Recruiting collegiate athletes is almost like trying to find a date on a Saturday night.

The sexy big-time programs have no problems bringing in the top-notch talent, but coaches at smaller schools with smaller budgets need to work a little harder, be a little more creative and take advantage of any connections they might have.

A common way coaches do this is make contacts with high school coaches and use them to develop a pipeline. This is the case with Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni and what he has done in Florida, landing multiple starters from the Sunshine State.

Bellantoni’s specific recruiting areas are south Florida and Iowa junior colleges; the latter is where he found pre-season all-American linebacker Clint Sellers.

In smaller sports, like men’s soccer, the head coach does the majority of the recruiting alone.

Head coach Adam Howarth said that there are various tools available to him, the biggest one being club showcases.

One showcase, the College Search Kickoff in Muscatine, Iowa, brings together 96 club teams in early August to play in a competitive environment so coaches can evaluate as many players as possible.

Howarth also recently held open-tryouts, which has been a success in the past. German foreign exchange student Johan Schwarzmayr played in 10 games for the Panthers last year and sophomore Dave Rigby will be a valuable player for Howarth this season as he came off the bench in both games this the weekend.

Howarth has an eclectic roster made up of players from Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, Iowa and England.

Howarth, a Slough, England native, still has many ties back home and has used them to land players like junior captain Mick Galeski from Blackburn, England.

While Howarth was born into his ties to England, he married into his connections in the St. Louis area.

Howarth’s wife Laura is from the area and her family still live there.

Howarth said that when he goes down to St. Louis to see his in-laws he tries to get out and see some high school games.

The payouts from those family visits have been sizable.

Missouri natives Mike Comiskey and Nick Bonacker have started on defense the first two games this season and starting striker Brad Peters, of St. Peters, Mo., scored the game-tying goal against Bowling Green Sunday. Peters will be counted on to be a consistent scoring threat for the rest of the season.

Swimming and diving head coach Ray Padovan used a 40-year-old connection from his days at Southern Illinois University to land junior Bill Senese.

Padovan swam with Senese’s grandfather for the Salukis from 1961-64.

Senese has been the stud of men’s swimming program, holding school records in both the 100 backstroke and the 50 freestyle.

Coaches and bachelors alike, remember to work hard, be creative and use all your connections.

Because both will work whether you’re trying to land a defensive back from Florida or the girl at Marty’s with the gorgeous backside.