How recruiting services are priced and staffed.
There are a few common ways to approach recruiting, and they differ mainly in how they are priced and who does the work. Here is a neutral look, plus the questions to ask any service, including us.
- Who writes the emails to coaches?
- Whose address does the outreach come from?
- Can I read every message and reply?
- What is the contract?
- Is the fee tied to an outcome?
- What happens when we cancel?
The four models for recruiting help
Most recruiting help falls into four models. The table shows how each is typically priced and who does the outreach, and it only names a price we can point you to.
| Model | How it is priced | Who does the work |
|---|---|---|
| Advisor-tier contract platforms | Package price disclosed on a sales call; typically a multi-year contract paid up front. | The family, with coaching from an advisor and profile tools. |
| Self-serve profile software | Published annual subscription, commonly a few hundred dollars per year (Hudl's recruiting add-on is listed on its pricing page). | The family: build the profile, find programs, write every email. |
| Done-for-you outreach (ScoutBridge) | One published flat monthly price, cancel anytime. | A real person at ScoutBridge, from a dedicated address the family can read in full. |
| Doing it yourself | Free. | The family, entirely. |
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Sources: Hudl pricing page.
What each model is, in plain terms
The same four models, described the way a family would explain them, with where ScoutBridge fits.
Advisor-tier contract platforms
These pair profile software with an advisor who coaches the family through recruiting. The package price is usually quoted on a sales call and paid as a multi-year contract up front. The family still sends most of the outreach, with guidance.
- Who does the work
- The family, with coaching from an advisor and profile tools.
Self-serve profile software
These are tools you subscribe to and drive yourself. You build the profile, search for programs, and write every email. Pricing is published as an annual subscription. Hudl's recruiting add-on is listed on its pricing page.
- Who does the work
- The family: build the profile, find programs, write every email.
- This is us
Done-for-you outreach (ScoutBridge)
This is the ScoutBridge model. A real person manages the outreach from a dedicated address the family can read in full, for one published flat monthly price you can cancel anytime. The family keeps film and schedules current and can reply to any coach directly.
- Who does the work
- A real person at ScoutBridge, from a dedicated address the family can read in full.
Doing it yourself
The family does everything, at no cost: build the profile, research programs, write and send every email, and track every reply. It works, and it is a real amount of ongoing work spread across a busy few years.
- Who does the work
- The family, entirely.
Ask these six questions before you pay
The same six questions work on every service, including ours. Ask them first, then compare the answers side by side.
Who writes the emails to coaches?
Ask whether a person sends real outreach for you or you are buying tools to do it yourself. At ScoutBridge, a real person writes and sends the outreach and handles follow-ups.
Whose address does the outreach come from?
Ask whether messages come from an address your family controls and can read. At ScoutBridge, outreach comes from a dedicated recruiting address on our domain that you and your athlete can read in full.
Can I read every message and reply?
Ask whether you can see the full history of what was sent and what came back. At ScoutBridge, every message we send and every reply lands in one shared inbox you can read any time.
What is the contract?
Ask whether you are signing a multi-year term or paying up front. ScoutBridge is one flat monthly price with no multi-year contract, and you can cancel anytime.
Is the fee tied to an outcome?
Ask whether any part of the fee depends on an offer or scholarship, which recruiting and scouting service rules do not allow. The ScoutBridge fee is flat and is never tied to a recruiting outcome.
What happens when we cancel?
Ask what you keep and when outreach stops. When a ScoutBridge subscription ends, we stop sending outreach on the athlete's behalf and it does not renew.
Questions about comparing services
Which model is right, why one service is named, and where we fit.
Is one model better than another?
It depends on how much of the work a family wants to do and how they prefer to pay. Some families want tools and will run their own outreach, some want a person to run it for them, and some do it entirely on their own. The right choice is the one that matches your time and budget.
Why is Hudl the only service named here?
We only name a service when we can point to a fact families can check. Hudl publishes its recruiting add-on price on its pricing page, so we cite it. We do not print prices for services that disclose them only on a sales call.
Where does ScoutBridge fit?
ScoutBridge is done-for-you outreach: a real person manages the outreach from a dedicated address you can read, for one published flat monthly price, cancel anytime. You can compare that against the other models in the table above.
Ask us the same six questions.
Our answers are on this page, and someone on our team is a message away.