NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Check out this impressive run by NCSA Verified Recruit TJ Lally!

The NAIA provides life changing opportunities for thousands of collegiate athletes each year.  Unfortunately many families are unfamiliar with the NAIA and might  be overlooking great options to play at the next level.  We recently spoke with the NAIA Eligibility Center and they asked that we pass along the following information to our network which we are happy to do.

 The NAIA has nearly 300 college campuses in the U.S. and Canada. Each year 60,000 NAIA student-athletes have the opportunity to play top-notch college athletics while competing for one of 23 national championships in 13 different sports. NAIA schools provide these student-athletes a first-class education with a personal touch, the hallmark of small-college campus life, by offering $450 million in financial aid.

 Students who want to play NAIA sports for the first time in Fall 2011 or later will need to register with the NAIA Eligibility Center. Students can register by clicking here and creating a profile with facts about their academic history and sports experience.

 Before registering with the NAIA Eligibility Center, students will need to have ready their current contact information, previous residences and addresses, high schools attended and history of their sports participation during and after high school graduation. When registering for the ACT or SAT, students should include the NAIA Eligibility Center (9876) on the list of places test scores should be sent. Finally, students will need to ask their high school counselors to send the NAIA Eligibility Center a final official transcript that verifies high school graduation, class rank and cumulative grade point average.

 Students and parents often ask “Do I need to register if I’m registering with the NCAA Eligibility Center?” Yes. Determining if a student meets eligibility requirements for NAIA eligibility is separate from NCAA eligibility certification.  The NAIA and NCAA are two separate associations, with two different sets of rules and certification processes.

 More information about NAIA college sports, the NAIA Eligibility Center, and the new eligibility determination process can be found by clicking here!

Do DIII schools offer financial assistance since it is not athletic based?

Division III schools offer financial aid that is often very competitive when compared to other athletic based packages at higher levels. DIII schools choose not to offer any athletic scholarships, but they are able to offer academic, merit, and need-based aid that can match or beat the offers of other schools. That is not at all uncommon for Division III schools.

Student-athletes with good grades are encouraged to stay open to the idea of Division III schools because you might be able to receive more money academically than a higher level school athletically.

Each school might have a different policy, but if they want you bad enough, they will do everything they can to make school affordable for your situation.

Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

You can also get your questions answered directly by contacting an NCSA Recruiting Coordinator at 866-579-6272.

My daughter has received a scholarship offer, but we are hoping she will get a better one. How do we tell the coach that we are interested but still looking?

This is a situation that happens often and needs to be approached properly.

A college coach is not required to tell you how many people you’re “up against” or who else they offered. The best bet would be to be very grateful and show your strong interest for the school. Above all, just tell them the truth. Let them know that you are very interested in their school, and not turning down the offer, but want to make sure you are making the right decision and are not quite ready yet. Who knows, maybe they will “up” their offer and make it one you can’t refuse when they learn that you have other options.

Also, giving them a time frame for when you will make your decision is a good idea. CAUTION: A college coach will NOT wait forever for you. They WILL move on to the next if you lose contact with them or stop showing interest. There are plenty of other people on their list who may seem more serious about their program. A college coach CAN offer one scholarship to more than one athlete. This has happened many times and is a humbling fact that many high-schoolers need to be aware of.

Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

You can also get your questions answered directly by contacting an NCSA Recruiting Coordinator at 866-579-6272.

Do I have to play for my high school team in order to be recruited? What if I just play club?

You do NOT have to play on your high school team in order to get recruited. It might be harder, but yes, it is possible to play in college if you don’t play for your high school team or don’t contribute significantly on the high school team. Some sports, like volleyball, soccer, softball, etc. , with a high level of club, barely pay attention to high school participation. Not only is it in the same season, but with multiple chances to see you play travel/club ball, it is quite likely to be playing at a higher level than your high school team.

If your sport doesn’t have a club option, personal contacts with coaches will be crucial for recruiting, as well as attending camps, combines, and that specific college’s camp over the summer. This can be a great way to show your interest and showcase your skills to a specific coach.

Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

You can also get your questions answered directly by contacting an NCSA Recruiting Coordinator at 866-579-6272.

If I am not yet playing for the varsity team at my high school should I actively get involved in the recruiting process? Should I wait until I have varsity experience?

If you are not on varsity, this doesn’t mean that you can’t kick start your recruiting process.  If you play a team sport like Football that doesn’t have any ‘club’ or travel teams, make sure you are getting footage of some of your non varsity games, and also keep track of your stats, and start learning and preparing for the recruiting process.   Learn what you need to do, how to put the best video you can together, and what numbers you need to strive for depending on what division you would like to play in college.  Another thing you could get started on is getting in contact with some college coaches and establishing a relationship, get yourself on their recruiting radar; someone to look and follow up on in the future.  If you spend time preparing, you will be ahead of many people in your same situation.   Having game plan will help guide you through the tough and cut-throat recruiting process.   Always keep in your mind that someone else just like you might be doing more.  That’s your competition, and you need to keep up.   Another way to get recognized in non-club sports is camps and combines.  If you get attention at a camp, you need to be ready!

If you play a sport that has a traveling team, like volleyball, softball, soccer, etc. you have the advantage of playing most of the year, and more opportunities for college coach’s to see you play.   Nothing is more convenient and attractive to a college coach than being able to go ONE tournament in ONE weekend and see 6-10 kids you are scouting. This cuts down on travel time and watching time.   Often times assistant coaches might come with a video camera and tape a couple plays of a bunch of kids to bring back and evaluate.   If you play a sport with a club/travel option, this is a for sure thing to consider doing if you want to be heavily recruited. And feel free to send out as many emails as you want saying you’ll be at the invitational in ________ or the qualifier over this weekend.

If you don’t play on Varsity, this doesn’t mean that you have to wait and doesn’t mean you’re not going to get recruited. Be smart and start early!

Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

You can also get your questions answered directly by contacting an NCSA Recruiting Coordinator at 866-579-6272.

Last week, Coach Randy Taylor and Arianne Bradshaw had a chance to present “The 5 things you need to know and the 5 things you must do” to maximize your recruiting potential for hundreds of athletes and parents.  We recorded the event for anyone who was unable to watch live.  Be sure to check it out below.  If you are ready to begin taking the right steps to secure and athletic scholarship after watching, call the NCSA Recruiting Team at 866-579-6272 and schedule your personal Recruiting Analysis.

Give your advice for a chance to win a free NCSA Athletic Recruiting Highlight Video! 

Each year thousands of families create highlight videos in an effort to showcase their skills to college coaches.  The reality is that a poorly edited or sequenced video can have a significant impact on a college coach’s interest in recruiting an athlete.  With that in mind, we want to YOUR advice about how to make a winning highlight video.

All you have to do is comment below with your tips and suggestions for other families to follow when attempting create a video.  The NCSA Video Team will pick the “best” advice based on their expertise and the winner will receive a free edited, enhanced and sequenced NCSA Recruiting Video!

OR

If you have a question about recruiting videos, leave it below!  The NCSA Team will be reviewing best practices for creating a highlight video in next week’s newsletters and we will answer all your questions!

Be sure to leave your email so we can contact you if your comment is selected.

Share your knowledge with the network (or ask the network for help) by commenting below!

Charlie Adams brings 23 years of experience covering the recruiting process of high school athletes who reached their dream of playing college sports. Adams was an award winning sportscaster at television stations and a longtime professional speaker. He is also one of NCSA’s Recruiting Experts.

As a speaker, I have a few thousand conversations a year with families and coaches that are going through, or have been through, the recruiting process. I often share them in this blog.

During my son’s 12th grade season, I was at a top Cross Country Meet. A veteran South Bend (IN) High School Coach came up and told me one of his sophomore runners had recently done a Recruiting Analysis with NCSA. The Coach said it had an immediate positive impact on the young man.

“This athlete wants to compete at a high level in college,” the coach told me. “During the Recruiting Analysis he told the NCSA College Scout his times. The Scout told him they projected to be D3 or NAIA times. Well, that put a fire in him because he wants to eventually run at a higher level. Then the kid told the Scout he has a 2.5 GPA. The Scout chuckled slightly. It wasn’t in a rude way, but in a way where he was challenging the athlete that he could do better than a 2.5 and that he would need to do better to be in better position for scholarships. Ever since that Recruiting Analysis, the runner has been more focused in practice and has immediately started improving his grades. I have seen a distinct difference in his focus, even as a sophomore. I tell athletes these things all the time, but when it comes from that third party, it’s big.”

THAT can be the power of a Recruiting Analysis. It is important to do one to see where you stand in recruiting. If you have not done one yet, or never set up a time after hearing a NCSA speaker, contact us

Charlie Adams

cadams@ncsasports.org