NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

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

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.

Compare track recruiting to other sports. Why is it different?

The recruiting timeline for track is extremely different than other sports. Recruiting happens much later and top athletes may not receive offers until senior year. I just had a senior commit to a Big Ten school this past week. The main reason for this is because a lot of track athletes develop later and coaches want to see senior times. This pushes things back further. Track is also a non-revenue sport so there typically is not as much scholarship money available for the track program as there will be for other sports. Be open to the idea of receiving financial help in different areas.

Make yourself as appealing of a recruit as possible, not only athletically, but also academically. The more events you are strong in, the better. They will be able to use you in more events and this could potentially lead to more financial help as well. Academically, the stronger grades/test scores you have the better and also look into some extracurricular events as well; this make you more of a well-rounded recruit.

What are the biggest mistakes that track athletes make when it comes to recruiting?

Waiting for coaches to contact you, rather than being pro-active and reaching out to coaches on your own. Track coaches have very little money in their budgets and oftentimes, prefer it when athletes reach out to them. Track athletes are going to have fewer coach contacts than some of their friends who compete in other sports are going to have, so being pro-active becomes much more important. Coaches need to know and believe that you are interested in their program and that you are willing to do what it takes to be part of their team; you can show them this by taking the initiative and introducing yourself to them, letting them know your interest in the school and by asking them a couple of good questions about their school or program.

What are some things that college track coaches look for in recruits?

Every coach looks for different attributes when it comes to recruits, but the majority of track coaches are looking for recruits who have times that are steadily improving and athletes who are coachabale. That coaching potential is very important to track coaches, because they want to be confident that they can help you continue to improve throughout college. They don’t want to recruit athletes who have already reached their potential. Show coaches that you are doing whatever it takes to continue to improve and are willing to take any advice they can offer.

Talk a little bit about the recruiting process from a college coach’s perspective? What are some obstacles they face?

Not having enough money in their budgets. Track coaches struggle with having less money in their budgets than some revenue building sports have and they are forced to a be thriftier with their budgets. There are a lot of student-athletes who have similar stats, so making yourself stand out in a coach’s eye will make their jobs a bit easier. For any sport, a lot of coaches struggle with finding prospects who are legitimately interested in their school. Take the hard part out of their job and reach out to them expressing your interest in their team and school. Keep in mind that you need to be realistic with your athletic and academic abilities with that particular school, but in most cases, the coach will be ecstatic to hear from you!

What would you recommend track athletes who attend an event like the NSSF do AFTER they get back from the showcase to improve their recruiting process?

Follow-up is very important. You should leave events such as NSSF and have even more motivation to compete at the next level. Contact coaches who attended the event and ask them if they had a chance to watch you run. Get some feedback and ask questions about their program. Let them know that you have interest in their school and show them that you are serious about competing at the next level.

Determine where you are in the recruiting process by contacting a National Scout at 866-579-6272.

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.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated – January 2012)

Hi, this is NCSA recruiting speaker Charlie Adams. In this writing I wanted to share the recruiting perspective of Big Ten athlete Logan Griffith (John Adams High School, South Bend, IN), who is in his junior season on the Indiana University Track and Field team. Though he is a Track athlete, the insights from Logan and his Dad are important for all families to read. They transcend to other sports.

Adams HS alum Logan Griffith of the IU Track and Field team

Logan won the 110 M Hurdles state championship in Indiana in the spring of his senior year (2009). A strong hurdler back as an 11th grader at Adams High, Logan and his Dad didn’t let recruiting come to them. They used the internet to get his times to coaches at IU, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Illinois. Because his times were D1 worthy, they all responded. He started making visits to find the right fit.

“What we learned,” said his Dad, Randy, “is that the recruiting budget for many of these Track and Field coaches is virtually zero. You have to have ways to reach out to them. They rely on other sources. They are so tied up with their day to day duties they don’t have the time you think to discover talent out there. You have to go to them.”

Logan wanted to have his college choice decided by January of his 12th grade year so he could focus on High School Track that spring. He really liked Indiana because of the quality of education of a Big Ten school and the fact the coaches showed genuine interest in him. “With some other coaches,” Logan said, “they sometimes said they would call at a certain time and they didn’t. With IU, they were sincerely interested in me.”

One of the myths you hear about D1 is “full ride.” That is true for a few D1 sports but not with sports like baseball, softball and track and field. There are a lot of athletes on a track and field team, and only so much athletic scholarship money to go around.

“They were very direct and said if you perform then we will give you money,” said Logan “If not, we won’t.”

“It’s kind of a pay for performance,” said his Dad, who also does some Track coaching at Adams High. “For males in Track and Field it is almost impossible to get a full scholarship at D1. From what they told us to our faces, if Logan can place at the Big Ten meet then he will get about 40 to 50% athletic scholarship. If you can make All American, over 80%.”

At the D1 level in Track and Field, men’s programs have 12.6 scholarships to spread out. Women’s programs at that level have 18. Programs can have dozens of athletes on their entire team. The Indiana University team that Logan is a part of has 42 males on their roster.

As a freshman, Logan got 10% athletic scholarship and he had the cost of his books covered. This was a young man who was Indiana state champion in the 110 M Hurdles. “Getting 10% was lower than normal circumstances,” said Randy. “The coaches hands were tied because of some previous scholarship decisions. In a normal situation he would have received 20 or 25% as a freshman there. The highest offer he got was from Illinois at 35% but he felt IU was a better fit.”

Girls who have a talent for Track and Field should pursue it to the fullest. There is more athletic scholarship money for them at that level. Randy said one coach told Logan if he were a girl, with his credentials in the high hurdles, they would be talking full ride.

Logan was a good student at Adams High making mainly B’s and B+’s. “That is good but it wasn’t competitive enough to put him in line for the kind of National Merit Scholarship money that students are going after at a state school like I.U.,” said Randy.

Logan had a good solid freshman season, but didn’t place at the Big Ten meet. He is a tremendous young man with special talent and God given ability. Logan  met with coaches and the 10% athletic scholarship was put in place for his sophomore year.

South Bend, IN native Logan Griffith at I.U.

Many athletes and families have no idea how hard it is to compete at D1, especially at the high level like the Big Ten. Logan got a crash course right away. Track season started right after Labor Day with preseason work. A long day would be practicing 3 pm to 6 pm September up until Christmas. That’s preseason work, mind you.Then the indoor season would start after Christmas. After that there is the Outdoor season.

“I thought some High School practices were tough,” said Logan. I got to college and I was wrong. Our Track Manager at IU said this is like the State Meet in High School but ten times better. I was up against Men! It was a whole new ball game!”

Logan loved it, though. While I am one to passionately implore athletes to consider all levels of college sports, I am also a big fan of D1 when it was the right fit. For Logan, it is!

“I love the travel and the team bonding. I had to grasp time management. My first semester was tough. It killed me. It would be 11 pm the day before a project was due and I hadn’t started it yet! I had to learn how to better manage my time. I love it, though. I am majoring in personal fitness with a minor in coaching. I love track! I can see myself doing that one day, coaching and all. My advice to young athletes is not to go to the school just because of the Track or whatever their sport is. For most kids, after 4 or 5 years of college track, that’s it. The most important thing is to find a major in something you see yourself doing the rest of your life. I changed my major in my freshman year to the one I have now because that’s what I see myself doing.”

I talked with Logan’s Dad, Randy, and asked him to share more insights that could help families. Randy is a level headed man who has a son with a gift for the hurdles and that can compete at the high D1 level. The reality is most High School athletes will be better suited to other levels.

“Everybody wants to be D1,” he said. “But if you can turn your athletic ability to some scholarship money, that’s the big thing. Don’t get hooked on D1. Everyone thinks, ‘I’m going to Michigan, Purdue or I.U.’ I work with our Track athletes at Adams High. As gently as I can, I tell them you could be a walk-on at some of those programs but other athletes there will probably be consistently better than you. Why not consider D2 or NAIA or something and be the big fish in a small pond?! Track is too hard not to have success in actual competition. Practices are hard at the major college level. Whatever you are used to in High School, double or triple it for D1. Everyone is a stud at that level.”

Randy lamented about a talented High School athlete that a top NAIA school was recruiting hard with athletic scholarship money. The kid turned his nose up to it. Last Randy heard, the young person wasn’t going to college. Getting stuck on D1 and turning down scholarship offers at other levels can be one of the most boneheaded things a person will ever do in their life. The sad thing is they will eventually realize it and want to kick themselves in the rear.

Going back to when Logan was being recruited in High School, I asked Randy about the importance of having video.

“I was somewhat surprised how important that was,” he said. “Even though he was doing great as an 11th grader in the hurdles, we didn’t tape him much. Then when we contacted college coaches, they asked, ‘Do you have video?’ We were like, ‘Well, not really…’ He was doing some Club Track so we got video there. We learned that the more technique sensitive your event is in Track, the more important it is to have video. Hurdles. Jumps. Pole Vault. Throws. Things like that. These coaches want to see form on video. With the hurdles, the IU coaches wanted to see how he was clearing a certain height in High School because the hurdles would be higher in college. Sometimes they can see if a kid is draping the hurdles in High School he may have a hard time with hurdles that are 3″ higher at the college level.”

Logan Griffith has not taken the easiest trail. He has embraced the challenge of major college Track and Field and will see it through. Is it tough? Absolutely! But he says, “Bring it on!” And,as I say in ‘College Recruiting Simplified,’ he has made a 40 year decision. He will come out of IU equipped with the competitive life skills to have a tremendous life!

UPDATE 2012:

I talked with Logan during Christmas break before he returned to I.U. for 2012 Spring Semester.

“Mr. Adams, my times at IU have steadily been getting better in the hurdles. Most hurdlers take 8 steps before the first hurdle. I am now doing 7. David Oliver (the American record holder in the 110 High Hurdles) does that so we went to a Camp he had in Indy and talked to him about it. My first time trying it was December of 2011 I did fairly well.”

My freshman year was a learning adjustment, getting used to going from High School to pretty much year round as a D1 track athlete. My sophomore year was like an off year, still getting used to it. I stayed in Bloomington for the summer after my sophomore year and came into preseason in better shape, and everything is falling into shape.

My athletic scholarship is still 10 % and text books. They have been up front with me about the better I do, the better the scholarships. It comes down to if I score points at Big Ten. I have competed, but have not scored points there yet.

The experience overall of being a College student-athlete has been phenomenal. You meet a whole bunch of new people, especially from other teams. I really like the team bonding. A lot of the guys on the IU team, I consider family. I would do anything for them, and they would do anything for me. There is a good sense of camaraderie. My experience has been so good I changed my Major to General Studies with a minor in Education. I want to be a College Track and Field coach. My coaches here seem to enjoy what they do so much. They are out here working with us. I see that and know that is what I want in a job.

My goals as a junior are to place at Big Ten in 110 and 400 hurdles outdoors and 60 hurdles indoors. As a senior I want to qualify for Nationals in both outdoor events and possibly indoors.” - Logan Griffith, IU junior, South Bend John Adams HS alum

Playing College Sports is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Logan will have memories to cherish. Don’t let your opportunity pass by. Get to work on the game of recruiting!

For an Evaluation of where you stand in the Recruiting Process

Charlie Adams

NCSA Educational Speaker and Recruiting Expert

cadams@ncsasports.org

As always, you can email me your athletic and academic background, and I will work to set up a personal evaluation for you with a Senior Scout at NCSA.

To bring Recruiting Education to your School, Club or special event, contact Amanda Rawson at arawson@ncsasports.org

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?

NCSA recently had the chance to interview Coach Matthew Beisel, Head Track Coach at Concordia University in Illinois. Here are some of his answers to our questions:

1. How would you describe yourself as a coach?

My relationship with Christ is my primary focus, because I’ve learned that when I keep Him as the focus, everything else falls into place. I do not believe God is a god of mediocrity, but of excellence. I take the responsibilities that have been given to me very seriously, and invest large amounts of time, energy and thought into helping our teams and our athletes as individuals to have the environment that is needed for everyone to be successful. I value individuals no matter what they bring to the table, and again that comes out of my personal beliefs that God doesn’t play favorites, but loves everyone equally. I hire assistant coaches who share my point of view, so we work just as hard to help potential All-Americans and Olympians achieve their dreams as we do with the athletes who will perhaps never score a point at our Conference Championships in four years of collegiate competition. I am all about the importance of team, and know how to build it.

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

We are a Christ-centered school and team that have a huge emphasis on team-building activities outside of practice that most schools do not have. Because of mandatory weekly Team Time, where I draw upon years of working as a camp counselor and youth group leader to bring our athletes together over time, and the many informal team activities that our captains and other athletes plan, we have one of the most tightly-knit teams that I’ve seen. Throwers are friends with distance runners, distance runners are friends with jumpers and sprinters, and so on. Go here to see an example of our team spirit at Indoor Conference: http://www.youtube.com/user/CoachBeisel#p/u/71/XT7aWZO3JJ8

3. What do recruits need to know about you?

Maybe not so much about me, since I’ve hopefully given a clear picture of that in question 1, but about what college will be like at our school. I have found that student-athletes who come here and do track need to have three things, or they won’t cut it long-term: 1) academics must take first priority, no matter what; 2) they have a passion for track & field/cross-country; 3) they have to care about the team as a whole and not have everything be about themselves.

I know nobody sits there and says, “Well, I really could care less about academics and I hate track and it’s really all about me as an individual and I could give a rip about the team, so I think I’ll post a profile online and go compete somewhere.” However, I have recruits every year who would have never heard of us if I hadn’t responded to their recruiting profile. They posted a profile asking to be recruited for track! After months of talking with them, getting them here for a visit (sometimes from half the continent away), they come… and then show up on campus in the fall and either 1) drop the ball on grades and flunk out or become ineligible after one semester; 2) tell me that they just don’t think they want to do track anymore; or 3) hate all the team-building activities we do, think they are a waste of time, and are unhappy, and then transfer out after a year of dragging their feet.

I know not every high school student has these things figured out completely and sometimes you just have to go and try something to find out what you really want, but honestly if you want to be a successful collegiate athlete, especially at an NCAA Division III school like ours, you need to be able to keep these things in the forefront.

4. What do you look for in recruits?

I pretty much just answered that above. In order to get a better sense of whether an athlete cares about academics, cares about track/cross-country, and cares about others, I usually ask questions like, “What is your GPA, your ACT score, your specific short- and long-term performance and outcome goals (performance being a time or distance you want to achieve, outcome being a place you want to get or a meet you want to qualify for), your personal bests in each event”, and then I ask them to describe what is most important to them about their team and their coach. It really sends a red flag to me if a recruit doesn’t have immediate answers to these questions. Students who don’t know their GPA or ACT are probably not good students or are hiding something. Athletes who don’t set goals and don’t know their best performances in their key events don’t take track/cross-country seriously enough to cut it in college. Or, at least, in our program. If an athlete doesn’t have much to say about their teammates, they may not be a team player.

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

Keep their mind open. Be realistic. There is a huge myth out there that NCAA Division III isn’t as “good” as Division II or I. Granted, those schools can sometimes attract the blue chip athletes because they have some athletic money to give, but just like there are great Division I/II/NAIA programs, there are fantastic Division III programs like ours where we take it very seriously. We have kids who got serious Division I attention competing for us because they wanted more personalized, hands-on attention in the classroom, primarily, and didn’t just want to be a number. We are Division III, but we compete against strong competition in the Chicagoland area so you will get plenty of solid competition to go up against. If you are so good that even Chicago becomes too small for you, we will set up trips to bigger venues out of state if need be.

About being realistic, I’ve talked to many recruits who have pretty good marks, for the state they live in, but they write me or tell me that they’re sorry, they are looking to get a full-ride athletic scholarship from a Division I school. I am very gentle about this, or sometimes I don’t say anything at all, but a lot of times their state champions in their state might not even make it to finals in Illinois. It’s unlikely they will get a full-ride scholarship at Division I, but they have good ACT/SAT and GPA so they could get over $10,000 a year from us for academics. Money is money. Some recruits don’t realize this or are being told by well-meaning people at home that they are better than they are.

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

Recruits are often very nervous and have trouble thinking of questions to ask, and I understand this.

I usually say to a first-time contact, “OK, most people want to know about four broad topics: 1) how much does it cost, what kind of scholarships can I get, how will I pay for whatever scholarships and grants don’t cover? 2) what is Chicago like/the neighborhood where our campus is located like/is it safe? 3) what is your track/cross-country program like? What would you like to know about training, travel, competition schedules, balancing academics and sports, specific details about workouts, team building, atmosphere, etc. 4) what is the campus atmosphere like? What are the professors like, the strengths of a particular major, what have you? Then I ask them, “Which of these topics would you like me to tell you about, to start off with?”

This usually gives them stuff to think about and ask questions about. I think what I DON’T like is when they DON’T have questions, because that seems to indicate a lack of interest or lack of thought.

I am very impressed when I have a young man or woman who has a list of prepared questions for me. It’s about 1 in 100 who do.

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

1) Emails with foul language/drug culture/sexual references in the address, like bigpimpinho@yahoo.com or something like that. Seriously, get a more grown-up email address before you start the recruiting process.

2) When a recruit responds to an email, especially a first-time contact, with a one line minimal response, not indicating that they read anything I sent them. Example: “I got your email thanks.”

3) When a recruit responds to an email with typos, misspellings, poor grammar. Here are two examples from the same person:

a. “i didnt get in for real!!!!!! this freakin suckz i had my eyes on this college and i didnt get in…. i wasnt accepted this really suckzzzzzzzzz”

b. “oooook i will do that track is ok im not doin it this year tho cause i have to do more stuff so i dnt have time for it…..i well be at the up coming invented this time and well the track team be there??? my favorite class so far is mi art class cause my teacher is cool and mi english class the one i cant stand is my crimal justice is just aint fun no more and he always got use writting about a crime scene and thing its really boreding me. i well have the school send another one off 2 u in the mean while keep me up dated on my track team lol”

4) When a recruit acts cocky and puts on a show of how much they know. I love it when athletes know stuff, but when they interrogate me on, “Well, do you do THIS? Do you do THIS? Do you do THIS?” it makes me wonder what the coach-athlete relationship will be like. It may be more tone of voice than anything else.

5) When an athlete writes and asks me how good the party scene is. I delete their information immediately.

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

We are successful at many things. We are very successful at taking any athlete, wherever they are in their ability level, and developing them not only as an athlete, but as a person who is also a true teammate. This pays off, because if everyone is being supported this way, they perform their best when it counts and we win championships like we did this past year.

9. Why should a recruit consider your program?

I think question 1 and 2 answered this adequately. Here’s what my byline says on every email I send: Concordia University Chicago cross-country/track & field programs are designed to win championships while keeping Christ-centered values and team unity the highest priority. Winning and team success are thoroughly enjoyable, but are actually the icing on the cake of an already successful season. Team cohesiveness backed up by solid recruiting are the foundations of conference and national championships. Care to join us? We hope you will.

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

Email is the best way. I am not allowed to text or Facebook recruits based on NCAA regulations, but I can email and call recruits as early as their freshman year in high school (although I tend to focus on juniors and seniors). I check email constantly and am very efficient about getting back to recruits in that way.

1. How would you describe yourself as a coach?

As a coach I am very interested in feedback from my athletes. I am constantly asking for their opinions on how they feel.  I have the long to short approach as a sprint coach. Meaning early in the year we will be doing lots of over distance work, hills, hitting the weight room hard, and extensive core work. As we move into November we will begin interval work on the track. As we move through the season we do fewer reps, but do them faster and at a higher intensity. This is done to promote speed development after the athlete has a good cardiovascular base in place. I have had great success will athletes steadily improving every race throughout the season. As an example, we had a female 400 runner last year who came in with a 58.9 outdoor PR. Here are her 400 times as she progressed through our program.

Indoor 59.76, 58.12, 58.10, 57.48, 57.11* Indoor All American

Outdoor: 58.25, 56.4, 56.28, 56.25, 55.70, 55.32, 55.18, 55.17 *7^th place at nationals

As you can see she improved nearly every meet!
2. What is unique about the experience at your school?

Indiana Tech provides several things other smaller Universities can’t provide. First as a school of 3,000 students, our average class size is 15-19 students. However, where we differ from other small schools is that we are Located in Fort Wayne, Indiana (population of nearly 300,000 people). This not only allows for great interaction with professors in the classroom, but great internship opportunities throughout the city. We look to get our students into their field right away as a freshman, meeting future references and making sure it is the right fit for their career. Our professors are required to have 18 office hours free every week and we offer free tutoring in every major. I feel our academic and city experience make us a very unique school. As an added bonus, Indiana Tech does not charge for books!
3. What do recruits need to know about you?

Wow, lot of things I could put here. However, the biggest thing is that I am a coach about self improvement. At the end of the day track and field is about bettering yourself. I tailor every athlete’s workouts to make them the best athlete they can be. You may not always like me Monday through Thursday at practice, but after the race on Friday or Saturday you will love the results. I am very passionate about the sport and my athlete’s development, but I do still like to joke and make the sport fun.
4. What do you look for in recruits?

Obviously in track some talent is needed to be great at the sport. However, what I look for are people who are willing to put in the work. Our program is not easy and if you have bad work ethic chances are you will not make it. If you follow the program I have in place, you will get better. You don’t have to be the best when you come to our program, if you have the desire I will make you good! We also look for people that will get along with others, have strong leadership abilities, and know that going to class is very important. I am willing to work with anyone regardless of talent level if I can tell they are always giving me their best. Whether it’s a girl trying to go 11.5 or 13.0 if you do the work I enjoy making you better. Two examples from our program.

Adella King: High school PR’s of 12.67, 26.88. and 63.5. She put in the work, did everything we asked of her and has improved by leaps and bounds. She made it to indoor nationals in 3 events; the 60 (6.80), 200 (25.31), and 4 x 400 (57.2). All Lifetime best!

At the other end of the spectrum I had a male athlete come to me who had never run track in his life before college. He works hard, gives his all in practice, but is just not as physically gifted as some of our other athletes. Our goal for him was to break 60 for the 400. He started off with a 65 and as the season progressed he eventually ran a 59.4. That was just a rewarding as a coach as anything Adella did for the program.

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

Ask Questions! As a coach I can talk all day about our program, but the more questions you ask the more interested I think you are. If you just answer coach’s questions and barely talk it makes it hard for the coach to gauge your interest level. If someone is interested in our program I will give them a very high level of interest. You don’t have to brag or put down your high school program, but tell us about your training, what you want from a school, and please ask questions!

The other thing I would say is doesn’t bring in any biases or pre-conceived notions about a school or program into the process. Just because a school is division 1 does not mean they have a great program and just because they are D-2, D-3, or NAIA does not mean they don’t. Look at the academics, the coaching staff, and the program, not the name on the front of the jersey. Also, make sure you take academics seriously in high school. If you don’t have the grades you can’t get an athletic scholarship as a freshman. This will also increase your chances for more academic money to be awarded.

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

When can I sign my letter of intent?

But seriously, there are a lot of things I like to hear from recruits through phone calls and emails. I love being asked about our training program. I am so confident in the results and want the athlete to know what to expect when they join our program. I also like to hear them ask about how our current members are doing. Our team has had great success in two years and sharing what our athletes accomplished on the track is very rewarding. There are very few bad questions in the recruiting process. I would recommend making a list of things you want in your college/athletic program and that way you will always have something to ask any coach that calls.

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

Can I get a full ride? Some variation of this question comes up weekly. I can tell you from personal experience both as an athlete who went through the process and as a coach, very few track athletes graduate having paid nothing for their education. I understand that money will play a huge factor in many athletes decision, but the idea that you won’t pay a penny is often a false hope. Most of our athletes between academic money, athletic money, government grants (free money), and Work study have between 70-90 percent of their tuition paid for. At every level track and field rarely has athletes who have a “full ride.”

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

As a program I feel our biggest success has been in not only developing our athletes to their potential, but also keeping them injury free in the process. In my two years at Indiana Tech I have had 1 athlete miss a total of 1 meet. Now this in part to the way I coach, but we have a great training staff, and a secret weapon! We utilize a local running store in town that we take all our athletes to. The store puts all new athletes on a treadmill and films them running for about a minute. After that they review the tape, they bring out shoes based on the way the athlete runs. (IE a pair of Brooks, Nike, and Mazuno that fit your style and needs). They let you run around the store and make sure you like the feel of the shoe. This has helped us keep our athletes in the right shoes. With us footing the bill for the shoes it is never a problem making sure our athletes have the best match possible

9. Why should a recruit consider your program?

If you come to Indiana Tech and have a desire to be the best runner you can be, I will make you great. I have the utmost confidence in the system we have in place and those that buy in have seen the results. We have an athlete names Tiffany Aikin in our program. She had a career best of 9.27 in the 60 hurdles coming into this year. She really bought into the program myself and coach Cammack our hurdle technique coach had put in place. She did the miles, she lifted, she did her hurdle drills, and wow did it pay off. She dropped her time down to 8.81 and finished 5^th at nationals! I was so proud of her for all the work she put in to achieve that.

The other thing I really feel helps our program is caliber of meets we attend. We are not afraid to race anyone in any division. We are more concerned with running as fast as we can during the season then going to meets with less competition and winning events. Our meet schedule this year includes:

Indiana University, Purdue University, Grand Valley State University, Hillsdale College, Wake Forrest, Penn Relays, and Louisville University among others.

Every meet we attend has NCAA divisions 1-3, junior college, NAIA, and most have professional runners. Track unlike any other college sport allows you to race anyone you want. Last year at the Hillsdale Gina Relays our freshman Renyae Owsley finished 2^nd in the 400, the lady who beat her was Katie Waits (The U.S. Indoor champion at 800 meters), that same meet also saw our women’s 4 x 400 relay beat the University of Michigan head to head!