College scouts and recruiters will not be allowed to attend youth sports in San Luis Obispo County.
The City of San Luis Obispo indicated in a press release that supervision at a youth sporting event is limited to a single adult or immediate family member older than the sport participant but that no other observers, including scouts and college recruiters, are allowed.
This protocol was put in place by the state of California.
Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School Football Coach David Schuster said, “There’s just so much you can pick up from watching a game like body language. You can honestly tell who the leaders are on the field and it’s hard to pick that up on film.”
Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School Athletic Director Kevin Hitchens said, “There is possibly a gap in what is going to be what is viewable if it is not caught on film.”
With college scouts and recruiters banned from the stands, coaches will now have to get creative in order to market their kids as potential college athletes.
Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School Girls Basketball Coach Ryan Weisenberg said, “We’re filming everything. It’s funny, I’ve sent film of girls working out, lifting weights, doing their speed conditioning.”
Considering college athletes have been granted an extra year of NCAA eligibility, it is even more challenging for high school athletes to receive scholarships.
Hitchens said, “I’m really concerned about our now-juniors, going to be seniors.”
Schuster said, “I think it will be a three to four-year ripple effect that people have not really thought out.”
But the hope is coaches relationships with scouts and recruiters will help give their kids the recognition they need to have the opportunity to advance their athletic careers.
Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School Boys Basketball Coach Terrance Harris said, “The college coaches, we’d love to have them in the stands. They’ll be watching film and we’ll connect with them and for those that deserve the opportunity they’ll get it.”
Once San Luis Obispo enters the orange tier from the red tier, stadiums will be allowed to have 25 percent capacity.
