NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

The biggest part my football career was freshman year. During my freshman year I was tought the basics and foundimentals of football, blocking and tackling.  After that it was about learning and critiquing the skills that i had learned.  The biggest part of being recruiting is hard work on and off the field, meaning working hard in the classroom and performing on Friday nights. NCSA gave my family me the right tools to get my name out there. The people at NCSA are very perfessional and friendly when it came to putting this all together. The key to this sport is to never give up!　

Prior to signing with NCSA, we tried to do our homework. The reality was, our son attended a small, private 2A school that was not known for being a “hotbed” for athletes. We knew that we would have to work very hard to get him noticed by coaches and colleges. We also knew that he had real D-I potential and this was confirmed after our evaluation with NCSA. Here are some of the things we did PRIOR to signing with NCSA:

• We purchased a magazine that listed the rosters of every D-I school in the country. We examined the rosters to see which schools were likely to be recruiting people at his position. (Which ones had graduating seniors or primarily upper classmen at his position).
• We registered for national competitions in his sport so that he could be seen more broadly and receive specialized training for his position.
• He made a list of the schools he would like to play for – dream schools and more realistic options
• He made a list of schools he might want to attend for their educational programs
• He made a priority list of what was important to him in a school and ranked them in order from highest to lowest priority. (Some things to consider: how far are you willing to travel from your home? What climates are you willing to play in? How large of a school are you willing to go to? Is the quality of the football team more important than the education you will get? How important is it for you to play your first year?) These items often moved around in the rankings as the process got more intense.
• We created a Recruiting Sheet for every school he was interested in and every school that contacted him. On this sheet, we included school contact info, school size, whether or not the school offered his intended degree, team mascot, tuition, conference, coach’s names and contact info. The recruiting sheets contained check boxes where we could keep track of what we sent each school and when (questionnaire, highlight film, etc.) All of these sheets were kept in a loose-leaf binder in alphabetical order by state.
• We actually purchased a folding table that became the “recruiting table”. Files, binders, media guides, letters from schools, etc. were all kept on the table so that we could have easy access to all materials.
• We created a packet to be able to send to interested schools with a cover letter. The packet was a nice linen two-pocket folder with a die-cut for a business card. We created professional looking business cards that had all of his contact information on them. In the packet, we would include a highlight DVD, contact information sheet with his contact information and his coach’s contact information, resume, transcript, press clippings, stats. We probably sent out over 150 of these packets from the beginning of his junior year until he committed.
• We hired a professional videographer to film all of his home games and collected film from the away games usually filmed by the coaches. We worked with the videographer to edit this raw footage into his first highlight DVD. We did the same thing during his senior season to create a second highlight DVD.
• We kept a scrapbook of all of his stats, honors, press, etc.

We signed with NCSA around the middle of his junior year. Their website really helped us to organize things even more. We were able to keep track of all coach contacts on the website. We were able to view when coach’s looked at his profile. NCSA took our highlight video and made it more accessible through a link and they periodically sent information on our son to coaches who might be interested in recruiting him. Some of these were the same coaches that we had already sent information to, but I think having NCSA put their stamp of approval on his talent gave him more notice. NCSA was always there if we had questions. We totally enjoyed and learned a lot from their Educational Huddle Sessions. These alone were worth the price of joining NCSA.

One other thing that we did that was successful was to keep in constant contact with the coaches primarily through email. Our son had terrific junior and senior year seasons and he garnered lots of press and honors. Each time he was in the press, we sent a link to the article to every coach who was recruiting him. We also sent updates after each game with his stats. Very few coaches responded, but some did consistently. We always wondered how many of them really looked at this or if it made a difference. But we did this until the very end.

We were very good about sending thank you emails as well. Whenever we went on an unofficial visit, (and we made over 30 visits to schools) our son sent an email to every coach he had contact with to thank them for their interest.

Email was a great way to communicate. Phone calls were more difficult because he was in school from 7:30 am until 3 pm each day. Since he played dual sports, he had practice or games almost every day after school and many days would not get home until after 6 pm.
What was the most challenging part of the recruiting process?

The most challenging part of the process was seeing how really unfair this whole process can be. Recruiting is a tough game and it is extremely stressful. Many of the schools that were recruiting our son had total staff changes in the 2 months before signing day. We were not sure if offers were still there. It was often difficult to get in touch with the new staff and you felt like you were starting over again. You spent time building a rapport with a coach and all of sudden, he is no longer there. We also had some very unfair and disappointing things occur. There were many things that happened that were obviously “political” and made no sense. Much of this process reinforced the statement that “Life is not fair.” Our son actually seemed to handle it all in stride. And our motto throughout the entire process was: “Everything happens for a reason.” And through all the twists and turns, positives and negatives, he ended up with a great deal at the best place for him. Another thing that was proven true through all of this was that coaches do listen to what someone they know and trust tells them. Most of them do not “do their homework”. They do not go out of their way to seek out talented athletes. They rely on known commodities. They trust the opinions of coaches they know and they do not often venture out of their “comfort zone.” This can be challenging for a student who is from a small town, a small school, or a school with few athletic honors. Even though our son was a 5 star athlete ranked #5 in the country at his position, we had to work very hard to get coaches to “see” him. We had NO connections.
What was the best part of the recruiting process?

The best part of the recruiting process was seeing our son develop and mature mentally, physically and athletically. He became a true hero in our community and a mentor to younger athletes. He worked extremely hard to reach a goal and he exceeded all expectations. He earned a terrific offer from a top-notch University where he will play his freshman year and be able to contribute to a team.
How did NCSA impact your recruiting process?

NCSA helped us to organize the recruiting process. They also offered many resources through their newsletters and Educational Huddle sessions. They were always accessible and helpful if we had questions or concerns. NCSA was a true partner in helping our son earn a full athletic scholarship to further his education while playing a sport he loves.
What advice would you give student athletes going through the process?

Set goals and dream big. Nothing is out of reach with hard work, dedication and talent. Be true to yourself. Be a good citizen and follow the rules. Study hard. Be a team player. Be a role model. Learn your craft. Never be satisfied…there is always room to grow and become better.

Describe what sort of work you put into the process to be successful.

The Watkins’ Family

 Describe what sort of work you put into the process to be successful.The recruiting process is just that —- a process. You must be willing to put in time and effort from the start. The more you work it the more it yields favorable results. While NCSA gets your name out there it is your responsibility to take the contacts that result from the exposure and respond. You need to treat each contact as if it were the best offer you are going to get. Recruiting is about building relationships and if you burn bridges by not responding you will lose out. We responded to any coach who requested information no matter what division. If we were truly not interested (because of distance or for whatever reason) we let them know up front —–we didn’t just ignore them.
What was the most challenging part of the recruiting process?

Probably the most challenging part is when things start really heating up and you have several requests for tape, questionnaires to fill out, etc. Response to these requests must be done in a timely fashion and sometimes that can get tricky when you have others things on your plate (like running a household, a job and school and sports activities).
What was the best part of the recruiting process?

The best part of the recruiting process is seeing the fruits of your labor. A scholarship to an institution that is the perfect fit academically and athletically makes the whole experience worthwhile.
How did NCSA impact your recruiting process?

NCSA provides abundant support. They are there every step of the way. They have an archive full of invaluable resources to help guide you through the process and they are just a phone call away should you have question about anything. They will be honest with you and if they don’t know the answer they will find someone who does know the answer. The recruiting coaches are approachable, knowledgeable, and are willing to do what it takes to help you through the process. The scouting report was a great tool for us to use when coaches wanted to get information quick. If they were really interested after viewing the report they would request further information and start the recruiting process.

What advice would you give student athletes going through the process?

Begin early and stay with it. There will be times when you feel overwhelmed but stick with it because it will pay great dividends in the end. Remember that you are in control about contacting coaches, they are restricted by more rules than “warts on a toads back” so they cannot always get back to you. Review contact periods and times so you know when you can expect a call or other communication from the coaches or staff of the colleges you are interested in. If they can’t call—call them. We also found that email is a great tool when communicating because both parties can answer when they have a few minutes and it breaks the ice in getting to know each other. One other thing, KEEP YOUR GRADES A TOP PRIORITY coaches like knowing they have an athlete that they are recruiting that isn’t going to have a problem qualifying to play because of poor academic standings. Keep up with your TO DO LIST it is an excellent way to see if you are on track.

We were motivated and ready to work on Dan’s college athletic recruiting process, but we didn’t know how to begin, what steps to take, or what order to take them in.  NCSA gave us a winning gameplan and valuable coaching, from creating high quality highlight videos and teaching Dan how to speak with coaches properly, to giving us realistic recruiting goals and timelines for getting necessary tasks accomplished.  Perhaps most important in Dan’s case, NCSA had a solid relationship with the coaching staff of the school Dan ultimately chose, so NCSA’s “recruit match” process functioned wonderfully.  The best advice we could give to other recruits is first to be honest with yourselves about your recruit’s potential.  Next, work fast and thoroughly on the Scouting Report and highlight videos, ask NCSA lots of questions and participate in a few of their educational huddles, and then stay in close contact with every coach who contacts you.  If you put in the work on your end, NCSA’s process and staff will perform.

Mike Gregg

Our family was introduced to NCSA through our son’s high school, at an evening presentation.  Spence’s dad was very impressed with the presentation and the statistics of college scholarship placements for student athletes. We decided to give it a shot and sign our son up for the program. NCSA was a great tool in getting our son focused on his responsibilities as a junior and senior in high school. The program was great for laying out what needed to happen on a specific time line, this was helpful in keeping our son on track. The most challenging part of the recruiting process was getting our son to contact coaches, this can be very intimidating and time consuming.  Many times coaches won’t answer their phones or call you back.  It is so important to be assertive and persistent. Try to figure out which colleges you would like to market yourself to and start calling early, get them familiar with your name. Your grades and SAT/ACT scores are very important especially if you are interested in IVY League or colleges with high academic requirements, so keep those grade up.  NCSA was a great tool in many ways, the individual athlete profile was convenient in getting personal information and videos to numerous colleges.  The coaching staff was always very helpful and available whenever needed. Our son was on an official visit back east when a question came up that only his recruiting coach could answer, Jeff Schlicht was quick to respond.

The best advice we could give to new recruits is to 1. keep your grades up, 2.  attend coaching sessions with your NCSA recruiting coach, 3. contact coaches, 4. market yourself to many colleges, 5. early decision to your top college of choice.
Our son was accepted early decision to NYU and will be wrestling for the Bobcats, he chose not to pursue interested scholarship colleges but instead went for a university that was a reach for him academically.

-Dayna Sarazin

The NCSA program helped me a lot with my recruiting process. It helped me communicate better with college coaches by helping me put my personality into the e-mails and phone calls I had made to the college coaches. NCSA held deadlines for stuff I needed to get done which helped a lot, it made me actually go out and e-mail coaches and keep up on the e-mails. The recruiting process wasn’t that difficult, the only challenging thing was being consistent with e-mailing coaches, and not giving up if they didn’t e-mail back. NCSA helped me a lot with my recruiting process, it pushed me to keep up my e-mails and opened my eyes to all the possibilities I had to be recruited.

This was definitely an area that we did not have any knowledge in nor, did not know where to go for help or advice.　　We could not have done it without the help of NCSA.  Zach had finally found his “nitch” with lacrosse and being on the west coast area, lacrosse was just starting to get going.  It was growing fast but still not getting the attention that the east coast was seeing.  The high school coaches were terrific with helping Zach to progress so that he could possible play at the next level.  Zach wanted to play lacrosse at the next level so he tried out for 2 traveling teams in hopes that he would have schools look at him during some of the tournaments and camps. He ended up having a couple of “club” programs interested which was very exciting but still was not sure what the next steps we would need to take so we called NCSA. 　

From the moment we had the first initial call with NCSA, everything happened so fast.  A couple of days after the initial call, we began working on Zach’s profile.  Once we began this entire recruiting process,  everything starting happening so quickly.  Before we could even get the video sent in to be edited we had 2 coaches already viewing Zach’s profile and phone calls soon followed.  Zach went on his first “unofficial” visit to see what the next level was “all about”. He was nervous and excited all at once. Within just a few more days, we had additional calls and “hits” on his profile as well as several emails from coaches and lacrosse programs.  It would have been overwhelming without the help of NCSA and the many phones calls and emails that we sent to them.

Zach has committed to D2 Varsity program in Colorado. It is exciting to know that Zach will continue to do the things in life that he loves while getting a higher education.  We could not have done it without the help of NCSA and we are very grateful that they were always there to be supportive and helpful!  I have recommended NCSA to other lacrosse players from Zach’s high school team.  We want Zach to always remember how proud we are of him to have the courage to take the next steps! 　

Kevin and Ramie Zdunich -

The most challenging part is not understanding the process that well as Matt is our oldest child. Also, it was challenging when we did not hear back from coaches. There were times coaches came to watch Matt pitch, and then we would hear nothing. In one case it was due to the coach not being a good recruiter. But when a coach doesn’t feel he can use a kid on his team, why not just tell him that? Perhaps the player should call the coach and ask him, but for some players, that is not easy to do.

My advice to recruits is to determine early on what division (Div 1, Div 2, Div 3) are you capable of playing at.　 Attend camps, and ask the coaches what they think. Most should give you a honest answer. Once you know what division, find the conference you want to play in. After that, market yourself. Send coaches in that conference video, stats, upcoming game schedules, SAT scores, transcripts, high school coach contact information. Anything that promotes you. It is also important to attend their prospect camps.　　

I also recommend to go on tours of schools in that conference in your Jr. year of high school. Don’t even tell the coach you are there. It gives you a chance to take it all in before the pressure kicks in of having to make a decision your Sr. year.

For the baseball parents, unless your son hits a ball 400 feet or throws a 90 mph fastball, your financial planning should assume no athletic money for baseball. Football and basketball programs seem to get the lions share of scholarship money.

My name is Tyler Koronas, a 2009 graduate of Naples High School in Naples, Florida. Although I was initially recruited by a Junior College in New York, I received a full athletic scholarship to attend an NCAA Div II college. This accomplishment did not come without hard work (academically & athletically), and a lot of support and dedication from my parents.

I will admit that the recruiting process had some ups and downs, and there is a lot to know and learn. I think that the smartest way to approach the process is to START EARLY, and assume that you will be recruited by a NCAA Division I college. Therefore, this will ensure that you have completed all of the required core courses, score high enough on the SAT/ACT’s, and maintain an acceptable GPA. It is very difficult to be recruited at that level, but you will at least know that you will meet all of the eligibility requirements no matter what college you attend. I am a perfect example. I did not need all of those core courses, or a 3.4 GPA to attend Junior College, but I am so glad I set my goals high; otherwise, I would have not met the eligibility requirements for the DII College that offered me the full scholarship. Don’t settle.

NCSA has some great resources to help you get through the process. They send out emails to college coaches for you, allowing you an opportunity to communicate with them, creating a relationship that could open up some options. The more coaches you contact, the more opportunities that could come your way. I was very lucky to be recruited from my skills video. I attended several college camps, although, many of themwere mainly for raising funds for their program. I learned to be very picky about whichcamps I attended since you cannot attend them all. It is best to create a long list ofcolleges, and email college coaches as often as you can, keeping those lines ofcommunication open. I had about 4 colleges I would have liked to attend, but like mostplayers, you go where you are needed, and hope to get some or all of your education paid for.

I looked at it this way – your chances are much better if you work hard – the rewards will come.

An important first step for me was taking the time needed to identify exactly what I was looking for in a school, both academically and athletically. This enabled me to single-out specific schools of interest that I could begin to contact, as well as to provide NCSA with a clear idea of the type of schools that they could contact on my behalf.  Maintaining consistent communication with targeted schools, though challenging and very time consuming, eventually paid off as key coaches knew me prior to seeing me play in person at camps and showcases.  The videos on the NCSA Scouting Report were very important, and also helped to generate interest from coaches.  The most rewarding part of the process was getting to know many outstanding coaches, as well as getting the chance (when it came time for final visits) to experience first-hand what being a college baseball player is all about.  NCSA played a vital role in the process for me—from outlining the necessary steps in the process, to assisting in my efforts to contact schools, communicate with coaches, and, eventually, narrow my search.  It’s a long and time-consuming process, and my advice to someone just beginning the process is to set aside the appropriate amount of time and use all resources available.