clear process and get it done fast.

What you should do once you have them:
Create a simple list (even a spreadsheet) with:

• School name

• Coach name + email

• Level (D1/D2/D3/NAIA/JUCO)

• Notes (fit, style, academic match)

• Date contacted + follow-up dates

Recruiting is not just “send one email.” It’s consistency—but organized consistency.

4) Highlight Video: The Hardest Part (And I Can Create It for You)

If transcripts are the easiest… highlight videos are the hardest.

Not because you’re not good enough—but because most athletes don’t know:

• what clips matter most

• how to order them

• how to keep it short and strong

• how to make it look clean and easy to watch

The simple formula that works:

Defense → Assists → Goals

Why this order?

• Defense first shows effort, awareness, discipline, and coachability

• Assists next show IQ and decision-making (coaches LOVE this)

• Goals last show confidence and impact

This is a “top-down” approach: start with the hardest traits to evaluate, then finish with scoring.

If you want me to create your highlight video:

I can take your film and build a coach-ready highlight video using that structure—so your strengths show immediately and the video flows.

Example: Here’s the type of highlight video we can create for you:
👉 https://youtu.be/0fvFAEvaZ3I

If you want to create your own:

I also show athletes how to do it themselves.

👉 Here’s my video showing you exactly how to create a highlight video for recruiting:
https://youtu.be/T1hM_9urgBo

Either way—done correctly—this one piece can completely change how coaches respond to you.

When to Start: Why Around Age 14 Is the Best Move (Without Overcomplicating It)

You don’t need to turn recruiting into a full-time job at 14.
But around age 14 is the best time to start building your foundation so you’re not rushing later.

Think of it like this:

• Around 14–15: build your materials and structure

• Around 16–17: start consistent outreach and updates

• Later: finalize the best fit

That’s it. Simple.

If you wait too long, everything becomes stressful: profile, video, contacts, follow-ups—done all at once.
If you start around 14, you build it gradually and cleanly.

The Recruiting Timeline (If You Want the Step-by-Step Video Version)

If you want to see the recruiting timeline clearly explained (what to do first, what to do next, and when to start reaching out), I made a full breakdown for you.

👉 Recruiting Timeline Video: https://youtu.be/hCk4_haRqhI

This is exactly what I teach inside the Recruiting Course too—so you always know what your next step is.

Where to Learn the Full System (Recruiting Course)

If you want everything organized in one place—with templates, examples, and the exact steps—go through my Recruiting Course.

Inside the course, I show you:

• how to build your athlete profile step-by-step

• exactly where to find college coach contacts and how to organize them

• what to say when reaching out (and how to follow up)

• how to approach highlight videos the smart way

• the recruiting timeline so you never feel lost

👉 Recruiting Course Link: https://www.waterpolouniversity.com/d485caa0-209e-4469-a9c1-08d52cc5ee51

CTA: Start Simple, Start Now

If you’re serious about playing in college, don’t overthink recruiting.
Just build the four essentials:

1. transcripts (already in progress)

2. athlete profile (I’ll show you step-by-step)

3. coach contacts (I’ll show you exactly where to find them)

4. highlight video (I can create it for you—or you can follow my tutorial)

Start building the foundation around age 14, and you’ll be ahead of most athletes by the time recruiting truly ramps up.

If you want the fastest path, go through the Recruiting Course and follow the steps in order. And if you want me to build your highlight video, send me your film and I’ll turn it into a clean, coach-ready video using the defense → assists → goals formula. - https://www.waterpolouniversity.com/d485caa0-209e-4469-a9c1-08d52cc5ee51