NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Brad Taylor is a smiling parent. His daughter Callie has found the right fit for her to be a student-athlete at the next level. Callie is a golfer who has connected with an outstanding scholarship at D2 North Greenville University in Greenville, South Carolina, about six hours from their Ohio home.

Golfer Callie Taylor has found the right College Scholarship Fit for Her

This is what Brad wrote to Michael Brice of NCSA upon the conclusion of the recruiting process for them:

“Words can not express what an absolutely incredible experience this has been for our whole family. Your process took us from learning about the “new Experience” with the online help, to how to visit and talk to coaches, till now we narrowed the offers and finally accepted at a D2 Christian school….which was our ultimate goal. The offer was better than expected. And we give God all the credit, and we thank Him for leading us to you. Best money we have spent in a long time. God Bless,
Brad and Callie Taylor

Callie started playing golf when she was five. She has been an All Conference golfer who was 2nd runner up in State Sectionals. She shoots in the low to mid 80′s, has great promise, and was recruited by many coaches through NCSA. She ended up getting about 70% scholarship to start with for College. Besides being a very good golfer, Callie has focused on being an Athleader. She ran for Senior Class Treasurer and is honored to have been elected by her peers to serve during this, her senior year of high school. She earned membership to South Point High School math club, Mu Alpha Theta, and was chosen according to grade point average and class standing to participate in an engineering class, Project Lead the Way, during her Freshman year at South Point.

As I often do, I talked with her Dad so that he could share their experience to better inform you of what recruiting is like in 2012, where the online world can play such a pivotal role.

“What I liked, Charlie, is that there is so much information so that College coaches can do 1-stop shopping for everything on her Profile. You can see what College coaches look at her information, and how much. In our case we wanted to zero in on Christian Colleges and you can do that with your Search. We had over 25 that would view, mainly in the part of the Midwest (Ohio) we live in.”

“At first we were skeptical of doing something like NCSA. We stepped out in faith, though, and thought this could be a good thing.”

“We had six really valid offers. I have already told people I work with about it. A guy asked me how it went. His daughter is a sophomore track star. He said senior year they would start working on recruiting. I said, ‘No, start now. Get into it now and you will be amazed what College coaches will follow her now and come senior year it will really come together.’

“I did a swing video and sent out ten packages. Two or three sent something back that recognized they had received the packages and would stay in touch. I just didn’t know what I was doing them. What I found is that NCSA is such a structured tool. Someone like me trying to make an athletic resume for my child, I had no clue. The NCSA form walks you through. Like in golf, it has you put in information for 9 hole average, 18 hole, driving distance, average number of putts, greens in regulation, things I didn’t realize needed to be there for a College coach.”

“The power of Video is amazing. A college coach in Georgia basically made us one of the best scholarship offers purely based on seeing her video on NCSA. He saw her potential. At that point he had never met her, but made a big offer based on Video.” See Callie’s NCSA Golf Video here

“Another thing we learned from this is how many regional College coaches use NCSA to recruit kids near them. One good scholarship offer we had came from a school an hour and a half away from our home. The coach found her through her NCSA profile. Callie has had quite a bit of media coverage locally but the College coach did not know of her until he saw her NCSA Profile.”

“We prayed for over a year that Callie would know the right school. We have an older son at Liberty University and needed God to help us get scholarship help because we would have two in College at the same time. He really answered our prayers.” - Brad Taylor, parent of Callie

NCSA's Charlie Adams speaks and writes about the Recruiting Process

Thank you, Brad, for your insights. NCSA believes in helping to develop Athleaders like Callie. She has become one. This is what she has told College coaches about her future:

“I would like to give back to the game of golf by working with and teaching kids about the game and how to develop their game. It has taught me about good sportsmanship and the importance of honesty and integrity to the game. I feel these characteristics are important to success in life.” - Callie Taylor, soon to be a Division 2 women’s College golfer.

To Learn More about Building an Athletic Academic Resume for College Coaches

Charlie Adams

NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network speaker and recruiting expert

cadams@ncsasports.org

To bring a NCSA Speaker to your School, Club or Event, contact Amanda Rawson at arawson@ncsasports.org

Eddie Williams, Under Armor All-American defensive back and the first commitment of Alabama’s 2012 class, made good on his promise when he signed with the Tide yesterday afternoon.

An all-around athletic talent, Williams may get looks at receiver, safety, and defensive back. The five-star recruit out of Arnold High School joins a ‘Bama recruiting class already considered the best in the nation. He has drawn comparisons to departed Alabama receiver Julio Jones (now with the Atlanta Falcons). Williams declined an opportunity to sign with Florida State, whose stellar 2012 class ranks just below the Tide.

Williams signed his National Letter of Intent yesterday alongside his friend and longtime teammate, All-State running back Andre Allen, who is headed to Troy University. The two will play college ball less than 50 miles apart.

Kelsey Waters was a normal high school girl just entering her junior year. She was playing summer travel softball and enjoying time with her family, friends and boyfriend, when what seemed like a case of strep throat changed her life forever. Founder of NCSA Chris Kruase came up with a term called Ath-Lead-Er-Ship, which is defined as empowering leaders through sports. Kelsey is what the definition of a true Ath-Lead-Er is, she fought through an adversity with courage and strength in a situation where most people would have given up all for a dream to live a normal life and play college softball. Over the next few months we will continue to follow up on Kelsey, and her journey to play college softball.Below Kelsey tells her story……. (more…)

Around the country, college coaches are huddled around their fax machines, waiting for the NLI’s from student athletes across the country, hoping that in the last seconds their rival school didn’t steal their top recruits. Today, NCSA had the pleasure to watch as one student athlete finally make his dreams come true. Maurice Fleming came into NCSA Headquarters at 8 AM to sign and fax his National Letter of Intent to the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was surrounded by his biggest fans: his mom, his grandma, and his high school coach.

Following this special moment he called his future coach to let him know that the fax was on its way. Both Maurice and the Hawkeye coaching staff could not be more excited for their futures together.

Maurice hopes to make an impact on the field as early as his freshmen year. During an interview with the Daily Iowan, a reporter asked him questions about his future with the Hawkeyes and how he felt switching from the offensive to the defensive side of the ball. Like any true athlete, he said that he was hesitant at first, but he knew that with hard work and his athletic ability, he would be able to transition into his new role as a defensive back just fine.

Despite missing the majority of his senior year due to an ACL tear, Maurice is expected to make a full recovery. He is already at 85% and working out five days a week, and thankful that the Iowa staff stayed loyal to him throughout his injury and recovery. He is prepared to take on the demands of being a college athlete and cannot wait to take the field in black and gold.

Everyone at NCSA is extremely proud of Maurice and cannot wait to watch him continue to be an Athleader,by empowering others to lead through sports and giving back in his community. Congratulations Maurice, you have just opened the doors of the rest of your life.

Rugters has signed the New Jersey Star-Ledger Defensive Player of the Year, defensive end Darius Hamilton.

He was a four-star prospect at Don Bosco Prep, where he recorded 17 sacks on the way to an 11-0 season and a consensus national championship. He chose in-state Rutgers over many bigger names like LSU, Alabama, USC, and Oregon.

Hamilton, a 6′ 3″, 245 pound U.S. Army All-American, passed along some sound advice from his dad after his signing: ”You don’t go to school primarily for a coach”

Arik Armstead has signed to play defensive end for Oregon. One deciding factor: the Ducks were okay with slotting him at his chosen position of DE, while other schools tried to push him towards the offensive line, where he was highly rated by scouts but did not want to play. Coaches at Oregon will also be working to balance his schedule between football and basketball, where he is also talented.

Armstead, a U.S. Army All-American out of Pleasant Grove High School in California, had lots of other schools chasing him. Ultimately, he reportedly chose Oregon because of their honest and simple approach to recruiting, and their willingness to work with him on basketball.

Five-star safety Landon Collins is sticking by his guns. He faxed his letter of intent to Alabama today.

He announced his commitment to Alabama during his appearance in the Under Armor All-American game. At the time, his mother (a lifelong LSU fan), did not react so well to the news. LSU won’t be the only one missing Collins’ talents, as Florida, USC, Auburn, and Texas had all hoped to bring the speedy safety on board.

Alabama’s signing of the Tide is a victory for Nick Saban as Collins hails from Tigers territory (he attends Dutchtown High School in Geismar, LA). Collins’ blazing speed (4.39 40) and ball-hawking ability (8 INT over last two seasons) helped make him the top-ranked safety in the country. He also saw time as a running back last year, rushing for 1,218 yards and 21 touchdowns, leading his team to an 11-1 season.

Mario Edwards, Jr., the nation’s top defensive end, signs with Florida State. He joins recruiting class already filled with blue-chippers, including DT Eddie Goldman, QB Jameis Winston, and fellow DE Chris Casher.

Edwards had been committed to Florida State for weeks, but on a signing day filled with defections and stolen recruits, he seemed more like the exception than the rule. Auburn, LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas were also in the hunt for five-star Edwards.

Edwards, a five-star recruit, Under Armor All-American, and USA Today Defensive Player of the Year, will wear his father’s old number (#15) at Florida State.