Gabe Graber—Staff Writer 

Sports are a large part of the college experience. Students at both large public universities or smaller private schools like Dordt attend games throughout the school year, as a form of entertainment. Behind the scenes, coaches recruit athletes year-round. Dordt coaches are constantly looking for high school athletes that will fit their team well. However, Dordt often faces recruiting competition from other schools and public universities taking the best players.  

“At any level of college recruiting, it is challenging because there is always another program that wants the same player,” head football coach Joel Penner said. “They are making their case just like we are. At the Division 1 level, it’s even harder with [name, image, and likeness] and all the money with that. Unless you are the very best, it can be very difficult.”  

At any level, there are what coaches call recruiting battles, which occur when multiple schools want a player, but the final decision rests with the student. Nathan Bacon, the head baseball coach, has his own strategy for this. He builds relationships with every player he recruits so that they will want to choose Dordt because they have connections already in place. In fact, he and his staff focus more on that than selling them on Dordt. Penner does the same, but he faces other difficulties. His top competitors are not just colleges nearby, but also Division II colleges.  

“The relationships built are important because once they are on campus there is already trust built both ways,” Bacon said. “The recruiting battles I’ve gone through are one of my favorite parts about being a college baseball coach.”  

Every coach builds their program differently because they are looking for specific players that will help build the culture they want to have. One college might recruit linemen more than receivers, for example. In baseball, you might recruit pitchers more than hitters. It is all about what sort of team you are trying to make. At Dordt, they have all of this plus the added Christian aspect, which is a big part of every team.  

“With football, there are three parts of a player that we look at,” Penner said. “First of all, there is the academic standpoint. We know what it takes to succeed academically here, and we want students who can do that. Then there is the athletic aspect. We look at them as players and see if they can contribute on the field. Finally, there is the faith aspect. We want players who want to go to chapel and take their faith seriously. I know coaches at Christian colleges who downplay that part to get players they want, but that never works out.”  

Over the past few years, college football has changed drastically at the highest level. Now, players transfer schools frequently with no penalty, and they can make money off their name, image, and likeness (NIL). That hasn’t made much of an impact at the NAIA level, but it isn’t unforeseeable. Outside of that, transferring is very common at this level. This can be because of quitting football, homesickness, academics, or anything else.  

“Over the years, it will be interesting to see if guys will continue to stay at college for four years or not, because there is some poaching taking place,” Bacon said. “I have felt it over my time here.”  

With recruiting, coaches have to take the good with the bad. The bad is not getting players you want, decommits, and transfers. The good is all the great relationships that are made and finding players who are great fits for their respective teams.  

“For me, the best part is the relationships made,” Penner said. “I would say that I’m a better dad because of recruiting. I see how kids and parents interact. I’ve seen good examples of parental involvement in college decisions and really bad ones. I’ve learned to appreciate how they raise their kids and how they support them at college from afar.”