NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

NCSA is going to be delivering recruiting education at several upcoming volleyball events. I will have the chance to educate volleyball players and their families at upcoming events in St. Louis, Indy and New Orleans. I recently sat down with longtime Notre Dame head Volleyball Coach Debbie Brown in her office, as she shared powerful insights on recruiting during a 75 minute conversation. Though this is volleyball centered, it also has points that apply to all sports.

Brown has a Top 25 program. As a player at the University of Southern California, she was on some of the greatest teams ever, and was the co captain of the 1980 US Olympic Volleyball team.

This is what she had to say about a variety of Volleyball Recruiting Topics:

“Charlie, I think Volleyball is the most accelerated sport in recruiting, more than Football or Basketball. We are not completely done with our 2011 class (current 11th graders) but all are offered. Most top D1 programs are that way. Most parents of 11th graders think it is the time to begin the recruiting process. It’s not. Now, there are top D1 programs, mid D-1’s and lower D1’s. The timelines can be different.

There is a huge emphasis for coaches to be on the courts at Club events evaluating the 16 year olds. Five years ago, you’d never see us on the 16’s. It would be all 17 and 18’s.

(As we were talking in her office, one of her assistants was leaving to fly to Denver to evaluate 9th and 10th grade players at an event)

Charlie, the recruits that mean the most to us are the ones that contact us personally and tell us WHY they are interested in us, what they can bring, vitals, height, jump and so on. The last two weeks we got over 50 emails or calls letting us know what tournaments they will be in. It doesn’t have to be long. What we do is tag it with the University Athlete device we carry to events. We make an effort to see them in person.

Some parents get concerned about their kids being on Club teams that aren’t good. To me, that’s not as much of an issue as playing, getting good instruction, and playing the game. I do think the Club season is too long, but volleyball players do need to be working to get better. The analogy I use is our Admissions Department wants students to always be working on getting better academically. Same with us. Athletes should continue to get better.

A myth in volleyball recruiting is that you have to play for one of the Clubs that competes for a national title. However, if you want to be recruited nationally, you need to play on a Club team that plays more than a regional schedule. If you want to play College in your region, then a regional team would work.

On Grades:

Charlie, in our case at Notre Dame, you need to be above 3.5 but most are around 4.0 with all the Honors and AP courses they take. Class rank, reputation of the school, all of those are important. The thing young people need to know is the higher their GPA, the more doors will open for college sports opportunities! A misconception for athletes wanting to come here is that they will say they have a 3.0 GPA and that’s good. Well, it’s good, but not for here.

If I get a letter or email from a prospect and it doesn’t have a GPA, my assumption is ‘not good.’

On Sizes:

For top D1’s, height above the net is huge! Your reach. Vertical jump is important but it comes down to how high you can play above the net. An outside hitter would be 10 feet or above, maybe 9′ 10″ range. When we look at sophs, a lot may be in the 9′4″ range, and we can project to when they will be seniors. Middle hitters, 10′2″ and above.

The Commitment it takes to play a high level of D1:

You have to play volleyball because you love it at this level, because of the time you will spend at it. If you don’t love it, it’s not worth it. You will spend the minimum of 20 hours of week that the NCAA allows, plus to and from practice, to the training room. For kids that understand that, they have a great experience. For young people that are interested in the ‘quote unquote’ college experience of going out three to four nights a week, it wouldn’t be for them. Our players understand it, and love the commitment. It’s like walking by the basketball gym here and seeing a player shooting free throws on his own. He is driven by excellence. He wants it.

Sources they go to for players include:

We go to events, USA qualifiers, JVDA. Prepvolleyball.com is pretty accurate. I don’t always agree with it, of course, but it is pretty accurate. We will do things like go to Tour of Texas at least once to see Texas players. Louisville, Cincinnati and Indy has a power league.

On Video:

A Recruiting Coordinator for us will look at it, and let me know if I should look at it, and then we would want to see the person live. A short skills portion is okay, highlights. There absolutely has to be some continuous game film. Anyone can look good on highlights. The skills part can be in practice. Sometimes that part is too long. Five reps of each skill would be fine. If possible, game vid should be shot from behind the court and not moving. I know that’s hard to get elevated at Club events sometimes, but we don’t like the side court moving shot. From behind the court, make sure you are on the near court, and not shooting vid of your athlete where they are through the net.

Signs a Recruit Knows Notre Dame is interested:

We can send out Questionnaires freshman and sophomore years, but of course they can’t be personal. From there, it’s up to them. They can stop by our office (unless it is a Dead Period). One piece of valuable advice is if they are going to a Club event, or traveling in general, call a coach ahead, set up a visit, stop and see them.

When they get to be juniors, the letters or emails can be personal back and forth. We do more email because you send it on Sept. 1, it gets there on Sept. 1 (first day of Jr. year coaches can write). We have a top group, a second group…

July 1st before the senior year, that’s when they can call us. Again, recruiting is so accelerated at our level of Volleyball, we’re done! That call is to talk about the details of what is to come with their scholarship offer.”

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Thank you, Coach Brown. One of the things we talked about is that there are even different levels of Division One. A School like Notre Dame or Florida would have different timelines than say, an Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne, which is also Division One.

A school like Valparaiso University is Division One, but is it the same level as Penn State? No. That’s one of the reasons families need to have a realistic evaluation of where their volleyball player fits in the recruiting process.

Coach Taylor, How Can I be sure that coaches really use NCSA?

Great question.  To tell you the truth I was very skeptical the first time I walked into NCSA.  I had spent over 30 years recruiting student-athletes and assumed that I knew the best and only way to recruit.  When I first walked in the door I was amazed at just how behind the times I had fallen.  Take a quick look at why coaches REALLY use NCSA.

Now take a quick look at the reaction we get from college coaches after they use our Recruit-Match System  (Note: All of these comments have come this week).

Thanks for all your help for the 2010 class we are on some good players. We have already begun work on 2011 and continue to use your website exclusively.

The ability to see video and transcripts is key. We can make a quick decision on whether we will take the recruiting of that athlete to the next level instantly.

Thanks again for your service it is a tremendous help to us in identifying potential prospects for State.

We like the format you use in sending information to us on recruits. You make a good impression and the info on each person is well presented.

We like the way that you accurately rate the player’s level. Very good and very helpful.

I think you do a fantastic job of getting the information we need to make a judgment of whether or not we want to recruit a young man to State College. Keep up the good work!!

After watching and reading why coaches really use NCSA I hope you don’t make the same mistake I made for years;  Maximize your Recruiting Potential with NCSA.

Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

If you would like to speak with a NCSA Recruiting Coordinator about your personal recruiting situation, call 866-579-6272.

Coach Taylor – What does it take to play my sport at each division level?

We get this question a lot at NCSA.  There is a lot that goes into an evaluation by a college coach.  NCSA has spent the last 10 years evaluating players for college coaches and has a tremendous amount of data stored up.  We used this data to develop our Exclusive Recruiting Guidelines to help give recruits an idea of what schools they should realistically be targeting.  They are guidelines, not hard fast rules, but they can give recruits an idea of where they fit.

Baseball Recruiting Guidelines

Men’s Basketball Recruiting Guidelines

Women’s Basketball Recruiting Guidelines

Men’s Cross Country Recruiting Guidelines

Women’s Cross Country Recruiting Guidelines

Field Hockey Recruiting Guidelines

Football Recruiting Guidelines

Water Polo Recruiting Guidelines

Men’s Golf Recruiting Guidelines

Women’s Golf Recruiting Guidelines

Ice Hockey Recruiting Guidelines

Men’s Lacrosse Recruiting Guidelines

Women’s Lacrosse Recruiting Guidelines

Soccer Recruiting Guidelines

Softball Recruiting Guidelines

Swimming Recruiting Guidelines

Men’s Tennis Recruiting Guidelines

Women’s Tennis Recruiting Guidelines

Men’s Track and Field Recruiting Guidelines

Women’s Track and Field Recruiting Guidelines

Men’s Volleyball Recruiting Guidelines

Women’s Volleyball Recruiting Guidelines

Wrestling Recruiting Guidelines

Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

If you would like to speak with a NCSA Recruiting Coordinator about your personal recruiting situation, call 866-579-6272.

If you’ve read these pages enough, you know that a college decision is a life-altering, life time decision.  To make that decision without fully understanding the vast landscape of opportunities available is irresponsible at best and negligent at worst.  Another motivation for doing all you can to make a great college choice is found in Bob Greene’s article talking about great, enduring friendship.

I talk to families every day who have no plan on how to pay for college.  When I ask the question, “How important is a scholarship when choosing your child’s college?”  The typical answer is, ”a scholarship is real important, but s/he is going to college no matter what.”  What they mean is that they are willing to borrow all kinds of money, go into all kinds of debt, to make sure the all important degree is obtained.  It is clear from these answers that these families are not aware of the quickly changing landscape in lending practices now. 

In this article in yesterday’s Washington Post, the rising costs of college and the reduced availability of student loans is documented.  The key sentence is, “The upheaval in financial markets did not just eliminate generous lending for home buyers; it also ended an era of easy credit for students and their families facing the soaring cost of a college degree.”  Read the entire article.  If you need a plan for paying for college and a student who is also a good athlete and enjoys playing their sport, that may be a way to reduce those student loans.  To learn more about opening up opportunities to play sports in college so your child’s education can be funded by means other than student loans, go here.  If your child is an 8th grader or older and you haven’t begun to plan for college expenses, you’re already late.

The National Bureau of Economic Research declared that the current economic downturn (recession) began in December 2007.  In the intervening 2 years, I’ve spoken with about 3,000 families about their child going to college.  Naturally, part of that discussion involves how families will pay for college.  As seen here, the average cost of a college education is above $30,000 per year.  The rate of increase is around 7% per year.  If you have a freshman in high school, your college expense will exceed $35,000 per year, on average.  These facts have led to some serious discussions between parents and their children on how they’ll pay for college.  In some cases, parents of good students are considering the local junior college route to get the core courses out of the way and save a lot of money during the first 2 years.  In other cases, the parents have encouraged their children to search for scholarships on the internet.  These kids are spending a lot of time doing this.  In some cases, parents are giving their children a budget to work with and any expense exceeding that budget will be the responsibility of the child.  In short, 99% of the families that I speak with do not have enough money stashed away to pay all college expenses.  So they’re at great risk of having their children graduate with a large financial burden called student loans. 

Financial Aid has two main categories:  grants/scholarships, i.e. money that doesn’t have to be repaid and loans.  To see the impact of student loans, read this NY Times article.  Because every college and university has different funding sources, financial aid policies, and pools of money available to offset the cost of college, it’s impossible to navigate this process efficiently by yourself.  You can’t gather all of the information from all potential schools with less than thousands of hours of grinding research on the internet.  Most families don’t have that kind of time.  Most don’t know enough about how financial aid is granted to increase any grant or scholarship awards.  NCSA has data from thousands of colleges and experts that will help families navigate the financial aid process.  One important aspect of this is completing forms correctly and on time.  Many families lose need-based aid because of inconsistencies on their FAFSA.  Others lose because they’re uncertain on timelines.  NCSA’s financial aid experts aid families in navigating financial aid.  The most important thing a family can do to increase financial aid if their student is also a talented athlete, is to make sure that there are a number of college coaches recruiting their child. 

In my case, my child received recruiting letters from 145 college coaches.  About 20 had real genuine interest.  My child narrowed those schools down to 3 great academic choices.  She’ll graduate from her selected college in May, 2010.  She would have never had this opportunity if it wasn’t for the hard work she did and the help we received from NCSA.  My return on that investment is she’ll graduate with no student loans.  My out-of-pocket expense for all 4 years was less than one semester at her private high school she attended.  My return on NCSA’s investment was 6,677%.  But the real return is priceless: Four years of playing a sport that she loves, a college degree from one of the top academic universities in the country, developing friendships that last a lifetime, and job interest in a career field that she chose.  What parent doesn’t want that for their child?  If you need help to get that for your child, go here.

This past week I delivered Recruiting Education at the Tryouts of Dunes Volleyball Club, one of the top Clubs in Indiana. Afterwards, I had had the opportunity to talk with freshman College Volleyball player Lindsey Miller about her experiences with recruiting.

At 6′2″ and skilled in Volleyball, Lindsey was a college prospect at Penn High School. I remember talking to Lindsey and her Dad at a Banquet last year where I was speaking on recruiting. We were standing in the banquet food line (a good place to be) when her Dad mentioned that he had encouraged her not to get caught up in the “Division Thing” of College sports. That’s where kids get locked in on D1 and don’t consider other possibilities. Sure enough, Lindsey considered other possibilities and is having a tremendous experience in college.

Lindsey is now a freshman volleyball player at Ferris State in Michigan, a Division Two University. She is carrying a 4.0 GPA in Pre Pharmacy. This past week I asked her to share her insights on recruiting so that it would help the readers of this newsetter. Although her sport is volleyball, there are principles here that apply to recruiting in all sports:

“Charlie, High School Volleyball is great. I loved it, but you are seen more in Club Volleyball. I played for Dunes, which was very good. A lot of Coaches saw us. It’s important to get your schedule out to them so they know where to see you. I encourage young players to never waste a day of practice. We had 3 days of Club practice and I got the most out of them.

Also, College Coaches look closely at work ethic. I always assumed it was what athletic abilities you brought to the floor. I didn’t realize how hard they looked at your work ethic. I relied on my High School and Club coaches at first in recruiting, and then I became more proactive.

For me, it came down to Butler University and Ferris State University because they were strong in my major of Pharmacy. Academics were first for me. Butler would have been a full ride, but, to me, I sensed that Volleyball would be first there and school second. What I liked about Ferris State was that, to me, it seemed as if they would work with me more in academics. They also said that after four years there would still be scholarship money for my post grad work if I worked with the volleyball program after my playing eligibility was up. So I chose Division 2 Ferris State. I am getting 3/4 of my scholarship money from Athletics scholarship money here, and 1/4 from Academic Scholarships. I was able to get more money as a freshman here because of the leverage of the offer from Butler. Ferris State knew that I had other options.

The competition is very hard. I have limited playing time as a freshman. We have six seniors. The way I look at is is that they have worked very hard to get to where they are and this is their time to shine. I am fine with my role now. My time will come.”

Lindsey Miller, freshman Volleyball player at Ferris State University (Michigan)

Note: Lindsey was very excited Sunday night as Ferris State has made the NCAA Division II Tournament. This is what she wrote on her Facebook page: “We got in!!!!!!! we play Lewis at Indy Thursday afternoon ”

Midwest Region

Hosted by University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana – November 19-21 No. 1 Indianapolis (32-1) vs. No. 8 Michigan Tech (14-14) No. 2 Lewis (27-4) vs. No. 7 Ferris State (18-11) No. 3 Saginaw Valley State (21-9) vs. No. 6 Grand Valley State (16-12) No. 4 Northern Michigan (18-11) vs. No. 5 Hillsdale (23-7)

College Sports! They are great!

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Readers: When I deliver “College Recruiting Simplified” the 9th of 10 points is how important it is to get involved with multiple schools. Did you see the leverage that provided Lindsey? Because Ferris State knew Butler had offered her, they upped their offer.

There was another important point above. Lindsey sensed that at Butler, Athletics would come before Academics. That is not a shot at Butler. Butler is a tremendous school. But, Division 1 coaches are under more pressure. Sports are very serious at Division 1. They are basically a full time job. There is more stress at that level for Coaches and Athletes. Division 2 is still ferocious, but Lindsey sensed they would work with her more in Academics at that level. When you major in something like Pharmacy, that’s really important. That’s why the Evaluation Process is CRITICAL. There is no reason why College Sports shouldn’t be an AWESOME experience. However, many athletes and families totally mess up the EVALUATION process. If you have not had an objective third party evaluation, contact me today to get this done. Otherwise, you risk a subpar college experience that could lead to transferring, quitting or little playing time.

In College Recruiting Simplified presentations, I talk about how playing College sports is a 40 year decision. Do you realize how marketable Lindsey will be when she graduates with a high GPA in Pharmacy AND she was a college athlete? In today’s world, that is valuable! Corporate America often has Team Building seminars. Athletes don’t need those kinds of things. They already know about Team, Work Ethic, Sacrifice, Dedication, and Commitment. After speaking in Fruitport, MI this past week, a lady came up to me and said that she had been hired specifically because she had played college basketball and had the traits listed above.

I always encourage athletes to look at the Bio’s of college athletes on web sites to get a feel for what credentials are needed to play at that particular level. That is part of the Evaluation process. Also, go to the Recruiting Tools area of ncsasports.org to look at benchmark stats and sizes College coaches are looking for in your sport.

Nobody enjoys writing about saddening events, especially when these events occur in the world of sports. Sport, at its very core, is merely a game played by people of all ages. Regardless of the ability or the age, anyone involved in a sport is there for their passion and love of the game. To mix sports with tragedy is seldom necessary, but when it occurs, it should be discussed to learn valuable lessons. I feel compelled to write about a recent piece of news that has shocked the sporting world across the country and it occurred on the campus of the University of Connecticut. UConn junior cornerback Jasper Howard was killed over the weekend, on campus, after a school event had let out. Apparently, Howard and a few of his teammates were involved in an altercation and he was stabbed to death. Howard was only 20 years old.

Again, this is a sad and tragic story that has left an entire football team, an entire campus and an entire nation in mourning. Perhaps Howard wasn’t the most known player in the NCAA and maybe he wouldn’t have gone on to play professionally, but he was a student-athlete just the same as any other kid playing at the collegiate level. However, there are lessons to be learned from this horrible event and these lessons can be applied not just to sports, but to everyday life.

Everyday, we here at the National Collegiate Scouting Association help high school student-athletes fulfill their dreams of playing their sports at the collegiate level. Remembering back to my youth, I was ecstatic to be playing the sport I love at the next level. I can only hope that today’s student-athletes share the same passion and fervor that I had when it came to playing sports. With that being said, student-athletes need to realize the importance of maximizing every opportunity they are given, whether it’s on the playing field or in the classroom. If a coach gives you the opportunity to perform, play like there is no tomorrow and make the most of it. If a teacher gives you an extra credit opportunity, take full advantage of it and boost your grade in the class. If your parents are willing to give you opportunities like playing a sport or attending a certain school, embrace that opportunity with open arms.

I feel I can say this having played my last collegiate baseball game, but there will come a time in every athlete’s life when they are no longer playing the game they grew up with. I had been playing baseball since the age of 5 so when I played my last collegiate baseball game at age 22, I felt a huge emptiness afterwards. After I graduated I took a summer off of baseball for the first time in 17 years and concentrated on my professional endeavors. This turned out to be more difficult and painful than I had ever imagined as I yearned for the game more than ever. What the time away from the game showed me was that I was so glad that I had no regrets when it came to maximizing every opportunity I was given from family, teachers, coaches and friends. From my parents introducing me to the game to getting an early opportunity to fill in for a struggling upperclassmen my freshman year at college, I took full advantage of every opportunity to play the game I love.

It is truly unfortunate that it usually takes something drastic and eye opening to bring us back to reality and realize how grateful we should be for everything that we have. In this case, it happened to be the death of an NCAA athlete that makes us realize how lucky we all should be. For all student-athletes out there, take advantage of the opportunities you have been given and don’t ever take anything for granted. Always carry yourself with respect and humbleness because there will be a time in your life when you no longer have the sport you play to fall back on. Someday your priorities will shift drastically and you will want the confidence and knowledge that you have no regrets about the way you went about it.

I would like to personally send my condolences to the family of Jasper Howard, the UConn football team and the rest of the UConn student body. They may never read this article or receive these condolences, but the message of Jasper’s untimely death is clear; make the most of your opportunities and abilities, be humble and respectful and be appreciative of the time you are able to spend playing the sport you love because there will be a time when you no longer have that sport to play. Make the most of it!

With all of the useful recruiting information provided on this blog, why do families use NCSA?  Here are some answers:

NCSA has been well worth the investment. I now actually consider it a bargain.

NCSA has taught us how to approach recruiting. Would have no idea without NCSA’s help.

NCSA gives the athlete a lot of exposure. It also lets you know DI is not the only division out there! The information available to the student-athlete from NCSA (coaching sessions, newsletters, reminders about the profiles, etc…) are very helpful in what you should be doing at certain times.

The coach knows us personally and we are more than just a person in a file.

My initial reaction was one of skepticism. I had just invested in an unknown commodity. I was concerned about the direction my son would be receiving and whether or not our goals would be taken into account or whether we would be pushed off to some obscure college just to fill a quota. I was impressed with Coach Matt Roe. He was upfront with us and put together a plan of action that was along the lines of our goals and my son’s ambitions. This was our first session so we still have a long way to go, but if the rest of the sessions and coaching go as well as the first session my concerns will be alleviated and my son’s college football future assured.

You have helped me through all the proper recruiting steps and guided me to the colleges that meet my needs and expectations. Also have explained to me the importance of any extracurricular activities and how it could help for a college application.

You have done everything we could ask for and the info and leadership is right on. NCSA has been the best thing we ever did for our son to get recruited.

Before I joined NCSA, I didn’t realize half the things I had to do in order to get myself out there to coaches. Now that I am part of it, NCSA is kind of like a guide that helps me. E. They don’t do my work for me, but make sure I’m doing the right things to get noticed. Just a big help in general. And the people are really nice.

NCSA has opened a lot of doors for me. It has helped me to get looks from colleges that never would have known about me otherwise. If I get to go to any of the schools that have contacted me for basketball I definitely owe a lot of that to NCSA.

NCSA is for real. It has a system and a process that alerts its athletes of many crucial points about being recruited. In short it is a great tool and resource to play at the next level. 

NCSA is a good resource. The athlete can get as much out of the program as they want. The resources are there, it is up to the athlete to use them all.

The web based information you provide is great. We got off on a bad foot but I have to tell you you guys “rock” and the thing is, as a family, we are learning the process. Don’t you worry, I have already recommended friends and other folks to NCSA.

I am now realizing the value of the investment with NCSA., Our son is realizing the potential also by the letters he is receiving vs. the results his teammates are getting from colleges.

We have had nothing but great experiences with NCSA. You’re always there when we need you and give us good advice. Amanda Rawson has been great and very helpful. She’s very knowledgeable about the recruiting process. Jon has already been accepted at one of his #1 college choices and just waiting for the other one to respond regarding admission.

NCSA provides athletes with a wealth of information. I think it’s imperative that any athlete looking to play at the next level get involved with NCSA.

I know Jay would not have received so many phone calls and letters that he did without this service. Some of the best LAX schools in the country have contacted him solely off his video!!!!

NCSA provides me with resources that help me maximize my time through the recruiting process as well as has a game plan in place to help me get recruited.

I think NCSA has a good recruiting process that helps underrated and undiscovered football players such as myself get five steps closer to receiving a scholarship.

In the summer of 2003 I made a pilgrimage to the place that every high-school baseball player looking to play in college should go. I had always wanted to go to this place and I still look forward to the time when I will return. The place I speak of is Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, home of the College World Series. My summer travel team was competing in a tournament in Omaha and by design, we purchased tickets to go watch a weekend’s worth of college baseball at the highest level of competition. I remember everything about that trip from stealing 2nd base during a game of my own and, in the process, tearing open my chin (I still have the scar) to standing next to ESPN’s Kenny Mayne at a urinal in one of the bathrooms at Rosenblatt. The College World Series is college baseball and from then on I knew that not playing baseball in college was not an option.

 At the time, and partly due to my amazing experience in Omaha, my expectations were unrealistic. My summer coach asked me for a list of schools I’d like him to send my information to and I quickly scribbled down a list of top Division I programs I had seen playing at Rosenblatt. For me to think that I had an opportunity to play at some of these top schools was very unrealistic for me in terms of my recruiting process and my abilities as a baseball player. In other words, I was a DIII player looking to play baseball at the Division I level, except I wasn’t aware of this. When I soon realized that I would be playing baseball in college at the DIII level, I was slightly disappointed. But looking back, I understand why I was a DIII player and I don’t regret the decision I made to play baseball in college at that level. Not only had I not gotten enough exposure at an early enough age or been aware of such services such as the National Collegiate Scouting Association, but plain and simple, I just wasn’t good enough. Looking back on this I can’t help but smile at my own naivety and the fact that I am 100% satisfied with the decision I made to play baseball at John Carroll University. I may have never gotten the chance to play in Omaha or get interviewed by Erin Andrews after a big win, but I did get to play the game I love at the collegiate level. I did get to forge bonds and friendships that will last a lifetime and I did become a better all-around person by learning the values of hard work, dedication and teamwork.

We all tune in to watch big time college football programs compete on Saturdays during football season, and everyone loves the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament come March, but for those of us who won’t ever compete at that nationally acclaimed level, take pride in the following facts:

1. You train just as hard as anyone to compete at your full potential in the sport that you love.

2. You attend class just like every other student in every other college, except you have made sacrifices to prepare for games and practice as well.

3. You will form life-lasting bonds with teammates that are just as strong as those bonds that are formed at higher levels of competition.

4. You will become a better all-around person for the hard work you dedicate to your team and to your school work.

So, in my situation, while playing baseball in college was very different than someone playing baseball at a big time DI program, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. The memories I have of the experiences I went through during my playing days in college will last forever and no one can take that away from me. What I want to stress to all student-athletes is to be realistic about their expectations when it comes to playing their sport at the collegiate level. The sooner that you do this, the sooner you can embrace your future experiences as a collegiate athlete, whether it’s playing for a top tier DI program or competing for DIII school. Please believe me when I say it’s not about the recognition, or the television highlights, or the contracts with Nike and Adidas. It’s about putting on the same uniform as your teammates and competing in the sport you all love to achieve one common goal…winning. A win is the same at the DI level as it is at the DIII level and for a serious student-athlete looking to compete in college, winning is all that should matter.