NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Archive for October, 2010

Ask Coach Taylor – Without Coaches Being Able To Call A Student Athlete or Offer An Official Visit, How Are Young Athletes Getting Noticed?

October 20th, 2010 - by Corey Domek

I’ve read regulations on recruiting juniors, and it’s quite confusing. Since coaches cannot call, and juniors cannot have official visits, how are all these juniors committing? And how are major schools evaluating these kids enough to offer them?

Good question! It is true that there are rules about coaches calling student athletes and also about taking unofficial visits, however, as a junior you are allowed to contact coaches through email or phone calls. Also, if you take an unofficial visit to them, which the NCAA allows an unlimited amount of, they’re allowed to talk and have in-person contact with you.

And as far as coaches evaluating young athletes, coaches are allowed to go out and see athletes play during their school season or at club/travel tournaments and games. Also, we suggest you getting some game footage and editing it in a way to showcase some good skills and plays and send it to as many college coaches you can get in contact with. There is no age requirement on that either.

Many recruiting experts suggest that athletic recruiting begins freshman year if not earlier.

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.

Ask Coach Taylor – When can I start taking official visits to Universities? And can I expect similar experiences at each school?

October 20th, 2010 - by Corey Domek

When can I start taking official visits to Universities? And can I expect similar experiences at each school?

Official visits cannot be made until the very first day of class your senior year of high school. The NCAA allows 5 visits to D1 and D2 schools combined. You are, however allowed an unlimited number of unofficial visits.

As far as school to school experience and compensation with official visits, it varies. The NCAA has set maximum restrictions, but each school and program is given a certain recruiting budget, and they can range from being able to reimburse you for travel, hotel, airfare, and 3 meals a day to not being able to pay or reimburse you for anything. If something this drastic happens to you, try not to let just that fact impact your opinion of that school in any way. All coaches use their recruiting budget different for various reasons.

I would definitely encourage you to take many unofficial visits to schools and meet with the team and coaching staff and get a good feel for the school. This will be the best way to figure out if that school is the right fit for you or not.

Good luck with your visits!

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.

Ask Coach Taylor – Do JUCO and NAIA Schools Offer Athletic Scholarships or Official Visits?

October 20th, 2010 - by Corey Domek

Coach Taylor I run Track and play football. I was wondering do most JUCO and NAIA schools have athletic scholarships? And if so, can they offer official visits to a recruit?
Scholarship opportunities are going to vary with each sport.  With NAIA schools, there is a limited amount of Athletic Scholarship money, but for example for football, they can offer 24 scholarships.  These may be split up between players.  Also, for Junior Colleges it varies between schools on how many scholarships they can give out.  But the answer is yes, there are scholarship opportunities for NAIA schools and Junior Colleges.
My suggestion would be talk to the schools you are interested in attending and see how many they offer for the sport you are interested in playing.  This may help you make you decision on which school to attend.
As far as official visits go, this also depends on each program and how they spend their recruiting budget, but it is definitely a good question to ask a coach while in contact with them and before you go on a visit.
Good Luck!

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.

NCSA Athletic Recruiting, Changing Lives Every Day – Thank You To All Of Our Families!

October 20th, 2010 - by Corey Domek

Every day our NCSA Athletic Recruiting team gets the privilege of working with hundreds of families, helping them better understand this very confusing recruiting process and walking them through the steps. There so many opportunities for high school student athletes to play in college at the Division I, II, and III levels. We are here to help these student athletes achieve their goal of playing their sport in college.

Our NCSA Mission Statement:

The NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network changes lives by empowering leaders through sports. In doing so it creates a self-perpetuating ecosystem where lessons are learned through athletics, fortified by education, applied to professional life, and shared with the next generation. Through our Athletic Recruiting Network, these unique athleaders bond with the wider NCSA community that extends from athletes and parent, to high schools and college coaches, to successful business leaders and the professional community. In this way, NCSA empowers athletes to maximize their athletic scholarship and life potential by connecting the best of sports with the professional and business community and beyond.

We would like to thank all of our NCSA families. Thank you for helping us reach our goal of empowering leaders through sports. Thank you for allowing us to help change your lives.

“I have never been so impressed with an organization as I have been with you, I can’t explain the level of comfort that I have received with respect to the career of my son John. When you stated way back that you would be available at anytime in the future, thought it was a typical sales pitch, but I am such a believer in your organization, and thank you so very much. After spending thirty five years on Wall Street, meeting every type of business and organization, I have never had the pleasure of dealing with people with the integrity and ethics that you have extended to me and John. Thank you again.”

“Mr. Alexander was very on top of the background of my school and my area, it made my Dad and I feel like we were talking to someone we have known a long time. He even knew the name of my Head Coach.”

“Coach Wellhoefer offered so many suggestions that were invaluable to us as a family who has never been through the recruiting process. Navigating the website will be much easier after she walked through it with us. I’m so glad we had this opportunity to talk with her before Kaitlyn goes on her 1st official visit. I feel much more prepared and at ease about the visit. Thank you!”

“Matt took the time and responded to all the questions we had to dial in Jeff’s profile. With his feedback were going to make some changes that will better promote this ongoing quest. The overall experience with NCSA has been excellent. We look forward to the next call.”

“Kelly Bowman made it feel like we had known her for several years. She made me and my daughter very comfortable with her personality. She should be a great fit for our NCSA experience.”

“Brandon provided excellent guidance and feedback regarding questions as they related to optimal timing and type of questions to ask prospective coaches. He went above and beyond by sending Anthony workout & nutritional templates which could serve as models for his own routines. Brandon also clarified strategy and alignment for college programs. Much appreciated, and we look forward to speaking with him throughout the process.”

“Jeff listened to our concerns\needs in structuring negotiations with coaches. Greatly helped us understand the differences between Div 1 and Div 3 alternatives. Helped tremendously!”

“Rick was very interested and asked a lot of questions…He showed true interest in our son! Thanks NCSA for the immediate response to our needs and we all look forward to hearing from Rick after he sees the game film we sent!”

“Amanda Rawson answered all of our questions and explained the next steps we should take. She was very well-versed, patient and polite. We are very impressed with the service everyone at NCSA has extended to us.”

“Coach Blazek told me he would send sample letters of interest so I could have an idea of what one should look like. He sent them within 10 minutes and answered everyone of my questions and explained the answers in detail. I am glad he is my recruiting coach.”

“I learned so much! I now know what I really need to be focusing on…my Recruiting To Do list! That’s really important! Thanks so much Amanda for all of your time and effort to help me to the collegiate level.”

“Jeff was very helpful in answering all of my questions that I had. I got off of the phone call with complete confidence in what to do and where I should be in the college recruiting process. I would easily get on the phone with Jeff again because of all the assistance he provided.”

If you are interested in talking to one of our Recruiting Coordinators about setting up a meeting to learn more about the NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network, please call us at 866-579-6272.

Check out Last Night’s Coach Taylor (Live)

October 20th, 2010 - by Brian Davidson

Coach Taylor and Video Expert Alex Horton break down how to get your Recruiting Video in the hands of a college Coach!

Learn the Secrets of Distributing your Video to College Coaches

October 19th, 2010 - by Brian Davidson

Tune in at 8 pm CST Tonight!

Listen to Othello Henderson respond to accepting money from sports agent Josh Luchs and talk about NCSA on ESPN Radio Los Angeles!

October 19th, 2010 - by Corey Domek
 

We take pride in graduating all our players…

October 19th, 2010 - by NCSA Staff

See what softball coach Lonni Alameda from Florida State has to say about recruiting for our coaches corner:

1. How would you describe yourself as a coach?

I am a very easy going coach. I am a student of the game and continue to try and learn as much as I can to pass it along to our players.

2. What is unique about the experience at your school?

Florida State University is a family oriented place. It is a large school with a personable athletic family. Everyone is treated as equals and we all support one another. It is very unique to many Universities.

3. What do recruits need to know about you?

We are a program that is going to push you on the ball field, in the classroom and the community.

4. What do you look for in recruits?

Well rounded players. Student athletes that love to compete in the game of softball. Student athletes that are driven in the classroom and ready to push their teammates to higher levels. Student athletes that understand time management and what it means to be a part of a family. All these areas will get tested while they are in college.

5. What is the one thing every recruit needs to do with the recruiting process?

Be honest with themselves in what they really want out of the next 4 years of their lives. The university experience is one that will never be forgotten and will mold you into the next segment of life “the real world” and when you find the university / college that fits you in that development process you will be a very happy teammate and you will have a GREAT experience.

6. What sort of questions do you really like to hear from recruits?

I like recruits that have a “this is what I can do and will do for you mentality” rather than a “what can you do for me mentality”

7. What turns you off when you are recruiting a student athlete?

Student athletes that do not follow through with emails, phone calls or paperwork and leave it up to their parents.

8. What do you think your program is the most successful at?

We take pride in graduating all our players, playing a fundamental game of softball and helping build player resumes as the jump into the “real world”.

9. Why should a recruit consider your program?

If we are a fit for them academically and they enjoy a softball team that is going to go the extra mile to make their experience a unique one then becoming a ‘Nole should be on their list.

10. If a recruit is interested in your program, how should they reach out to you?

Send me an email at aalameda@fsu.edu or go online and fill out questionnaire.

Check out Howard Stevens interview on Sports Talk 1570 WNST Baltimore – “The Morning Reaction”

October 19th, 2010 - by Corey Domek
 

Encore Presentation: College Recruiting Videos 101 Part II

October 18th, 2010 - by Brian Davidson

Last week we hosted an exclusive webcast explaining the most cutting edge methods to producing a college recruiting highlight video.  If you missed the event, you can check it out HERE!

Based on the success, we are excited to announce a surprise PART 2 to air on Tuesday, October 19th at 9 pm EDT / 8 pm CDT / 6 pm PDT.

We encourage you to tune in and watch the NCSA Video Team and Coach Taylor talk about:

- The best way to distribute your highlight video

- How college coaches evaluate recruiting videos

As always, you can view ALL our live web events on the following link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/randy-taylor-presents-college-recruiting-simplified

If you click the link, you can “RSVP” at the bottom of the page which will help you remember to tune in.

***If you would like to learn more about taking advantage of the NCSA Video Team to produce YOUR highlight video, call 312-205-7519. They have enhanced more than 17,000 Recruiting Videos in 27 different sports**