Recruiting 101

Using momentum during the athletic recruiting process in all ways possible will help you add college interest

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:27:34 +0000

Because of the busy schedules that people lead these days, it is never easy to stay on top of everything. Lets say that for example you as a parent have been missing work because you have been following your son or daughter during the current season. In the end, their team wins the State title and your child is the main reason why it happened. Now is as good of a time as any to strike while the iron is hot.

What I mean by that is after really excelling and getting their name in the paper throughout the State, now is the time to try and market your child to the college coaches. In many cases, these coaches should have heard of your child by either attending State or speaking with someone who was there. And despite how busy you are going to be when getting back to the normal routine as a parent, now is a great time to take advantage of the recent publicity.

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter much what age you are. If you help the varsity team to a State title in any sports, regardless if you are a freshman or a senior, now is a great “in” to college coaches. Even at the lowest levels in all sports, college coaches of this chosen sport should be very aware of the outcome and who did well. If you market your child to that school, it should hopefully be fresh on their mind and that can only help things during the recruiting process.

If you instead decide to take your time and wait a few months, the college coaches may not be as receptive because they are focusing on other prospects. As I have mentioned here before, the earlier you can start (Which means the athlete has to excel at the varsity level first), the better it will be for the recruiting process. That doesn’t mean offers will certainly come if you start the recruiting process as a sophomore. It does put you in a better chance the earlier you start the recruiting process.

If given the chance, take advantage of the season that your son or daughter had. Make sure to include stats and possibly newspaper clippings of the accomplishments. The percentage of athletes who end up winning a State title in their sport is extremely small. That is why you need to make sure that college coaches are aware of these accomplishments.

I have mentioned before that doing well at the State tournament will help you in the recruiting process. But if you do well there, and then take the recruiting process under control yourself, it can only help things get better. So again, do what you can to strike while the iron is still hot after an impressive season in football, basketball, volleyball, or whatever sport that your child excels at.

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When should I be expecting to hear from Division II schools during the athletic recruiting process?

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:27:32 +0000

As I have mentioned here in just about every article written, it is essential in the recruiting process to consider all of your options. And while you may have grown up with Division I eyes, it may be time to consider other options. They may essentially be back up options but the most important thing is that there are other possibilities to consider if your dream school does not work out.

So with that in mind, a great option to consider is looking at Division II schools. While the schools are normally much smaller than Division I programs, that doesn’t mean athletics at these programs are played at a much lower level. Many Division I athletes actually end up transferring to Division II schools. If you are curious when these schools can recruit you, we have a few thoughts on the recruiting rules for Division II schools.

When can I receive recruiting material from Division II schools?
A school at this level can send you printed recruiting material beginning on September 1st of your junior year. Many coaches actually sent out questionnaires earlier than that but the actual recruiting interest should not officially start until the beginning of your junior year of schooling.

Can I receive calls from Division II coaches?
A college coach at the Division II level can call you once per week beginning on June 15th between your junior and senior year. They basically can continue calling once per week until you sign a Letter of Intent. Like any other age level, you are legally able to call the college coaches are much as you want during the recruiting process.

Can a Division II college coach make off campus contact?
A coach at this level can have contact with you or your family off of the college’s campus beginning June 15th following your junior year. If they are able to bring you in for a visit to their campus, they are able to talk to you as much as they want. The college coach is however limited to three in person contacts off the campus.

Can I make official visits?
When classes start your senior year, you are legally able to make Division II official visits from that day fourth. The NCAA only allows you making five official visits to Division I and II schools so take that into consideration before deciding where you want to make your official visits to.

Can I make unofficial recruiting visits?
You are allowed as many unofficial visits as you would like to take. You are the one paying for them so if a school is really interested in you, they would love to bring you on campus as much as possible.

If You Want To Be Recruited – Get Good Grades!

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:18:26 +0000

This is a guest article from Madson Buchbinder. She has been a loyal reader of this site and you can read more from her at www.themominthestands.com

No matter where you want to go to college and play your sport, good grades can improve your chances at getting recruited. If you are the Number One Top-Ranked recruit in the country, or a coach’s very top number one recruit, he/she may be able to ask admissions to take a second and third look at admitting you – even if you have a lower than required GPA. But if you’re not that top recruit, let’s say you’re number five on his list of ten; a great GPA might help you jump in front of other applicants.

Understand that every point in your GPA opens more doors – for example going from a 3.3 to a 3.5 cumulative GPA may make the difference between going to your ‘safety’ college and getting into your dream school. Grades count starting in 9th grade, and semester grades count – not just year-end final grades. I’ve had parents misunderstand that, and focus exclusively on year-end grades only to find that their student’s cumulative GPA was lower than they thought because of low mid-term or mid-year grades.

If your dream is to study and play your sport at a Division I Athletic and Academic powerhouse, your high school grades and your cumulative grade point can quickly put you on, or yank you off a coach’s list of recruits. For example, if you want to go to an Ivy League school and play your sport, the coach there has a pretty clear idea what GPA a prospective student/athlete needs to get through admissions. Every college admissions process is unique, and every coach/sport at a school has a variable amount of “clout” with admissions. As soon as the coach sees your GPA and your standardized test scores, he/she will immediately get a feel for your chances of attending that college.

If, early in the process, for example during your sophomore year, you are lucky enough to get a quick meeting with a coach on a college campus when you visit, you might ask the coach “what can I do to enhance my chances of going to this college?” The coach at a top academic college is going to say, “Keep your grades up.” I’ve heard coaches say this to young student athletes many times.

Set yourself up for success. Study hard, take challenging classes, and try to get A’s. It can only help you in the recruiting process and college admissions.

One Day Football Camps vs. Three Day Football Camps: What are the pros and cons of both? How do I let a coach know I am only coming for one day?

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:27:30 +0000

With football camps going on throughout the country, many athletes are hoping that they can finally get a chance to showcase their skills in front of college coaches and receive a scholarship offer. And while few get a chance to actually live that dream, many are at least spending some time at these camps. The question is how long should they be there?

In all honesty, the answer to that question really depends on a lot of things. The biggest factor is if you are there strictly to get recruited. If that is the case and the coaches are serious about you as a recruit, they will do whatever they can to accommodate your schedule so that they can see you in action. The coaches should be able to see you in action for a full day and figure out what the next step is in recruiting. It may be to offer, continue recruiting, or move on to another prospect. But at the very least, they will figure out one of of those three options.

If you are attending the camp to get better as a player and have heard great things about the coaching there, my advice would be to stay for the week. The majority of this type of camp is either at a smaller school or a camp that is not even affiliated with a school. That means instead of worrying about recruiting, they are able to actually coach the players and help them become better. The evaluation process for recruiting is hard to do when you are trying to coach other players as well.

Going back to the one day camps, the big advantage of these is the money factor. If a camp costs $300 for three days, I would assume one day would cost $100. That saves you a big chunk of money right there. If you have a busy summer of football camps, that $200 will quickly add up. If your plans are to go to five camps, that is $1,000 right there.

In my opinion, the majority of college coaches will have a pretty good idea of your skill level after watching and evaluating you for one day. The only time I have ever heard a recruit get asked to stay the second day was for a prospect who eventually got an offer. But the coaching staff was fired before he signed so that may be a sign of their coaching.

These coaches may want to rewatch your highlight video and see how you progress during the senior season but they will at least have a better idea of your ability. While the coaches may be truthful, expect a generic answer related to your senior season and your progress if you did not wow them right away. Kids that really stand out at camps more often than not get an offer with twenty four hours.

Again, I am a huge believer in only going to one day of camp. It saves your body from getting beat up over long camp stretches and should be more than enough for the coaches to evaluate you. If anything, save the money here and invest it in a high quality highlight tape after the first few games of your senior season. If the school is still interested in you, they will be requesting that early in the fall to evaluate you further.

Every situation of athletes are unique and some may want to spend more time around coaches and the program. It may be the school that they grew up routing for and they just want to be as close to the program as possible. But if that is not the case, then don’t feel going to camp should last three days. It really is up to you as an athlete as well as depending on your summer schedule.

How to dominate the end of the evaluation period and decide on camps during the football recruiting process

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:27:29 +0000

The spring evaluation period has flown by and once June hits, that means college football coaches will not be able to contact you with phone calls and visits until the fall. You will still be able to call them, attend their camps, receive letters, and email with them but the evaluation period will be closed until September 1st.

So with that in mind, it is important that you do everything you can to finish the spring evaluation period strong. So what can I do to accomplish that? Here are a few things to think in regards to this and the upcoming football recruiting camp circuit.

In all of these situations that I will be speaking about, I am going to hypothetically say that you received calls from multiple college coaches and had many assistant coaches stop by your high school as well. If you received zero calls (the most important indicator of serious recruiting interest at this point outside of a scholarship offer), I hate to say this but you need to start over at square one. Go back to The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer and start the marketing process once again. Chances are very, very, very, very slim (this needs to be stressed) that you will get an offer if a school doesn’t call. While I may be saying there is a chance, the ship has likely sailed for that program.

Now going back to more a more positive spin, if you had been logging the interest from college coaches, you should have a great feel as to which college coaches stopped by the high school as well as which ones called. While some coaches do wait until the end of the month to call, you need to think seriously about if their interest is genuine in you or not. If a college coach called and came to the school, then they mean business and really want to see you at their camp. If they stopped by the high school and made sure to give you a camp invite (which is worth as much in the recruiting process as the paper it has been printed on), then don’t waste your time. They are trying to boast camp numbers rather than seriously look at your abilities.

If you really want to put your best foot forward overall, what you can do is log the coaches that visit the high school/call you. After finish speaking with them, look up their contact information on their athletic website and send them a thank you email. If you have not already sent your profile and a video link, you definitely should do so. Thank them for stopping by the school and taking the time to evaluate you. While it may not be a sure fire way to a scholarship, the number of athletes who do this have to be miniscule (my guess is that they may think it is the parents doing it).

I have talked about how the recruiting process should be compared to a job interview. Many recommend that you send a thank you letter following interviews. While this may not be as serious as a full fledged job interview, there is no doubt that a coach will likely remember the small amount of athletes who send a thank you email/card following the visit.

Hopefully by now you have made a recruiting highlight video. If not, this is something you honestly need to take care of as soon as possible (see www.highlight-videos.com for more). The reason is simple. College coaches do not have the time and patience to be watching a full football game. They usually either want a prospect to have a scholarship offer from another school or they want to be wowed on the highlight video before watching the full game.

If you have a recruiting highlight video, do what you can to find a way to make a profile online and upload your video. Being able to send a link to a college coach, regardless of what it is at, is something that is a huge time saver. If they think you can’t play from the online highlights, it at least saves you time and money involved with sending it.

Try to speak with your high school coach about where you stand with the schools that visited. Hopefully you have developed a solid relationship with your own coach at this time. It should allow you to speak with him openly about the college coaches and what they think about your ability. Your coach should have some great insight overall.

Outside of that and finalizing your summer camps, the key is to continue working hard and prepping yourself mentally and physical for an exhausting few weeks. The camp circuit is not easy so preparation and finding time to rest is key. Hopefully you will do well enough at those camps that the football recruiting process will take care of itself.

An inside look at the Athletic Scholarship Comparison Chart at all levels

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 08:59:44 +0000

One of the things that I hope to break down in the next few weeks is to give readers a better feel for the difference between all levels of post high school options. This includes Division I, II, III, NAIA, Junior College, and Prep Schools. While there are other options that you can choose, these six are more than likely where you will be continuing your sporting career. Here is a quick look at the scholarships offered at each level. Look for more breakdowns in the future as well:

Division I Scholarships
In football and basketball, these colleges are required by NCAA rules to offer you full rides. It really is an all or nothing proposition. They can bring you in as a scholarship athlete or a walk on. In other sports, most of the time these schools offer partial scholarships to athletes. Instead of a set number of full scholarships, these programs have a set budget that they can use for their athletes in each academic year. It depends on the program and the sport.

Division I-AA Scholarships
This only applies to FCS football. Formerly known as Division I-AA, FCS football coaches can offer athletes partial scholarships and many do. Most coaches usually offer a smaller percentage earlier that grows over time as the athlete contributes later in his career. Coming out of high school, few athletes end up getting a full scholarship from an FCS school so keep that in mind.

Division II Scholarships
College coaches at the Division II level are able to offer scholarships in any sport that they host (There may be some exceptions to that statement). Schools are given a certain budget that is dependent on the school and the sport. Then the coaches are free to use the money however they want. Some coaches do try to use the money on Division I transfer and could end up offering them a full ride because they are expecting an impact player.

Division III Scholarships
Schools at this level are not legally able to give any scholarships for athletic performance. While you will hear the rumors that some do, it is not true. What the coaches can do is find creative ways to give their most sought after prospects money in different areas. For example, a coach may be able to give their top recruit a Leadership Scholarship that could help reduce their tuition. With Division III though, if you quit your sport, the price that you are paying for schooling in no way should increase. So basically you are playing for the love of the game.

NAIA Scholarships
One of the most hotly debated topics for some NAIA conferences is that there is no cap on the amount of scholarship money that they can give athletes. So if one school is spending $60,000 while another is spending only $15,000 and they are in the same conference, that is going to be tough to compete against one another. Most coaches at the NAIA level will give athletes at least a small amount of scholarship money. However, there are still NAIA schools that do not give any money based on athletics.

Junior College Scholarships
Because the cost of Junior College is so inexpensive, many athletes are given full rides. These coaches have to bring in so many athletes each year and figure out who can play. Many of the coaches just end up bring in ten running backs and letting them sort themselves out. That is an easy way to weed out the kids that can and cannot play.

Prep School Scholarships
One of the more interesting options after high school is to attend a prep school. While I need to write an article about it, prep schools can no longer be used to finish your high school education after your first four years of high school. Regardless, these prep schools are used to improve your athletic standing and test scores. These schools can offer scholarships to help host recruits and get into school. It is very unique and something that you should speak with a prep school coach about.

Be wary of promises that college coaches will spit your way in athletic recruiting

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:59:43 +0000

Like in any facet of life, there will be times during the athletic recruiting process when an athlete is promised something and the coach or school that has promised it will not come through. I recently had a chance to see this happen first hand to an athlete who thought he had made his final college decision last summer.

This basketball player was spending the off-season on the top AAU team in his state. He was a great athlete and one of the in-state schools came calling and decided they wanted him at their school. This school offered him four in five, which is he paid his own way in year one, and then received a scholarship the following four years. The first year would give him a chance to redshirt, get stronger, and get acclimated to the college game.

But because this was nothing more than a promise and cannot be considered a contract, the family was wary at the time. The school wanted him to commit during the spring and have his college decision done before any of the other schools around the country could see him play. Because they felt this would probably be the best opportunity for athletics and academics, they decided to take the school up on the offer.

Let me note that the school had a first year coach who had been an assistant there in the past. He was promoted when the previous coach had retired and this would be considered his first recruiting class. And while this athlete didn’t sign, everyone knew that he was expected to go to that school.

The athlete eventually does a solid job as a senior (Not great but good) and is still expected to attend the school. But because the coach had done so well and shocked so many people on their way to a conference title, he became a hot target for other schools. And while they struggled in March Madness, that didn’t stop a school from coming in and offering him three times what he was making at this mid major program.

With that much of a pay increase, the coach obviously took the money and ran. I didn’t think much about this recruit and was just under the assumption that he would still be attending the school. They eventually hired a new coach from out of state that had no connection to this school (Outside of knowing the AD) and likely had no idea about this promise for an eventual scholarship.

The athlete thought he had made his college decision nearly ten months ago, things changed quickly. The promise of a scholarship, which they were wary about to begin with, disappeared as the coach eventually left the State. So what is the athlete supposed to do now?

He ended up signing with a solid Division II program out of state. It may not be closer to home and offer as good of an education but the level may be a better fit for his game. It could offer him a chance to see the floor earlier than the Division I school.

The only reason I even brought up this story is that I saw the press release related to his commitment. I assumed he was going to the Division I program before this. And as the title of the article states, be very wary of promises in athletic recruiting. If you can get things officially done, I am willing to bet that you will sleep much better at night.

What is the difference between a walk on and a preferred walk on during the overall athletic recruiting process?

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:59:42 +0000

Recently I received the question on a comment regarding the difference between being a walk on and a preferred walk on. With both terms being thrown around often in the recruiting process, it is important for you to know the difference. In my opinion, there is a big difference between the two that recruits must be aware of.

Let me start by talking about a preferred walk on. When a coach says that they want to offer you a preferred walk on spot, they are saying that they will eventually have a spot for you on the roster when school gets underway in the fall. You have been given the green light to at least be on the team during the first year and be a part of practice.

A walk on is in a much tougher situation. Colleges even at the Division I level in football have tryouts to see if you can make the team. If you are a walk on, you will be going to those tryouts to see if you are good enough to practice with the big boys throughout the entire year. You basically have a tryout to be able to be a preferred walk on.

So if you are a recruit, the situation you would rather be looking for is the preferred walk on. It means that unless you quit, you will be with the team. This does not mean you will be traveling (Freshman walk ons rarely travel with the team to begin with) or that you will be getting a scholarship down the road. It just means that you can come to practice everyday.

The reason someone may just be a walk on to begin with is if the coaches question that the recruit is good enough to play there. For example, say you grew up everyday following Nebraska. You had a solid high school career but would do anything to play for the Cornhuskers. You may try talking to the coaches and see if you can make the team as a walk on. I believe you should eventually get a try out to see if they think you have what it takes. I have heard many situations where hundreds of athletes try to make it in a walk on role and each and every one of them ended up getting cut.

If you are considering taking a preferred walk on spot at a school, one important thing that you must try and receive is a guaranteed roster spot. Schools are allowed to bring in 85 football players during early August to begin preseason practice. Because there is a scholarship limit at all levels, there is no way that every single one of those players will be on scholarship. So that means walk ons have the potential to take some of those spots.

For the most sought after walk ons, some schools are willing to offer roster spots for August. That does not mean you will have the spot over the course of your career, but that first year, you will be reporting with the team in early August.

If you are just a preferred walk on, you will be able to legally start practice once school gets underway. Some schools start in mid August while others wait until September. The later school starts, the harder it will be for you as an athlete to catch up. How easy would it be to come in having missed a month of practice and trying to compete?

No Calls During the Football Evaluation Period – Now What?

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 08:39:38 +0000

This is courtesy of one of our sponsors, NCSA Sports. You can learn more about them by clicking here.

It’s open season for Division I coaches to start calling you – but they aren’t.

What now? Don’t panic. If you’re not getting calls from coaches – right now is the time to get real. Ready? Here are 4 things you need to know if coaches aren’t calling:

1. Do you want to play college football?
How deep is your passion for the game? How important is it to you to play? Do you want football to be a part of how you pay for your education? Before you make any decisions about where you play, who you play for, or even how you’ll get recruited – you have to know why you play football and if you want to continue. If you don’t want to play college football – that’s okay. College sports are highly competitive. They aren’t for everyone. Go relax, watch some TV, have a snack. No need to keep reading.

2. You will probably not play Division I football
In the NFL draft, teams pick the best players first. Why? If they let a player they want sit on the draft board, other teams will take them. College football is the same way. When a coach wants a player, he goes out and gets him (this is as true for other sports as it is for football). If Division I coaches aren’t coming and getting you, it’s not because they want to make you sweat. It’s nothing personal – most high school players don’t play Division I. If you have a passion for the game of football and you know why you want to play, then this won’t matter. Nobody who truly loved the game ever quit because they didn’t like the color of their jersey.

3. There are a LOT of opportunities outside of Division I
Less than 20% of college football roster spots in the United States are at the Division I level. That leaves 80% outside of Division I. Start exploring options in Division II and Division III – not only will you not be alone in playing outside of Division I, you will be doing what the majority of college football players do. There are scholarships available, and there are hundreds of thousands of students who are ready to go cheer their hearts out for their football players – and you can be one of those players. If you have the drive.

4. Successful Players Don’t Just Come from Division I
Not only can Division II, III, and NAIA players have successful college careers – they can be successful in the pros, too. The last 3 teams to win the Super Bowl all had at least one player on the roster from a non-Division I school: Dave Tollefson (Giants), Pro Bowler John Kuhn (Packers), and Pro Bowler Jahri Evans (Saints). What school you goes to doesn’t define your success or failure – your dedication and hard work do.

Find out how you can step up your dedication to recruiting – click here or call 866-497-9835 to talk to an NCSA College Scout

I’m a junior with little to no football recruiting interest from college coaches. What do I do?

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:59:41 +0000

If this is the case for you as an athlete, the first thing you need to ask yourself is do you really want to play college football? If you do decide to play in college, you must make the decision that you are doing it for yourself and not your dad, a friend, or family members. The amount of time that you spend in the sport is incredible so make sure that you are 100% focused on playing.

I am going to be honest with readers and say that if you are not receiving much interest at this point, it is going to be tough to be a Division I-A scholarship football player coming out of high school. While there are some exceptions obviously, it will not be an easy road. But this site also tries to help football recruits find smaller schools and that will be part of what you need to look at.

When writing this kind of article, it does seem that I always bring up this article up a resource that you need to check out is the five steps to a scholarship. As mentioned in the first step, I think it is very important for you to put together a recruiting profile and go through the first three steps of that article.

Right now, I honestly don’t think it would be worth your time and money to put together a highlight video or a website. If you still have big aspirations, go right ahead, but I am not 100% sure that they will pay off in the end. That is just a warning as it is completely up to you obviously.

Once you finish putting together a recruiting profile, go through the next two steps as well (Find schools that match you and market yourself to the schools). I would talk about these steps more but since I already have written articles on each, make sure to check those out and follow the guidelines included.

While going through those three steps, I would also try to talk to your high school football coach and any other non bias experts to talk about what level you can play. You need to figure out what level your coach thinks that you can play at and speak with anyone else that may have a good clue for how good you have to be to play at certain college levels. Let me quickly note that I feel high school coaches feel that their players are normally better than they usually are.

If they say that they think you have a shot to play Division II, then the next step is to look into Division II football camps. If you look hard enough, there are also quality Division III and NAIA camps somewhere in your state that may be worth going to. I would look for the ones that have received the best reviews as far as player development. If it helps your recruiting that is great but you want the money to help you become a better football player.

The window is closing but you need to look into getting to as many free combines (Nike/Scout) as you can. These are a great opportunity to get a non bias opinion about your skills. Talk to the position coach that you worked with and try to get an honest opinion about what level he thinks that you can play. Hopefully you find a coach that will tell you the level that you can play.

I will stress this over and over because it just pains me to see people wasting their money but do not waste your time and finances on combines that cost money. These will not help you in the recruiting process and are a huge waste. The only thing that happens is that you are making those that run the camp some extra money.

Right now, the biggest things that you must do is get an accurate assessment of what level you can play at in college as well as do whatever you can to get your name out there. Getting that assessment is hard because few people actually know what it takes to play at different college levels. I’ve been around the recruiting game for over a decade and sometimes I can’t even tell with athletes.

And as far as getting your name out there, that is what the three step process mentioned above is about. You are not currently on the radar for college coaches so you need to do what you can to get them to notice you. That may include emails, calls, and attending their camp to do it but that must be a priority for you.

If you don’t have time to do it or there are questions in your head about it, college football may not be the thing for you. I would advice looking deep into your heart and figuring out if it is something you want to spend a great deal of time doing for the next four or five years.