I recently was engaged in a conversation with several colleagues from NCAA Divisions I, II and III institutions on the topic of recruiting and the role alcohol plays in that process. I was amazed at some of the assertions being made.

My personal assertion is that drinking has absolutely no role in the recruitment of a student-athlete, and I found it more than a little disturbing that my opinion was a minority among those being shared by this particular group.

The majority opinion during this particular discussion was that we as coaches assume little or no responsibility when it comes to whether or not a prospective student-athlete drinks during an official visit.

However, the student-athlete is on campus because a coach has arranged for him or her to make that visit. They are not only the coach's responsibility, but the responsibility of the athletics department and the college or university.

What I found most troubling was that not only is drinking many times considered acceptable but that it is almost indirectly encouraged by some coaches. I don't presume to dictate how coaches should run their programs, but I hope that my colleagues would take a closer look at the message they may be sending to their players and recruits by what they say or do and, just as importantly, what they don't say or do.

Following are some of the comments made by my colleagues:

* The purpose of the visit is so that the recruit can learn as much as possible about our program and the college or university. Drinking is part of college.

When parents permit their children to visit an institution, and the visit is arranged by a representative of the athletics department, they are entrusting the safety and welfare of their children to that college or university, and specifically to their children's possible future coach. The primary purpose of the visit is for the recruit to find out as much about the school as possible so that he or she can make an informed choice based on the academic, athletics and social opportunities that institution has to offer.

A college freshman will discover alcohol soon enough, and how he or she chooses to handle it is a judgment call that all students will have to make once they begin college, not during an official visit while still in high school. Unfortunately, drugs, sex and cheating also are part of college, but I can't believe any coach would want to show those aspects of college life to a recruit.

At my institution, we schedule our visits during the weekday and not on weekends. We tell the recruits ahead of time that there will be no drinking involved during their visit and explain that the purpose of their visit is to learn more about our college and our program; to spend time with our players in their residence halls, at meals and at student centers; to experience the academic side of the college by sitting in on classes and meeting with faculty; and to meet our players' friends on campus who are not members of the team.

While they are visiting as our guests, we are going to expose them to all those aspects of the campus that make our institution an exceptional place for them to continue their education and their athletics career.

* I have no control over what recruits do on a visit once they are out of my sight and in the hands of my players.

Although it's true that a coach can't be with a recruit during the entire visit, every precaution can be made to minimize the likelihood of a recruit being placed in a situation that involves drinking. First and foremost, minor-aged drinking is against the law, and I would think no coach, athletics department or institution would ever want to be in a situation where they are accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor while the student is their guest.

The host player(s) should be instructed to use "exceptional" judgment and not place their guests in any compromising situation. We make this point absolutely clear with our own players who host recruits. We explain to them their responsibility as a representative of our women's soccer team and the college. The responsibility of hosting a high-school student requires more than exercising merely "good judgment."

Not making this point clear is irresponsible, and I have been guilty of this myself in the past. One of my colleagues said that he doesn't instruct his players to take recruits drinking, but simply tells them to "show them a good time." He leaves the interpretation up to his players. This places the burden on the player and can be alleviated by the coach being clear about what a "good time" should and should not include.

* Taking recruits to parties and drinking happens at every college or university. We have to show the recruits a good time. Otherwise they won't consider us.

It doesn't occur at every campus and it certainly is not something we encourage on ours. I would argue that a recruit could be shown a good time and still have a highly positive experience without drinking. Quite frankly, if a recruit chooses a college based solely on how drunk he or she got on a visit, I would question whether that's the kind of student-athlete I want in my program.

I am not claiming that members of my team do not drink or party. Each one of our student-athletes makes his or her own choices in that regard. Making personal choices and decisions are part of a lifelong education process. But we will not put our recruits in a situation where they have to make that kind of choice during their official visit. That decision will come soon enough, regardless of where they eventually enroll.

We challenge our recruits to be the very best they possibly can be on the soccer field, and, during their four years with us, we will expect them to learn and grow as a soccer player. By the same token, we also will challenge them academically and socially, and we expect them to learn and grow in those arenas as well. Those are the aspects of our program that we wish to introduce to them during their visit.

I was asked if I had indulged in alcohol consumption on my recruiting visits when I was selecting a college. This question is irrelevant simply because it was a different time and a different era. Part of life is learning from past indiscretions and poor judgment. I use the term "judgment" because when I was selecting a college, it was 1975 and the legal drinking age at that time was 18. In the eyes of the law back then, I was legally an adult with all the rights and privileges as such.

Today the law is much more stringent, and today's society not as forgiving. For example, say a 17-year-old high-school prospect makes an official visit to University X. She visits during the weekend and the host players take her to a party where there is drinking. The recruit becomes intoxicated and during the course of the evening is harmed or injured. Is anyone liable?

Even though the recruit bears some responsibility for her own actions, I suspect that the host player, the coach, athletics department and the university would find themselves in the midst of a lawsuit.

One might be inclined to brush this off as "one of those things," as one of my colleagues did. He further pointed out that it was possible for a recruit to get hurt while simply crossing the street. Although true, the difference is that placing the recruit at the party where there was drinking was something that could reasonably have been avoided.

What if the recruit was raped at this party? What if the recruit died as a result of the drinking? What could one say to the parents who entrusted the safety and welfare of that recruit to the coach and university?

I can't believe any coach, athletics department or university, let alone parents, would find any of these answers being made by my colleagues acceptable.

Promote the quality of your program and university, not alcohol.

Art Goon is the women's soccer coach at Beaver College.