NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

One overlooked part of choosing a university is the network of alumni that support graduating students once they graduate.  Powerful alumni networks often set elite academic institutions apart from their competitors.  The main benefit of a strong alumni is obvious: They help graduates find jobs!  However, you rarely hear recruits mentioning alumni when they make a college decision.

One prominent alumni at Stanford University is doing her best to give her school a recruiting edge and is proof of why recruits might want to think about alumni when choosing a school.

Tai-Ler Jones was one of the top high school football players in the country when he visited Stanford last spring. At the time, he was more interested in attending traditional college powerhouses such as Notre Dame and his home-state University of Georgia, as well as Cal and UCLA.

But three days later, Jones committed to play for Stanford — thanks in considerable measure to the words of a political science professor whose last job was at the White House:

Condoleezza Rice, the Stanford athletic department’s secret weapon.

“She heavily influenced my decision,” said Jones, who will enroll in 2010. “How many colleges can say they have a Condoleezza Rice and that she can be a mentor to you? It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.”

The former Secretary of State is as accessible to Stanford athletes and recruits as a first-year teacher’s assistant.

“I believe so much in the (athletic) program,” Rice said by phone from Washington, D.C., last week. “I also believe we have an obligation to help the athletes, and the recruits see that academics is taken as seriously as athletics, and the faculty is the best conveyor of that.”

Rice is an equal-opportunity conveyor.

She addressed participants of the Pac-10 women’s golf championships, which were held at Stanford last spring. She met with Harrison Barnes, the top basketball recruit in the country, when he visited campus over the summer. She welcomed former Cardinal football players Evan Moore and Trent Edwards when they appeared, unannounced, at her office door a few months ago.

And whenever possible, Rice meets with football recruits.

“We call, and when she’s available, she’ll do it,” Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh said. “She’s so generous with her time, and she pours her heart into it. She talks to the athletes like she’s their age. It’s phenomenal.”

Jones, a highly sought receiver from Gainesville, Ga., was one of approximately 20 recruits watching an April practice when Rice walked over and introduced herself. She recognized Jones and knew of his father, Andre, who played football in the late 1980s at Notre Dame, where Rice earned her master’s degree in political science a decade earlier.

Tai-Ler Jones, normally loquacious, stood silent as Rice talked about Stanford and all it could offer. She suggested that Jones enroll in one of her classes and offered to “be a mentor to me,” he said.

A school’s support system is a key part to both graduating and finding the right job.  It can also be a support system that can help guide your entire professional career.  However, recruits can only choose a school based on extra factors like this if they have numerous school options.  How can recruits have so many options?  Only be starting early and developing relationships as soon as possible.

As I came up through the ranks of high school and college baseball, one luxury that I quickly learned to do without as soon as my freshman year of high school was a little something called “Spring Break.” While all of my friends were packing their suitcases for Panama City, Myrtle Beach and Cancun I was getting ready to perform at my peak potential. Spring Break in high school meant early morning indoor practices and in college at john Carroll University it was a week-long bus trip down to Florida to play our first ten games of the season. So what was it that drove me to sacrifice Spring Break after Spring Break while everyone else was out partying and traveling? Well, for a student-athlete, that answer is easy. I had been working tirelessly day in and day out for the past 9 months to get ready for my season and that was most important to me. I wanted to show off the speed, strength and skills I had sharpened in the off-season because in all reality, there is no such thing as an “off season” for the serious student-athlete.

As a baseball player, I technically had four seasons, not one of which could be considered the off-season. In the fall when I arrived on campus, I would immediately begin on-field workouts and scrimmages so that the coaching staff could evaluate the progress I’d made over the summer. Taking the summer lightly is not an option for those who are serious about playing at the next level.

Marc Thibeault, head coach at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, a perennial contender in the Ohio Athletic Conference, emphasizes the importance of a strong training regiment, especially for players early on in their career.

“My feeling is that proper training is vital to making an impact at an early stage of your career. Freshmen are competing with highly skilled veteran athletes at the college level. Having a solid training base upon arrival to campus in the fall can separate you from other freshmen and allow you the physical presence to compete with established players… Bottom line, we tell our freshman to come to camp in shape to compete for a starting position.”

Come October I started full-time lifting and conditioning, 5 days a week, in order to build up strength and endurance for the long grind of the baseball season. When it comes to these workouts, make sure that you are staying within yourself in terms of frame and ability. For you skinny guys, don’t be intimidated by the football guys you may be sharing a weight room with. Not only are your sports different, but you need to focus on being as strong as you can be, not emulating someone else who is beyond your capabilities. Safety is key, especially in the wake of the recent injury to University of Southern California running back Stafon Johnson.

During these lifting and conditioning sessions you also want to pepper in some sport-specific training as well to stay fresh once it comes time to get back in the swing of practices. Your first practice should not be the first time you’re swinging a bat, throwing the baseball or softball or running routes. Again, remembering Coach Thibeault’s words, be ready to compete for that starting job.

Once your official practices begin is when you can relax and show off your new strength and skills. We always began our indoor practices in February and couldn’t wait to step off that bus into the warm South Florida air to start our season. The regular season is the time to focus all of your hard work and dedication on winning and playing your best. Out-of-season workouts are meant to be difficult, painful and challenging so that when game time arrives, you are free to relax and have fun.

If you plan a strict regiment of off-season training that will help you not only build muscle and strength but also speed, quickness and stamina, there is no limit to how high your game can soar. Whether you are a fall, winter or spring athlete, there is always the “off-season” for you to build your athletic skills. The summer season is a great time for a healthy mix of sport specific workouts, lifting, conditioning and actual participation in your sport.

Brian Flanagan, a senior outfielder for Southern Wesleyan University in South Carolina, had this to say about his dedication to off-season workouts.

“Off season workouts help maintain what you’ve built up and will undoubtedly make you stronger… the will to prepare goes hand and hand with the will to win in whatever you are trying to succeed in.”

The next time your friends are packing their suitcases to party and take trips, don’t hesitate to tell them what you’ll be doing while they’re away. They might laugh and some of them might even poke fun, but none of them know of the dedication and commitment it takes to play sports at the collegiate level and beyond. For that, you are already one step ahead.

I speak to student-athletes on a daily basis who are serious students and are unclear on what demands are placed on athletes when they arrive on campus.  Even in each division of the NCAA, demands vary greatly from one institution to the next.  So it’s important that the student-athlete is empowered with the skill set to determine what school will be best for them.  After all, a student-athlete’s college decision will impact them for the next 50-60 years!

With that in mind, here’s a blog post from an NCSA student-athlete who found the perfect fit.  How many NCAA D1 athletic teams would allow a student-athlete to study abroad during their senior year?  Read her blog and let me know if her college choice was the best for her:

She writes:  

Hi all! My name is Melissa and I am a senior in London on Colgate’s Economics Study Group. I am not the blogging type, but I am super excited to be able to take you all on my journey with me. I hope I do not bore you and, in advance, please forgive my many typos. I hope you can make it until December because I promise it will be worth it!

I arrived at my flat in central London about 10 days ago. It was an interesting adventure getting here (about 7 hours on a plane, an hour on a train, half an hour on a bus and half an hour walking aimlessly) but I made it and I love it! London is absolutely beautiful! Words cannot explain it.

I am already into my second week of classes. For the Economics Program, we are required to take The British Economy, The EU, International Economics, and a theatre course. I know the course titles are not creative or intriguing, but I assure you the classes have already far exceeded my expectations. To give you an example, yesterday all of the Colgate London groups attended “As You Like It” in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, which is an exact replica of the original minus, of course, the electrics. I had no idea how I was going to enjoy a play standing for three hours and exposed to the elements (it was supposed to rain, thankfully it didn’t). Turns out I ended up dancing, laughing, and meeting new people. I have been to plays before, but never have I enjoyed myself so much. It was a great experience. If you are ever in London go the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

By the way, this SA was a captain and hit .418 for her softball team last season.   She found the right fit, athletically, academically, the right balance between those 2 and an affordable financial aid package for her parents.  Find out how you can do the same here.

Sioban Stahl was a 2009 graduate from Chicago, IL who will be starting her pre-season training at Monmouth College, this week. She was extremely successful and pro-active in her recruiting and her hard work paid off when she was offered a spot at Monmouth. Here is her story and what she has to say about how NCSA helped her:

“Receiving an opportunity to be a recruit for NCSA made all the work I put into my high school career a success. Coming from a city school, you need to fight for your goals because we are not as fortunate as many other schools. We are not provided with the best equipment, fields, or training. I have been playing soccer my whole life and I always knew I wanted to continue into college. With the help of NCSA my name was put out to many colleges that I would have never been in contact with without their help. NCSA will find the right college for you if you put in the work and effort; this is your academic and athletic career that you are responsible for. NCSA is there to guide and help you with your dream; keep in contact with your recruiter, always do what is asked of you, and you will find the college that is best for you.”

Sioban Stahl - Lane Tech High School Class of 2009

The first day of school is right around the corner; did you use your summer wisely? In addition to family vacations and relaxing, as a future collegiate athlete your summers should also include camps, tournaments, researching schools, contacting coaches and going on visits. If your summer didn’t look like this, you will need to make up for it this fall.

Coaches will be back on a regular schedule in their office so you should have an easier time reaching them than you did over the summer. However, you need to remember that they will be in season so they will be extremely busy. You will need to be more persistent with coaches, more than any other time of the year. Don’t give up on a school if you don’t hear back from a coach right away. If it’s been a couple of weeks, send the coach a friendly reminder email and ask your questions again. It would also be a good idea to try calling them, but keep in mind their practice times.

The fall is also a good time to take visits. School will be back in session so you can see campus at its liveliest time. You will hopefully have an opportunity to tour the campus and sit in on a class so you know what to expect in the coming years. It’s also a good opportunity for you to go watch a game to see the level of play and how the team is coached. This is one of the best times of the year for visits, so do your best to take advantage of these upcoming months.

In addition to taking campus visits you will also need to increase your outgoing contacts to coaches. You should be contacting coaches to let them know of your interest and of your desire to visit campus. Even if you aren’t sure you have enough interest in a school to visit, you still want to contact coaches to get to know them and their school. It’s time to get disciplined again, not only with your school work, but with your recruiting as well.

I speak with 30-40 families weekly about college recruiting and I’m amazed at the lack of knowledge of the APR – Academic Progress Rate. Here is a very long article that is a must read for any parent of a 9th grader, or older, who has aspirations to play in college. It details the 4 stages of penalties for athletic programs that the NCAA imposes should their athletes not make progress toward graduation. If you have questions, go here.

The season for college soccer is right around the corner. This is when players start reporting to camp and start 2-a-days. If you are thinking about playing college soccer my biggest recommendation is to get out and watch some games. If you think you want to play DI soccer, go watch a DI team play. Before you go do some research.

1) Go to the team’s athletic page and see who they are playing. Also, see how the team has been doing all year.
2) Read the coaches biography. See where the coach comes from, how long has he been coaching for, what are his/her accolades.
3) Look at the team’s roster. If you play forward look at how many strikers they carry on their roster, when are they graduating, read their biography, etc. Really get to know what types of players that coach recruits and get an idea if you would fit in.

The more research you do and games you watch the better of an idea you will have. You need to be realistic and make sure you are looking at the right schools. You do not want to waste the coach’s time or your time, so get out and watch some games!

NCSA would like to welcome two new members to our team, Soccer Recruiting experts Tim and Taylor Twellman.

Tim Twellman

After a standout college career at Southern Illinois University, in which he played both soccer and baseball, Tim went on to play professional soccer for 10 years in the NASL for the Minnesota Kicks, Tulsa Roughnecks and the Chicago Sting. Currently, he is director of the Twellman Soccer Academy. Tim brings over 35 years of on the field and off-the-field soccer sales and marketing experience.

Taylor Twellman

After two seasons at Maryland Taylor Twellman set off for Germany to play professionally.  Today, Taylor is one of the premier scorers in the MLS.  He was the fastest in league higstory to 100 goals and was the runner up for the 2002 MLS MVP.  He has also earned 30 caps and six goals for the US National team.

Would you ever let your high school coach call a college coach to promote you? What role do you think a high school coach should play in your recruiting? Thoughts…..

With the recent success the US Team had in the Confed Cup do you think it will continue or was this just a fluke?