Recruiting 101

Coaches telling athletes to focus on playing and not worry about the athletic recruiting process are not trying to help you

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:37:58 +0000

I recently had a chance to speak with an athlete who recently kicked off his senior year of high school. This player excels in both football and basketball. The ability he has shown in both sports has helped him catch the interest of college coaches. This athlete also plays at a small school and it is obvious he doesn’t have a good feel for the football recruiting process.

When asking him about what schools are recruiting him for football, he named a few local programs. Then he said that his high school coach is getting more information but hasn’t been sharing it with him so that he would be focused on the season. If you are looking for a coach who is trying to sabotage the football recruiting process for his athletes, this one is doing just that.

I will admit that if the recruiting process gets in the way for any sport, then you are going to have a serious problem. But how often does this really happen? Yes, there are going to be situations where crazy parents think their son or daughter isn’t getting enough playing time/shots and that will cost them their Division I athletic scholarship.

In my opinion, most kids have not know everything about the recruiting process but they know that their own personal season comes above the athletic recruiting process. Some athletes skip game day visits because they film on Saturday morning. That doesn’t give them an opportunity to drive to local schools.

The reason I was so disappointed about what this coach said is that his athlete is a senior and this is the peak time that he needs to know what is going on in the football recruiting process. If your coach is holding back information from you, are you really going to be able to get a clear picture of where you sit with schools? This would be nearly impossible and make it even more difficult to market yourself to new schools simply because you have no idea who is really recruiting you.

The other thing that stands out to me is the importance for senior athletes to take visits during the fall. If you don’t take in game day trips to a variety of different schools, then there is no way to see them before you eventually make a final decision. I can attest to the fact that your first game day experience should not be one that you are playing in at the college. If that is the case, you will walk away disappointed.

If 100% of your attention was focused on the high school season, your team might possibly be a little bit better overall. But a good coach understands that his athletes want to play athletics in college and that giving them mail, telling who called about them, and allowing them to get away for visits is vital to the overall recruiting process.

To me, this sounds like a problem coach who is hijacking the recruiting process for his players. Instead of hindering them, he should be doing everything in his power to help get their name out there. This athlete could sleep walk through the rest of his season and have the ability to play for a local school. But if he wants a chance to fight for a scholarship offer, the coach must be on his side and behind him during the football recruiting process.

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Scholarships, football recruiting, college coaches, and evaluations

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:19:35 +0000

There is no doubt in my mind the toughest scholarship for an athlete to get is their first. The reason that I say this is because it is hard to prove to a college coach that with no other offers on the table, you are a recruit at their level. That is why it is so important that once that first scholarship offer comes, make sure that you market it to media, other college coaches, and anyone you can think of.

While I do feel strongly about scholarship offers breeding other scholarship offers, I found a very interesting statement about a recruit who was hearing from two major Division I schools in the same conference. One of the schools offered a scholarship after evaluating. The second school followed suit knowing he had the other offer but before they had seen any tape. In my opinion, that is a very bold move on their part.

Here is what I am talking about. This is a true story and comes from someone that I trust. The schools and the name of the recruit has been taken out for obvious reasons, but really, think about the message that this is sending off:

Recruit is the most interesting one to me as far as his recruiting story goes. Not only is he the one that School A told could try quarterback when obviously he’s wasn’t a college level quarterback, but he’s also the one whose high school coach told us that School A offered before even seeing film on him. If I recall correctly, he just got back from School B and was close to committing, so School A offered right away in hopes that he would wait and visit them before deciding. I know for sure his coach told us that the offer was a complete surprise because they hadn’t even sent out film yet.

Lets say hypothetically that this recruit was like many of the athletes out there who try to keep their recruiting attention to themselves. With School B having offered, the recruit likely would have ended the recruiting process there by committing to them. He probably would not have marketed himself to School A and opened that door. While this story shows how crazy football recruiting can get, it shows that college coaches jump on the fact that an athlete has a scholarship offer.

If School B had not offered, there is a very slim chance that School A would have jumped into the picture and eventually secured a verbal from him. But School B trusted the evaluation of School A and didn’t want him to commit so badly that they threw a scholarship his way without even seeing film. That alone is an amazing part of the football recruiting process there.

Anyways, the main reason that I wanted to bring this up is that scholarship offers do breed other scholarship offers. It is important that once you receive a scholarship offers, you should find a way to let media and the other college coaches that are recruiting you know of it. If the college coaches don’t pay attention to the email, they may pay attention to the article written about you on Scout, Rivals, or ESPN.

A few years back there was a powerhouse school that seemed to send a number of players to the Division I level every year. What they started doing is that when one of their players received a Division I offer, they would email media from Rivals and Scout, then also include college coaches who were recruiting him. If a school realize that their rivals just offered a prospect that they were hoping to land, this email could help speed up the process.

Please only do this if you really do have an official offer. If you get caught in a lie about a scholarship, it could end up turning ugly simple because college coaches will not be happy once they find out you were dishonest with them about the offer. You may touch base with the recruiting sites beforehand but once that first offers come, it is not something you want to keep to yourself. There is no doubt that letting these services know will put that information quickly in the eyes of college coaches and that could help you get another scholarship.

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Recruiting-101 has written a 51-page E-Book that helps parents throughout the journey of the recruiting process. This includes an example recruiting profile, a step-by-step time line, and much more. It is currently available for sale for only $10.00. Find out more about purchasing the e-book and what else is included by clicking here now!

Two things that will spark senior football recruiting interest during the fall

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:37:29 +0000

In the minds of most athletes and especially their parents, the way to improve your stock in the eyes of college coaches and get recruited by a number of big schools as a senior is to put together a great senior season. I have heard this from countless players that they are focusing on the season and will let the recruiting take care of itself. But even if you have an Elite All State season as well as break numerous State and school records, that doesn’t mean it will help you in the recruiting process all that much.

In my opinion for seniors, there are two things that will really spark your overall football recruiting interest at the highest levels. Because these schools have already worked ahead and know what players they are going to recruit, a great senior year won’t cut it. So with that in mind, find out what two things could really spark your overall recruiting.

I came up with these two things simply by following the recruiting process of a school in the Big 12. This program has had a lot of success over the last decade and that includes multiple finishes in the top 10 poll at the end of the season. And although this may vary by college, I can promise you that most schools do thing this way (especially at the BCS/Division I-A level).

Getting that first offer
I say this all the time but scholarship offers breed other scholarship offers. The reason is because college coaches evaluate a prospect who has received an offer from a school at their level (especially if they are a conference rival) longer than one that doesn’t have any offers on the table. Opposing college coaches don’t want to be the one that let a future All American slip out of their home state. So if Tennessee knows that Auburn has offered an in-state prospect, I am willing to bet a lot of money that the Vols will make damn sure that they have studied film and done a background check on him.

This is the exact reason why I have always stressed to broadcast your overall recruiting attention. You need to have people in the media that can make sure that word will get out that State University has offered a scholarship. Once Out of State University knows, they are certainly going to take a longer look. The good thing is you can also sell this Division I offer on your recruiting profile as well.

Going back to the Big 12 school I mentioned above, over the last five years, I can only remember them offering three kids at this point in the recruiting process who attended their camp. The reason that they eventually offered two of them (I will talk about the third soon) is because they received another offer from a school at a similar level. Once that happened, the Big 12 school basically realized that they didn’t have much of a choice. It was either offer him or let him go.

Seeing other prospects at your position commit elsewhere (or even decommit)
If you are really a recruiting junkie and follow the football recruiting process very in-depth, you can watch the domino process of what happens when a high profile recruit commits to a school. The position that it is easiest to follow is at quarterback simply because most schools take at least one quarterback every year or two.

Take a high profile like the #1 rated lineman in the country last year, Seantrel Henderson. This now freshman at Miami was listed by Rivals.com as having a top six of Florida, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and USC. In this hypothetical situation, just say that Henderson picks Florida and they fill their offensive line commitments for 2010 and are done recruiting there (he is now at Miami by the way). But there are still five other schools trying to figure out their number situation. Minnesota and Notre Dame have other lineman that they really like and with their top target gone, they decide to offer a recruit that they have ranked as a B (as opposed to the As they had offered earlier). Ohio State doesn’t like who they have left on their board so they decide to bank the scholarship at this point. Oklahoma and USC loved Henderson but didn’t need a lineman so they use their scholarship for another position.

The crazy thing about this story is that it happens all the time, it is just hard to follow unless you have inside access to the college coaches. If you have attended a camp, visited the school, and know that they like you but they haven’t offered, then there is a good chance that you could be a B, C, or D recruit. You may need a few breaks with other prospects picking elsewhere to get a scholarship from that school, regardless how good you look on your senior tape. Yes, some schools may be wowed by that tape but this usually means very little from a school that has already seen you.

I do always try to stress that if you are a senior and if the schools recruiting you haven’t offered yet, then you need to broaden your search and look for other programs. The reason is because unless the dominoes fall your way, then likely will get a walk-on at most from that school.

It really does suck for recruits out there but outside of finding new schools, these are the two major ways to spark recruiting interest from programs that are currently showing you interest. Start looking outside your immediate area and find programs that could be a better fit. You may find a school that is perfect for you or an offer from a new school may lead to a scholarship from one close to home.

Athletic Recruiting advice from a highly rated national recruit

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:31:52 +0000

Over the last two years, I have had the opportunity to interact with one of the top athletic recruits in the Class of 2011. While I am not going to say his name, I have also had the opportunity to interact with his mother as well. And despite having the ability to play his sport of choice at any college in the country (let me stress any college in the country), they are taking things extremely slow. In fact, the way they have handled the recruiting process has been one of the most impressive things I have seen in the last ten years of covering recruiting.

In a recent email with his mother, she sent me two things that they do to make sure that the recruiting process does not overwhelm them. With so many different scholarship offers from schools around the country, it could be difficult for most. But the family is focused on finding the right school for athletics that offers a great opportunity academically. His 4.0 GPA does not hurt him with the big boys of the college coaching world. Anyways, onto the two things she mentioned as well as some other things that I learned from the family thus far:

Establish up front with the programs exactly who is in the driver’s seat
I have mentioned this before but with the more offers that you have, the more flexibility and options that you have as well. If you have one offer, I will honestly tell you that it is very difficult to be in the driver’s seat because of the limited options that you have. But if you have two or more scholarship offers (the more, the better), then you can tell the schools about the other offers and make sure to let them know what is going on with you and that they can’t force a decision out of you.

Be honest. All that are involved know our time line and we don’t have any pressure.
Because this family has already told coaches that a decision is not coming anytime soon, coaches want this athlete so badly that they are not going to try and pressure him into a quick decision. They have been honest with the coaching staff and made sure that they know a decision is not coming until at least the spring. So if the coaches are serious about landing him, then they better spend the time focused on recruiting him and not trying to get a commitment out of him. At this point, it just doesn’t seem like it will be happening anytime soon.

Those are the main two that the mother stressed to me but here are some other things that I have seen help them during the recruiting process. This applies to all athletes and all sports (even Lacrosse!). So keep these in mind when going into the recruiting process.

Playing well at camps helped in a big way
I have always talked about performing well at the free combines or camps during the summer can help you in the recruiting process. This athlete blew up during the summer and that translated into offers from basically every school in the country. Rarely does a recruit get a chance to pick any school he wants to go to but this athlete definitely has that in his favor.

Being strong in school will help
If you look at some of the top recruits across the country, some schools are wary of recruits because of their baggage and struggles in the classroom. This top rated athlete has a 4.0 GPA and that has helped open a lot of doors for him. As I have mentioned before, his intelligence means coaches won’t have to worry about him getting in trouble on Saturday nights.

Academics will play a big role in his future school
Yes, this recruit would love an opportunity to play at the professional level. But if that doesn’t work out, he wants a degree that will allow him to get a great job after school if his chosen sport doesn’t work out. Athletics are important but your field of academics will likely be where you work for the next forty plus years. Keep that in your mind.

Take your time
This family is not rushing the recruiting process. They are taking it all in and seeing what options will be available to them at the end. This gives them a lot of options and will make sure they make the most informed decision possible.

Thanks to our sponsors - NCSA Sports

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:41:29 +0000

Just wanted to extend a huge thanks to NCSA Sports for helping sponsor Recruiting-101.com. We will be bringing more Q&As with them shortly but just wanted to give them a plug in helping support our site. CLICK HERE to view their site now!

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Why academics matter more than in the past during the athletic recruiting process

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 08:25:52 +0000

I have always stressed on here that one way to really help yourself in the athletic recruiting process is by taking care of your grades. Most coaches feel that the athletes with the best grades are usually the ones that they have to worry about the least in the classroom as well as away from the field or court on weekends. These are not the players coaches lose sleep over after big wins.

What made me really start thinking harder and harder about grades is a recent email I received from a parent. While I will not mention his name or the name of his son, he brought up some very excellent points regarding academics and the ability for an athlete to walk on. It may seem menial during the recruiting process but academics are even more important for walk ons than scholarship athletes.

With the recent addition of the Academic Progress Report (APR), college coaches have a lot riding on the amount of scholarship athletes that are passing classes and will graduate in their respective classes. The reason this APR was put in was to track the performance of these scholarship athletes in the classroom and penalize those schools who struggled to graduate players.

While I feel there are some flaws in the system, it is a great way to make sure college coaches are not clearing house when they take over a new program. The more players leaving, the more their APR will be hurt. What is interesting is that some college coaches even have their APR score tied into their contract. The better the score, the more they are paid so it is serious business to these coaches.

Let’s say that there are two players the college is looking at as a potential walk-on. Both athletes could earn a scholarship down the road and thus eventually be factored into the APR score. One athlete has a 2.5 GPA and scored a 20 on his ACT. The other has a 3.8 GPA and has a 28 on his ACT. If these players were even close to being equal talents, which one do you think the college coach would take with a walk on opportunity?

The exact same situation goes for scholarship athletes. When colleges have extremely low APR because of their problems, administrators at the school will not take that lightly. Low graduation rates and APR scores are a major reason why some college coaches will be on the hot seat more than others. These coaches need athletes who can perform as well as stay strong in the class room.

All schools will take chances with athletic recruits that they may consider game changers. It could be the 7-foot center in the basketball recruiting process or the defensive back who runs a 4.3 40-yard dash in the football recruiting process. Chances will be taken by coaches at all levels and basically all schools. But college coaches are smart enough to limit those chances on only a handful of players. If you get a lot of those questionable athletes and many don’t perform as expected, your APR could be severely hurt.

I have said this before but taking care of business in the classroom is a great way to be a step ahead of the competition during the athletic recruiting process. While it doesn’t mean an athletic scholarship will certainly be yours, it will give you the benefit of the doubt for a scholarship or even a walk on position. And if your goal is to play at a high level, even if it takes walking on, this is a great start.

Playing time vs. playing for a big name school throughout the recruiting process

admin — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 08:28:22 +0000

One of the more interesting debates that athletic recruits have to figure out on a daily basis is if they want playing time early on versus playing at a school with a big name. For example, if you were a national football recruit who lived in Texas, would you take the early playing time at quarterback possibly offered at TCU and Texas A&M or head to a big name school like USC and Texas?

That is a tough question to ask and something, if you hold multiple scholarship offers, that should play a major factor in your final college decision. Obviously if you have only one offer from a college coach, you can’t exactly be comparing one situation equally versus the others. Both aspects have some positives and negatives which we will look at.

How important is it to win games?
Unless you take a major step down from the Division I level, if you are picking a school like Texas A&M over Texas, chances are strong that more playing time for you may actually mean less wins for the team. If you see the field as a true freshman, you are either a freak athlete or the team just doesn’t have the horses to run with the opposition to win games. That is why they are giving these younger athletes more playing time. The experience you earn playing is invaluable and something that cannot be matched in practice or in workouts. Getting under the lights can really help make you a player, even if your team isn’t winning. And in the end, you will be a better player. But is it worth it to play and lose or sit and win?

Do you have professional aspirations?
It seems that everyone, even those that play at lower Division I level sports, think that they have professional aspirations. I spoke with a college coach who had a freshman transfer from their school because he was the tenth man on the team. This was a smaller Division I school and yet the athlete’s mom still felt that he has professional potential. Are you kidding me? If you are playing at the Division I level, it really doesn’t matter much where you go for football and basketball. Look at Jay Cutler. Would you have guessed that a quarterback from Vanderbilt would be one of the top in the NFL? How about Chad Johnson? He went Junior College first and then Oregon State. He didn’t exactly head to USC and end up as a standout wide receiver.

Would you be happy sitting the bench your first three years?
Look at the quarterback situation a few years back at USC. Marc Sanchez of USC sat three years in order to be the starter for the Trojans. He waited behind Matt Leinart and John David Booty. Sanchez could have very easily went somewhere else and been able to see the field much sooner. If he had gone to Stanford or UCLA, two other California schools, chances are much higher he would have played. But this standout decided to wait his turn and learn from others. Will that help him with his NFL prospects? Only time will tell with that answer but he decided to find a place where he knew he would be sitting at least early in his career. Sanchez had to pay his dues and it showed here.

Really this is a tough question to answer and depends on a case by case basis. Some athletes would love going to a smaller school with less football support but they would get the chance to see the field early on. That is why many athletes tell me that one of the biggest factors in their final college decision is playing time. They don’t want to have to sit their career on the bench before playing as a redshirt junior. That is a lot of time away from seeing the field for the sport you love.

This article can also be looked at all levels. While you can take the professional aspirations out of the equation for Division III football, if these are the schools that you hearing from, it is easier to see which programs you could see the field early on in your career. If there is a powerhouse recruiting you, they may only be trying to stock the cupboard with talent. Some Division III schools recruit as many players as possible because they would rather see some athletes playing junior varsity at their school rather than battling them on the opposing team.

It could also boil down to winning versus playing time. The big name school is likely to win more games, especially early on. But you may want to go to a school where the coaches seem to care about you more during the rebuilding effort and you can play a bigger role on the court and help turn things around.

How young is too young throughout the athletic recruiting process?

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:30:55 +0000

In order to really jump into this article, I must relay a story of what a current Division I college coaching staff is doing. This staff made a name for themselves at the mid major level and went to a number of NCAA tournaments. While they never won a game there, the team making this tournament was a huge jump for the program and made this staff a hot commodity during coaching searches.

While this staff was at the mid major school, they seemed to push the envelope by offering prospects earlier and earlier during the basketball recruiting process. They stepped up and offered a kid before his junior year and even extended a scholarship to a prospect before he had logged a minute of varsity basketball. This prospect was going into his sophomore year and has developed into a talented 7-footer. The coaches were impressed with him at their camp and saw enough to throw an offer his way, which he quickly accepted. In the end, the majority of kids that this staff offered so early in the process ended up at the school because they were able to foster a great relationship with them.

This staff has moved to the Big 12 conference and has struggled in their first two years there. But during that time, this coach has taken offering young kids to a new level. Before the staff coached their first game at the school, they offered a prospect during the fall of his freshman year. This was before he logged a minute of varsity basketball action. Now this athlete is a junior and remains committed to the program. As they showed here, this staff is not afraid to throw out offers early.

But now this school has taken things to another level. They currently have three scholarship offers out to prospective recruits in the Class of 2014. For those unsure, the Class of 2014 is the current class of freshman who have been in high school for a little over two months. Because it is so early in the school year, none of these players have logged a single varsity minute and none have competed in a varsity practice for that matter.

Obviously the coaches did their due diligence by scouting the athletes and talking to as many people around them as they can to get more information about them. But is this really the way to go? I talked about one of these athletes a while back and they ended up extending the offer during the spring of his eighth grade year. By that time, he didn’t even have a high school picked out.

Maybe these recruits end up as national recruits and the only reason they attend this school is simply because the coaching staff offered so early and showed that faith early on. But is this not rocking the cradle? Are they going to start scouting seventh grade tournaments in their search for the next big time player in the area? What happens if all three of these kids commit to the school and two turn out to be marginal players?

How young is too young is a tough question to answer simply because the recruiting process does keep getting younger and younger. As this staff has shown, they have the ability to find outstanding players early on and are not afraid to offer. The good news is that for the most part, this has not translated over to football recruiting all that much. But could it in future years?

How do you know that the college coach who recruited you will stay at the school you sign with for athletics?

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:37:11 +0000

The NCAA National Letter of Intent that you sign to accept a scholarship offer makes sure to include a part that talks about you are signing with the school and not the coach. I think the main reason that this is included is because when coaches leave, the school can hold the athlete hostage and basically force them to go to that school (Unless of course they want to go prep school/junior college, which many do not want to do).

And while this NLI may say that, the truth is that the head coach and the assistant coaches are a huge factor in what school you pick. They are the ones that you bond with during the football recruiting process or basketball recruiting process. They take you on tours around the campus, call all the time, and that relationship is huge in the recruiting process. But how can you tell if a coach is going to stay at your school during your four or five years there?

If you are at a bigger school, you can check the web and be able to find that information in an article in the local newspaper. If you look for Jim Tressel at Ohio State, I did a quick search and found out that he signed an extension earlier this year that runs through 2014. As a recruit in the Class of 2011, your years there will be 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015, and possibly 2015-2016. With Tressel, while some fans are disappointed in the way that the Buckeyes have played in big games, getting rid of someone who has won a national title and played in two other title games would be crazy. If you pick Ohio State, it is a safe bet that he will be there.

Another source you can check the web for is rumors about a coach possibly wanting to go to the NFL or a bigger school. There are many up and coming coaches that will get a chance to coach at a bigger school. Skip Holtz was a good example at East Carolina. He won but it obvious he would leave in soon. That happened after last football season.

While rumors are not everything in the recruiting process (Other coaches may use negative recruiting), the phrase where there is smoke, there is fire holds true here. If there are rumors every year about a coach leaving or moving on to another program, there is a good chance that it will happen. Some coaches will not want to move their family if the kids are in high school. Outside of that, most coaches don’t care so they would be willing to move at a drop of a hat. It happens all of the time.

On the other side of this discussion is if a coach might get fired. Again, search the web to see what you can come up with the length of their contract. If it is ending soon, there is a great deal of pressure on them to win, and they are struggling, chances are high that the coach may not be there when everything is said and done.

Honestly, it is hard to figure out which coaches will leave one a better offer comes. Some coaches will realize that they have a great job where they have done so well that there is little pressure on them. If they moved to the SEC or Big 12, things are going to get much more difficult. Other coaches will have one good year and run to the money.

The best thing is to talk to the coaches about it yourself. While they may feed you some lines about never being able to predict the future, it is important to play for a coach that you respect. In some ways, your coach is like a father away from home. He is the one keeping an eye on you so it is essential to have a good relationship with them and hopefully play for them for four or five years.

The Athletic Recruiting Process is a very long journey for your entire family

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:29:39 +0000

One of the most stressful times in the lives of parents and their children is if they go through the athletic recruiting process. It doesn’t matter if you are a Division I recruit or someone hoping to play sports at the NAIA level, it is tough weighing out the benefits of all the schools involved. Not only are sports important, academics is what should make or break the decision.

I feel strongly that everyone who is going through this process should be humble the entire time. What I mean by that is that it is a journey and during that time, you need to do what you can to learn as much as possible. The more you learn, the better chance that you have of knowing what is going on and helping your child during such a stressful time.

I am not afraid to admit that I do not know everything about the athletic recruiting process. But I do try to get my hands on everything possible as well as speak with coaches and respected experts who I feel can help increase my recruiting knowledge. So if you are a parent, why would you not do the same?

It doesn’t matter if your son or daughter was offered a scholarship when they were a freshman in high school, do you know everything there is about the school that offered? What is the background of the coaches? Is this school a powerhouse in the sport that they offered for? How can I publicize this offer into possibly getting more scholarships? These types of questions are a big reason why I think the recruiting process for families is always a learning process.

I do want to say that you can read as many books as you want, read this site every day, and talk to coaches as much as you can but it is impossible to know every single situation about the schools that are recruiting you. Unless you have a chance to see the recruiting board for all of the schools, then you really will never have a good feel for where your child stands with these schools.

What also makes it tough is that as a parent, no matter how hard you try, you are still bias during the athletic recruiting process. I have talked about it before but it is impossible to take away the bias you have and look at the situation realistically. This is the child that you raised and I can only imagine how difficult it is to take that out of the equation.

Anyways, going back to the original subject, it is important to learn as much as you can during this process. For me, I feel most stressed when I do not understand what is going on. I believe most parents get overly stressed when they are unsure about the recruiting process and what is going on. That is why I feel there will never, ever be a time where you should feel like you know exactly what is going on. You should always be humble during the recruiting process and realize that there is more information and things to learn.

Even if you have been going through it for three years, unless your son or daughter has made a final decision and it looks like that is where they will sign, never turn down an opportunity to learn because you think you know it all. As I said earlier, I believe there is no way that one person can no everything. I sure don’t so why would parents think that they do?

And when you think the recruiting process is over after signing a National Letter of Intent, keep the information that you used to study the other programs. You never know when the day will come that either this child wants to transfer and look at the other schools you researched back in the day or you have another child about to go through it.