O Fact- Unless You Are Blue Chip Athlete You Might Go Overlooked

Common Myths

·  I led my high school team in most categories so the college / pro scouts will come looking for me.

o  Fact- Unless you are blue chip athlete you might go overlooked.

·  My high school coach will market me to college / pro coaches

o  Fact- your high school coach is busy coaching, finalizing schedules etc. and in most cases is not as passionate about you being recruited as you are.

It’s up to you!

Here is what you need to do.

Academics

·  Take a college entrance exam (SAT /ACT) by November of your senior year.

o  I recommend that you take them early in your junior year.

o  Either can be taken as many times as you like to improve your scores. Practice test for the SAT can be taken at www.collegeboard.com

·  Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse and have SAT/ACT scores sent to them.

o  Also, at the end of your junior year have your official transcripts send to the clearinghouse.

o  The national average for the SAT is 1031 and 21 is the average for the ACT

·  NJCAA (Junior college) www.njcaa.org do not require college entrance exam scores.

·  Work hard! Don’t sandbag and take easy courses to keep your GPA high. College coaches want to see you are willing to challenge yourself, academically as well as athletically.

·  Most coaches are looking for a 3.0 GPA or higher

o  A high GPA tells a coach he does not have to worry about you keeping your grades up to stay eligible.

o  NCAA uses a sliding scale using the GPA and SAT/ACT score to determine eligibility. This information can be found on the https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/student/index_student.html

o  Make a list of colleges you are interested in.

§  This list should start out with 10-20 colleges in your junior year and be narrowed to 5 colleges by your senior year.

§  Your list should include a couple of schools that are a “stretch” and a couple you know you can get into.

·  Make college campus visits. Most colleges have preview days that students can connect with faculty, students and get an overall feel of campus life.

o  Call the admissions office and ask if you can meet the coach or tour the facilities. Ask players how they like the coaches. If you attend the game seek out the player’s parents and ask them how they like the coaches, school and program.

·  Don’t go to college to “just play ball”. Consider what the school has to offer you toward your future.

o  Location

o  Size

o  Cost

o  Acceptance Rate

o  Degree plans

·  A great site that will give you an idea of where you will be accepted is www.cappex.com

o  Set up a profile using your GPA and ACT / SAT scores.

·  The NCAA regulates the number of hours per week that you can participate in athletics (20 hours). They use all of it!

·  Generally speaking each college credit hour requires twice the number of hours of study per week out of class. (ex. 2 credit hours = 4 hours of study).

·  Don’t rule out a private university because the price is too high

o  Most private universities have endowments that could actually make them about the same price as a public university.

Athletics

·  Register with a recruiting site. I recommend www.berecruited.com. There are many sites on the web but this one is $40.00 for a lifetime and has some outstanding features for contacting coaches and reviewing colleges.

o  When setting up your profile be honest about statistics, height, weight etc.

·  Make as much information available to the coaches as possible.

o  High School Schedule

o  Summer team and schedule

o  Stats, GPA, athletic honors, academic honors, and other sports played etc.

o  photos

·  Make a short video

o  Coaches want to see mechanics! I do not recommend game film.

·  Do not send unsolicited videos to coaches. They will ask for them if they want to see you.

·  Set up a free Yahoo e-mail account and direct all of your recruiting information here. I recommend that college admissions information also go through this site.

o  In your account set up an auto signature.

·  Don’t be afraid to contact a coach of a college you are truly interested in.

o  Most coaches publish their contact information on their college athletic site.

o  Check out college athletic site components

§  Rosters

·  What state are most of their recruits from?

·  Do they appear to acquire their players from junior colleges?

·  If you are a position player will there be a spot for you?

§  Coaches

§  Team Record

·  Evaluate your talent honestly. If you are a Division I prospect you and everyone else will know it.

o  What are your options?

§  Division I,II and III

§  NAIA

§  Junior College I,II and III

§  Community College

·  Attend a reputable showcase where your talent will be evaluated.

o  Choose showcases that are only for high school aged players. I would specifically choose one that was for 16-18 year olds and had the attending scouts listed.

o  If you are invited to a showcase by a college coach it could be designed to fund their baseball program. Ask around in baseball circles to find the good ones.

·  Play summer ball. Make sure the tournaments your summer team attends regularly host college coaches.

·  Don’t get frustrated! This can be a grueling process that takes many hours and a lot of commitment. Most baseball players sign in their senior year or AFTER they graduate.

·  Once signed, do not quit working hard.

Parent Involvement

·  What should my role be in the recruiting process?

o  Make sure the player follows through on keeping the site information accurate and updated

o  Make sure the player returns emails / calls to college coaches

·  That’s it………………….? Yes, an over involved parent is a detriment to the athlete!

o  Don’t talk to the player during the game

o  Don’t bug the scouts…..they do not like this!

§  Don’t mention to them your son’s name or number

§  Don’t coach from the stands

§  Let the player take care of his own business….in most cases they want to anyway.

§  Don’t pressure them to perform or make excuses for them when they don’t. Remember, they will have to perform in high school, showcases and in a few of them in college.

§  Let the initial contact of a coach to be made by the player or high school / summer coach.

§  Respect the situation and do not go in the dugout or call your son to the fence during the game. Coaches see this.

Athletic Timeline

Freshman Year

·  Plan out high school curriculum meeting NCAA Clearinghouse standards.

·  Explore and join club / select teams

·  Participate in showcase events

·  Start researching colleges and athletic programs online

Sophomore Year

·  Continue to participate in showcase events

·  Continue researching colleges and athletic programs online

·  talk to coaches, teachers, counselors and parents and get suggestions about colleges and college programs

·  Visit colleges

Junior Year (First Half)

·  Generate a list of potential schools

·  Initiate contact with coaches at those schools

·  Take study courses for the ACT and SAT exams

·  Take college entrance exams for the first time

·  Visit colleges you are interested in.

o  TWCA allows 2 days per year to make college visits without being penalized for absence.

Junior Year (Second Half)

·  Finish compiling your list of potential schools

·  Put together an academic / athletic resume’ that can be mailed to colleges / coaches

o  This is one of the features that is provided through berecruited.com

·  Retake the SAT / ACT.

o  These exams can be taken as often as you like

·  Make college visits during spring break

·  Register with NCAA Clearinghouse

·  Ask you coach to write a letter of recommendation and send them to your favorite schools

Junior Year (Summer)

·  Make more college visits

·  Continue with club / select exposure events

·  Attend a prospect camp at a school you’re interested in

Senior Year (Fall)

·  Get all of your applications mailed

·  Visit any schools you’re interested in and have not already attended

·  Go on an official visit if invited

o  An official visit is when a coach contacts you and invites you to the school to look at his program.

o  I believe the NCAA regulates 5 official visits during your high school career.

·  Consider a second visit to any school you are interested in.

·  If nothing has materialized, re-contact schools of interest or contact new ones

Senior Year (Winter)

·  Fill out the Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form for financial aid

o  This form will help schools determine how much money your family can reasonably afford to contribute to your education

·  Apply for merit scholarships at the schools you are interested in.

Terms to Know

·  Contact Period – It is permissible for authorized athletic department staff

members to make in-person, off campus recruiting contacts and evaluations.

·  Dead Period – It is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off campus or to permit official or unofficial visits

·  Evaluation Period – It is permissible for authorized athletic department staff to be involved in off campus activities to assess academic qualifications and playing abilities. No in-person, off campus recruiting contacts with a prospect is permitted.

·  Quiet Period – Permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts on the institution’s campus.