High-school seniors struggle to catch recruiters’ attention

Both sides of scouting process agree videos aren’t ideal way to scope out budding talent

As a football player well versed in dishing out hits, Tyson Kainz finds himself in the unfamiliar position of being on the receiving end of one this year. Like so many other high-school players across the country, the 18-year-old could only watch as his senior season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of playing time has made it difficult to get noticed by teams at the next level as well, leaving Kainz, who plays middle linebacker for the Robert Southey Screaming Eagles in Southey, Sask., worried he missed an opportunity to further his game.

“I was feeling really good going into the season,” he says. “I was training hard, in the best physical shape of my life and it all got cancelled.”

But while football fields were empty, the video rooms for many teams and players were busier than normal. Popular video-sharing sites such as YouTube have allowed players the opportunity to share highlight plays from their high-school careers. For senior players in particular, many of whom have plans to play at a higher level, this has allowed them to be judged based on their film from previous seasons.

“Is that perfect? Especially for kids that are late bloomers?” says Jim Mullin, president of Football Canada. “No, but at least it’s a path and at least it’s something that college coaches and recruiters can evaluate.”

Kainz has sent in film to some teams, but he says the best he can hope for is a tryout.

His coach at Robert Southey School, which is located 58 kilometres north of Regina, said the loss of the season hurt many of his players’ chances to play postsecondary football.

“This year’s Grade 12 group are probably one of our strongest groups of Grade 12 that we’ve had in the last decade,” Brady Aulie said, adding that at least a dozen of them are talented enough to play at the next level.

“And I felt like they weren’t able to really showcase what they can do.”

Being noticed by recruiters during a pandemic is not just difficult for the players, but it is equally challenging for the recruiters to notice certain things about the athletes as well.

Matt Berry, who has served as the recruiting co-ordinator for the University of Calgary Dinos since 2012, knows the challenges of scouting exclusively on film, rather than being able to attend games in-person.

“The big thing that you miss when you don’t watch a game in-person is how do they interact with teammates, how do they interact with coaches, how are they playing when the team’s up or the team’s down?” he said.

Another thing that gets lost when using selective highlight film is a player’s continuous effort. When watching a player in action, rather than on a recording, Berry tries to see whether a player eases up at any time. It’s an aspect that is not shown on highlight packages.

When scouting, recruiters have to not only take into account a player’s physical talent, but also the positive or negative impact he can have on a team. This can be challenging to judge during a pandemic.

“By not seeing the player in person, by not meeting the young man and his family in person, you’re always running the risk of there being some sort of character trait or issue that has gone undetected,” Berry said.

“You speak to enough people and you try and get to know the picture, but the young man could come in and have a little bit of an attitude or have some sort of baggage he’s carrying that you were unaware of that could possibly be disruptive to his growth as a player or disruptive to your locker room.”

As for Kainz, he understands the situation with the pandemic and all he is asking for is a chance to show recruiters what he can do in person.