NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

An interesting story emerged this week from Fort Valley State when several football players called out the school for not honoring their scholarships.  Coach Donald Pitman disputed the claims as ridiculous, pointing out that two of the players were academically ineligible and others were only offered walk-on positions.

While there is no telling which side is telling the truth, it is clear that absent any official school writing the players will be the ones that are out of luck.  The Albany Herald reported on this situation.

Pittman says that Jordan and Hunt did not qualify academically, therefore making their letters-of-intent void. He also says Hampton and Harris were only walk-ons and Baisden was merely only offered a scholarship to cover just books – and Baisden was not happy with just that.

“Everybody that knows me knows I wouldn’t do anything like that or take advantage of them,” said Pittman, who was Albany State’s offensive coordinator from 2002-08 before being hired by FVSU as its head coach in the offseason. “Players from colleges every year leave because they are frustrated with something.”

In all, according to information gathered by The Herald during the past week, that now makes seven former players from the Dougherty County School System who appear to have had a misunderstanding with Fort Valley State about scholarship funds.

“We were under the impression that we had scholarships,” Hampton said after being told of what Pittman was claiming late Tuesday night. “I didn’t find out we had a full scholarship until we got there and they said they couldn’t find it.”

Last Friday, Pittman denied claims by Green and Walls that their scholarships never came through.

Pittman said the funds did go through for Walls and Green and will not release them from their scholarships.

Somewhere between Fort Valley State – and the seven players from the Albany area who showed up expecting scholarships, only to receive less or nothing – there was a miscommunication.

This type of miscommunication is exactly why NCSA aims to educate parents, coaches and student athletes about the recruiting process.  This situation could have been resolved by the student-athletes simply asking for their offers in writing.   The Herald continued with how NCSA Recruiting expert Joe Burns was brought in for expressly this purpose.

Dougherty County athletic director Johnny Seabrooks said that at the heart of the matter is the responsibility of the parents to fully understand what exactly schools are offering their kids when it comes to scholarship money.

During the past year, Seabrooks has regularly brought in former NFL and Georgia Tech star Joe Burns of Thomasville to stress to families the rules of the recruiting and signing processes.

“The parents are ultimately the ones,” Seabrooks said.

Season 3 is here!  If you want to be considered for next year’s top recruits CLICK HERE to get evaluated by an NCSA Scout.

Each year there are a lot of questions about Sept. 1st. It is important to understand that Sept. 1st is an important date for those student-athletes going into their junior year of high school. Let me explain what thats means for basketball recruits.

Women’s Basketball Recruits:

As of yesterday all DI and DII college coaches can now send you recruiting materials. You can receive letters in the mail (typed and hand written) and you can communicate with coaches via email.

Men’s Basketball Recruits:

As of yesterday all DII college coaches can now send you recruiting materials. You can receive letters in the mail (typed and hand written) and you can communicate with coaches via email. DI coaches have been able to send you recruiting materials since June 15th.

This means you really need to get proactive. Research schools, fill out on-line questionnaires, follow up with an introduction email, ask a lot of questions. Don’t wait for a coach to contact you!

It is that time of year when every student-athlete, that is a senior, is deciding where to apply and more importantly when. There are so many options: Early Decision, Early Action and Regular Admissions. First and foremost before you apply to any school, you will always want to make sure you have done some research first. You should look up schools on-line and have made some unofficial visits—at the very least. The more you put into learning about your options, the better decision you will make and ultimately you will pick the right school.

Once you have done your research and made some visits, you should compile your top schools and rank them, whether it is two, five, or ten different colleges and universities. Remember everyone’s preferences are different. Next you will want to introduce yourself to the coaches and build a relationship with each. This will also help you rank each school on your list.

You then will want to know where you stand on the coaches list of recruits before you apply to a school. When you know there is mutual interest between you, the coach and the school this is when you should apply. Remember, you should always ask the coach if you should apply before you send in an application! You will want to ask the coach how to turn in your application and what the process is. The coaches may tell you to fill out an application and send it into admissions or they may ask you to give it to them to take to admissions themselves. Some coaches flag the application to let admission know that they are recruiting you and some coaches may work in admissions as well. If you apply without talking to a coach, and you don’t get in–the coach can’t do anything thereafter.

Another thing to think about – if you are interested in a school and the coach is asking you to submit your application; you may want to consider asking the coach if they will waive the application fee. He/She may not be able to do this, however it’s worth asking, because college applications are expensive and the costs add up fast!

Now there is a very distinct difference between Early Action and Early Decision. Early Action is non-binding (key word here!) and allows you to submit your application earlier than waiting to apply Regular Decision in the spring. This way the college/university will let you know earlier (January or so, instead of March or April) if you have been accepted. This will give you more time to weigh your options or to make your decision early and have the chance to enjoy the rest of your senior year. On the other hand Early Decision IS binding, and is meant for students who know that the school is their top choice and if accepted, you will go there no matter what.

Make sure to follow these key steps: research the school, reach out to the coach, ask questions, visit the school, apply, get in and then make a decision! Make sure to do this with multiple schools. If you have followed these steps with numerous schools early, you should have the opportunity to apply in the fall. If you need to do these steps with more schools first, you can always apply in the spring. Good luck.

At NCSA we talk everyday about the 5 things every recruit needs to know and the 5 things every recruit must do to get recruited.  One part of the 5 things that every recruit needs to know is;  Your High School Coach Cannot Get You a Scholarship.

This point always seems to confuse families until you consider the obvious; Only a college can hand out a scholarship.  However, beyond the obvious is the fact that coaches simply have to much on their plate to handle all of their athlete’s recruiting processes.  Here is a short excerpt from the  Southern California News that really makes my point.

Moreno Valley Rancho Verde coach Pete Duffy might deal with five teachers in a given week, all of whom hope he can discipline their football-playing students. Riverside King coach Ken Mushinskie types his team’s roster himself, double-checking every height, weight and position to make sure it’s error-free.

And Jurupa Valley coach Dave Pierson has gigs at both ends of his program’s food chain.

“We don’t have equipment managers anymore,” Pierson said. “So now I’m the equipment manager.”

Forget hell week. If they don’t know how to delegate, coaches could go through hell season.

From spending eight hours at a carwash fundraiser, to buying helmet decals and spirit packs, to filling out paperwork for recruiters — some of these guys might need to pummel a tackling dummy or two just to stay sane.

Colton coach Harold Strauss thinks all the non-football tedium is why there’s such a high turnover rate among coaches these days, while Pearne sometimes finds himself asking: “Why am I doing this again?”

But it’s tough to top the load of Riverside Norte Vista coach Ken Batdorf.

Like other coaches, he organizes study halls, conducts grade checks once a week, recruits volunteers for jobs like hosting team meals and attends all the fundraisers.

But he also lays out the entire team program and helps set up the snack bar a couple of hours before kickoff.

“One time someone from the snack bar came up to me right in the middle of a game,” Batdorf said. “She said, ‘Coach, we’re out of ice.’ “

(Batdorf was probably using the last few cubes for his headache.)

The first year with a program is usually the toughest, as coaches are still trying to figure out the lay of the land and acquire proper, reliable help.

But the paperwork, the fundraisers and the rest of those ulcer-building responsibilities? They never really go away.

Rick McDole did an excellent job last week explaining the importance of September 1st in the recruiting process. This is the time of year when the contacts with college coaches will begin in earnest. However, knowing that this communication is coming with college coaches is only half the battle. We need a strategy to handle these contacts and put our best foot forward to college coaches.

If you have already had contact (through letters, emails, met the coach at camp) with the college coach and the coach said they would call once they were able to, you should be prepared as a recruit. The most important thing when communicating with a college coach is to do your research on the school. We really want to make the communication as personal and as specific as possible. College coaches are not only calling you because they are interested in you as a student-athlete, but also to gauge your interest in the college they are calling from. The other way to impress is through thorough research on a school and asking questions that can’t be found on the schools website. Be specific! Why do you like the school? Do they have a great program for your major of choice? Have they had a chance to evaluate your video yet? Are their scholarships available for your position? These are all specific questions that will show a school you are truly interested in their program as opposed to asking questions that could be found through simple research on their site.

What we are saying is to make sure you are specific as possible when communicating with a college coach and tell them why you are REALLY interested in their school. Despite what some may think, saying something like “I really respect your strong academic and athletic programs” does NOT communicate interest to a college coach. Sure it is nice, and may even be true, but you could make that statement to any school in the country if you wanted to. This type of communication will not really impress the college coach who hears this from every recruit they talk to. Instead of using general terms, mention how you were impressed with their, for example, 8-3 record last year, how two players at your position were all-conference, or how they graduate 85% of their players. These are all examples, but the important thing to take away from this is to be specific in your reasons why you are interested in a school. Using specific examples like these will show coaches that you have done the work to research their school and you are truly interested in their program. This will make a much bigger impact on the coach than a general letter would. Coaches get thousands of general letters throughout the recruiting season expressing interest in their program, so anything that is specific will make you stand out in a good way to college coaches.

If this concept still seems difficult to grasp, imagine the positions flipped. Say you were a RB prospect who had letters coming in from two different schools. One of them reads…

“Dear recruit, Congratulations on your high school career and being named a top prospect at our school. We have a rich tradition here at School X and would like you to be a part of it. Best of luck.”

Pretty good right? Now compare that to this letter from a school who has done their research; School Y

“Dear John, I just saw your highlight video available on your scouting report on NCSA’s website. I thought you did an awesome job breaking tackles as a RB and fighting for the extra yard. That run you has against (opponent) was great, you must have dragged 5 guys into the endzone! I saw you had a big game last week running for over 150 yards with 3 TD’s. You are exactly the type of player we think can make an impact on our college program. We have a starting senior runningback right now who is graduating with a junior behind him. We want you to come in and make an impact immediately on our program. We really think your strength and versatility that you have shown us on the field will be able to help you excel at the college level. I am really looking forward to your game against (next opponent) to see what kind of numbers you can put up this week. I would love the opportunity to get a chance to tell you more about our program over the phone. Let me know when you are available and I would be more than happy to set up a time. Good luck against (next opponent) and have a great week.”

Now, which one was more impressive? X or Y? See how specific information makes the letter much more personal?

The college coach sees these details the same way. Keep these examples in mind the next time you are writing a letter/email to a college coach or preparing for a phone call. Take the opportunity with each contact that you have with a coach to make a positive impression on them. Be specific and do your research. College coaches will notice if you have put the research and it will make you stand out from the thousands (that’s right, thousands) of other recruits out there every year.

As many of you know, the tool that NCSA uses to deliver qualified prospects to your inbox for free is the “Scouting Report.”  When we designed the Scouting Report, our goal was to include everything a college coach might need to effectively pursue a student-athlete and stand out from all the other coaches.

What does the Scouting Report Include?  Videos, personal info, stat info, scholastic info, athletic history, club and camp info, transcripts, personal statements, references and schedules…. Almost Everything!

Using the Scouting Report you could:

- Customize your message based around a personal statement from the recruit about what they are looking for in a school…and you can tell them how your school fits their preferences!

- Congratulate a prospect for earning an A in calculus last semester

- Reference the name of the high school coach and ask the coach to contact you personally

- Use the recruit’s parents names to see how they are doing and show a higher level of personalization

- Collect valuable contact information for future recruiting efforts (phone numbers, email addresses, etc)

- Comment on the second play of their higlight video and how you loved their footwork!

The list goes on and on…Below is an image of different parts of the Scouting Report:

Below we have included a few “samples” of  example NCSA Scouting Reports filled with fake information to protect the private information contained in each Report.  If you are unfamiliar with this tool, check out a few examples and find out how you can use them to personalize your message.

Basketball Example

Football Example

Soccer Example

In order to learn more about how NCSA can help you with recruiting, contact NCSA VP of Recruiting Operations, Lisa Strasman, at: lstrasman@ncsasports.org

You can now download the first excerpt of NCSA President, Chris Krause’s new book, Athletes Wanted.  This installment explores the 8 Rules to Help Your Child Get an Athletic Scholarship.  We encourage you to download, email, forward and share this critical college recruiting information with as many different sources as possible!

You Can Buy the Book Here!

We are proud to announce our August Student-Athlete of the Month in Baseball, Matt Felvey. He is from the Chicago area, is a left-handed shortstop, has a big frame (6’4” 170 lbs), and will graduate in 2010. This summer he hit around .310 and in the spring he hit .331.

Felvey is a great student with a 3.6 GPA and a 3.92 weighted GPA. He also scored a 27 on his ACT and is looking to study business management, physical therapy, or sports management. Again, we are happy to name Matt Felvey as our August Student-Athlete of the Month.

Congratulations to our latest commitments for baseball in the 2010 class:

Cody Smith to San Diego State University

Christopher Divarco to Northern Illinois University

Ryan Mas to University of North Carolina – Charlotte

We wish you the best of luck and we look forward to hearing about your success in the future!