The Ride To The Rink - The Do's And Don'ts of College Hockey Recruiting with Megan Myers

Lee MJ Elias [0:08 - 0:52]: Hello, hockey skaters and goalies around the world. And welcome back to another edition of the ride to the rink. We got a college coach with us today. Megan Myers joins us. She's the assistant coach at BU. She has been involved in hockey her entire life. And we asked her the question for you about, look, if you're trying to get recruited, what are the things you need to do to kind of stand out, to advocate for yourself, and to do that journey the right way? So let's hear it from Megan right now. So, Megan, I wanted to ask you, speaking specifically to the children out there, listening to this episode on the ride to the rink, what is your message to the young kids, whether they're really young, elementary, middle school, or really they're getting ready to be recruited or getting actively recruited, what is the message to you on that process, on how they can do it the right way? 

Megan Myers [0:54 - 2:35]: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is having that drive. If you have the drive to play college hockey, you have the drive to play hockey at the highest level. I think that's the most important thing. Obviously, you're gonna have a long career wherever you go. And I think the best way to go about it is be patient, enjoy the process, and take advantage of everything that you have in your wheelhouse, whether it's your club coaches, your team managers, anybody you work with in your club hockey or prep hockey programs, and using them as a tool to help your drive get you to where you want to go. I think there are maybe 74 Division III programs in growing and about 46 division I programs. There is a home for everyone, and that's not including club hockey. And I think that it's important that if you have that drive and you want to play, you need to advocate for yourself. You need to advocate for yourself in terms of writing a great email, being professional, telling them who you are, getting your schedule out there, if you have any video, share it. Nothing is going to hurt. If you're not hearing back from a coach, that's still an opportunity for you to advocate for yourself. Like I said, using your resources, your tools, your people in your life and in your community. That being said, we don't want to hear from your parents. We love them. They're great. Mom and dad are great. But we want to hear from you. We want you to advocate for yourself. Tell us why we should recruit you. Ask questions and use the drive that you have for the game, for the drive that you want in your career, and the drive that you want to succeed going forward, because there is a place for everyone. And it's only going to go up from there if you keep advocating yourself in terms of life skills and moving on in the world as a young woman. So is that good? 

Lee MJ Elias [2:35 - 3:06]: Let me ask you this as well, too. I think there's a wide range of kids out there. I think some of them will have no problem doing what you're saying, emailing and they're ready to advocate for themselves. There's also kids out there, I think, that get extreme anxiety in these situations. And look, I think, again, look, just five years ago, people would say, well, that's weakness and it's a reality. Right? I think that happens. And I think you can be an incredibly superhero type player on the ice, but off the ice, maybe you do have some problems with that. So what's your message to that young kid? 

Megan Myers [3:06 - 3:06]: Right? 

Lee MJ Elias [3:06 - 3:14]: That's like, oh, God, I have a real hard time doing this. You said advocate for yourself. Why should they trust in themselves to do that? 

Megan Myers [3:16 - 4:21]: It's a good question because I think your anxiety about this process shouldn't hold you back. I was the most anxious player. Like, I had a college coach call me and I sat in like a domino's parking lot for half hours, freaking out, couldn't drive and talk to him at the same time. God forbid. I was so nervous. But I think in terms of where we are now, it's like talking to coaches has changed so much. Say talking on the phone isn't your thing. You're more comfortable on FaceTime. Let's do it. I think more players now are more comfortable that way. If you're not even comfortable facetiming or talking to the phone, we can text. We'll figure it out. At some point, we're going to have to have face to face conversation and have to have a real life conversation. But in this recruiting process, like, college coaches are human, too, and we have our own anxieties in terms of calling players. I get a little anxious for. I call every player and I think it's a good thing. It means that I care and it means you're anxious because you care. But finding the way that you want to communicate, to express your drive and your passion for the game and if you want to go to a school or not is huge. I think it's okay to have anxiety. We're human. Like I said, we have it, too. Like, we're human beings, too. 

Lee MJ Elias [4:22 - 5:22]: I love that answer and I love that you brought that up because, like, that's the type of thing that would not have been said ten years ago. What you just said, right. And I just. I think it shows how things are changing. So, look, if you're a young kid out there looking to get recruited, like, heed the words of Megan. Right? It's just like the game. Sometimes you got to go for it, you know? And I think the other thing, too. I just want to. It's worth repeating what you said here. The anxiety or the emotion means you care if you were feeling nothing. That would kind of be disturbing as a coach or as a player. Like, you shouldn't be feeling nothing. So I think that, you know, you could acknowledge that within yourself if you're looking to be recruited. I'm anxious because I care. When I was getting recruited, I remember not being able to eat. I remember getting sick to my stomach. I mean, like, all of these things, you know? And we went through with it, obviously. And, you know, I was very blessed in that regard, but I felt it, too. And it's. It's looking back at it now as an adult, I just cared so much. I mean, I wanted this so bad. So I think those feelings are justified. That's just really great. 

Megan Myers [5:22 - 5:52]: Yeah. Like, I reread my emails five times before I sent them to a player, too, the same way that these players are rereading their emails to send to us. Like, I called. I called two players yesterday, and I was, like, had an alarm clock to make sure I had the right time zone and I was ready to go. Like, we get anxious, too, so, like, I hope that makes players feel better. And we talked about a little bit earlier, like, I'm not recruiting you as much as you're recruiting me. Like, it's a two way street here. Like, I have to win your trust, and I have to win yours. So that's a really good point. 

Lee MJ Elias [5:53 - 6:16]: All right, that's gonna do it. For this edition of the Ride to the rink, we want to thank Megan Myers for coming on today and really sharing some great value. If you want more info, check out the full episode with her on our girls play hockey. We talked with her for an hour about all of this stuff. It was a really great episode. But either way, we want you to enjoy hockey as you always do. Remember that we believe in you. You should, too. Enjoy this hockey journey, my friends. We'll see you soon. Skate on.