For most people, recruiting is something that happens at the college level. Scholarships. Highlight tapes. Transfer portals. Official visits. But if you’re a JV or sub-varsity football coach, you know that recruiting exists at our level too. It just looks a little different.
There are no scholarship offers waiting on the other side. No recruiting rankings or national signing days. The recruiting we do is quieter and more personal. It happens in hallways, in classes, in the stands at other sporting events, and sometimes in quick conversations between classes.
At the JV level, recruiting is about convincing young athletes that football is worth their time. It’s about showing them that joining the program means becoming part of something bigger than themselves. And in many ways, JV coaches are the most important recruiters in the entire program. Because if the pipeline isn’t full at the sub-varsity level, it won’t be full at the varsity level either.
One of the unique challenges of recruiting JV players is that the usual incentives don’t really apply. We can’t promise statistics. We can’t promise varsity playing time We can’t promise championships or accolades.
In fact, one of the defining characteristics of JV football is that those things aren’t the focus at all.
What we can promise instead is something more meaningful:
We can promise development.
We can promise brotherhood.
We can promise that if they commit to the process, they’ll grow as players and as young men.
But convincing teenagers of that isn’t always easy. They live in a world where highlights, recognition, and immediate gratification often drive decisions. So recruiting at the JV level requires something different. It requires relationships.
Some of the most important recruiting happens in the most ordinary places. In the past, I’ve found some of my best players in the hallway between classes, the cafeteria, even my own classroom. If you’re a JV coach, you’re in a unique position to connect with younger athletes because you often see them every day in school.
A simple conversation in the hallway can go a long way.
“Hey, have you ever thought about coming out for football?”
“How’s basketball season going?”
“You’d make a great linebacker.”
Those conversations might seem small, but they plant seeds.
Sometimes a player just needs to hear that a coach sees potential in him. A lot of kids don’t come out for football because they assume they’re not good enough. They think the team is only for the biggest, strongest, or most experienced players. When a coach takes the time to talk to them personally, it changes that perception. It tells them that they’re wanted. And feeling wanted is a powerful motivator.
A good friend of mine, Coach Mike Barfield in Cortland, recently started writing letters to students. These letters applaud them for different performances in games or matches, or even their academic performance or good things he’s heard from other teachers. These students aren’t in the program, but these letters are opening the conversation to show that they’re appreciated, and their efforts aren’t going unnoticed. Things like that add a personal touch to the recruiting process; it shows players that this coach is taking time out of his day to write a letter for them, a lost art in this day and age. It’s a simple thing, but it’s something that these kids will remember for a long time.
Another powerful recruiting tool is already in your locker room: your current players.
Young athletes listen to their peers in a way they don’t always listen to adults. When a friend tells them that football is fun, that the team is a good group of guys, and that the coaches care about them, it carries weight. That’s why it’s important to encourage your players to be ambassadors for the program. Talk to them about bringing friends out for the team. Encourage them to invite classmates to summer workouts. Remind them that building the program isn’t just the coaches’ responsibility—it belongs to everyone in the locker room.
When players recruit their friends, the results can be incredible. A single committed player can bring two or three new athletes into the program. Those players bring their own friends the following year. Before long, you’re building momentum.
Another important part of recruiting happens through collaboration with other coaches in the building. These coaches see athletes in different environments and can often identify players who might thrive on the football field.
A basketball coach might notice a physical rebounder who isn’t afraid of contact.
A wrestling coach might know a tough competitor who could be a natural linebacker.
A track coach might have a sprinter who could become a dangerous receiver or defensive back.
When football coaches build positive relationships with other coaches, those conversations start to happen naturally. Those recommendations can lead to new players who might never have considered football otherwise. And when programs work together instead of competing for athletes, everyone benefits.
Recruiting at the JV level requires a different kind of sales pitch. You’re not selling statistics or awards. You’re selling the experience. You’re selling the idea that football is about brotherhood, commitment, and growth.
That means talking about the things that really matter within the program: the relationships built in the locker room, the sense of belonging that comes from being part of a team, the pride of wearing the school’s colors on game day, and the opportunity to challenge yourself physically and mentally.
For many young athletes, those things are more meaningful than a stat line. But they need to hear it from someone who believes it.
One of the most powerful recruiting tools isn’t a speech or a pitch, it’s presence. When players see that coaches care about them beyond football, it builds trust.
That can mean attending their games in other sports.
Watching a basketball game on a Tuesday night.
Stopping by a wrestling match.
Showing up at a track meet.
Those moments matter.
When a player looks up in the stands and sees his football coach there, it sends a clear message: “You matter to me.”
The past few years, I had the opportunity to bust out my announcing chops for our wrestling and lacrosse teams. I’m no Howard Finkel, but boy do I have fun with it. It might be corny, but the kids seem to enjoy the way I overemphasize their names, put extra flair on their intros, and go nuts for them when they score. I’ve also found that when I do that, it lets them understand that I’m there for them, excited for them, and I want to see them succeed.
That kind of support strengthens relationships and reinforces the idea that the program cares about its athletes as people, not just as football players. And when athletes feel that level of investment, they’re much more likely to invest their own time and energy into the program.
Recruiting doesn’t always happen through big gestures. Sometimes it’s the little things.
A quick conversation in the hallway.
Asking how a test went.
Checking in after a tough game.
Those daily interactions build familiarity and trust. For younger students, football coaches can sometimes seem intimidating. But when coaches make the effort to talk with them regularly, that barrier disappears. The coach becomes someone they know. Someone they trust. Someone they might want to play for.
And often, that’s the difference between a player deciding to come out for the team or staying on the sidelines.
Another important part of recruiting at the JV level is identifying athletes early.
Freshmen and sophomores are often still deciding which sports they want to focus on. They may have played football when they were younger, or they may be considering it for the first time. This is where JV coaches play a crucial role. They are often the first football coaches these players interact with.
The way those coaches approach recruiting can shape a player’s entire experience with the sport. When JV coaches create a welcoming environment and build strong relationships with younger athletes, they help ensure that the program continues to grow. Because the truth is simple:
Strong varsity teams are built on strong JV programs.
If the JV roster is full of committed, developing players, the varsity program will benefit for years to come.
This is the approach that my assistants and I have taken the past 4 seasons, and the way I’ve approached this job for the past 14; I want these players to know that I am there for them in every way possible. It’s not a koombayah love-fest though. It’s a system based on respect and love. My players know that I love them all, and I will treat them with respect, as long as they give me and my coaches the respect we deserve. We’re not their friends, we’re their coaches, but in the end they all know we love them.
One of the best recruiting strategies at the JV level is encouraging multi-sport participation. Some athletes worry that joining the football team means giving up other sports. That fear can prevent them from coming out in the first place.
But the reality is that multi-sport athletes often become the best football players.
Basketball develops footwork and coordination.
Wrestling builds toughness and leverage.
Track improves speed and conditioning.
When coaches emphasize that football supports and complements those other sports, it removes a barrier. Instead of asking athletes to choose between sports, we invite them to become better overall competitors. And that mindset benefits both the athletes and the program.
At the end of the day, recruiting at the JV level is about more than just filling out a roster, it’s about building the future of the program.
JV coaches often spend more time with younger players than anyone else in the program. They are the ones teaching fundamentals, shaping attitudes, and helping athletes fall in love with the game. Because of that, they are uniquely positioned to influence whether players stay committed to football.
When JV coaches invest time in recruiting, they’re not just adding players for the upcoming season.
They’re strengthening the foundation of the program.
Every new player represents potential. Potential for development. Potential for leadership. Potential for becoming the next varsity contributor.
And those players all start somewhere. They start with a conversation in the hallway. They start with a coach who believes in them. They start with someone who takes the time to say, “You should come play football.”
Recruiting at the JV level will never come with headlines or recognition, but it is one of the most important jobs in the entire football program. It’s about building relationships. It’s about creating opportunities. It’s about helping young athletes discover something they might not have realized they were capable of.
When JV coaches take that responsibility seriously, the results ripple throughout the program:
More players join the team.
More athletes stay committed.
The culture grows stronger.
And eventually, those young players become the varsity athletes who represent the program on Friday nights.
All because someone took the time to recruit them when they were just another student walking down the hallway. And at the JV level, that’s where the future of the program really begins.
