Dear Coach Taylor,
My high school team is not very good should I transfer high schools to play on a better team? I’m afraid college coaches won’t recruit me because my team is bad.
Alison Schmalz
Sport: Women’s Soccer
Position: Left Defender, Central Defender, Right Defender, Stopper
High School: Schaumburg High School ( Schaumburg , IL )
Graduation Year: 2012
Committed: University of Texas
C.J. Irvin
Sport: Football
Position: Center, Offensive Tackle, Long Snapper
High School: Manteno High School ( Manteno , IL )
Graduation Year: 2012
Committed: Illinois State University
Congratulations to both Alison and C.J. not only on their commitment for the next four years of their lives, but for the next 40 years!
Navigating through the recruiting process can be very overwhelming for a family, especially for the athletes themselves. These 17/18 year old student athletes are faced with a decision that will affect not only the rest of their athletic careers but their entire lives. It is important that student athletes are educated on every aspect of each school that they are deciding on. It is important when an athlete makes a final decision that they would want to go to that school if they were not going there for athletics.
Why?
Reason number one is that as an athlete you are only one ACL tear or break away from never playing sports again. Before you commit somewhere, ask yourself “If I can never play sports again will I still be happy at this particular school?”
In recent years a new issue in college athletics has created another reason student athletes need to chose the school based on other reasons outside of how much they like the athletics. As college coaching veteran Randy Taylor always says “make your decision based on the school, not the coach…”. While a coach can have a huge impact on your experience as an athlete, in this current environment college coaches are being fired, leaving for other schools or going to the pros. Coaches leave schools all the time and as an athlete you should have the security that if during your career, your coach happens to leave you will still be happy with where you are.
This is an issue that is most recently facing the 2012 football commits for Rutgers, yesterday in a very quiet move head football coach Greg Schiano was hired as the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A move that not even his assistant coaches were aware of until news broke via the media. News broke while the assistant coaches were waiting for him at Don Bosco Preparatory School to lock up two more top recruits. Rivals.com has noted that Rutgers currently has 17 verbal commitments before Schiano’s left for Tampa, many of whom took to twitter to express their frustration and shock. In what could have been Rutgers best recruiting class to date, five days before signing day many of their top recruits are now questing whether or not they should jump ship, to the other top schools who are now coming after them.
These student athletes world has been turned upside down, but before de-committing from the Scarlett Knights they need to sit down with the significant adults in their life and go over the reasons they originally committed to Rutgers, if it was because of the coach they need to look at their other options, however they should also keep in mind that any school they go to there is a chance that during their careers that coach could leave as well.
Making a decisions as a young adult that will affect the rest of your life can be a lot of pressure on these kids, especially if they are only thinking of things from an athletic stand point. As an athlete you need to remember that less than one percent of all athletes will go pro in their respective sports. It is important to remember that they are going to school to receive an education and set themselves up to succeed for the next forty years of their lives.
Signing day is about a week away and many athletes out there are wondering what Coaches look for when they offer student athletes scholarships. Coach Bob Chmiel discusses the three things he uses to evaluate players. Coach Chmiel spent seven years as Notre Dame’s Director of Football Operations and Recruiting Coordinator/Assistant Coach. Prior, Chmiel was the University of Michigan’s Football Recruiting Coordinator, where he also served as an assistant coach. He was named one of the “Top 11 Recruiting Coordinators of All-Time” in Tom Lemming’s book Football’s Second Season: Scouting High School Game Breakers.
What is the National Letter of Intent?
The NLI is a binding agreement between a prospective student athlete and an NLI member institution
Penalty for breaking this contract
What is Signing Day?
Does every division 1 and 2 athlete sign an NLI?
“God blessed me with all the talent in the world. I knew I was going pro if I had just stayed in school. I had the world in my hands…”
Those are the words of Matt Wills, one of the most remarkable High School athletes of the past quarter century. In a powerful, must-watch 2-part TV series, sportscaster Dean Huppert has captured the story of a young man who could have been one of the best ever, had he had better guidance around him in recruiting, and had he made the right choice when it came to sign.
As a tenth grader, Wills rushed for 271 yards and scored 6 touchdowns in his third High School football game for Riley High. He could bench press 400 pounds, had sprinter speed, and was a heavyweight wrestling champion. D1 schools were on him like white on rice.
Meet the Millers – a great example of a family working the recruiting process hard and the right way. They’re right in the middle of a very positive recruiting experience and can offer some valuable insights into the process.
The Millers came to hear NCSA’s College Recruiting Simplified at Penn High School in September of 2010, when their son Gabriel (in yellow shirt) was a sophomore on the (5A) Penn High Football team, one of the most respected programs in the nation. Athletic Director Ben Karasiak made recruiting education available that night, and the Large Group Instruction Room was packed.
Gabriel is the Center and Long Snapper for the powerhouse Penn team. He wants to be a Long Snapper in College. His snaps to their Punter are fast, accurate, and consistently timed at .68 – .72 seconds. He is excelling academically with a 3.8 GPA, and Penn is one of the most respected academic high schools in the Midwest. The Millers have taken advantage of the NCSA Network, and came to this year’s presentation at Penn to personally share how it has impacted their recruiting experience since Gabriel entered as a 10th grader. Steffany Miller, Gabriel’s Mom, had this to say:
“I can’t tell enough people about the wealth of information that NCSA has provided us with. My husband Doug and his two brothers each had full rides to college back in the 70′s, so we would have thought things were done the same had we not have gotten the knowledge from NCSA! Now let me tell you, if you are doing everything that needs to be done for your athlete, it will seem like it is another full time job, but it is what it is. They give you all of the information needed to contact the college coaches then you and your athlete just need to get busy and get to work! I can’t imagine all of the time that I have put in to this, that I could have ever expected a highschool coach to have to do for each of their athletes that want to go to college. Parents, you need to be just as committed to the recruiting process as your athlete is, because there is a lot of work to do, but once you receive your first email from a coach, you will know that it has all been worth the effort! Thank you NCSA for all of the tools that you have provided our family with! Especially for directing us to Chris Rubio Long Snapping. What a change that has made in our son! He was committed before, but now has direction, proper instruction, and all of the confidence in the world!”
Besides being in the NCSA Network, Gabriel and his family have received guidance on the top Camps and Exposure events to attend. Many families struggle with this as they want to get their kids out there but don’t know which events are best to attend. Here are Gabriel’s insights on the process so far:
“Last year when my family and I heard Charlie Adams speak at Penn, we approached him after the Talk and brought up that I wanted to be a Long Snapper in college football. He advised me to contact Chris Rubio for long snapping. That one piece of advice has changed the course of my college recruiting. I am currently the #7 ranked long snapper for the Class of 2013 in the country via the Chris Rubio rankings, and the #6 ranked snapper for the Class of 2013 via the Kohls rankings. Chris Rubio has really pin pointed the areas that I needed to work on. I will be going to the Rubio national event in Las Vegas in January, and I expect to finish well enough to be ranked in the top 5. I have watched this year as many of my fellow Rubio longsnappers, and now friends in the class of 2011 and the class of 2012 have receive full scholorships to major D1 colleges. I have very high expectations that with continued hard work and dedication, I will follow in their footsteps. I’m not just chasing a dream anymore, but I now feel empowered to climb the ladder of success! The information that we have gathered from NCSA has been priceless.”
Gabe Miller of Penn High School
I contacted Mrs. Miller and asked her a few questions so I could share some of the insight they’ve gained seeing the recruiting process from the inside:
CHARLIE ADAMS: Steffany, what are some of the misconceptions you feel that families have about the recruiting process?
STEFFANY MILLER (Gabriel’s mother) “I think that many families think that the colleges are going to come seeking out their athlete, when in most cases, that is just not going to happen. Also many think that it is their high school coach’s responsibility to have a college scholarship all wrapped up for their athlete. I feel that the high school coach should be willing and able when contacted by a coach to give their recommendation, but they just don’t have time to do all of the leg work for every athlete. ”
CHARLIE ADAMS: What are the top 3 things you all have learned so far about recruiting?
STEFFANY MILLER: “It is alot of work, but with the help of NCSA it is so much easier! You have to be pro-active and let colleges know that you are interested in them. My son’s position is specific, so he asks the coach if they are going to need a long snapper in his graduating class. They will tell you if they are interested, if they are pretty sure they aren’t going to need that position filled, they will generally let you know, and you just move on. When they are interested they will ask for more films, and for you to keep in touch with them. Don’t get discouraged!”
“Start early, and stay positive. My sons two top college teams recruited their long snappers out of the graduating class ahead of him. He could have gotten upset, but it just motivated him to work harder!”
CHARLIE ADAMS: Getting back to the role of the high school coach, what do you think are fair expectations of the Coach in recruiting and how have you worked with Penn High head football coach Cory Yeoman?
STEFFANY MILLER: “Gabriel keeps Coach Yeoman very up to date on all of the camps that he attends, and how he does at them. We have let him know that we are working with NCSA, and each time Gabriel talks with a different college, he lets Coach Yeoman know that someone might be contacting him. We believe it is our job to send the college coaches to Coach Yeoman requesting information about Gabriel, and we would hope then that he would give them his take on how Gabriel would fit into their program. Penn High uses Hudl to tape all of the games, so we go through each play of every game to make his highlight films. We have the new highlight film updated every Friday night and continually send the updates to every college around.”
CHARLIE ADAMS: Steffany, what are the 2 things you have found most helpful about the NCSA? Athletic Recruiting Network?”
STEFFANY MILLER: “The Recruiting Management System for the athletes is absolutely fabulous. It pulls all of your hard work together in a very professional presentation. NCSA also then sends out your profile to all of the colleges that your athlete matches up to. If you want it sent to other colleges, you are able to do that because of all of the information that you have learned from NCSA. Their athlete webinar calls are so informative, and it really keeps the athlete (and parents) on track and focused on what needs to be done next!”
It is critical to get into the Network to see what kind of College programs you might qualify for…
To Learn More about how to have Success in Recruiting like the Miller Family…
NCSA has over 30 Recruiting Expert Speakers including former Notre Dame receiver Derrick Mayes, former Clemson soccer standout John Wilson, award winning Journalist Nicole Watson, Coach Rich Hoffman – who coached Alex Rodriguez in High School, former Wisconsin running back Cecil Martin, and many more. To bring a Recruiting Expert to speak at your School, Club or Event
Charlie Adams, NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Speaker
cadams@ncsasports.org
(Editor’s Note: Tim Tebow’s winning ways as a NFL starter created a great deal of interest in the highly competitive athlete. Tebow recently shared how he went through the recruiting process. Speaker Charlie Adams reviewed his popular book and wrote this article on how Tebow had success in finding the right College fit for him)
I speak on NCSA’s mission of Athleadership to athletes from around the world at locations such as the world class IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida. NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network is the recruiting education partner of IMG, where the likes of Kobe Bryant, Venus and Serena Williams, Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Nomar Garciaparra have trained.
IMG Academies Campers Learn About Recruiting from NCSA
While traveling to Florida, I read with great interest the book of University of Florida great Tim Tebow. Tebow was the first sophomore in NCAA History to win the Heisman Trophy. He helped Florida win two BCS National Championships.
In all of my years of studying peak performer athletes and the recruiting process, I have always felt the number one quality of success is having ‘the fire within’ and being able to keep it stoked. Stoke the fire within!.
Tim Tebow’s fire is always stoked. The way he is winning as Broncos quarterback has a lot of people talking.
His book, “Through My Eyes” (Harper Collins Publishers) is a powerful read and filled with tools and insights that would help any athlete and coach. He explains his inner fire and how he keeps it stoked.
Tim Tebow's new book includes a chapter on his recruiting
Tebow includes an entire chapter on his recruiting process as a Quarterback in Jacksonville, FL. Though it seemed everyone ahead of him in his family went to the University of Florida and that he would have been a lock to go there, he states that he was open minded in the process. Alabama actually started out as the leader. Their fans used to come to his games as a tenth grader holding up signs trying to get him to come to Tuscaloosa.
Tebow and his family started making Unofficial Visits in his tenth grade year. Start the process early, folks. That’s what he did. Unofficial Visits are where it is on your dime, but they are a great way to develop relationships, get a feel for schools, meet Coaches and athletes, and more. The Tebow’s took them to Alabama a bunch of times, LSU, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Michigan, Southern Cal, Florida, Clemson, Notre Dame and others. He says South Bend was too cold (ironically the NFL team that drafted him was the Broncos in snowy and cold Denver) and Southern Cal was too far away from Florida.
One of the things I tell audiences is go where they really want you. Tebow could tell Alabama stood out there, as did Florida. A deep faith young man, Tebow said ‘Bama really did their research on him. It’s a given that when football recruits visit the bigtime schools, they line up the pretty girls as hosts, but at ‘Bama they were sincere Christian young ladies. ‘Bama knew how important his faith was to him. Other schools tried to throw girls at him, which was a turnoff because they had not learned enough about him to know he was serious about his faith.
Many of you will experience rejection by some schools in recruiting or have your dream school spurn you. The amazing Tim Tebow, who would go on and become a six foot three inch and two hundred and forty pound QB, was rejected as well. He says once Georgia got a commitment from quarterback Matthew Stafford (now with the Detroit Lions) they quit recruiting him, and were up front with him about it. He says on a visit to Tennessee his eleventh grade year they hardly paid attention to him. Just one assistant coach spoke to him. They were fawning over another quarterback prospect.
It is imperative young people know that their actions are being monitored all the time. Tebow says during his junior year Florida Coach Urban Meyer was allowed to get out and evaluate during the Spring and watched him play a baseball game. Coach Meyer told him later he was really impressed with Tebow’s leadership and that he had never seen a right fielder impact a team the way he did. College Coaches are always looking for those kinds of things. They really love the kids that are leaders in different sports. They also are big on speaking to all kinds of people in the building to get various takes on character. If you are a weasel, they will find out, scratch you off their recruiting list, and go to the next athlete. They often get candid insights from the cafeteria lady, the janitor or someone else off the beaten path. Always do the right thing. Scholarships are on the line.
In recruiting it is important to know when Coaches can call or email you in your sport so you have a feeling of where you stand in recruiting. Tebow writes that Sept. 1 of his senior year was when they could start calling, and at 12:01 AM that day he got a call from Louisville. The calls kept coming!
You can take five Official Visits as a senior and Tebow picked Alabama, Florida, LSU, Michigan and Southern Cal for his Visits. At Alabama one sign in the stands of a home game read: STABLER, NAMATH, TEBOW. That gets the attention of a kid!
Tebow writes that relationships with the Coach would be very important to him. Tebow is one of the most competitive athletes in history, so he felt close to Urban Meyer, who Tebow describes in his book as having “a work ethic and drive that were unparalleled.”
It is obvious in reading the book that Tebow was having a real hard time between Florida and Alabama. He had huge respect for ‘Bama Head Coach Mike Shula, a man of faith.
After many Talks I give, parents will come up to me and say, “Charlie, my child is good at two sports and she just can’t decide which one to play in College and focus on being recruiting in that sport.” Tebow was very good in baseball and football and probably could have gone pro in baseball one day. Here is how he puts it as far as how he decided which to pursue: “I did love baseball. Turning and connecting on an inside fastball is a great feeling. But football was my passion….”
What is your passion as a sport? I remember talking with the parents of former Mishawaka High standout offensive lineman Nick Banke. He was good enough in football to earn D1 offers and appeared headed that way, but one day he realized that his passion was taking his shot and discus across the street to the local park and working on that sport. It was his passion. He ended up signing with the University of Akron as a Thrower on the Track and Field team.
One of the factors in picking a school is the chance to play early. Tebow knew if he went to Florida they had an established senior at QB in Chris Leake, and that he probably wouldn’t start until sophomore year. At ‘Bama, he had a chance to start as a freshman. That was a factor to him but not a major one.
As I touched on earlier, Tebow made it clear the relationship with his Head Coach and other Coaches would be very important. I believe if you have the potential to be a professional athlete, then the Head Coach is critical in the recruiting process. However in 95% of the other cases in recruiting, the athlete is going pro in something other than their sport, as the NCAA says. In my view, the Coach is very important but having your Major, ranking of the school academically, and other things are more important. In Tebow’s case, though, he states it this way: “The identity of the coach was critical in making my decision.”
Although in football Signing Date isn’t until the first Wednesday in February, Tebow had decided to announce in December partly so he could help recruit other good players to wherever he was going. When it came time to announce, he still didn’t know when he woke up. He did call LSU, Michigan and Southern Cal and tell them he was not going there, but as far as Florida and Alabama, he was still torn.
“It was down to the final two. I had been praying about it regularly, and my family was praying as well. I had no doubt that the Lord was leading throughout this whole process, but what was unclear was determining where He was leading. People often seem to think that when you’re following the Lord and trying to do His will, your path will always be clear, the decisions smooth and easy, and life will be lived happily ever after and all that. Sometimes that may be true, but I’ve found that more often, it’s not. The muddled decisions still seem muddled, bad things still happen to believers, and great things can happen to non believers. When it comes to making our decisions, the key that God is concerned with is that we are trusting and seeking Him. God’s desire is for us to align our lives with His Word and His will.”
Tebow writes those feelings in his book but he would have appreciated if God had just yelled down from the heavens where to sign. That didn’t happen (what a Press Conference it would have been if that had happened!). Thirty minutes before his Press Conference, he still did not know. Florida? Alabama? He had such high respect for both head coaches that it was eating him up.
Twenty minutes before, he decided on Florida. He called ‘Bama Coach Mike Shula, who was very gracious. “Tim,” he began, “I love you as a person and a player. When I told you that you were going to have a great career and life of meaning, I meant it. I wanted it to be here, but it’s still true. I still love you, and you’re still going to do great things, even if it’s not at Alabama.”
Florida Coach Meyer had dealt with the anguish of waiting on Tebow’s decision by sitting on the forty-fifth row of Florida Field because forty five is his lucky number. In his book, Tebow cites Meyer’s passion as a major reason he announced for Florida. Both men are as passionate as they come. Tebow and Meyer would go on and become very close, having many talks about faith, competition and many other thing’s over the next four years.
Tebow signed with Florida, had a spectacular career, and has written an amazing book that reveals his inner fire. He shares his weightlifting and fitness routines, leadership insights, and much more. Athletes can learn how to stoke the fire within by reading about Tebow’s relentless fire.
At the start of each of his chapters, he has a Bible Verse. To lead off the chapter on his Recruiting experience, he shares Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Charlie Adams, NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Senior Speaker
cadams@ncsasports.org
To bring Charlie Adams to speak at your School, Club or Event, contact Amanda Rawson at arawson@ncsasports.org
To see if you qualify to talk to a College Scout about Recruiting
I had the opportunity to speak to parents and athletes at the Schuman NUC Football Combine in Lafayette, Louisiana. I had three conversations that shed valuable perspectives on recruiting and the college athletics/academic experience that you can benefit from. First, former LSU All American Linebacker Trev Faulk was there as a Camp Instructor and Motivational Speaker and had some powerful insights on how to use athletics to build a successful future.
former LSU star Trev Faulk
Faulk was a six foot three inch 241 pound linebacker in the SEC that was twice 1st Team All SEC and 2nd Team All America. He was so good that he earned starting status as a true freshman just a few games into his freshman year. In the rugged SEC, that is saying something! Character-wise, he is the only player in the history of LSU football to carry the honor of permanent Team Captain as a true sophomore. Academically, he went in with a game plan to nail his Educational opportunities and not just be one of the players who barely stays eligible.
“I knew that LSU would get everything they could out of me as a football player, and I knew I was going to give them everything,” Trev told me. “I also knew I had to get things that would benefit me. I went in with a plan to try to graduate in three years. My cousin (NFL player) Kevin Faulk graduated from LSU in 3 ½ years. I talked to some people and got an outline. I went to Summer School. I took “X” amount of Hours in the Fall and “X” amount of Hours in the Spring when it wasn’t in in the season. I took more Hours then. I balanced in Electives with the tougher Business classes so it wouldn’t be too strenuous all at once.”
Faulk graduated in 3 years with Honors and a degree in Business Management. He was thinking long term. Although he was good enough and had the God given body to play in the NFL, he only played there for five years. He was done with football before age 30. “I was fortunate that God allowed me to be able to play as long as I did,” said Trev.
Faulk is a tremendous example of a true college student-athlete.
“Everyone wants to be successful,” Trev told me, “but few are willing to pay the price.” Not every athlete is willing to run that extra 100 in the heat, or get off Facebook or off the phone with their girlfriend and get to studying. You have to do the little things right all the time, and most importantly you have to take care of your business in the classroom. You have to give your best effort. An old coach of mine told me you are either getting better every day or getting worse.”
NCSA Athletic Recruiting is the Recruiting Education Partner of events like Schuman NUC. I spoke to the families about what it takes to have successful recruiting experiences, and asked Trev for his insights on recruiting.
“The biggest thing is to get out there,” he said. “There are so many kids that have the dream and the goal to get to the next level. Realistically, not everyone is a Division One player, but there are other levels that play as well. It is important to be honest with yourself and realistic. Research as many schools as you can and get to Camps and Combines. Ultimately, focus on your business in the classroom to make yourself more attractive to the schools.”
Trev Faulk speaks at Schuman NUC Combine with Charlie Adams
Now, onto the second and third perspectives on recruiting. While at the Schuman National Underclassmen Combine, I talked with Natchez (MS) Cathedral Head Football Coach Ron Rushing about some of the Myths of the Recruiting Process. Rushing played College Baseball at Division Two power Delta State. Like many other good players, he thought the Colleges would chase him when he was a High School standout.
“Out of High School,” Coach Rushing told me, “I threw out 21 of 22 baserunners and hit .517 and had to walk on at Co-Lin Community College. One of the biggest fallacies is if you can play you can sit there and they will find you.”
Coach Rushing as observed how some of his families have had success with exposure.
“99 percent of the calls I get from College Coaches is about kids in NCSA or another one of the sources they use,” said Coach Rushing. “It is professional and creates a lot of interest.” To seen an example
While at the Combine, I also talked with Ryan Gregory, who played College Football at Louisiana College. His story was eye opening.
“I was being recruited by a few D1’s,” Ryan told me. “Schools like Southern Miss (where Brett Favre played), Tulane and Louisiana Tech (alma mater of Terry Bradshaw). They led me along in a way. I never looked much at smaller schools. On Signing Day Tulane decided not to offer me. I had heard of a D3 named Louisiana College and it ended up being the perfect fit for me. I got a great education, and they allowed me to help coach my senior year when I was injured. A lot of athletes don’t think D3’s give out scholarships and it is true that they don’t give athletic money. LC was able to give me more academic money than any D2 was able to, so it worked out. I tell kids today to go where they want you, not just where you want to go.”
As I speak on the Recruiting Process, it is always valuable to get perspectives from people like former D1 star Trev Faulk, current High School Coach Ron Rushing, and former D3 player Ryan Gregory. It is my hope that you can learn more about recruiting by the experiences and perspectives of others who have been there, so that you can find the right fit for your athlete.
Charlie Adams
NCSA Educational Speaker
cadams@ncsasports.org
I listened as College Coaches from all levels shared their observations about Parents, Recruits and trends they are observing in recruiting. Dan Tudor, nationally known for working with College Coaches to help them with their recruiting strategies, held his annual National Collegiate Recruiting Conference in Nashville.
NCSA Recruiting Expert/Speaker Charlie Adams
Besides speaking, I had the opportunity to listen to the Coaches. The group included Coaches from all levels of College Athletics, from schools such as the University of Missouri, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Belhaven, Emmanuel College, Swarthmore College and many others. During one session the Coaches met as groups and came away with these current trends in recruiting athletes in 2011-12:
A growing Sense of Entitlement among many High School athletes that are being recruited or that are playing College Athletics.
1991 Heisman winner Desmond Howard came out with strong comments about the growing sense of Entitlement among athletes when he spoke at the Black Coaches and Administrators Convention in May: “The way these coaches recruit these kids, they make them feel like they’re the cat’s meow, that the program can’t move forward without them at the school,” Howard said. “When you recruit them that hard, then you gas them up on who they are. You give that guy a sense of entitlement.
“I was told by a giant, Bo Schembechler, that no one man is bigger than the program. Not even (Schembechler). He was larger than life. For me to sit there and this guy tells me nobody’s bigger than Michigan, that’s all he had to say.”
Howard told the St. Petersburg Times that heavy coverage of recruiting has young players in the spotlight before they’ve accomplished anything significant in college.
“I’ll give you a perfect example: Michigan fires coach Rich Rodriguez,” said Howard, who starred at Michigan from 1989-91. “All the noise in Ann Arbor is, ‘Is Denard Robinson going to stay or leave?’ I’m like, ‘Hey, if the kid wants to go, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. You looked fantastic for five games against nobody. That’s what you did.’ I’m not going to deny his talents, but, ‘You ain’t won nothing in Ann Arbor, son! Not so much we need to worry about if you’re going to be here next year or not.’ ”
NCSA Educational Speaker Derrick Mayes, who was a standout receiver for Notre Dame and who jokes that his fingers are still bent from catching passes from Brett Favre in the N.F.L., travels the world to speak about the recruiting process. He shared these observations: “My in response to the growing sense of entitlement among some young athletes: It’s so ironic that as I ponder this very idea, I’m over in Europe spending some unbelievable quality time with the DoDDS High School student athletes, whose parents serve our country in the Military abroad. I see just the opposite of entitlement issues over here - humble, respectful, hardworking. It’s no wonder that the military’s children have so much “pre packaged” virtue & discipline. Perhaps our pampered “stateside” student athletes should take a look at their counterparts across the pond, who have a fraction of luxuries, resources, or – sense of entitlement.” Derrick Mayes, NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Educational Speaker
Continuing on with what the College Coaches say are developing trends in Recruiting that they have observed recently:
The athletes keep getting younger that the College Coaches are looking at or that are contacting the College Coaches.
Many athletes’ parents have been spending a lot of money on Club, Travel Ball, AAU, Strength and Speed Training, and things of that nature and they expect a return on their investment in terms of significant scholarships.
NCSA Senior Recruiting Coach Joyce Wellhoefer, a former D1 Softball Coach, had these insights:
“When I was coaching six years ago all that was the same as far as “entitlement” and parents over the kids hand holding. They would go on the Visits and not go with parent groups but stay with the kid on everything (pretty soon they will be staying the night with the kid on site 
in the dorm! The only thing that I have seen as a bit of a change is that signings for Softball have been earlier than six years ago. Now almost all D1 & top D2 schools have commitments of junior year or younger.
But that is so true with parents spending so much money on clubs, travel, private lessons and many expect the ‘full rides’ I also had a hard time getting the Junior College athletes as they were getting full rides and then to come play D1 where I was at I could only give them 1/2 or less as I was not a fully funded program.” Joyce Wellhoefer, NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Senior Recruiting Coach
The Official Visit is now the Unofficial Visit as many athletes are committing early before they can even take Official Visits in their senior year of High School.
Official Visits vs Unofficial Visits
Parents are more involved than ever before in Recruiting and many are saying things to College Coaches such as “We are taking the SAT’s” or “We made it to State this past season.”
For more on the Parents Role in Recruiting
Many athletes know all about texting their friends but their phone communication skills are weak, which hurts them in recruiting
NCSA Recruiting Expert and Speaker Othello Henderson, who played football at UCLA and in the NFL, says: “Student-athletes need to realize good communication skills, whether in person or over the phone, are an essential part of obtaining athletic scholarships. The recruiting process is not the time to act shy or stand-offish, especially when it comes to coaches and scouts. Being respectfully articulate is key. Unless a coach or scout initiates, using the same colloquial rhetoric they do with friends may not be the smartest form of conversation.” – Othello Henderson, NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Educational Speaker
“I see the weak phone skills with our kids. That is one reason I am not a big advocate of the facebook. When I work with NCSA kids I treat them like I am recruiting . I call their cell phones (sometimes Mom or Dad to get some things) but I try to get more time with them alone because that is what College Coaches want and expect when they are recruiting them.”
Joyce Wellhoefer
NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Senior Recruiting Coach
At the Conference one of the top Softball Coaches in the country was talking to me about things she looked for regarding character in athletes. In that sport, at certain times, all of the athletes are in the dugout together when the team is at bat. She said one thing that would turn her off is the talented athlete that comes into the dugout, sits down, and yells, “Mom!! Red Gatorade! NOW!!” She says that happens more than you would think. Scratch that kid off the Recruiting List…
It was funny how she said it, but she had a point. On the other hand, she said the kind of player that really jumps out at her is that center fielder that goes out the outfield calmly but firmly giving instructions to her fellow outfielders, and saying something along the lines of, “Nothing gets past us to the fence!” College Coaches want that kind of determined, respectful young person that has a fire within. That kind of young person is competitive, sets high standards, and is a leader.
There is a great need for athletes and families to be educated on what leads to a successful recruiting experience.
Charlie Adams
NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Educational Speaker
cadams@ncsasports.org
