The First Coach Called Within 24 Hours" — A Real Recruiting Story | Coach West Recruiting | Ep. 6

On this episode of the Coach West Recruiting Podcast, Dave sits down with Parker Crum — one of the very first athletes Dave ever worked with — to talk about his recruiting journey from Duchesne, Utah, a small 2A town, to college baseball offers from schools across the country. Parker was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, and baseball) at a school so small that everybody played everything. Not a single college coach knew where Duchesne was. None of the schools that eventually offered him ever watched him play in person. And once he started actively putting himself out there, he had his first college coach call within 24 hours — with offers rolling in for the rest of his senior year. In this episode: What it's like trying to believe in yourself as a recruit from a town where almost nobody makes it to the next level Why staying patient with the process was Parker's biggest challenge, and why he almost committed to the very first offer he got What he wishes he'd known earlier: reaching out to coaches first isn't a bad look, it's expected How following up consistently, even through months of silence, eventually paid off What actually mattered when choosing a school: team culture, playing style, academics, and asking coaches the hard questions The real difference between high school and college sports, and what he wishes he'd known before he showed up on campus His #1 piece of advice: don't be cocky — coaches will take the better teammate over the better athlete almost every time Timestamps: 0:00 Welcome and introducing Parker Crum 0:41 Growing up a three-sport athlete in Duchesne, Utah 2:00 The mental challenge of believing you can play at the next level from a small town 3:31 When he first realized playing in college was possible 5:00 Chasing a state stolen-base record and getting his name out there 5:54 What the recruiting process actually felt like at first 8:12 His biggest challenge: staying patient with the process 9:11 His first offer: Concord Community, New Hampshire 10:50 What he wishes he'd known earlier about reaching out to coaches 12:18 Why he kept messaging coaches even when they went quiet 14:11 How those quiet coaches came back around later 15:21 How one offer turned into offers almost every week 15:41 What actually mattered when choosing a school 17:39 Why it's okay to ask a coach hard questions after they've offered you 21:44 The real difference between high school and college sports 23:54 What he wishes he'd known before arriving on campus 26:52 His advice for athletes starting the recruiting process 27:52 The #1 recruiting mistake to avoid 29:10 Finish the sentence: "If you want to play college sports, you need to ___" Follow along and send us your recruiting questions: Instagram: @cwrassist Web: coachwestrecruitingassist.com #CollegeRecruiting #StudentAthlete #CollegeBaseball #RecruitingTips #SmallTownAthlete #CoachWestRecruiting