Evan Thue-
The student-athletes at UW–Stout are an incredibly diverse group of students. Many have traveled huge distances; some of them have even come from different countries. According to assistant Coach and Recruiter Daniel Scheff, right now Stout cross country has students representing seven states and Canada. No matter the distance traveled, the student-athletes at this university all eventually chose to become a Blue Devil and come here to Stout.
“Stout is a very unique place: 97% job placement rate, very career focused. A lot of great students out there want a great experience.”
Scheff does the bulk of recruiting for UW–Stout and constantly works to bring in new student-athletes from all over the nation to compete for the university. It is a very draining process, as Scheff spends about 4 to 8 hours of his day making phone calls to potential student-athletes.
It can be difficult getting students from states that are a substantial distance away (sometimes from outside the midwest) to tour the campus and make sure that it is the right fit for them.
It’s also very difficult trying to compete with other schools who are looking at the same potential student-athletes. Because of this, Scheff felt that it was actually easier to recruit out of state student-athletes, rather than the ones from in state.
There’s always going to be competition, but some students are looking for a different environment than Stout when they go off to college, which can lead to quite a bit of rejection. However, Coach Scheff says it’s all worth it.
“[The] relationships you get to develop and getting those people that want to make Stout their home is all worth it.”
One person that was recruited here from Utah is Sarah Schrom (So, West Valley City, Utah).
“I did online recruiting and was contacted by Coach Scheff, the main person in charge of recruiting at the time. Since I was so far away, all I mainly did was phone calls after races and talking about Stout and the team in general,” Schrom said.
Being sought after and recruited by people you have never met before must feel a bit strange.
“It did feel kind of weird to be sought out like that,” Schrom said. “But not as much as you would think. I’m used to being far away and traveling, so the idea of competing and going to school far away from home was an idea I definitely enjoyed and accepted rather easily”.
After all the recruitment, Schrom ultimately chose to come to Stout. Schrom’s decision was based on the fact that she, like a lot of other students, wanted to get out of her home state and find a new culture and new environment.
Whether its recruiting or being recruited, there are many different and interesting aspects of the whole process.