Colin Foster keeps an Excel spreadsheet on his laptop with tennis players categorized by country and age. He may see several at a tournament, many of whom aren't recruiting eligible, and keeps notes.
He checks the list country by country and, when an athlete reaches NCAA permissible recruiting age, contacts them through social media. As in the case of Theodora Chantava, he might write them years after watching them.
"He saw me, and then three years later I get a message on my phone," said Chantava, a sophomore from Grevena, Greece. "I didn't expect it.