If you would like to schedule a free Recruiting Analysis to discuss the process as a family and establish a realistic game plan, call 866-579-6272.
Check out last night’s roundtable discussion and download the 8 Rules to Help Your Child Get an Athletic Scholarship!
In the newest round of “The Scouting Report”, Jake sits down with one of NCSA’s most coveted scouts, Carmen Bucci. The guys talk about this year’s fall classic, Carmen gives his pick to who’s going to win the World Series and how those baseball families have more opportunities to play in college than ever. Tune in to hear wise words about recruiting from one of recruiting’s finest scouts and also to hear some baseball insight from a former pro ball player, you won’t be upset you did.
Parents are a critical part of the college athletic recruiting process. Unfortunately, many struggle to fully understand what their role should be and end up hurting their athlete’s chances to maximize their recruiting potential.
Not anymore.
You have been invited to a live online Recruiting Event: “The Parent’s Role in Recruiting”
When: Thursday, October 28th at 9 pm EDT / 8 pm CDT / 6 pm PDT.
Click here to watch at the time above: NCSA Athletic Recruiting Live – Next Telecast: “Parents Role in Recruiting”
The NCSA Recruiting Team will have a live panel discussion with a former college coach, the parent of a full scholarship athlete and two former collegiate student athletes who will cover the following:
- How parents can get involved without becoming “helicopter parents”
- Mistakes parents should avoid that might lead to a college coach crossing the athlete off their list
- Tips from former collegiate student athletes about how their parents helped them.
Although the broadcast will be geared towards parents, athletes are also invited.
Feel free to invite other parents or coaches to tune in!
NCSA is on the Panel of the annual ‘Warren Central High School Student-Athlete College Prep Night’, set up by Athletic Director Marques Clayton and his staff in Indianapolis.
Former Purdue, Chicago Bear and New England Patriot standout Rosevelt Colvin (photo below) has been on the Panel. How good was Rosevelt Colvin as a football player? Patriots Coach Bill Belichick once told him he thought he could be the next Lawrence Taylor.
Charlie Adams with former Purdue standout Rosevelt Colvin
After I led off the evening with College Recruiting Simplified, Colvin was next with a remarkable story on his Recruiting as a young man growing up on the Northeast side of Indianapolis. Here is what he said:
“Education was very important to my family growing up in Indianapolis. Both of my parents have been teachers. My Mom taught for 40 years. My Dad is still in Education. They were stern in raising me. My mother never let me touch a football after school until my homework was done and it was checked. In my time, I got whuppings. Do you all get whuppings?”
(That kind of disciplined upbringing led both of their inner city children to college degrees. Colvin’s sister is now an Electrical Engineer with AT&T in Chicago)
“Even though I won two Super Bowls and played in the NFL for ten years, my four years playing college football at Purdue were the four best years of my life. No bills. I was on scholarship. The bonds I formed with my teammates are for life. I just was at the Wedding Saturday night of a player that was in my recruiting class.”
“I went to High School at Indianapolis Broad Ripple and am proud to be a graduate of the Indianapolis Public School System. I was in the National Honor Society and was Senior Class President. I had a GPA the 3.5 range. If you gave me homework, I would kill it, but when I took the SAT, guess what I scored? 780! The second time I got a 760! I went backwards! You have to prepare. I went in there thinking I could do it. I always say now, ‘if you don’t prepare, you are planning to fail.’ The SAT fiasco set me back. Because my stats as a lineman my senior year were so strong (219 tackles), I had all kinds of schools knocking my door down, but my SAT told some of them that ‘maybe he can’t survive academically here,’ so a lot backed off. Because I was local, IU, Butler and Purdue were still interested. Because my GPA was high enough, I was able to meet NCAA Admission standards.”
“It is funny regarding video back when I played in the 1990′s. At Broad Ripple, we didn’t have any video. My father had a camera but didn’t have a tripod. He would be up there standing with the camera and point the camera at me, but when the play would start, he would look up to watch and the camera would go down. All my High School football video is of concrete and his shoes.”
“At that time, 1995, Rick Smith handled recruiting for Purdue. He is now GM of the Houston Texans. They didn’t have football film of me so he came to a basketball game. Being a 2 sport athlete helped (he was All State in football and All County in basketball), because they saw my athleticism on the court. I averaged double doubles. He worked me out one time at the gym, and that led me to the scholarship to Purdue.”
“I never yearned to be a pro football player. My plan in life was to always be a success. I saw my family members provide for their families, that was what I wanted to do in life. An opportunity opened with the scholarship to Purdue. It was then something I wanted to do. That is important. Parents, if playing college sports is not your child’s vision, don’t make them. Young people, if this is not your dream, step up.”
“When I got to Purdue, I was elated. I had a full ride scholarship. I didn’t have to worry about student loans. I started off in Engineering, and switched to Industrial Technology. I graduated in 3 1/2 years. I had a cousin playing at Northwestern. He was frustrated not playing. I said if you don’t undestand the value of a Northwestern degree……Football is only going to last so long.”
“Even though I went on to a long NFL career, of my freshman class of recruits at Purdue, I was the only one that did not play their position in the freshman year. I just did Special Teams. Be open to position switches. I was never a blazer on defense. I always had to use my mind. My coach told me I could be a very smart and slow linebacker or a very quick defensive end. I switched and had 30 sacks over a 2 year period. I still hold the Purdue career record for sacks.”
By the time I was a senior they said the NFL was a possiblity. Because I had worked so hard in the classroom, I had my undergraduate degree in 3 1/2 years. I was able to focus the last semester on getting ready for the NFL Draft. I was a 4th round pick of the Bears. When I got there, players looked broken down. I told myself I would play a few years in the NFL and get out. I didn’t want to end up like that, but I had success and became a free agent. Not to brag, but Patriots coach Bill Belichick told me I would be the next Lawrence Taylor. I signed a big free agent contract with the Patriots. In my second game with the Patriots I broke my hip from routinely reaching over to pick up a football. I was able to go on and win 2 Super Bowls with the Patriots (he led the team in Sacks in 2005). I met Tom Brady, Randy Moss. I experienced things an inner city kid would never dream of.”
“When I broke the hip, I felt on the verge of moving on in life. I have always looked at my career in the NFL as a stepping stone toward what would come after it was over. Five years ago I opened up a UPS Store. I later opened another one. My wife opened a bakery called Sweeties Gourmet Treats. We are both full time business owners with our stores in the same Broad Ripple Village in Indianapolis.”
Colvin is an inductee into the Indianapolis Public School Hall of Fame. He says he is an example that you can go from a place like 44th and Central Avenue in Indianapolis to be a success in life.
“There is nothing in the world that prepares you like being a student-athlete. Young people, your ultimate goal should be to be a success in life and making your parents proud. Every time I stepped on a field, my name was on my back. That name represented them, my relatives, my church members, teachers and everyone that has helped me. I was out to make them proud.”
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Rosevelt’s Talk at the College Prep Night was outstanding. Purdue alums should be proud of what this young man has done with his life. He later said that the time management skills he gained being a student-athlete have helped him so much in running his businesses. As we always say, when you become a college student-athlete, you are making a decision that will impact the next 40 years of your life. If you have a chance to be a college student-athlete at any level, take advantage of the opportunity!
To Talk with a College Scout now about the Recruiting Process
Charlie Adams
Senior National Speaker for the NCSA Recruiting Network
cadams@ncsasports.org
To bring a NCSA Speaker to your School, Club or Special Event
Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball:
Evaluation Period except for below:
November 8-11 Dead Period
Cross Country/Track and Field:
Contact Period, except for below:
November 22 (12:01 am) – November 23 (12:01 am) Dead Period
Men’s Lacrosse:
Contact Period, except for below:
November 8-11 Dead Period
November 24-28 Dead Period
November 29-30 Quiet Period
Baseball:
November 1-7 Contact Period
November 8-11 Dead Period
November 12-30 Quiet Period
Softball:
Contact Period, except for below:
November 8-11 Dead Period
November 25-30 Quiet Period
Volleyball:
Contact Period, except for below:
November 8-11 Dead Period
Women’s Lacrosse:
Contact Period, except for below:
November 8-11 Dead Period
November 6-7, 13-14 and 20-21:
Note: Evaluations of prospective student-athletes participating in lacrosse activities permitted.
Football:
November 1-27 Quiet Period, except for below:
42 evaluation days (54 for U.S. service academies) (see Bylaw 13.02.6.2) during the months of September, October and November, (not to exceed a period of 42 days) selected at the discretion of the institution and designated in writing in the office of the director of athletics; authorized off-campus recruiters shall not visit a prospective student-athlete’s educational institution on more than one calendar day during this period.
November 28-30 Contact Period
Men’s Ice Hockey, Women’s Ice Hockey:
November 8-11 Dead Period
Field Hockey:
November 17-22 (noon) Dead Period
(Wednesday prior to the Division I Field Hockey Championship to noon on the day after the game).
PHONE CALLS
2011 Grads (Seniors)
Division I:
Men’s Basketball – 2x per week
All Other Sports – 1x per week
Division II: All Sports – 1x per week.
Division III/NAIA/2-year: All Sports – Unlimited.
2012 Grads (Juniors)
Division I: Men’s Basketball/Men’s Ice Hockey – 1x per month.
Division II: Not Allowed.
Division III/NAIA/2-year: All Sports – Unlimited.
2013 & 2014 Grads (Underclassman)
Division I/II: Not Allowed.
Division III/NAIA/2-year: All Sports – Unlimited.
EMAILS & LETTERS
2011 Grads (Seniors) & 2012 Grads (Juniors)
All Divisions: All Sports – Unlimited.
2013 & 2014 Grads (Underclassman)
Division I/II: Not Allowed.
Division III/NAIA/2-year: All Sports – Unlimited.
*Please Note: Some DIII/NAIA/2-year programs have institutional or conference rules prohibiting the college coach to make contact before the student-athletes senior year.
*Reminder: The student-athlete can call or email any coach at anytime.
NOVEMBER RECRUITING TIPS
Top Academic Institutions – Due to early applications deadlines, majority of top academic programs will be done early, if not by January.
Fall Sports– As seasons wrap up, coach communications will pick up again.
Winter Sports – As seasons get under way, coach communications will slow down.
Holiday’s – Starting the week of Thanksgiving through Martin Luther King Day in January, expect for coach communications to be slow, yet vary throughout the next few months.
Junior and Underclassmen Offers – At this time, juniors and top tier sophomores have or will be securing DI offers. Top tier DII programs will be extending offers as well.
ALERT: DI coaches are always recruiting and looking at athletes, however, at this point in the recruiting process there is not always a spot available or money tied to that spot.
ALERT: For the following sports at this point only low major DI programs might have scholarship money available with an opening on their roster: Basketball, football, volleyball, tennis, softball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, golf, water polo, ice hockey, and field hockey.
ALERT: College coaches continue to recruit earlier and we have received notifications from DII, NAIA and even DIII programs that they are done with the 2011 class.
Football – If a recruit is not receiving phone calls from DI programs, the DI program is not interested in them and need to look at walk-on spots, as well as, lower programs.
Track, Cross Country, Swimming, Women’s Golf and Wrestling are sports that are more open across the divisions at this point.
When I sign a National Letter of Intent what do I agree to do?
When you sign the National Letter of Intent you agree to attend for one academic year the institution listed on the Letter in exchange for that institution awarding athletics financial aid for one academic year.
If I sign with an NCAA Division I institution may I still sign with a Division II institution?
The true issue is not whether a school is a Division I or Division II institution but whether an institution is a member of the National Letter of Intent program. With more than 600 participating institutions, the NLI program is truly national in scope. All Division I institutions, with the exception of the Service Academies and schools in the Ivy League, are members of the program, and most fully-active Division II institutions participate in the program. No Division III institutions, NAIA schools, preparatory schools, junior colleges, or community colleges participate in the National Letter of Intent program.
Do I sign a National Letter of Intent every year?
No. Although under NCAA rules you must be notified annually regarding whether your athletics aid has been renewed, you only sign an NLI when you first enroll in a four-year institution or if you are a four-two-four (4-2-4) transfer student.
May I sign a National Letter of Intent before I am certified as eligible by the NCAA Eligibility Center?
Yes. You may sign a National Letter of Intent before you receive your final certification determination from the NCAA Eligibility Center. When you sign a National Letter of Intent you agree to submit the necessary information and documents to the Eligibility Center. These documents do not have to be received by the Eligibility Center before you to sign a National Letter of Intent. If you are classified by the Eligibility Center as a qualifier, the National Letter of Intent is considered valid. If you are classified as a nonqualifier pursuant to NCAA Bylaw 14.3, your National Letter of Intent is rendered null and void.
What happens if I change my mind about attending the institution with which I signed, and I want to attend another National Letter of Intent institution instead?
If you do not attend the institution with which you signed, or if you do not fulfill the terms of the National Letter of Intent, the basic penalty is that you lose one season of competition in all sports and must serve one year in residence at your next National Letter of Intent institution.
In this week’s version of “The Scouting Report”, Jake sits down with Chris Vincent, die-hard Buckeye fan and scouting extraordinaire. The guys cover last weeks rendezvous in Camp Randall for the Wisconsin upset, the recruiting process and what it’s like to “fall through the cracks of recruiting”, and Chris leaves the listeners with his one lasting message to becoming successful through recruiting.
More than 1,000 people watched our latest live web event series, which is incredible! We thank all of you who tuned in and more importantly, we hope you have found the events helpful and productive.
Since the events are free and this education is critical, we want to get in front of MORE people.
Here’s the deal:
We want to use YOUR ideas to help get more people to watch our live webcasts.
In the comment section below, leave your BEST idea or advice about how we can get more athletes, parents and coaches to watch our next webcast events. Make sure they are specific and realistic (we are not going to run a commercial during the Super Bowl). Also, feel free to include how YOU can personally help get more people to watch.
Our Team will go through all the comments and pick the winner.
Be sure to leave your email address so we can alert you if your comment is selected and we will contact you about how to redeem your free NCSA Edited and Enhanced Highlight Video.
The contest will end on November 1st.
Think Big!
I’ve heard some stories about High School coaches holding back letters from a student athlete. Is this legal? What should you do if this happens?
Holding college mail is really an old school idea which some high school coaches still practice. The reasons I have heard are:
• The HS Coach is worried the player will get a big head and think they have it made and might not work as hard
• The HS Coach is worried the letters or interest from a college coach will distract the athlete
• The HS Coach may want to be in charge of the process and doesn’t want to be bothered until the end of the season
• The HS Coach doesn’t want the college coach to have direct impact with the player in a way that might undermined the team’s goals
• The HS Coach may believe that until the player has completed their sophomore year there isn’t any guarantee that the young man is truly a prospect
Regardless of the reason, the high school coach is most likely hurting the student-athlete by interfering with the process.
So what can you do?
The first step is to clearly state your desire to play collegiate athletics with your high school coach. The next step is to simply discuss what your high school coach’s policy is about recruiting. Does he pass along letters immediately from a college coach? Does he traditionally hold that type of information? The only way you will know is to talk with your coach and do so in a professional manner. Remember, even if you do not fully agree with your high school coach’s policy, they will be directly talking to college coaches on your behalf…so don’t give them anything negative to tell the college coaches.
I encourage you to open the lines of communication with your high school coach early in the process and find out how they approach the recruiting…it will impact your success!
Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org
If you would like to speak with a NCSA Recruiting Coordinator about your personal recruiting situation, call 866-579-6272.
