NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

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…)

Dear Coach T,

I was  injured last week, should I tell the college coaches that are recruiting me?

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.

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

• A prospective student athlete agrees to attend the institution full time for one academic year (two semesters or three quarters
• The institution agrees to provide financial aid for one academic year 

Penalty for breaking this contract

• Student athletes have to serve one year in residence at the next NLI member institution

• Sit out for one season of competition in all sports

What is Signing Day?

• Signing day is the day you actually sign the NLI

Does every division 1 and 2 athlete sign an NLI?

• Most people will say that every D1 and D2 athlete will sign an NLI, but this is not the case.
• It is not so much about being in a certain division as it is whether or not the school is a member of the NLI program.
• There are 600 schools who participate in the NLI program
• All D1 schools are involved with NLI except for service academies and Ivy league.
• A majority of D2 programs participate in the program
• No D3, NAIA, Prep schools or 2 year colleges participate
• For a complete list of schools who participate in the NLI, visit the NCAA’s website (more…)

One of the things I do here is give you the perspective of being a College student-athlete and the recruiting process through interviews and stories. That helps you to become better educated and find the right fit for your daughter on son at the next level, as well as significant funding.

I had an insightful conversation with Kelsey McCauley of El Dorado Hills, California. Kelsey recently graduated from D1 University of Western Kentucky where she was a softball player. Just a few years ago she was going through the recruiting process. Whether Softball is your sport or not, you can take nuggets of wisdom from her insights: (more…)

See what softball coach Lonni Alameda from Florida State has to say about recruiting for our coaches corner:

1. How would you describe yourself as a coach?

I am a very easy going coach. I am a student of the game and continue to try and learn as much as I can to pass it along to our players.

2. What is unique about the experience at your school?

Florida State University is a family oriented place. It is a large school with a personable athletic family. Everyone is treated as equals and we all support one another. It is very unique to many Universities.

3. What do recruits need to know about you?

We are a program that is going to push you on the ball field, in the classroom and the community.

4. What do you look for in recruits?

Well rounded players. Student athletes that love to compete in the game of softball. Student athletes that are driven in the classroom and ready to push their teammates to higher levels. Student athletes that understand time management and what it means to be a part of a family. All these areas will get tested while they are in college.

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

Be honest with themselves in what they really want out of the next 4 years of their lives. The university experience is one that will never be forgotten and will mold you into the next segment of life “the real world” and when you find the university / college that fits you in that development process you will be a very happy teammate and you will have a GREAT experience.

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

I like recruits that have a “this is what I can do and will do for you mentality” rather than a “what can you do for me mentality”

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

Student athletes that do not follow through with emails, phone calls or paperwork and leave it up to their parents.

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

We take pride in graduating all our players, playing a fundamental game of softball and helping build player resumes as the jump into the “real world”.

9. Why should a recruit consider your program?

If we are a fit for them academically and they enjoy a softball team that is going to go the extra mile to make their experience a unique one then becoming a ‘Nole should be on their list.

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

Send me an email at aalameda@fsu.edu or go online and fill out questionnaire.

Coach Taylor, when sending highlight videos to colleges you’re interested in, should a cover letter be enclosed or just a note stating my interest. If so, what exactly should it state besides my desire to play for their organization?

I would definitely recommend including a cover letter. The only reason you might not include a cover letter with your video is if you already have sent one to this particular coach. It is a good idea to keep track of what you send to each coach.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when constructing your cover letter to coaches:

1. Most every coach now relies on e-mail to both contact and receive contact from potential recruits. That is the preferred method of communication. To find out the e-mail addresses for the coaches you are looking to contact, simply go to the college’s athletic website and look for a staff listing of names and e-mails or ask your Recruiting Coach.

2. Be brief. Coaches at all levels receive dozens and dozens of e-mails/letters from high school-aged players. All you are trying to do is show you have interest, pass along all of your contact information, your resume, and provide each coach with an upcoming schedule of your matches so he can see you play.

3. NEVER HAVE ONE OF YOUR PARENTS WRITE TO A COACH. You are the one the coach might be recruiting, so he/she wants to hear from you directly. (If the relationship develops and it appears that you might be attending that college, they’ll be plenty of time for your parents to have contact with the coaching staff.)

4. Provide contact information for yourself and your coaches. Nothing is worse for a college coach than to have to track down your coach’s e-mail or phone number. By having both an e-mail address and a phone number listed after his/her name, it allows for the college coach to quickly e-mail or call your private and/or high school coach to follow up.

5. Always include basic information about yourself such as grad year, high school, athletic history, GPA, SAT/ACT scores. Tell the coach why you are a good fit for their program.

6. Do not send a form letter that starts out with “Dear Coach” and does not mention anything specific about his/her program and school. The bulk of your e-mail will be kept the same for correspondence you send out to various coaching staff; however a portion of it should be personalized. Bring in something specific about it that you learned by going through the website. State your interest in the school and specific reasons (like “my Dad went to Madison and I want to carry on the tradition” or whatever fits you personally)

7. Detail is important! Be sure that you use spell check and proper English. This is a reflection of your ability. You may send your letter to NCSA to revise.

8. If you are emailing rather than regular mail, DO NOT mass email a bunch of coaches. This comes across as lazy and shows the coach that you didn’t take your time to personalize for them. Make sure to address the letter Dear Coach [[last name]].

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.

Do I have to play for my high school team in order to be recruited? What if I just play club?

You do NOT have to play on your high school team in order to get recruited. It might be harder, but yes, it is possible to play in college if you don’t play for your high school team or don’t contribute significantly on the high school team. Some sports, like volleyball, soccer, softball, etc. , with a high level of club, barely pay attention to high school participation. Not only is it in the same season, but with multiple chances to see you play travel/club ball, it is quite likely to be playing at a higher level than your high school team.

If your sport doesn’t have a club option, personal contacts with coaches will be crucial for recruiting, as well as attending camps, combines, and that specific college’s camp over the summer. This can be a great way to show your interest and showcase your skills to a specific coach.

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.

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

As a speaker, I have a few thousand conversations a year with families and coaches that are going through, or have been through, the recruiting process. I often share them in this blog.

During my son’s 12th grade season, I was at a top Cross Country Meet. A veteran South Bend (IN) High School Coach came up and told me one of his sophomore runners had recently done a Recruiting Analysis with NCSA. The Coach said it had an immediate positive impact on the young man.

“This athlete wants to compete at a high level in college,” the coach told me. “During the Recruiting Analysis he told the NCSA College Scout his times. The Scout told him they projected to be D3 or NAIA times. Well, that put a fire in him because he wants to eventually run at a higher level. Then the kid told the Scout he has a 2.5 GPA. The Scout chuckled slightly. It wasn’t in a rude way, but in a way where he was challenging the athlete that he could do better than a 2.5 and that he would need to do better to be in better position for scholarships. Ever since that Recruiting Analysis, the runner has been more focused in practice and has immediately started improving his grades. I have seen a distinct difference in his focus, even as a sophomore. I tell athletes these things all the time, but when it comes from that third party, it’s big.”

THAT can be the power of a Recruiting Analysis. It is important to do one to see where you stand in recruiting. If you have not done one yet, or never set up a time after hearing a NCSA speaker, contact us

Charlie Adams

cadams@ncsasports.org