Episode #89: Dr. James Troha on Recruiting

🎙️ This Week on the Significant Recruiting Podcast

 What do college presidents really think about athletic recruiting?

In this short but powerful episode, Matt sits down with Dr. James Troha, President of Juniata College and Chair of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council, to discuss how colleges are rethinking the recruitment process—and why families, coaches, and administrators must lead with empathy, honesty, and accountability.

Matt also opens the episode with a deep dive into what true commitment looks like from student-athletes and parents in the recruiting journey, plus practical advice for coaches on how to handle communication with every recruit who reaches out.

🎯 Whether you're trying to understand your recruiting reality or build better habits in your outreach, this episode delivers high-impact insight in just a few minutes.

📍Learn more, grab the books, or schedule your free strategy session at coachmattrogers.com.

Transcript

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And when I bring in new coaches here, I've got a little whiteboard over here. I say, go right on my board. What's your identity? Is it about winning? Is it about retention? Is it about campus engagement? If somebody were asked me to define men's lacrosse at Junior, what are they gonna say? What is it about? And I'm shocked at how many coaches don't really know what they should be about. Hey everyone. Welcome back to this week's episode of the Significant Recruiting Podcast. I'm coach Matt Rogers, and even though today's episode is a short one, it's one of the most insightful conversations I've had with a college president. I. About what really matters in recruiting and college athletics. You just heard a quick clip from Dr. James Troja, president of Junior OUTTA College and chair of the NCAA Division three President's Council. In just a few minutes, we'll get into our full conversation on recruiting, where he offers a powerful perspective on what colleges are really looking for in student athletes and what he expects from his head coaches as they talk to new families about coming to his college. But before we dive into that, I want to give some extra context for our listeners, especially the parents, student athletes, and coaches who tune in each week for real direction in this recruiting space. Because here's the truth. Recruiting is not about waiting to be discovered. It's about commitment and accountability that starts in your household, and it starts now. So let's break that down. For student athletes. Commitment means you don't settle for the minimums, you chase your personal potential. Can you raise your GPA to a 3.5 or higher? Can you commit to basic physical routine skill development, conditioning strength training for 30 minutes, four to five days a week without needing a coach or a parent to remind you. That's called owning your effort, and that's the kind of mindset college coaches notice. I. Second, build what I call your attack list. Don't wait for a dream school to appear in your inbox. Build a list of 50 to a hundred schools across all levels. JUCO n, ai, ncaa, D three, D two, and D one, because here's the truth. At least half of those coaches won't respond and another chunk won't see you as a good fit. That's okay. The goal is to get at least one coach at every level to give you a real evaluation so you can understand where you truly stand and where you might best fit. I encourage you to email and call college head and assistant coaches at 10 different schools at each division level. Thirdly, reach out consistently. Not constantly, but consistently. This doesn't need to be hours per week. One email and one phone call each week to a new college coaching staff takes just five to 10 minutes. That means you'll contact 52 coaches over the next year. That's a huge step forward in visibility, and it's built entirely on your consistency. Now, college coaches, I've got something for you too. If you get an email or a call from recruit, and I know some of you are getting hundreds of these every week, and you know you can't respond personally, delegate it. Teach your assistants to handle these inquiries with professionalism and a little bit of heart. It doesn't take long to change a recruit's life. Give them a 32nd evaluation. Here's an example. Hey, thanks for reaching out. You've got some solid fundamentals, but right now your speed and your strength don't fit where we need them to be. Keep working and send us an update down the road. That kind of response, it builds your program's brand, it builds trust, and it builds relationships even with players you don't recruit. I. And families. If this all feels overwhelming, I've got you. You can schedule a free strategy session with me anytime@coachmattrogers.com. I also encourage you to check out my book, significant Recruiting, our Sports Specific Recruits journals, and the full online course, the Significant Recruiting Launchpad. For those of you who want to work through this journey step by step on your terms. Now let's jump into today's conversation with Dr. James Troja, his insights around leadership, D three, recruiting, and just doing what's right, not just what's expected, are things every family coach and administrator should hear. Here's part two of my conversation with Dr. James Troja. President, thanks so much for being on the Significant Coaching Podcast. Thanks for coming back and talking a little bit recruiting. We're gonna do a really short one today. Really what I want from you, from a resident's perspective, what advice would you give to families that are in high school right now? They have a student athlete who's got great potential, has a big passion to continue playing their sport in college. What advice would you give to those families about that journey to get to re recruited by a coach at Tata i, for me, it's. And because I didn't both at the division one level and division three level where I coached I had some of these experiences. And I'll just say that, there, there's a lot of I, I think of homework that needs to be done ahead of time about both the institution and also the coach. What was that coach's journey? How long have they been there? What are the values that coach has? These are some things. It's not just about saying, I wanna play golf, or tennis or football at the next level. It's about aligning the values that you have as a student athlete, as a family, with what you want to do as a student athlete, and making sure that those things align appropriately. I think too many just say. I wanna play football and they don't really and oh, I wanna play football here at this institution when that may be the wrong institution and the wrong coach and coaching staff for a variety of reasons. So I think not enough, spend enough time looking at, I. The type of institution it is, what's the ethos at that institution? What does that institution really care about? What are the academic requirements? What are the academic expectations? And at the end of the day, that student athlete playing for that head coach is, it's probably gonna shape more of their experience than anything else. And so you gotta do some due diligence and some homework about who you're gonna go play for. So looking at that coach's background, what do they really care about? What's the retention rate on their team? Watch them play. You can go back and look, most of these, there's film to be, how is that coach treating the players? What's their sideline demeanor? What you know? I think all of those things can be found out in today's world and I just don't see a lot of that homework being done on the front end, Matt. It's not by both the coach and the athlete. Yeah. It's just okay, I want to be at a small school in this geographical area and here's the schools I can afford. Ooh, they got my academic program, let's go visit. And they're let around campus by the coach or assistant coach, and hear from the coach's perspective, all that. I think it's gotta be the other way around. I think the athlete and the family has to drive more of that if they want a positive result. I'm hearing a reoccurring theme about families and time and what we put into it. I, my bias is that not everybody has. A mom and a dad, they typically have s some support in this journey. And all my all I'm suggesting is that some of the families, parents might have something to offer in this space. And student athletes and coaches they should come together more on what might be the best fit for a student athlete. Because if it's not a great fit. Then you're talking about the coach not being happy, then the student athlete not being happy, then retention suffers. And oh, by the way, if I got a transfer now, I might have lost some credits. Now I'm going five years, six years. That's not good for anybody. And so taking that little extra time to try to find that fit is so critical and. And it needs to happen on both ends. The coaches finding that right fit, but the student athletes and families, trying to find that right fit, not just athletically, but academically as well is really important. I'm 100% behind you on there and I'm thankful to hear that'cause I do those exact same things with my clients and the families I work with. Really quickly, I'm gonna turn the tables on you. You're in front of your, all your head coaches and you're telling them a piece of advice on the type. Student and how you want them to recruit for your campus. What do you want your coaches looking for? What are there, is there a red flags? Are there things that you want'em concerned about? No. We talk about a couple things, Matt. We of course want to we wanna win, but I, it's not about winning. It's about. Having a program that has all the right elements to it and the end result is winning. So you want you want a value system for your particular sport. What's important to you, coach? And when I bring in new coaches here, I've got a little whiteboard over here. I know it's surprising to them, and they look at me a little oddly, but I say, go right on my board. That if somebody were asked me to define men's lacrosse at Junior, what are they gonna say? What is it about? Thank you. Thank you. Is it about effort? Is it about effort? Yeah. Is it about winning? Is it about retention? Is it about campus engagement? What is, what's your program? What's your identity? That's right. And I'm shocked at how many coaches don't really know what they should be about. Yes, because that should drive everything. And if you do those things right, winning happens. And I'll use Heather Pavlik our volleyball coach, like I, she'll tell you what's important to her and it's been important to her for, a long time here at Junior. And it's why she has a successful program and she won't recruit kids that don't fit into that. Model. Even though they might be super talented, we've had super talented teams here that didn't get outta the final eight. And it's because of chemistry. Yeah. It wasn't because of talent, it was'cause of chemistry. Yep. And sometimes you might take a swing at a really talented kid, but you might know that they might not fit in and it ends up coming to haunt you. Yes. You know this. I do. I know this. And as a coach, I think you've gotta look at what defines your program. And so I just ask my coaches to make sure that they know what they're about. What is your identity? What is, what are your core values as a team? I don't care that they're different from one coach another, but you need to have some identity. Yeah. And that identity then better result in a program that we would deem successful. Yep. Full rosters. Students are engaged outside of athletics. They're retained. They're doing well academically and oh, by the way, they're competitive. Yeah. I don't need to win national championships across the board. Matt, what I do need is to have strong programs that our students would walk out in four years and say, I had a great experience. That's important to me. Yeah. Moms and dads, if you're listening, that is a great question to ask every coach. When you're sitting in their office and you're talking to them, what is the identity of your program? Yep. What is the vision of program? That's culture. Yes. What is your, how would you define your culture? Thank you so much, president Troja. I could talk to you all day. Thank you so much for the time you've given me, and thank you for sharing so much wisdom with us. I look forward to future conversations. I hope we get to have more. But thank you for being a voice at the NCAA level and being so authentic with it. So thank you for your time. You bet. Thanks, man. Appreciate it. Thanks again to Dr. James Troja for joining me today and for the leadership he continues to show on behalf of Division three student athletes across the country. His perspective is a powerful reminder that the college journey isn't just about where you go, it's about who you become. If today's episode sparks something for you, whether you're a parent, student, athlete, or a coach, please visit coach matt rogers.com to schedule a free recruiting or coaching strategy session. Grab a copy of significant recruiting or dive into the online course that helps families build a smarter, healthier path to college. And be sure to subscribe so you don't miss. Next week's episode, I'll be joined by one of the top division three men's basketball coaches in the country, a leader who's built a national powerhouse by focusing on player development, program culture, and honest recruiting. Until then, keep working with commitment, lead with significance, and I'll see you back here next week on the Significant Coaching and Recruiting Podcast.