NCSA Athletic Recruiting recently had the opportunity to sit down with the My Sportbox Team and discuss our movement.
My Sportbox is the leading high school research firm focused on high school sports, MySportbox supplies information to more than 8M high school athletes, providing insight into recruiting technology, industry trends, and college coaching behavior.
Steve Boyle was a 4-year starter at one of the top college programs of his sport. He was a 3-time honorable mention All America, and a key part of a National Championship team. This is a young man who has a great perspective on recruiting and what it takes to be a D1 athlete at a top program. I had the opportunity to talk to Steve this weekend.
NCSA Recruiting Expert Charlie Adams
I had the opportunity to speak to Lacrosse families and athletes near Newark, New Jersey about how to connect with college coaches and scholarships. Steve was an instructor at the event. Although his sport is lacrosse, families with athletes in all sports will take away valuable information from his experiences in recruiting and playing at the highest level.
Having just completed his collegiate eligibility earlier that particular year, his insights were timely. Here is what he had to tell me:
“Charlie, one thing I would certainly encourage athletes, and especially lacrosse athletes to do is play multiple sports in High School. I know College lacrosse coaches really like those kids, because they get things from all sports, plus they are competitors.”
(Steve earned 3 letters in football and had 10 interceptions in High School as a Safety)
“I’m from New Hampshire, so college coaches aren’t going to go up there. You have to get your name out there. I went to the Top 205 in Baltimore. My High School coach had to nominate me. That was the one place where a lot of college coaches could see me in person. I went there as a sophomore. On September 1st of my junior year was when they could start writing me, and I heard from Syracuse, Princeton, Virginia, Johns Hopkins and others. Recruiting has really accelerated in recent years. I made my visits and had offers from North Carolina, Virginia, Syracuse and others. I committed to Johns Hopkins University before I played my junior year of High School.”
At Division One, certain sports do have full athletic scholarships, but not all. In sports like lacrosse, where there are 30 to 40 players on a roster, you don’t see a lot of full scholarships at D1 or any level. They divide them up. Because Steve was so accomplished in High School (a 3 time HS All America) he got close to a full scholarship. He just paid for food and books all four years.
This is a young man that had offers from several national powers. I wanted him to share why he picked Johns Hopkins. Some obvious reasons athletically would be their nine NCAA titles and the 39 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
“Why did I pick Johns Hopkins? I felt they REALLY wanted me, plus they didn’t have a player like me on their roster. I am an attackman, like a point guard in basketball. Johns Hopkins has 5500 students, . so it is not too big. It is right in the heart of Baltimore, 3 or 4 miles from downtown. Socially, it is not Florida State or some party State University, but you can have a good social experience. Johns Hopkins usually drew about 10,000 fans per home game. The school has great tradition in lacrosse. It is D1 in that sport and D3 in all others. We have a TV contract with ESPNU to televise our games and played grueling schedules against North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Syracuse and other national powers.”
As I listened to Steve’s answer, I thought that he nailed two key factors in finding the right fit for College Sports. Number one, he found a school that REALLY WANTED HIM. That is key. Go where they really want you. Also, he found significant funding. If you can get those two, and you find a school that you would still love even if you had a career ending injury, then you are on it!
When I speak, I am candid with audiences about the commitment of playing college sports, especially at D1. There are some athletes that go to that level, and get worn out by it. Others eat it up. Steve took it on and came away with treasured memories.
“Charlie, I wouldn’t trade the experience I had for anything! We won the National Championship my freshman year. I started all 4 years.”
I got him to talk about the commitment it takes to be a D1 athlete.
“The season is in the Spring. In the Fall, we practice 4 days a week, and then go to Winter Workouts. For Spring season, we start preseason January 20th. A typical day during the season would have me taking classes in the morning. I would get to the locker room around 2:30. Practice would go from 3:30 to 6. Then I would watch film of practice and of upcoming opponents for an hour or so. You get 4 hours with the coaches, per NCAA rules, but it doesn’t stop there for us. So a normal day would have me there from 2:30 until about 8. then I would eat and study. It’s not a case where you can come back and go, ‘Now I want to play a video game.’ It is a commitment, and I knew that going in. I was fine with it. It is what I wanted. Athletes, especially at Division 1, have to understand the commitment. Also, I had a head coach in Dave Pietramala who is very fiery. He gets after you, but you have to understand it is not personal. He recruits guys who can take it. He is intense, but always has your back.”
Steve’s 4 years of eligibility are up. He is finishing up his degree in Political Science at Johns Hopkins. My thanks to Steve for sharing insights that families can use as they go through the recruiting process to find the right fit for their son or daughter.
Charlie Adams
NCSA Athletic Recruiting
cadams@ncsasports.org
To Learn How to get into the Recruiting Database College Lacrosse Coaches use Click Here
A note for High School Athletic Directors and Coaches:
Can you remember being frustrated with the old Heinz catsup bottles and trying to get that catsup to come out when you wanted it to? Heinz did not turn its bottles upside down until 2002. It sure made my life easier when it came time to eat my hamburgers, hotdogs, and brats! Open the lid and “bam,” catsup was flowing out.
Recruiting is like that catsup bottle. It is up to you to turn the bottle upside down so you and your athletes are ready when they need to be ready.
1. If my player is good enough, the recruiters will find him.
This is further from the truth than it has ever been. The college coaches today have a smaller window of time than ever to find the athletes that they need for their programs. If your athlete is one of the top 100 in the country, this may be true; but what about the thousands of athletes needed to fill the many other spots on college rosters around the country?
2. The best time to educate players about college recruiting is in their senior year.
The best thing I did for my football program and entire athletic program at Edwardsville High School was to begin educating all my athletes and parents during their freshman year. Don’t wait! Just like the new catsup bottle, be ready when it is time to pour.
3. The coach will get the blame for a player not getting recruited.
You will only get the blame if you do nothing. What I found was the more help and information I gave to the parents and athletes, the more they realized how complex the recruiting process is. This also allowed the athletes and parents to take ownership in their own destiny at an earlier age.
4. As the athletic director, I will show favoritism towards athletes if I host a recruiting night.
I will guarantee you that this will be one of the best events you will host as an athletic director. What can hosting a college recruiting night do for you?
1. The coaches from all of your athletic teams will appreciate your interest in helping them elevate their programs. Many of my coaches had no idea where or when to begin helping their athletes who wanted to take their game to the next level.
2. There is one person in your school who is responsible for the direction of the athletic program at your school. That is you! In just a few years, I found my head coaches hosting signing sessions from all sports programs. This was a huge community relations boost for our athletic program.
3. This eliminated those dreadful meetings with the athlete and parent who said things like, “ The school and coach are not doing anything for my child”, or “I wish I knew ahead of time my son or daughter could have taken a summer school class to replace a poor freshman grade.”
4. Parents will thank you for having information readily available ahead of time that will help guide their son or daughter through their high school career.
Learn more about scheduling a free Recruiting Event at YOUR High School – Click Here
(HINT: CLICK FULL AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH GUIDE TO MAKE THEM FULL SCREEN OR DOWNLOAD ALL OF THEM HERE)
Coach Taylor – I am a sophomore running back on my high school’s varsity team. I am interested in getting my stats and information to A LOT of college coaches. Is it appropriate for me to mass email the coaches with my information? Is there a better way to go about doing this?
The answer to your question about mass emailing coaches is NO. This is not an appropriate way to contact a coach and it will probably get deleted before ever opened. There is nothing wrong with sending out a similar email to a number of different coaches, but with 20 different coaches in the ‘To:’ heading of the email is not looked upon well. If you are a student athlete serious about playing your sport in college, take sending coaches emails just as seriously! They get hundreds of emails from potential recruits, so make sure yours doesn’t get lost in the shuffle! Making personal emails will show a coach that you have attention to detail and really care about getting in contact. Doing stuff like personalizing the subject or saying “Good Morning Coach Taylor” will make a difference. A generic email about yourself, as good as it may be, with 20-30 coaches’ emails in the header will come across as lazy. Take your time
Also, an Athletic Recruiting Network is something that can be a very powerful tool. NCSA’s Athletic Recruiting Network allows you to make a profile of yourself stating everything a coach could want to know about you, your contact information, and even a video! And you can also see which college coach has viewed your personal profile and what their contact info is. It is a great tool that coaches all over the nation use EVERYDAY.
Make your personal profile today!
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.
Coach Taylor, I am a freshman in high school, and I heard this is when the athletic recruiting process starts. I am very interested in playing in college and would like to start talking with some college coaches. How can I get in contact with them and where can I find their information?
I am glad that you want to be proactive and contact college coaches. This will really help you develop relationships. These email addresses and phone numbers can easily be found on the college websites, which I will show you how to do below.
Here are the steps to find coach information:
1) Visit the college athletic website. The best way to find it is by searching in the college name with “athletics” after it in Google. For example “Yale Athletics.”
2) Search for the staff directory. Most athletic departments publish an athletic directory, and this is usually the best way to find information about the whole staff. The directory may be under a tab title “inside athletics” at bigger schools or found directly on the main page for smaller schools.
3) If you can not find the information in the directory, visit the SPORT site directly
4) Remember, you can always call the athletic department directly if a coach’s information is not published
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.
Is it better to let your athlete go on their Official Visit alone? Or is it ok for parents to come with?
Very good question. We have heard about the Do’s & Don’ts of parents for recruiting, but what about official recruiting visits? This is perfectly fine and normal for a parent to attend! The recruiting process is something that the whole family should be involved in to help and encourage their student athlete. Now this doesn’t give you free-range when you are on the visit. Make sure that you give the athlete and coach plenty of space to get to know each other, and when the student athlete is meeting the team, give them space here as well. Not that this is wrong, but it allows the team and coach to get a proper look at your student athlete on their own, as well as the recruit being able to tell if this is a possible fit for them in the future. So while they are doing any of these activities, the parents can be off to the side, sight seeing around campus, just getting a different feel for the school. Also, be careful about dominating the conversation. Coaches only have a limited amount of official visits that they can have. This is about your son or daughter choosing the right fit for them. But no, there is nothing wrong with attending an official visit.
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.
For prospects in the class of 2011, the recruiting process is already in the fourth quarter and the clock is running out on your opportunities to play at the next level!
We put together a “bundle” of free Recruiting Guides that will help you maximize the remaining time in the process.
Click Here to download 3 Senior Recruiting Guides with one click!
In honor of Signing Day, we put together a “Letter of Intent FAQ.”
Free Recruiting Download – Click Here
We encourage you to share this with your friends, teammates and coaches to make sure everyone has the right info about Signing Day and the National Letter of Intent.
If you are a 2011 grad and have yet to commit to a college program, here are a few steps to take:
- Re-evaluate your options. Many college coaches have narrowed down their recruiting list. Where do you rank on that list? Find out and target new schools if you are not a priority recruit.
- Get active! Successful recruits put a lot of time and effort into recruiting. If you have been waiting around for coaches to come knocking, it might be too late.
- Update Your Recruiting Profile. College coaches will be looking for potential qualified recruits who have not signed and need your most current information. In order to update your NCSA Recruiting Profile, click here.
Most importantly you are still interested in playing at the next level and learning about what opportunities are still available, call 866-579-6272 to speak with the NCSA Recruiting Team. College coaches access the NCSA Network every day looking for serious athletes and we want to let them know about the serious prospects.
We feel very strongly that the Athletes Wanted Community plays an extremely important role in spreading knowledge about the Recruiting Process. Without an understanding of how this process really works too many student-athletes will be left without the scholarship they desperately need. For that reason we want to ship anyone a free hard copy who can help us share a digital version with 10 teammates.
We hope that our core community will help us do whatever it takes to make this education a part of the athletic fabric in every high school, team, and town in the Country!
