When Kelly McCollum played field hockey at Northwestern from 1991-1994, the program neared the end of its most successful period in history. The Wildcats won the Big Ten title in her senior year, their fifth since 1983. The team held the top ranking in the country for five straight weeks and reached the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
Fast forward 14 years.
McCollum is back at NU, faced with the challenge of trying to revive a program that has won only two conference games in her five-year tenure. A return to national prominence is complicated by a much tougher Big Ten than when McCollum played.
“We’re really just trying to bring in the right kids who are self-driven and self-motivated and have the inner desire to rise to challenges,” McCollum said. ‘We’re in a tough situation with where the program is and the level that the Big Ten has risen to over the last 10 to 15 years. We’re looking for tough kids who are willing to really dig in to get us turning the next corner.”
So how does McCollum decide who those “tough kids” are? The coach said it does not take long to determine how talented a player is because her staff tracks kids starting their freshman year in high school.
But the harder part is getting a feeling for a prospect’s character.
McCollum said she can only find out how a recruit would fit into her program after she has “face-to-face interaction” with the player.
The questions she asks prospects are vital to judge who would fit well in the Cats’ system. She said her biggest strategy is to ask all the tough questions and to paint a clear picture of life at NU.
“I’m pretty much selling big-time academics and big-time athletics, letting kids know that they can have a smaller-campus feel with the same commitment to athletics,” McCollum said. “It’s an exciting place to be at if you enjoy being challenged to the highest level at both ends, because we don’t settle on either end of the spectrum.”
Official campus visits are an important element of the recruiting process and can go a long way towards convincing a player to commit to the school.
Senior forward Alison Bullock recalled that “it was the players themselves” that sold her on the program. She had attended a summer camp at the university led by Marisa Didio, McCollum’s college coach and predecessor, and got a chance to meet some of the players and see how she meshed with them.
Now Bullock is one of those prospects that recruits look up to when they visit, and she makes sure they get the same feeling of the team atmosphere that she got.
“We always make a point to take them to another sports game if we have a chance, because it’s really different if you come to a school and you’re part of that student section,” Bullock said.
The players try to make recruits feel comfortable and exhibit a lot of school pride they hope rubs off on recruits. It all happens without even having to see a game.
“When they come to the games it’s more of giving us an incentive to show them if they come here then it will be a competitive atmosphere,” freshman forward Jaimie Orrico said. “We’re more excited that they’re here than stressed out.”
But there are still obstacles that must be overcome. First, high school field hockey has a stronger base on the East Coast, and McCollum believes many players are attracted to the idea of choosing a college where their parents can watch them play. NU’s proximity to Chicago helps counteract that.
Another challenge is the university’s high academic standards, which limits the potential applicant pool. To draw the top talent in the country, the program also has to perform well on the field.
McCollum is satisfied both with her class this year and the progress the program has made in previous years. She said she is concentrating on players who will help create a winning environment. Hard work and team commitment are just as important for her as talent.
With time, the recruits may form the foundation of the team that restores NU as a national power – like when McCollum wore the purple and white on the field.
“If you get the right people with that mindset,” she said, “you’re going to have something great.”
