NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Coach Taylor,  My high school coach took me aside this week to make sure that I am focusing on the season and not too hard on recruiting, how much attention should I put toward recruiting?

This is always a tough balance to keep.  Remember that the best way to help your recruiting situation is to get good grades and play well, so these should be the first priorities.  Despite being a very important time in recruiting, during the season can be extremely difficult time wise.  The beginning of the week is a good time to keep coaches updated.  Whether it be calling or emailing.

Coaches want to know how the season is going, and they also want to see that you are very interested.  Having online tools to assist you can be key to managing time wisely during the season.  Whether it be school, sports, or your recruiting, in-season will always be a bit more stressful and a bit more work, this is where you can show off your ability to work hard and manage time wisely.

Good Luck!

RT

Coach T, a coach called me just to ask how things were going, ask if I had checked out his school at all, and a few general things…how interested is he in me?

Coach interest is always a tough thing to gauge.  It is great that you are getting a call, first and foremost this means that the school is interested in you in some capacity.  Did the coach invite you to come out for a visit?  An invite to an unofficial visit shows a good amount of interest.  If you are a senior and are invited on an official visit, it means that the school is very interested.  Of course, the simplest way to gauge interest is if the college coach offers you an athletic scholarship.

Make sure to evaluate these topics each time you reflect on contact with a coach.  Keep a contact log!

Good Luck,

Coach T

When NCSA’s team of over 30 Recruiting Expert Speakers deliver hard hitting Presentations, a point of emphasis is finding the “right fit” for athletes at the next level. This article will give you powerful examples of how one young man is nailing the “right fit.”

Bo Calhoun of Washington High committed to D1 Ball State University before his seniors season. Here is a break-down of key factors:

Bo Calhoun of Washington High in action

The “Realistic Fit” Factor: Ball State is mid level D1. Bo Calhoun is 6’7″ and 210 with long arms. He averaged 18 points a game as a junior for Washington High, located in South Bend, IN. As recruiting went along, schools most interested in him were schools like Ball State and Western Michigan. North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and those big boys were not wound up about him. Bo had the wisdom and discernment to see what was a realistic fit athletically for him at the next level.

Rod Creech is the highly respected President of the Midwest Basketball Academy and Director of MBA Select Boys Basketball. He and his staff have been with Bo during this whole process.

“With Bo,” said Creech, “we talked to him about the difference between the College coaches love you and the ones that simply like you. Western Michigan University and Ball State really loved him and a lot of others liked him. Ball State and Western wanted him to commit early because they loved him so much. When you find those kind of schools, you don’t get lost in the shuffle with other players and end up eventually transferring.”

“We talked to Bo about finding the right fit for him,” added Creech. “Take Visits, listen to coaches, get to know them, their teams and Universities. His 6’7” frame and athleticism put him in play with a lot of Universities. He ended up being the number one recruit target of Ball State.”

The “Work Ethic, Character and Academics” Factor: When a person has a combination of God given size, and athletic ability like Bo, and a work ethic, look out! His High School Coach, Chad Johnston, said this to the Star Press:

“He’s got a great work ethic. In the summer I told him he needs to take a week off to let his body recover a little bit. A couple of weeks ago when it was super hot out, I got a call about him working out on the track. I took a Gatorade out to him and said, ‘What are you doing?’ He told me, ‘I’m working to get better, coach.’”

Rod Creech is passionate about preaching fundamentals and work ethic to players MBA works with in their development. It is vital that young athletes talk with their High School and/or Club Coaches at a fairly young age and state what their dreams or goals are, and ask to be held accountable in reaching them.

“Bo has always been a great kid with big dreams,” said Creech. “As a freshman he met with me and made me promise to help him and hold him accountable to do the things it would take to get a scholarship. He knew basketball was a way. He wanted to be a College player so bad, and he knew his family could not afford to pay for College, so basketball was a way to get that Scholarship. We held him accountable with his work ethic and told him the door of opportunity will open and shut quickly. You have to have the character, academics, and stay out of trouble.”

Athletes: Meet with your coaches and guidance counselors, tell them your dreams, and ask them to help hold you accountable to reaching those dreams!

Bo carries a strong 3.1 GPA. He is getting it done in the classroom. No excuses! Through Visits and Research, he also knows enough about Ball State to know he wants to enter their School of Business. While someone with his physical abilities could possibly think NBA or Pro Basketball overseas, he knows the odds are stacked so high that he wants to make sure he gets his education and degree first. Bo comes from a strong Conference, the Northern Indiana Conference, that is close to another strong Conference, the Northern Lakes Conference. These Conferences include power High Schools such as Penn and Warsaw, the South Bend and Elkhart schools, and more.

Know how many of their products are currently in the NFL, NBA, Major Leagues and WNBA? Two. None from his city of South Bend. From where Bo comes from, about 0.0005 % of High School athletes are making the NBA, NFL and MLB.

The “Know Your Weakness” Factor:

College Coaches go to trusted, verified sources to get the scoop on recruitable athletes like Calhoun.

“The first thing College Coaches ask me about are character and academics,” said Creech, who played College Basketball and is also a College Referee, “then once that is cleared the rest can almost be easy if the kid has the ability.”

As we talked about this point, Creech elaborated on how he and other trusted third parties like the NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network have to develop a realistic evaluation of a recruit.

“When College Coaches call me about a kid,” said Creech,” I tell them the truth. I tell parents of players that my credibility is on the line and I have worked hard for 15 years to develop trust with a Network of College Coaches. I tell College Coaches about the strengths AND weaknesses and something that is important for athletes to know is that I tell the College Coaches if the kid is working hard on the weakness. With Bo Calhoun, his weakness used to be his jump shot, but he worked so hard on it. I also told the College Coaches about his upside. The weight program isn’t the greatest at his High School. When he adds 20 pounds to his 6’7” frame he will explode.”

Remember, College Coaches project when recruiting. You think they are looking at you as you are, but they are often picturing you at age 20 after being in their weight program.

The “College Coaches are Watching more than your Athletic Abilities when they see you in Person” Factor:

Understanding the importance of being at the right kind of recruiting events is important. Bo really shined at July Showcase events for his MBA Select team, and the College Coaches were there to see him. While Ball State coaches were evaluating him, the South Bend Tribune reported that his team was not doing well and he couldn’t buy a bucket. Calhoun stepped up in a leadership role and righted their ship.

“(The Ball State coaches) knew he could play,” Coach Johnston, his High School coach, told the newspaper, “but when they saw him handle a tough situation, they became very interested.”

That is a HUGE point. The College coaches went from interested to VERY interested based on leadership skills displayed. College coaches know if they want to win they not only have to have kids that can play and handle the academics of college, but that have the leadership skills, competitive fire and the other elements that make up championship teams. If you are at an Exposure Event and on the Lists of Colleges, know they are watching all kinds of things, from how you carry your bag from the bus to how you ask your parents for a sports drink.

“In that game,” said Creech, “he wasn’t playing well offensively but rallied his team with his words. At MBA, we talk daily with kids like Bo about leadership, mental toughness and about TEAM. Offensive won’t always be there, but the ability to support the team in other ways will always be there.”
The “Knowing Who Else is on the College Roster” Factor: The Ball State Coaches have told Bo that he projects to possibly replace 6’9″ BSU senior Jarrod Jones. He has a chance to compete for playing time early. Part of finding the right fit is studying rosters to see who they have coming back. A glut of young players at your position is not the best situation to enter into in College. Bo knew there were only three other post players on Ball State’s rosters and their coaches expect him to play a lot as a freshman. Notice they didn’t promise, but expect, which is the way it should be.

The “factors” that Bo nailed are ones that you need to be thinking about as well. They really go on and on. In talking with Rod Creech, he shared these other valuable insights:

Charlie Adams is one of over 30 NCSA Speakers that can come to your School or Club

“Charlie, parents often think because they get a letter their kid is being recruited. That College may have sent 10 or 200 or more letters out. It’s a start but unless you do the work and the marketing of your child, that may be all you ever get.”

“Charlie, parents also often think that when they get their kids to these recruiting exposure events that everyone there is to watch them. They don’t understand what it takes when they get to these venues. A kid has to be prepared. A lot of parents think you play on a team and go and success finds them there. You have to work hard and be prepared to take advantage of being in that situation.”

Parents have got to understand that College Coaches go to these events primarily to evaluate prospects that they have learned of through trusted, verified third parties like a Rod Creech, the NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network and other credible sources. SO many parents trot their kids to various basketball, volleyball, soccer and other Showcases thinking their kid will get discovered. When Bob Chmiel, a NCSA Speaker, was Recruiting Coordinator for Michigan and then Notre Dame, he “discovered” two kids in all his years. Tim Biakabutuka, who flew under the radar from Zaire, and Rocky Boiman. Chmiel always had a list that he developed through trusted sources. It is critical you understand this concept if you want to have maximum success in the recruiting process.

To Talk with a College Scout to See if You Qualify for a Recruiting Evaluation click here

Charlie Adams

Educational Speaker and Recruiting Expert

cadams@ncsasports.org

Every fall, football players across the country compile footage from their games in an attempt to showcase their ability to college coaches.  Unfortunately, many families fail to maximize this opportunity…because they don’t have the keys to success.  We put together 5 “keys” that every athlete and family can use to put together their highlight video this fall!

1. Understand the Purpose!  Hint, hint…it is not for the music.
Coaches use a highlight video similar to how you use a movie preview.  When going to a movie, you don’t just stroll up to the theatre and pick the movie with the best poster, instead you have probably seen a preview of it and thought to yourself “Hey, this might be something I’m interested in”.  Coaches do the same thing with your highlight film.  They will take a look at your highlight film, evaluate your athletic ability, then determine whether or not they want to find out more about you

2. Use the RIGHT Plays!
Coaches want to see how good of an athlete you are.  Highlight videos should consist of those “Wow” type of plays, high effort plays, and others that show off your ability.  A 40 yard run where you break 3 tackles is much more beneficial to you than a 1 yard TD run where you strolled into the endzone untouched.

3. Make it Easy for Coaches to Find You!
Having the ability to edit plays into impact order (best plays first) and put a simple arrow on to identify yourself can be very beneficial to a coaches evaluation.  If they can’t find you, they can’t evaluate you!

4. Coaches Want to see the Whole Field!                                                                                                                                                 Coaches prefer your high school’s game tape to see how you react within the flow of the game. Home videos zoomed in just on you or taken from field level on the sideline make it very tough for a coach to evaluate how you react to different game situations.

5. Don’t Slow Yourself Down!
Specifically, when sending film to coaches, you want to showcase your ability.  Over-editing your video (slow motion, music, lightning bolts, etc…) can actually take away from a coaches evaluation and hurt your chances of being recruited by a school.  Have your highlight play at game speed, use simple tools to identify yourself, and save the music for your friends.  Coaches will have the video on mute and will be listening to their own music anyway.

If you have questions about your highlight video or want to speak with the NCSA Team about putting your video in front of college coaches…and making sure they watch it, call 866-579-6272.

Riley High School is among the Schools that bring me in to deliver College Athletics Recruiting Education. I had the opportunity to sit down with Riley’s Athletic Director,  Walt Ballard, and share some hard hitting insights on the MYTHS and REALITIES of recruiting.

“Unless you are in Sports Illustrated as a high school athlete, your job is to get college paid for and not to play Pro Ball,” said Ballard. “I don’t want to throw water on dreams, but what are you doing to make the college scholarships possible?”

Whenever I speak, I share those sentiments. I know there are some young people there with the dream of being a pro one day. I understand dreams, but I also deal with reality. Riley High School is located in my home turf South Bend, Ind. In their highly respected Northern Indiana Conference and Northern Lakes Conference (conferences with several big schools), there are currently just two products that are in the NFL, NBA, WNBA and MLB. Bryan Mattison made the Baltimore Ravens roster after two seasons on their practice squad while Shanna (Zolman) Crossley is on the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA.

This is all about using your athletic ability to help get an athletic scholarship or a variety of athletic, academic, merit-based and need-based scholarships, and grants to get a quality college education. In today’s world, a college degree can take you places you can’t go with just a high school diploma.

“The myth that I am so good that grades don’t matter, is wrong, ” says Ballard. “The only athlete in our area that would remotely apply to this is Demetrius Jackson (Michigan State’s Tom Izzo came to Marian High recently to watch the highly recruited basketball player practice), and he has the academics. The notion that academics don’t matter is a fallacy.”

Academics have never been more important. There are so many good athletes out there that  college coaches routinely look at (athletes of similar skills) and then sign the one with the highest GPA. Countless college coaches have told me the first thing they look at are transcripts. The better your grades, the more options you will have for scholarships.

Ballard, like his Athletics Director (AD) brethren, is doing what he is doing because he wants to help kids. He has a slew of things on his plate. The time I was in his office he had one brush fire after another to put out. It is not his job to get kids scholarships, but he wants them and their families to be educated on the process. Families do look to ADs for recruiting education seminars.

“Charlie, you and the NCSA speakers should open up every talk by going over the  myths of recruiting. As if you have to specialize in your sport to get a scholarship,” says Ballard. “Kids want to pigeon hole themselves and it often hurts. Or, they don’t start looking until their senior year which is wrong.”

“In South Bend, we have too many athletes that rarely consider going out-of-State,” says Ballard. “They all want to go to Indiana University, Purdue, Ball State, Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, or Indiana University Purdue University at Fort Wayne. They don’t realize all the opportunities within a three hour circle or wider of where they live, or in nearby states. Another thing I have seen is athletes and parents who aren’t realistic in what level to play in at college.”

Ballard talked several times about the need of families being more proactive and not buying into the myth that the high school coach is going to do everything for them.

“We can get a kid to defiance,” said Ballard. “We have a coach that went there, or we can get a kid to Rensselaer because we have a coach that went there. The role of the high school coach is to support you in the process and to provide good stats, game films, and to be able to talk to coaches. Some parents think it is the job of the high school coach to make a tape but we aren’t paying them to do that kind of thing. It is important that athletes approach their coach and ask them to play a role in the recruiting process and not just assume.”

Ballard had insights on playing multiple sports in High School. “Charlie,” said Ballard, “if a kid is playing football they are competing individually against the player across them but also within the team concept. Then if they are wrestling they are going one on one. All of those things teach them to be a competitor which is what College coaches look for – competitors! Sometimes when kids specialize they present themselves with not a lot of ‘upside’ to College coaches. By that I mean a basketball player that does nothing but High School and Travel Basketball year round that averages 14 points per game. Well, that pretty much rounds them out often as far as development, compared to the athlete that plays two or three sports. The College coach realizes when THAT kid gets to College and focuses on one sport, their upside may be greater. Now, I understand when some really elite athletes focus in on one sport, but most athletes need to understand the value of playing multiple sports in High School.”

As Ballard and I were talking, Riley’s boys’ Head Basketball Coach, Mark Johnson, walked into the AD’s office. Johnson has been a longtime head coach in basketball-rich South Bend, and has coached the likes of Brandon McKnight who received a full athletic scholarship at D1 power Purdue.

” I feel if a kid has gone through my program for four years then it is my responsibility to help give him an option for playing in college,” said Johnson. “Everyone wants Duke but that is a once in a lifetime. I ask them if they have ultimates on where they want to go to play and fall-backs after those schools. I ask them about levels and would they be willing to go to an NAIA power like Bethel and play, or to Indiana University as a student. If they are going to give me four years then I will reach out and call college coaches. I am not a good letter writer but voice-to-voice and emails are good. That way you know the college coach has received it.”

Ballard feels it is vital athletes and families become more educated about recruiting.

“They have to know about the Eligibility Centers,” said Ballard (there is now an NAIA Eligibility Center to go with the NCAA). “They need to know if they are taking the right classes, SAT and ACT timing, and much more. Parents have to find the right fit for their child. Athletes don’t always see it. A college coach can sell them on the weight room but can you really see your child at that school?”

Riley High A.D. Walt Ballard introduces NCSA's Charlie Adams

To bring Recruiting Education to your School, Club or Event, contact me at cadams@ncsasports.org and I will set the wheels in motion to have one of over 30 Recruiting Experts/Speakers at NCSA contact you.

To be Evaluated Now by a College Scout on Where YOU are in the Recruiting Process click here

Charlie Adams

NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Senior Speaker

cadams@ncsasports.org

Dear Coach Taylor,

My son is a junior in High School. After a great summer playing shortstop with his Travel Baseball team he is starting to get a lot of interest from college coaches. We have 2 verbal offers from state schools and are expecting another this week. We have also met with a large (expensive) private University, ”the dream school”, but we are not sure if we could afford the balance after the athletic scholarship they could offer.  My question is, do we hold out for the big U and risk losing the offers from other schools?  Do we verbally commit to the school of his dreams and pray for a good financial aid package?

Any input you could offer would be great help!

Thank you!

This is always a tough question, and there is no perfect answer,

If the dream school is really interested in your son they should be able to put together a plan to find out what financial aid could be in a couple years. Maybe not exactly but some idea.

Is the dream school actively recruiting your son? It’s nice to go somewhere you’re really wanted.

The decision is what’s best for your son’s future! We talk about 4 for 40…he’s making a decision to go to school for 4 years that will set him up for the next 40 years plus of his life. This decision may include the debt created while in school.

I hope this helps,

All my best,

Coach Taylor

Your options are great in that you can transfer to any school to play baseball but you have to do one very important thing first.

If you are transferring to a D1 or D2 school you must get a “release to transfer letter” from the school you’re at currently. This is the only way other schools can talk to you about transferring. Get the release letter through your coach and athletic director at your current school.

If you’re transferring from D3 to D3 you can issue your own release called a “self release letter” which notifies all parties of your intentions.

The other thing to know is that you could be required to sit at the new school, meaning you may be ineligible to participate in a contest for a year to satisfy transfer residency rules. There are exceptions that you can easily find out if you qualify depending on what school you transfer to. An academic advisor or compliance officer can help you determine your status.

Good luck.

Coach T

As of early August, when this year’s Guide for the College Bound Athlete was unveiled, the NCAA adjusted an important recruiting rule regarding Official Visits. Starting this academic year, Senior prospects are allowed to take an unlimited amount of D2 official visits (still with a limit of one per school), just like the D3 rule. However, they included a provision regarding student-athletes that are taking both D1 and D2 visits: If the prospect ends up enrolling and would like to be eligible to participate at the D1 program they take an official visit to, you could have only taken upto 5 official visits between D1-D2 (same rule as last year).

If you are not confused by this, consider yourself one of the smarter ones.  Here a simple breakdown for coaches to understand what this means to them:

D1 Coaches:  Each Prospect is still allowed to take one official visit to your program. They still can not exceed 5 total official visits between your institution and any other D1 or D2 school to be eligible to play at your program.

D2 Coaches: Each Prospect is still allowed to take one official visit to your program. Starting this year, each prospect you recruit is allowed to take as many D2 (and D3/NAIA) official visits as they like.

NAIA Coaches: Unaffected

D3 Coaches: Unaffected

See pages 22-23 the Guide for College Bound Athletes in the official visit section for confirmation of this rule change.

Coach T – What does it mean when a school invites you to a football game?? ….I am a 17year old senior female that plays basketball.

This is a good thing. They have some interest in you and want you to see their atmosphere, most likely they’ll arrange a meeting with you and other female recruits.

Coaches use football games as an “unofficial visit” to entertain prospects at hopefully a fun event on campus.

Have fun!

Coach T – Thanks so much.  I have one other question, what does it mean if a school hasn’t shown personal contact with you but has contacted your coaches (high school and aau coaches) by email asking about where you are playing.  At first they sent one asking where I will be playing in April,then one asking for July and also an unofficial visit &elite camp which I attended and did pretty well at and now they are asking where I will be in October ) is this a good sign or am I just apart of the mailing list?

Those coaches are wanting to know where you’re playing so they can evaluate you. Before they have more personal contact they must see you in person or on tape in most cases.

This is a necessary step for the college coaches.

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Coach T – Does a transfer have to follow all the steps that an initial recruit would have had to follow? When should he get permission to talk to the other schools (that, of course, assumes his current school will give permission, if they don’t, then we’ll have to follow the rest of the regs).  Based on what I’ve learned he would be a qualifier & potentially be exempt from the sitting out the first year, so the new school could benefit by this.  Or should he wait till spring & hope that the other schools will still be recruiting?

My first question is what year is your son in school? This is key to the answer.

I would always suggest to be upfront about your plans especially because it’s for the “degree major” reasoning. However, it’s understandable to wait. How’s your relationship with the coaching staff?

If I’m on the staff I understand the career implications and let you compete at the level you deserve and the team needs. If the coach doesn’t do that they are not looking out for the best interest of this team in this year. I could see the staff using an underclassmen a bit more to build next year’s team.

The release should be no problem because there shouldn’t be any coach in America to stand in the way of a student getting a degree. If not, there is some other issue.

If you wait until the spring semester to request the release there is a chance some schools will be out of spots but there will be others that will open up as well.

Coach T – Our son is a freshman.  From your reply, it sounds as though it would be acceptable to let his Coach know <<sooner rather than later>> about his desire to seek a school with his major?  So, my question then would be, should he talk to Coach himself, or should he request a meeting w/me in attendance (I accompanied him on all the visits, as my husband had a stroke a while ago which makes some visits difficult).  And if he tells the Coach now, when he schedules visits w/the other schools, will the new coaching staff view him as somewhat of a “traitor” to be looking to switch schools already?

Being a freshman makes a difference in that the coach will wonder why he chose their school in the first place and why the decision to leave so soon. You brought this up some before but it will still be a question the coach will have.

My suggestion is to have your son talk a bit to the assistant coach who he works with the most and get his take. If this is about the major and the real concerns of the player the coach should want to help. There may be an academic person in the athletic department that he can talk to as well.

Let me be perfectly honest, I’m thinking there’s more going on here, like the young man is home sick or he just doesn’t like it there. That’s the coach coming out in me to be suspicious and paranoid.

Let your son handle the talk as long as it is productive. He needs to be very careful to not go right into the transfer discussion until he gets a feel for his coach’s response and willingness to help as opposed to be angry the player wants to leave.

Most coaches from other schools will look at this at face value for the most part but will also check with the staff at the current school to find out both sides of the story. Coaches talk a lot to each other.

A concern about the release if you go that direction is that the current school may not release you to schools in their conference or who they play against.

If you are in the Network, want to become a part of the network, athlete or parent, LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE and join the Athletic Recruiting Network on Facebook!