Grades First
July 7th, 2009 - byThis past weekend I had the opportunity to educate parents and athletes at the 5 Star Basketball camp near Chicago. As always, when I am speaking at events, I talk to a lot of people in between sessions and get their insights. In turn, I share them with you to help educate you on recruiting.
I talked with a Hamilton College assistant basketball coach Mark Gaffney, who was working the camp. Hamilton College is a D3 school in upstate New York. It is a tremendous school that is outstanding in academics and athletics.
“I look at the NCSA emails of athletes,” he said. “If a player doesn’t have the grades to make it here, I forward the email to coaching colleagues at different schools that are not as stringent academically as we are.”
I thought that was an interesting point. It shows how an NCSA profile can get around the coaching community. College coaches have friends at other schools that they look out for and let them know about prospects.
Coach Gaffney was evaluating a kid on their recruiting list at the Camp. I asked him what he would do if he did come across someone that piqued his interest.
“In our case we look at grades first,” he continued. “If I am working a Camp and a kid catches my eye, I walk over and ask him about his academics. I have to before going forward.” (D3 coaches can talk to recruits anytime).
We talked some about video and how highlights can capture a coach’s attention in the initial evaluation phase. “I have to see full game also,” he said. “I want to see how he plays without the basketball in his hands and what he is like off the ball on defense.”
Basketball players: Take note! Those things are important. College coaches watch for those things. It’s not always about your ability to put the ball in the hole.
While at the 5 Star Basketball Camp, a men’s soccer coach of Lewis University popped in to check out what was going on. The Camp was at Lewis University, a beautiful campus near Chicago. It is D2 in most sports, including soccer. He told me that he really likes it when families or athletes send him emails with links to the athletes NCSA profile. “It’s all there, transcripts, highlights, accomplishments,” he said. We talked about Lewis University, which is a challenging school with fierce competition and a rich history in athletics. He said a soccer player that nails their Test Score could get $8000 academic money for that accomplishment, which shows the importance of grades and Test Prep. They mix in Athletic Money and a kid is looking at a big chunk of College paid for. In some cases, top players could get a full ride, but like most soccer cases it is partial. Still, to get a big part of education paid for at a top private school like Lewis is a good thing.
Parents and athletes have to realize how many really interesting schools are out there. For example, among the resources at Lewis University, a private Catholic University, is a state-of-the-art aviation center with a Boeing 737 jet for clinical experiences. The jet was not far from the basketball gym. When you put yourself in play with 100 to 200 schools, you learn those kinds of things. Among its other niches are the first digital college radio station; specialized laboratories for electronic music; writing; graphic arts, computer science; and education. As you read this, you probably didn’t know about Lewis University. I walked around the athletic facilities and campus and was very impressed. I didn’t even know about Lewis University before coming to speak at Five Star camp and I live only 2 ½ hours away (!). There are so many great schools out there that could be the perfect fit for your son or daughter. Places where they WANT your kid and where they can play, get all or a lot of it paid for, and get a great degree and be more marketable in the job market after College. Many families that don’t know how to navigate the recruiting trail miss the boat on these things. That’s why it is important to have guidance in the process.
July 30th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Great article and advice for the student athlete.