The
Recruiting
Game

rR ight after Sian Deng joined
Douglas College, a rival school
griped long and hard that Deng,
who swings a gold-medal badmin-
ton racquet, had been lured away
after verbally committing to its
program.

Big deal, coaches in other sports
might reply. Athletes are not
bound by letters of intent in the
BCCAA. That means it’s not un-
usual for students to have a
change of heart, and a change of
campus, as institutions dicker for
their talent before registration.

“We never know for sure who’s
coming out until September when
they’re standing there with their
runners,” said Royals women’s
basketball coach Richard Norman.

But Douglas College badminton
coach Arif Mawani was upset by
the charge, checked into it and ul-
timately proved it to be un-
founded; at least for now.

“B.C. badminton coaches don’t
like to do that sort of thing. We’re
not as competitive as they are in
other sports, like basketball. But I
don’t know how long that will
last. The sport is beginning to get a
higher profile and there are more
quality athletes coming into the
system. The recruiting will get
more competitive and we will
have to try to keep up.”

And how does a school keep up
in the inexact science of recruiting,
especially given the faster rate of
player turnover in community col-
lege programs?

“A lot of it depends on things
like the reputation of your pro-
gram, the proximity of the school,
who else has talked to the athletes,
and what they’ve heard about
coaches by talking to other
players,” offered women’s vol-
leyball coach Dave Dalcanale.

There’s more. Other factors
reeled off by coaches include offer-
ing trips to sunspot tournaments,

INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / APRIL 17, 1991

 

 

 

 

Al Atkinson presents the Douglas College Female Athlete of the
Year trophy to co-winners from the badminton team Chantal Jobin
(left) and Sian Deng.

keeping high school teammates
together, rapport with high school
coaches, pre-registration oppor-
tunities, academic programs,
championship prospects and even
the commuting convenience of
SkyTrain.

Of course, before coaches make
any offers, there’s that un-
avoidable ritual of sitting through
an awful lot of junior and high
school games. Scouting at vol-
leyball tournaments, Dalcanale
sees up to 400 players in one
weekend. “It can make for an in-
teresting weekend, but it can also
make for some long days,” he
said. Norman splits evenings be-
tween squeezing into crowded
gyms to watching talent-laden
teams, or as the lone spectator
watching also-rans.

“You can try to find unknown
players by going to tournaments
and watching the consolation
teams. You can also look through
the local papers to see who’s scor-
ing a lot of points with a losing
team when you know that player
is being double- and triple-

teamed.”

Mawani scouts while travelling
across Western Canada with bad-
minton contingents from Hol-
lyburn Country Club, where he is
an instructor. He promotes his
program through clinics at Maple
Ridge Secondary School, and
relies on a network of coaches and
established players to tell him
about local up-and-comers and
prospective ESL students from
Asian countries.

After surveying a student's ath-
letic talent, there’s the business of
assessing study habits (will they
remain eligible?) and right-stuff
work ethics. “I will check out
their transcripts,” said Dalcanale,"
and talk to coaches, boyfriends,
sisters and older schoolmates who
go to the college."

Next — and remember, coaches
are busy with their current season
— there’s the business of writing
letters and more letters, compos-

continued on page 4

 

Ea.