NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Charlie Adams brings 23 years of experience covering the recruiting of high school athletes who reached their dream of playing college sports. Adams was an award winning sportscaster at television stations and is one of NCSA’s Recruiting Experts.

I was driving near Indianapolis this week and heard former Indiana University Basketball Coach Dan Dakich hosting his daily talk show on 1070 the Fan. A caller called in a little ‘bent out of shape’ that IU Basketball Coach Tom Crean had recently received two commitments from players that had yet to play a second of High School basketball. Two highly rated 9th graders had made their decision to attend IU. The caller just could not understand how they could be doing that at such a young age. Dakich, who was an assistant coach at IU for years and knows recruiting inside and out, wasn’t surprised. He said back when he was evaluating talent he could often tell if a 7th grader could play at a major D1 level like Indiana and the Big Ten. In recruiting, basketball is especially accelerated and seasoned evaluators like Tom Crean can project early if a kid can play. Back in the 1980′s, Bob Knight went down to Bedford, IN to watch a legendary 8th grader named Damon Bailey play a game. In the book, “A Season on the Brink” Knight made a comment to the author John Feinstein that “Bailey is better than any guard we have right now. I don’t mean potentially better, I mean better today.” Bailey ended up going to Indiana and was a very good player at that level.

It’s not that way for every basketball player that eventually plays D1, but it is for the special ones. Trey Lyles is one of the two players to commit to IU. He stands 6’9″ as a 9th grader. The other one is James Blackmon, Jr. His Dad was a very good player back in the day at Kentucky. Tom Crean and his staff have no doubt those two project to be winning Big Ten players. As Dakich said on his radio show, the IU coaches know what they are doing because they are seasoned evaluators. They have been watching those kids in the July evaluation events.

Less than 1% of the High School athletes will get this kind of “fawning over.” The rest have to be proactive in recruiting, and understand the process starts early whether you are a 6’9″ ninth grader or not. A 5’9″ 9th grade basketball player that is not even on the varsity team needs to understand how important it is to make his baskets in the classroom so that he can have more options in recruiting when he is a junior or senior. That kid may never get a D1 offer, but if he and his family get educated in recruiting and he works his tail off, by the time he is a junior and senior he will have more options in recruiting.

Charlie Adams

cadams@ncsasports.org

Charlie Adams brings 23 years of experience covering the recruiting of high school athletes who reached their dream of playing college sports. Adams was an award winning sportscaster at television stations and is one of NCSA’s Recruiting Experts.

I had a long conversation with a mother and father whose daughter, a soccer player, had just found the right fit for college.

She was found by the college coach when he was looking at another recruit’s video. The other recruit was not clearly identified on the video, and the college coach noticed their daughter making plays on it. This is why you cannot make college coaches play detective in trying to figure out where you are on video, or some other kid will get a scholarship off your tape. I have found the NCSA guidance in this area critical. An arrow pointing at the recruit at the start of a play is very important. One of the points of College Recruiting Simplified is to make a “winning Highlight/Skills video.” The key word there is ‘winning.’ Families often have no idea how much more successful they will be in recruiting if they had a better understanding of how to work the video process. I continue to be amazed at how many families don’t even have a plan for it, and don’t have video of their kid – even as 12th graders sometimes!

The mother, father and daughter made several unofficial visits during her High School days. The young lady evaluated out to be a NAIA or D3 player, so they met with several coaches. One young head coach got all wound up during their meeting and talked about how they would have a “D1 mentality” at the D3 school. He was a little too gung-ho. They appreciated his fever and enthusiasm, but wanted to find someone a little calmer. They continued the process, made more visits, and found a school with a veteran coach who still had the fire for coaching. It wasn’t the reason they picked the school. Their major reason was the school would allow her to grown in her faith, athletics and academics, but they felt this particular coach had the calm, steady approach and decades of experience to better fit her. Now, the next kid might eat up that other coach’s wound-up approach. It’s all part of getting out there and finding the right fit. I spoke at the Mizuno Mid East Regional Volleyball Qualifiers in Indianapolis earlier this year. I talked with one mother whose daughter had already been on three unofficial visits in the Fall of her junior year, and was close to firming up the right fit. It was because she was “out there.”

For an Evaluation of your College Recruiting potential

Charlie Adams

NCSA Senior Speaker

cadams@ncsasports.org

In this article by Curtis Eichelberger found on Bloomberg News today, you can read about the advantage students who play sports in college receive in employment after college.  You should read the entire article, but here’s the money quote:

“Athletes can bring something extra that’s necessary for success in finance, Werner said.

“In a business where it tends to knock you down a lot, they tend to get back up,” he said. “That drive, that level of discipline, the rigor they have in their own personal lives and their willingness to take on hard challenges; a lot of that gets taught to you on an athletic field.”

NCSA is THE Athletic Recruiting Network.  We empower our student-athletes in their chosen careers through our network of employers who hire student athletes.  You can find out more about that here.

When we sent out our newsletter promoting everyone to share their sports story with us, we had the privilege of getting in contact with a student athlete’s mother, who wanted to share her son Luke’s very inspirational story with us.

His story is an inspirational journey through adversity, set in a football environment. Like many of student athletes in high school who have also shared their stories with us, Luke was a high school football player anxious to finally play on Friday nights with the varsity team his junior year at Edison High School in California.

The week before two-a-days, July 2008, Luke developed a nosebleed that lasted over 2 hours. After going to the hospital, the Gane’s were told that Luke had a rare blood disorder called Severe Aplastic Anemia, which is known to be fatal. The bone marrow in your body, when you have this disorder begins to rapidly malfunction and ceases to produce more new blood cells. The Gane family saw this nosebleed as a very important “blessing-in-disguise” because if it did not occur, one big hit during football practice would have caused internal hemorrhaging, killing him.

A month later, Luke under went chemotherapy, but it became evident that he was in need of a bone marrow transplant. Coming from a family of 5 boys, they tested the family and found that two of his brothers were a match. When Jim, Luke’s father, asked who wanted to volunteer to be Luke’s donor, both brother’s hands shot up, but it was 10 year old Jacob Gane’s hand that went up first. The surgery was a success! The Gane’s community was extremely supportive in anyway they could, setting up multiple fundraisers, when the Gane family had not asked for anything.

Luke fought back extremely well and made a full recovery! He was able to play every game, both ways, his senior year.  He helped lead his team to an undefeated regular season, losing only in the CIF championships to a rival team that supported Luke during his illness.  Luke Gane then found himself accepting an offer as a preferred walk-on at UCLA for football beginning this Fall!

We are very grateful to  for sharing her family’s story with us. If you have your own inspirational sports story that you would like to share with us and countless student athletes and their families across the nation, please submit yours today on our “What’s Your Story” Facebook page! We’d love to hear your story!

If you are interested in reading more about Luke Gane’s incredible journey, here are some places to find out more:

Luke Gane Video

Luke Gane’s Blog

I had a hard hitting conversation about the college recruiting process with a man who has seen families struggle to understand the process. NCSA is the Recruiting Education provider for New Wave Lacrosse. I speak at their Parents Nights to help educate and inspire the families to connect with scholarships for their Lacrosse players.

Before speaking, I talked with Paul Stolzer, Head Coach of the U19 Elite Travel team, who has 40 years as a player or coach in lacrosse. He started playing when he was five and was a NCAA All American at Fairleigh Dickinson. His insights are lacrosse-specific, but parents and athletes in all sports can take some things away.

“Andy (Thompson, Director of the U17 Elite Travel Team) and I spend a lot of the time at the reality-check center with these kids and families,” said Paul. “They hear the buzz words of D1 lacrosse, like Syracuse, Virginia, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame and all. A lot think D3 is a slap in the face when in fact a lot of them couldn’t play at that level.”

D3 has very competitive programs in all sports, but it has become exceptionally competitive in lacrosse because of the growth of skilled players in the sport. As I always tell audiences, I am a big fan of D1 sports if it is the right fit, but I also know there are outstanding opportunities at all levels. Paul continued to talk about that and more in our conversation.

“We have probably put 40 to 50 players to college in the last two years,” Paul told me. “Some D1 like Virginia, but without a doubt the ones that are happiest are the ones at D3. They are playing as freshman. Seth Molek came back from the U21 Title game in Manchester where he racked up 6 points. He is coming off a freshman season at Fairleigh Dickinson (D3 lacrosse) where he got quality playing time.”

“Josh Maluta is having a great experience at Adrian College in Michigan. Chris Gibson at Wittinberg University in Springfield, Ohio. “

Another player Paul singled out was Chad Ellis, a 2-time lacrosse high school All-America (just the third player from Illinois ever to be so honored) and Illinois High School Lacrosse Association all-state as a junior and senior. Ellis was one of just 96 players picked by US Lacrosse to play in the July 20-22 US Lacrosse Boys High School Showcase, which was part of this year’s ESPN Rise games at its Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida. Ellis’ Spirit team won the title, as he scored three goals and was named to the all-elite team.

This is a player with major credentials. Well, he visited Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin and fell in love with the competitiveness of the lacrosse there. That’s what it takes, to go in person and see how many good players are at all levels in college.

In his experiences with New Wave Lacrosse, Paul shared with me an example of the kind of percentage of scholarship an athlete can receive in that sport. “I was talking with one Division One Lacrosse coach whose team went far in the NCAA’s,” he said. “He said they start all their freshman at 35% athletic scholarship. It doesn’t go down but if they become a starter by junior year it can go up.”

That’s one example. Other programs do it differently.

“What families don’t understand,” said Paul, “is many times an athlete can get a better scholarship package at a D3 school even though they don’t offer athletic scholarships. Some kids get just $3000 D1 athletic scholarship. What’s that in the scheme of things?”

“Kids and families just don’t understand all the great possibilities that are out there,” said Paul. “Adelphi University, a D2 school, has a brand new stadium. They are going to host the 2011 D2 and D3 National Championships there.”

“Seth Tierney is the Hofstra Lacrosse Coach. He tells me a lot of college coaches don’t know about the Midwest kids. They aren’t as picked over as the east coast guys. They need ways to know more about these kids.”

“That’s one reason why we want to partner with NCSA. We want these families to have more exposure to programs out there. They need guidance. Now it’s Andy or I meeting with them at a Starbucks to talk about it. We run a business here, a very competitive Club program. We are not a recruiting agency. Yeah, we can email college coaches, and we put them in settings where there are college coaches, but they need more help. And that’s another thing. Families often want me to call a certain college program. Yes, I could, but I often don’t because they are not a right fit. A lot of times families just throw things at the wall in recruiting and hope it sticks.”

By Charlie Adams, NCSA Speaker, cadams@ncsasports.org

Submit your Recruiting Information to NCSA here

NCSA caught up with newly hired assistant coach of Guilford College, Coach Bates.  Here is what Coach Bates had to say about his lacrosse program:

1. How would you describe yourself as a coach?

I would say that I am a players coach. I want each player to achieve his maximum potential. I have high expectations for my players and expect them to put in the time necessary for us to be successful. I will push them and continue to work with them until they have achieved it, whether that is in 1 season or 3 seasons. I want my players to walk away from my program after 4 years and say, “That was a great experience. I learned a lot, but achieved more than I thought I could.”

2. What’s unique about the experience at your school?

Our school is unique primarily because of our school’s Quaker background. The Quaker tradition and Guilford traditions have created an active learning and accepting community. Our players will get to know their professors on a first name basis and interact with people of a variety of beliefs and backgrounds. Sure, other schools can boast the same type of interaction, but due to our size, this is a very real part of everyday life at Guilford. On the lacrosse field Guilford has a proud tradition and we are currently in the process of rebuilding while also competing in the always competitive Old Dominion Athletic Conference which makes for a very exciting lacrosse experience!

3. What do recruits need to know about you?

Prospective players need to know that we are here to help them be as successful as they can. We genuinely care for our players and strive daily to help them reach their goals in all aspects of life. Our office door is always open and our players know that they can come see us at anytime to discuss lacrosse, school, life, or whatever.

4. What do you look for in recruits?

We look for hard-nosed, hard-working, multi-sport athletes. We want players who have proven themselves not only on the lacrosse field, but in academics, community service and in other athletic endeavors. Lacrosse is a sport that can be enhanced by an athletes experience in other sports. Lastly we want players with character. When we talk with their high school or club coach we want to hear things like: coachable, team player, hard worker, and respectful.

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

Every recruit needs to be proactive. Players need to understand that there are more and more high school lacrosse players looking to play in college every year. College coaches do not have the time to get to know every high school program and go “hunting” for players. The recruits need to pursue the colleges they are interested in, contact the coaches and get their information to the coaches as quickly as possible. Too many players wait for college coaches to call them and miss their opportunity to continue their career.

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

We like to hear questions about the school and the academic side of college. This lets us know that the athlete is just as interested in his education as his lacrosse experience. College is not just about continuing to play, but about getting a degree that will support the student for the remainder of his life. Also, it is always reassuring and shows maturity when the athlete knows some information about the college. If he can talk about schools in our conference, different areas of study, the location of campus, this shows me that he has already done a little homework on the school and is being proactive with his college search.

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

There is nothing worse than when a coach makes a call to a prospective player and the player hardly talks at all. The recruiting process is very much about building a relationship and letting the coach and player get to know each other. The recruit needs to be able to talk about himself, share his career goals and ask quality questions when talking with the coach.

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

At Guilford we are blessed to play in one of the toughest conferences in all of Division III. We face top 20 teams week-in and week-out as well as a strong out of conference schedule. We have new and outstanding facilities that when coupled with our strong academics, make for a very complete college experience.

9. Why should a recruit consider your program?

We offer an opportunity to truly find a lacrosse family that will support them throughout all aspects of their lives. This is formed by players with similar life values, by working hard on the field, by playing a very tough lacrosse schedule, and through quality interaction with players, coaches, and other mentors who want to help you grow.

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

The best way to get our attention is to fill out our online questionnaire on our Men’s Lacrosse page. This gets sent directly to me and gives me all the information I need to “get the ball rolling” with the recruiting process. To further get our attention, send me a complete schedule of your spring/summer/fall lacrosse schedule, with dates and locations of all events.

In this article about Ben Garland, it’s easy to see why he’s where he is.  He set goals from a very early age and that was his compass that directed him to where he is.  Here are two quotes from the article: 

As a little boy, Ben Garland clutched a poster of the Air Force Thunderbirds, the planes roaring into the sky, and he knew exactly what he wanted to be. He pinned that poster to his bedroom wall, beside the pictures of John Elway, and he told his mother, Syndee, he was going to the Air Force Academy someday.

”Can you imagine you had two dreams as a little kid?” he asks one day at Broncos training camp, where he is trying to make the team as a defensive end. ”One to be a pilot in the Air Force and one to play for the Broncos? Not just any team. The Broncos. And now you have both opportunities before you?”

If you’re a student-athlete reading this, you must set specific, measureable, attainable goals that are time-bound.  This will eliminate procrastination and put you in a position to be recruited to play the sport you love.  If you’re a parent reading this, teaching your children goal setting skills will empower them to achieve great things.  If either of you need help in setting S.M.A.R.T goals, NCSA teaches goal setting skills.  If you wish to play in college and don’t know how to begin, call 866-579-6272 or go here.

Have you seen the new NCSA video site?  In an effort to further promote our student-athletes we have launched the NCSA College Recruiting Videos Site.  http://www.ncsasports.org/college-recruiting-videos
To celebrate its launch we are giving away an iPad to the video with the most Facebook “Likes.”  How can you win?  It’s simple, just search for and send out your video to your family and friends.  Ask them to hit the “Like” button.

• You can email it
• You can Post it on Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace
• You can tell your friends to look you up

You can spread your video in any way you think up!  The contest will run through July 26th at 12 p.m.

National Letter of Intent:

The Signing Period ends on August 1st. This is the last 31 days for a student-athlete in the following sports to secure an athletic scholarship to a DI or DII program: Field Hockey, Soccer, Track & Field, Cross Country, Swimming, Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball, Lacrosse, Wrestling, Ice Hockey, and Water Polo.

Visits:

Remind student-athletes to take time to visit college campuses over the summer months. Plan to visit colleges around summer tournaments, games and family vacations. Reach out to the coach prior to visit, do not just show up on campus and hope the coach is available.

If a student-athlete is a top tier recruit, the unofficial visit during the summer may be the vital key in securing their scholarship offer and spot in the team. Majority of DI and DII program intend on having the recruiting done as early as possible. This also includes top level DIII and NAIA programs.

Camps:

All student-athletes should attend a few camps, combines and/or showcases throughout the summer months in order to get evaluations of their skill set, stay conditioned, compile additional video and get exposure.

Reminder: Don’t plan on getting discovered, prepare to get evaluated!

JULY RECRUITING CALENDARS

Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball:

• July 1-5 Quiet Period

• July 6-15 Evaluation Period

• July 16-21 Dead Period

• July 22-31 Evaluation Period

Football: Quiet Period.

Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, Men’s Lacrosse,

Women’s Lacrosse, Cross Country/Track and Field: Contact Period

PHONE CALLS:

Juniors, 2011 Grads (Division I):

1. Men’s Basketball, Men’s Ice Hockey: DI – 1x per month.

2. Women’s Basketball: DI – 3x in July (max one per week).

3. Women’s Ice Hockey: DI – 1x per week starting July 7th.

4. All Other Sports EXCEPT Football: DI – 1x per week starting July 1st.

Juniors, 2011 Grads (Division II):

1. All Sports: 1x per week.

Sophomores, 2012 Grads (Division I):

1. Men’s Basketball: DI – 1x per month (includes letters/emails).

2. Men’s Ice Hockey: DI – 1x per month (includes letters/emails).

3. Women’s Ice Hockey: DI can call Internationals 1x from July 7-31.

JULY RECRUITING TIPS

Football: End of June and the beginning of July is the best time during the summer to reach out to coaches, as coaches’ head out for vacation in July and August to get ready for pre-season.

Fall Sports: Recruits should reach out to coaches during June and July, as fall sports will be getting ready for their seasons in August.

!!!ALERT: DI coaches are always recruiting and looking at athletes, however, at this point in the recruiting process there is not always a spot available or money tied to that spot. Seniors this late need to look at walk-on spots, junior colleges and understand that they may need to tryout.

We are always focused on answering your recruiting questions.  Its our firm belief that spreading recruiting education is a necessity to ensure that qualified student-athletes maximize their scholarship potential.  The following is the best of  “Ask Coach Randy Taylor” series.  Coach Taylor has been named the nation’s top recruiting coordinator by ESPN.com and high school football recruiting analyst, Tom Lemming. He most recently served as the Director of Football Operations for the University of Minnesota.

You can always 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.

Unofficial and Official Visits

How do I set up unofficial visits?

How many official visits can I take?

What is the difference between official and unofficial visits?



Do DIII schools offer official visits?

What should I wear on a campus visit?

Do I have to know a coach to take an unofficial visit?

How should we contact coaches about visits?

How can I schedule college visits during spring break?

Are official visits for ALL sports?

Scholarships/Financial

What types of financial aid packages are available for DII and DIII?

When should I expect a written scholarship offer?

Do DIII schools offer athletic scholarships?

Can you get paid to play?

How do I secure financial aid?

Do Ivy League schools offer athletic scholarships?

What to do with a verbal scholarship offer?

Are there any tax implications with athletic scholarships?

Are we on pace with financial aid?

How do college coaches divide scholarships?

When should we express financial need to a coach?

If I get hurt will I lose my scholarship?

Should we expect a full ride?

Academics

Is there a different application process for athletes?

Can I get recruited even if I am home schooled?

What GPA do I need to play in college?

When is it too late to take the ACT/SAT?

Recruiting

Should my son/daughter call the coaches?

What role does the eligibility center play in the recruiting process?

When is the best time to call a college coach?

What division level can I play at?

How important are stats in recruiting?

How do you get on a coach’s recruiting list?

I get nervous talking to college coaches.  What can I do?

Do summer camps help with exposure?

Do college coaches come and watch high school games?

When should I ask a coach where I stand?

Should parents write letters to college coaches?

Where can I find recruiting questionnaires for college coaches?

Should I fill out all those questionnaires?

What happens during a coaching change in recruiting?

Should my son/daughter have heard from college coaches?

Rules and Regulations

The contact rules are confusing! Can you clarify?Can a coach rescind a signed national letter of intent?

What are the restrictions about emails from college coaches?

What about text messaging?

Can college coaches talk to 7th and 8th graders?

When can a college coach call?

How binding is a verbal commitment?

When is the earliest you can make a verbal commitment?

NCSA

How can my son get “pre-evaluated”?

What about my question?

What is “verified” information?



Do coaches really use NCSA?

What is recruit-match technology?

Videos

What do college coaches look for in a highlight video? Just ask Tom Lemming…

Where do I send my highlight video?

Do I need to edit my highlight video?

How do I get my video to college coaches?

When should I use full game footage?

Coaches

What about the politics?

What questions will a coach ask ME?

How do I find out where I stand?

Should I simply use a coach’s email address from the website?

How can I tell if the coach is seriously interested?

How can I find the right contact info for college coaches?

What should I include in my first letter to a college coach?

How should I respond to college coaches?

Why haven’t I heard back from college coaches?

Question to ask a college coach?

High School

Why would a high school coach hold back letters?

What can I expect from my high school coach?

Should we consider transferring high schools?

How do I decide which club team to play for?

I attend a small high school, will this hurt me during the recruiting process?

Do I have to start on my high school team to get recruited?

My high school team is terrible! What should I do?

Should I start on JV or ride the bench on Varsity?

Can I still play in college if I don’t play in high school?

What should I do with my newspaper clippings?

How can I show leadership in games?

What should I do if my coach is holding my recruiting letters?

Should student-athletes request letter of recommendation?

Miscellaneous

The one tool to answer ALL of your recruiting questions!

When should I commit?

What is the NAIA?

What happens if I change my mind about my commitment?

How important is a third party in the recruiting process?

Why haven’t I heard from my dream school?

What is a National Letter of Intent?

Should I tell a college coach about a past injury?

How do I register for the eligibility center?

What happens if I do not perform well at a camp or combine?

How can I register on rivals.com?

When do I have to decide on my position?

How do we market two-sport athletes to coaches?

What do I need to know about football camps and combines?

Can you explain the transfer rules? Part 1, Can you explain the transfer rules? Part 2

I don’t like my school options.  What should I do?

Even he is looking for an offer?

When are DI, DII and DIII rosters finalized?

What are the benefits of DIII and NAIA Universities?