Most recruitment in sport still runs on word of mouth. A coach hears about a player from another coach, a parent knows someone at a club, a scout happens to be at the right fixture on the right afternoon. It works, but it only reaches the athletes who are already inside the network. A searchable athlete database changes that: coaches can look for exactly the profile they need, and athletes can be found without knowing anyone.
This article is in two halves. The first is for coaches and scouts who want a pipeline that does not depend on who they know. The second flips it round and explains what that means if you are the athlete hoping to be discovered.
For coaches and scouts: building a pipeline beyond word of mouth
A recruitment pipeline is simply a repeatable way of finding, watching and contacting athletes. On SportNet that pipeline has four parts: a coach account, a verified identity, the Scout search, and the follow-up tools around it.
Start with a coach account
Account type is chosen at sign-up. A coach account unlocks the Scout search and coaching-specific profile sections; an athlete account gets performance stats and a scouting profile instead. The type cannot be changed inside the app afterwards, so pick the right one on day one. If you already have the wrong type, contact support to have it changed.
Get verified before you search
Scout search is a coach feature that only returns results once your identity is verified. Verification is handled by Persona: you photograph an ID document and complete a short liveness check. Once approved you get a blue tick on your profile and the Scout tab under Discover unlocks. Until then the tab shows a small lock and a Get verified button.
This is deliberate. Many of the athletes on SportNet are under 18, and a verified identity is the first line of defence against adults who should not be contacting them. It also works in your favour: a blue tick tells an athlete and their family that the person messaging them is who they say they are.
Search by what you actually need
Scout lets you search the athlete database by sport, position, level and region, and it has its own filters and sort. The Discover-wide sport filter does not affect it, so set your criteria inside Scout itself. Athletes appear here only if they have filled in their scouting profile, which is opt-in, and only if their profile visibility allows it.
That last point matters. Every athlete chooses who can see their profile: Everyone, Connections & Coaches Only, Connections Only or Private. Anything below Everyone removes them from search, Discover and scout results. A verified coach can see profiles set to Connections & Coaches Only, but not ones set to Connections Only. So if a player you know is on SportNet but does not appear in Scout, the likeliest reason is their own privacy setting, not a gap in the data.
Contact athletes properly
Messages from people an athlete is not connected to land in their Requests folder rather than their main inbox. Write the first message as you would an introduction in person: who you are, which club or programme you represent, what you saw in their profile and what you are proposing. Keep it to the point and give them a clear next step.
If the athlete is under 18, expect to hear from a parent or guardian, and read the Adult-to-Minor Contact policy before you message. It sets out the rules that govern how adults can contact younger users on the platform.
Post trials as events
Events live under Discover → Events, with filter chips for Trials, Camps, Games and Recruiting. Anyone signed in can create one with a title, type, sport, start and end, location, optional capacity (Spots, which closes RSVPs when full) and optional weekly repeat. If you own or are staff on a team, you can attach the team so its crest and a "by" line appear on the card. Athletes see nearby events on a map sorted by distance, so a trial you post reaches players in your area who have never heard of your club.
Follow athletes and watch them develop
Following is one-way and needs no approval. Follow the players you are interested in and their posts, highlights and results appear in your feed. It is a low-pressure way to track development over a season before you make an approach. When an athlete has turned on Coach access in their privacy settings, you will also see a Download button on their profile that saves a PDF of their details, experience, achievements and stats for your files.
For athletes: what this means for you
Coaches and scouts on SportNet are searching a database, not scrolling a feed hoping to stumble across you. That changes what you need to do. Being talented is the starting point; being findable is the work.
Fill in your scouting profile
Your scouting profile lives under Settings → Scouting profile. It is opt-in, which means coaches cannot find you in Scout until you complete it. If you are open to trials, a move or a scholarship, fill it in. If you are not, leave it and you will not appear in scout search at all.
Check your visibility setting
Go to Settings → Privacy → Who can see → My Profile. If you want verified coaches, scouts and teams to be able to find and see you, choose Everyone or Connections & Coaches Only. Connections Only and Private keep you out of search and scout results entirely. Under-18 accounts are set to Connections Only automatically when the date of birth is entered, so if you are a younger athlete who wants to be found, this is a setting to review with a parent.
Complete the sections coaches read
A coach searching by position and level sees your summary strip first: sport, position, level, experience, height and club. After that they read your experience, achievements and performance stats, and they watch your highlights. Sections you have not filled in are hidden, so an empty profile gives a coach nothing to go on. The profile strength percentage on your Profile tab shows how complete you are, and a fuller profile is more likely to be surfaced.
If writing it up feels like a chore, the AI Assistant on the Profile tab lets you describe your sporting life in your own words and organises it into profile fields. Nothing is saved until you review each suggestion and accept it.
Keep your Requests folder in mind
A coach who is not connected to you will land in Messages → Requests, not your main inbox. Check it. Accepting a request moves the conversation across. Look for the blue tick, and if anything about a message feels wrong, use the flag icon in the chat to report it or the ••• menu on their profile to block them.
Show up at events
Trials, camps and recruiting sessions posted by clubs appear under Discover → Events, with a Nearby view sorted by distance from you. RSVP with Going, add the event to your calendar, and see which people you follow are also going. Being in the room is still the fastest way to be signed.
Discovery on SportNet is a two-sided decision. Coaches choose to search and verify; athletes choose to be searchable. When both sides do their part, the introduction that used to depend on luck becomes a matter of filters.
Ready to build a pipeline that does not depend on who you know?
See SportNet for coaches