Kati Waggoner’s summer never went as planned.

The Hockinson High School senior should have played soccer with her Salmon Creek FC team, a local club organization, and traveled to out-of-state college showcases to, well, showcase her talents.

“That’s where most of your recruiting comes from,” Waggoner said.

COVID-19 wiped all that out, leaving Waggoner, a key member of Hockinson’s Class 2A state runner-up team in 2019, wishing that the pandemic subsides soon and sports can return.

Her future in soccer depends on it.

College coaches primarily recruit off club seasons in a handful of sports, including soccer, basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball. But the pandemic left the high school and club sports world in a standstill since March, and changed the recruiting landscape for coaches and prospects.

Like Waggoner, Squeeky Johnson of Skyview now resorts to being more proactive by sending high school film to colleges. Skyview’s senior point guard knows how valuable playing on the AAU circuit with Oregon Basketball Club this summer could have been.

“It changes up the whole idea of recruiting,” Johnson said. “Now, it’s really focused on instead of waiting for colleges to come talk to you, you have to put film together just to get out there yourself.