NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

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…)

You will learn valuable insights on how to have success in recruiting from a young lady who just finished the process and found the right academic and athletic fit for her!

Charlie Adams helps families find the right College fit for their athletes

NCSA provides the recruiting education at the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Showcases each year. In the Spring of 2010, I spoke to parents at the AVCA Showcase in New Orleans just after AVCA President Kathy DeBoer had addressed them.

Among the parents that heard my presentation on the 5 Things You Need to Know and the 5 Things You Must Do to have success in recruiting were Wendy and Joe Schumacher of Wisconsin. Their daughter Brittany was there with her Club team, the Milwaukee Stings, 17’s Black.

They joined the NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network and utilized the heck out of it!

“NCSA introduced me to the school I will be going to,” Brittany told me. The five foot six inch defensive specialist (Libero) will be playing for D1 Central Connecticut State. Brittany played her High School volleyball at Hartford Union High in Wisconsin, a 1-A school. I had a great conversation with her where she shared her perspective of the whole process:

Brittany Schumacher on the Recruiting Process

“After we heard your Talk in New Orleans we set up our NCSA Profile and started getting contacted. I looked hard at Wisconsin-Stevens Points, Loyola of New Orleans and Central Connecticut State. The coaches at Central Connecticut State looked at my Profile and then had coaches they knew watch me in person at a Club tournament. They wanted me to come visit, so I did a lot of research on them (through the Recruiting Management System at NCSA) and we visited there at the end of July going into my senior year. They offered me then. On the ride home to Wisconsin my family and I decided that would be the place I would go. A week later I called them up and accepted.”

“The main reason was their Biology program. It is really good. I want to do something in that field, probably something with Anatomy. They also have a great Academic Center just for athletes. Each athletic team has their own academic counselor which is more than a tutor.”

“The coaches played a big role. I am not going to play for a bad coach. Their coaches really care, and they care about you as a student and as a person. They also are known for being really tough on you and that is what I was looking for.”

“We live in Wisconsin and Connecticut is pretty far away. I thought about staying close but I will be coming home for Christmas and the way I looked at it was I wouldn’t be able to come home when I wanted wherever I went because during the season there are practices and games. I love where the school is located. It is just beautiful. The city there is not too big and yet the school is not out in the middle of nowhere.”

“I know I will have to work my butt off to get on the court. Nothing is promised. The coaches said if I worked very hard I would see the court. There is a possible spot where I would sub for a right side attacker and play back row.”

“I would not have found this school had it not been for NCSA. NCSA introduced me to Central Connecticut State. There is a page on your NCSA site that shows what college coaches are looking at you. We would go on there every day and we would email the coaches back to show we were interested. They would contact back and the coaches would call when they were allowed. The Connecticut coach and I had a long talk and after it he said that I seemed like a very nice girl.”

“Club Volleyball is a very long season but college coaches get to see you there, and you can film your matches. The coaches at Connecticut never saw me play in person. They saw the video on my Profile, but they had other college coaches that were at our Club tourneys watch me in person.”

“NCSA helped us so much. It really does work if you have the right grades and the right skills and ability going into the process. You can’t slack off with it, though. You have to work at recruiting. You need to check your Profile every day and keep at it. It is a long process and it will work out if you work it.”

In her Profile, Brittany had Video of her where the college coaches could easily see her athletic abilities. An arrow indicated where she was at the start of each point. Don’t make college coaches play detective trying to find you on video. Make sure you are easily identifiable.

She had her personal information available to them on her Profile, including contact information such as all their phones and emails. She had important information such as height, weight, standing reach, block jump, and touch jump, which was all verified. Her statistics were easily available for the college coaches to see, as well as contact information for them to reach her Club and High School coaches.

She had all of her academic and extra curricular accomplishments right there, and with the click of a button the college coaches could look at her actual High School transcripts and SAT and ACT scores (only college coaches had access to this).

She had a complete resume of her Club accomplishments and High School accomplishments, her Club schedule, and three references for them to call about her character. Brittany also wrote a mission statement where she shared her passion and what stokes the fire within her when it comes to playing college sports.

In today’s high tech world, it is very valuable to have all of your information in one location. As one Stanford coach told me one time, they like ‘one stop shopping’ where they can look at the academic and athletic accomplishments of an athlete in one area.

To be blunt, if you want to have the best chance of success in recruiting, get online or get in line behind families that are working the recruiting game hard. Brittany did this to make sure she got the exposure that she needed. There are tens and tens of thousands of girls playing Club Volleyball, or AAU Basketball, or Travel Softball. To have the most success in connecting with the right fit to be a College student-athlete, they have to take the tripod approach. Work on their athletic development, their academic development, and work the recruiting process – three legs of a tripod. If you fail to do one, the tripod falls over.

Make it easier to be recruited. Make sure you have your information put together in a way where all the hard work your athlete puts in over the years leads to maximum exposure to College coaches and the right academic and athletic fit for them. You get one shot at the recruiting process. Make sure it is a good one!

To Get Started on Building YOUR Recruiting Profile!

Charlie Adams

NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Educational Speaker

cadams@ncsasports.org

It’s definitely that time of year where most families are contemplating what volleyball camps they should be considering and or attending. As a former College Volleyball player myself (University of Minnesota) and NCSA’s Head Volleyball Recruiting Coach this is a topic that I am talking about more than ever lately with families which is why I wanted to shed some more light on this topic. When it comes to camps there are many things to be aware of, especially before sending in that deposit! I want to take you through step by step things to consider and how to choose camps that are right for you.

Almost all colleges/universities offer camps during the summer months. The unfortunate bottom line here is that most camps have one purpose; they are a money-maker for the organizers. Coaches can bring in a lot of income through this method. Although we would like to think everyone has good intentions, it’s often not the case. Beware of overpriced camps; they do not necessarily indicate the best training or coaching. Camps also exist for the obvious reason to help players become better at the game of volleyball. They can also serve as a platform for evaluation. Some coaches even require their top recruits to come to a camp so the coaching staff has the chance to evaluate them in person as well as work with them on the techniques they would want to implement. A common misconception here is that you will be “discovered” at a camp. Coaches do NOT scout at camps. If college coaches are running the camp, they do not have the time or interest in discovering NEW talent. If the Coach doesn’t know about you beforehand, they will not know about you on your way out!

The majority of athletes will begin receiving camp brochures in the mail or through email inviting you or making you aware of the camp. You can also check out schools’ websites to get information on any camps that they are offering. There are essentially two ways you may receive camp information. The first way is that you are someone the coach is recruiting or interested in recruiting. The second way and much more likely, is that you are in some type of database or list and the coach has absolutely no idea who you are or your talent level. So based on that information you will either attend a camp for training purposes OR evaluation purposes to assist with your recruiting.

If you are attending for training be sure to do some research on the coaching staff. How much experience do they have? How successful have these coaches been?  Do they have a reputation for producing great volleyball players?  Who is actually going to be coaching at the camp?  Will the Head Coach and Assistant Coaches be involved with the actual training? Also consider how they typically run the camp.  Are you with girls your age and ability level?  Do they run the camp at a fast pace?  Are you getting personal attention? You may want to talk to someone who has attended the camp before signing up. Finally, don’t be afraid to contact the Camp Director listed for the camp and address your questions to her or she directly.

If you are attending a camp for exposure than there’s even more work to put in to make sure this is a realistic fit for you and that you are investing your time and money wisely. College coaches discover talent through a variety of different lists and reliable sources. College coaches rely on third party recruiting sources to save time and identify talent early. Coaches also may look to popular social networking sites to attract students to their school while some may send thousands of questionnaires to candidates to express initial interest. However, the best way for student-athletes to develop relationships and get on a coaches recruiting list is through direct contact via phone, email or an in-person visit. Just because you receive a camp invitation doesn’t necessarily mean the coach is actively recruiting you. Get in contact (phone calls are recommended) to see if they are recruiting your position and have they evaluated you yet. If you don’t know which colleges would be a good fit for you, a 3^rd party evaluation would be beneficial.

The rules and regulations of recruiting are continuously changing. Remember, the best way to maximize success is to be proactive. Start the process early and become known by as many sources as possible!

I strongly recommend that all players consider volleyball camps so really take next month and begin doing some research.  Make an informed and well-thought out decision before you decide which ones to attend.

If you have any further questions you can always call (1-866-579-6272) to speak with a national recruiting expert.

Kelly Stuntz

Head Volleyball Recruiting Coach

Just because you are an All Conference or really good Club athlete, it doesn’t mean you want to play College. Sometimes we assume every good High School or Club athlete is dead set on playing at the next level, but that is often not the case.

Recently I spoke on the recruiting process at the Mizuno Mideast Regional Volleyball Qualifiers in Indianapolis.

NCSA's Charlie Adams educates families at large Club Tourney in Indianapolis

Thousands of really good volleyball players were on hand along with coaches and parents. NCSA provides the recruiting education at events such as this one. While many of the players are totally committed to playing at the college level, I had many parents tell me their daughter wasn’t sure she wanted to compete at that level. These were very good All Conference caliber players who could play there. But, many don’t because:

1) They understand the commitment to play college sports and are not sure that is for them

2) They have played their sport so much that they are either fried or simply just want to be a regular college student who does some intramurals.

3) They are picking a very hard academic major and don’t feel they can do both in college.

This is why it is critical to have an online profile and it is just as important to do a thorough evaluation. The online profile is one way to send out a green flag that you are serious about playing college. College coaches are looking for those kind of athletes that are qualified to play at their level and are on fire to do so. They don’t have time to discern who is serious about playing college and who is not.  Though it may come as a surprise to some, there are top Club and High School athletes (especially in sports other than football and basketball) who simply want to go to good ol’ State University, join a fraternity or sorority, play some intramurals to stay connected to their sport, and have more of a typical college experience. It might be that cross country runner that put in a zillion miles of running in High Schools and went all-out but now just wants to back off in college. Or, that swimmer that worked so hard in morning and afternoon practices for years and has simply had enough. That is why YOU need a way to let college coaches know you still have plenty in the tank and are ready. You need a way to put all your accomplishments together so that you can open the recruiting door. Don’t wait for them to figure out that you have the fire within. Be proactive in recruiting!

Start building your online Recruiting Profile now

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CHARACTER COUNTS

In a recent Chicago Sun Times article on 6′ 6″ Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale, writer Rick Morrissey wrote that Sales only had one Division One offer coming out of high school. The primary reason so many stayed away was his “dynamite-stick temper.” Sales, who is now 22, admits maturity was his biggest problem. This is what he told the newspaper:

“Giving up home runs, showing emotion on the mound, having a bad inning, coming in and throwing my glove – all the outside stuff that just brings negativity to your team and your dugout. Stuff that’s just not needed. So I think Colleges thought, ‘This guy could be a problem in a dugout.‘

There was just one offer for this talented pitcher because most programs did not want that stuff in their dugout. Sale was so good that at Florida Gulf Coast University during the 2010 season he posted an 11-0 record and a 2.01 ERA over 17 games. Sale pitched 103 innings while striking out 146 and walking just 14. Still, he didn’t get much recruiting interest because most College programs were leery of his temper.

College Coaches want talent, but not at the expense of team chemistry. Some will take chances, but most simply go to then next player on their recruiting list.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team recently played for the National Championship. Their longtime head coach Muffet McGraw has said that when recruits visit campus, they often all go to the popular bookstore gift shop. She says the recruit that humbly says, “I don’t need anything” to her parents gains a lot more points than the recruit that is scooping up hoodies and shirts and all kinds of things for Mom or Dad to buy. That’s not a major thing, but it is little thing that adds up with other things to separate recruits.  College coaches are watching. They watch how you interact with parents after games, how you carry your bags from the bus to the building, how you react to an official’s bad call, how you act when you are out of the game, and on and on….

They have lists, and in many ways they are looking for reasons to take a recruit off that list. The young person of outstanding character and ability will find themselves staying on that list all the way to Signing Date.

To bring a NCSA Speaker to your School or Club to talk Character, Academics and the Recruiting Process

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Finding the Right Level of College Athletics for YOUR athlete

While in Virginia recently to speak to football players and their families at the Schuman National Underclassmen Combine in Hampton, VA (NCSA provides recruiting education for Schuman events)

NCSA educates football families at Schuman NUC in Hampton, VA

I learned that all five seniors of the Princess Anne High School (Virginia Beach, VA) girl’s basketball team were headed to college programs.

Jazmen Boone will play for William and Mary. Amanda Andrades will play for Farleigh Dickinson. Maquasia Ferebee will go to Virginia State. Elizabeth Williams has signed with Duke while Andrea Paphites has inked with Carson-Newman. That’s a remarkable accomplishment (the five players helped the team win the AAA State Title) and it is a good example of the range of college’s out there.

Did all of the girls sign major D1? No, just one, to Duke in the A.C.C. William and Mary is D1, but not at Duke’s level. Carson-Newman is D2. So is Virginia State. Fairleigh Dickinson is a lower level of D1 than Duke. What it boils down to is the girl going to Duke is more gifted as a player than the other girls, but the other girls must be darn good to get scholarships to those other find schools.

The point is that not every player is going to the same level of college athletics. The important thing is to find the right fit athletically and academically for each individual player. The family that has success in recruiting is the one that comes to grip with the right evaluation for their child and doesn’t get all caught up in what level other kids on their team or Club are going. I remember speaking at a major volleyball showcase tournament where I spoke to a mother whose daughter was looking at mid level D1′s like Ball State, Illinois State and East Tennessee State. Her Club team had three other girls that were going to Big Ten Universities. This mother could have become all wound up and somewhat envious about wanting that high D1 level for her kid, but she was realistic and part of the reason was the other girls were simply much taller than her kid. While happy for them, she wanted to find the right fit for her daughter, and it was not a Big Ten school athletically.

I find that more than just about anything families struggle with figuring out what is a realistic evaluation for their child. As legendary retired HS Football Coach Chris Geesman says, “Most kids think they can play a level above where they can really play in College and most parents are TWO levels above!” When we speak we thoroughly go over examples of all the levels of college sports and that is always eye opening to parents. One of the most enlightening things you can do is a thorough evaluation with a NCSA College Scout to help bring clarity to this process. That way you find the right fit for your child.

For an Evaluation of where your athlete is regards to finding the right fit for College Athletics and Scholarships

Charlie Adams

NCSA Recruiting Expert and Senior Educational Speaker

cadams@ncsasports.org

I will make two key points on recruiting. They will be about how recruiting continues to accelerate and about how truly special it is to be a college student-athlete.

I was in Indianapolis and picked up the Indy Star Newspaper both days. In there I found several references to recruiting that families can learn from. For example, in College Recruiting Simplified, NCSA speakers educate the audience that recruiting – especially at Division One and certainly at the high level of Division One – has REALLY accelerated. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. It’s just the way it is, as they say.

NCSA Recruiting Expert Charlie Adams

Sportswriter Mark Ambrogi wrote that 9th grade wrestler Nathan Boston of Lawrence North High School had made an oral commitment to wrestle in the Big Ten for Indiana University. His High School wrestling coach Jared Williams had this to say:

“It is unprecedented, as far as I know, for a freshman to receive this type of offer from a big time program in the sport of wrestling,”

Boston went 46-0 as a 9th grader and won the 103 pound state championship. According to the report, he will get a full athletic scholarship to IU. The newspaper reported that he had already been looking at several Universities but that his visit to Indiana stood out the most. This is a young man that was already taking unofficial visits.

Recruiting is not accelerated like this at all levels of college sports. It is usually the major D1 programs finding ways to offer remarkable 9th graders like a 46-0 wrestler that some have said is so good that he is “a beast” on the mat. If anything it should alert people to start the recruiting process early. Boston was already out visiting colleges. And if you are thinking D1 in anything, you darn well understand that it is accelerated. They are identifying prospects earlier than ever before. When I was in the office of a major D1 Top 25 Volleyball Coach she and her staff were getting ready to go evaluate 9th and 10th graders at a big Club event. They had already wrapped up their 11th and 12th graders.

Lower levels of D1, D2, NAIA and D3 don’t move that fast in most cases, but the earlier a student-athlete starts the process of making themselves very appealing to them, the more good things can happen in 11th and 12th grade when recruiting heats up at those levels.

I came across another story in the Indy Star that captured what a special experience it is to be a college student-athlete. Columnist Bob Kravitz wrote about the final game of Indiana University women’s basketball star Jori Davis, one of the best players in school history. In the column, the senior glowed when reflecting on her four years. She never made the NCAA Tournament, which was disappointing, but not the purpose for being there. She played in front of a lot more empty seats than full ones, but that wasn’t what it was all about for her.

“No regrets at all,” Davis told the newspaper while smiling. “I just feel like there are more things to learn than just being on a winning team. A lot of people on winning teams don’t learn as much as we did at Indiana. And education is more than just about basketball.”

She then said something that I try to get across to High School athletes so that they understand how special college sports can be IF they find the right fit for them.

“These are the best four years of your life,” Davis said. “I’m with 15 girls who are my sisters, who have each other’s back through hard times, bad times, practice, preseason. But it’s all fun.

“Everyone who goes on to the next level of life says they’re going to miss these times. I’m going to hold on to this as long as I can, even the last months of school.”

THAT is what being a true college student-athlete is all about! It is a very special experience that only about 7% of High School athletes go on to ever experience. Davis called her teammates “sisters.” That is how close college athletes can become in the right situation. They will have a bond throughout life that is hard to describe. They will be in each other’s weddings. They will be there for each other when a major health scare arrives.

Davis said that they had each other’s back through the good and the bad, through the grueling practices, the last second losses and the big wins. That is what it is all about, whether you are in the Big Ten or at Hanover College. It is not easy. It is a major time commitment, but she would do it all over again, and this is a player that will play professional basketball. She’s that good.

About a year ago I was speaking at a major Volleyball showcase event in New Orleans where NCSA was brought in to provide recruiting education to families. There I met a young lady who had just finished her senior season as a volleyball player at D1 Tulane University in New Orleans. I asked her to reflect on the four years. She said her freshman year just about broke her. The time commitments as a volleyball player and a student at a top academic institution were intense and she thought about quitting her sport. But she made it through that freshman season and in the process told me she developed remarkable time management skills. She adapted and had a great four years. She told me she was very sad when it ended, but that she felt she had the life skills to go out in the world and thrive! She was beaming.

That’s how it was for Jori Davis, the basketball player. That’s how it can be for you, but you only have one shot at recruiting. It’s not like in golf where Dad hits a bad tee shot and says, “Reload! Mulligan time!” Here, you get one crack, so give it the best shot. Don’t be someone 37 years old wondering if you had what it took to be a college student-athlete…

To Learn about How to Get Into the Database College Coaches Use to Find Qualified Student Athlete to Recruit, Click HERE!

Charlie Adams

NCSA Recruiting Expert

cadams@ncsasports.org

To bring a NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Speaker to your High School, Club, Tournament or Special Event

Kelly (Bowman) Stuntz and I delivered the keynote presentation on recruiting education to a large audience in the Kansas City Convention Center during the Final Four weekend. The American Volleyball Coaches Assocation (AVCA) partners with NCSA to bring recruiting education to families. Andrea Emmons, Sara Rode and Jim Broe of NCSA were there as well to personally meet with families.

Kelly was a 2-time All America setter for the University of Minnesota in the Big Ten. She played in two Final Four’s. Coming out of High School, she was heavily recruited. Penn State (winners of four straight National Championships in volleyball) head coach Russ Rose wrote her personal recruiting letters. In the end, the right fit for her was Minnesota, and she had an amazing experience.

Kelly is now recruiting coach in Volleyball for the NCSA Recruiting Network. She works with volleyball families in NCSA on the recruiting process, and with countless college volleyball coaches to help them connect with student-athletes.

Kelly interviewed Rich Kern earlier this year on the recruiting process. He is widely known for his website with everything from schedules in every division, results, rankings, articles, and much more!

There are two parts of her interview that I wanted to share with you. They transcend volleyball, really, and apply to every sport.

Kelly – What are some of the common recruiting mistakes that volleyball players make?

Rich – (1) Thinking you are a good player and sitting back thinking coaches and opportunities will come to you; (2) not worrying about your academics or taking it seriously; (3) if you can’t play DI then there is nothing else. There are SO MANY opportunities!

Kelly – What is the best single piece of advice you could give a volleyball recruit looking to play in college?

Rich – Focus on your Grades!! Coaches want players on their team who are teachable and open to learning. Coaches think of themselves as educators of life so they want athletes who make themselves available to learn and improve. Your attitude is very important. Not just how you handle yourself on the volleyball court, but off the court, communication, academics etc.

To read the complete interview click here

Before Kelly and I spoke, the Executive Director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), Kathy DeBoer, spoke to the audience. The AVCA does a tremendous job promoting the sport of volleyball. Kathy told the audience there are over 200,000 girls playing Club Volleyball. Remember what Rich Kern said before? The number one mistake families make in recruiting is “Thinking you are a good player and sitting back thinking coaches and opportunities will come to you.”

I constantly run into Volleyball families, and families in other sports, that fall under this category. They think recruiting will come to them….

There are SO many good athletes out there. I travel all over the country. I see them. The difference in recruiting success is often those that know how to play the recruiting game. Just because your child is a good athlete who is smart does not mean they will get a scholarship. Kathy gave a tremendous presentation. Like me, she constantly encourages audiences to be open to all the opportunities in college sports. If D1 is the right fit, great. If not, realize there are so many other levels out there. The audience chuckled at one of her points, that was made somewhat tongue in cheek. She said, especially at the D1 level, the college coach will hug the recruit after she has signed with their program. “We are so glad you are with us!” she will say. It’s a warm, fuzzy moment!

Then she will leave to go recruit someone better!

The audience laughed. Kathy smiled. She likes to needle the coaches. But, there is truth to it. Athletes must know that coaches are constantly trying to improve their program. Part of being a college athlete is embracing the constant commitment it takes to improve, or you could be a junior overtaken by a remarkable, poised freshman.  NCSA’s Rachel Hernandez ran at the University of Illinois. She told me once that she outperformed a senior in a time trial to run in an upcoming event. In the locker room the senior threw her spikes at Rachel.

Ouch! Hey, college sports, especially at the high D1 level, can be pretty darn intense.

In volleyball, and many other sports, families freak out about measureables. A mother will say, “The coaches feel my daughter isn’t tall enough to compete there.” Many coaches are hung up on those kinds of things. Some are not. It’s part of the reason families should start the recruiting process at least by the 9th grade so they can start to get educated on who is looking for what. At one major tournament earlier this year I spoke to one college coach that definitely wanted tall players. I walked twenty yards and talked to another that did not get into height, but that simply wanted players with heart that made plays!

The recent issue of Sports Illustrated has an insightful article on Patriots star receiver Wes Welker. The 5’9” 185 pound receiver is tearing up the NFL. Defenses look silly trying to chase him. In the article by Charles P. Pierce, the writer documents that Walker came out of High School as the Oklahoma player of the Year in class 2A. In the State Title game he had 150 yards rushing and receiving and 75 return yards, and he picked off a pass. He had no D1 offers, no doubt because of his size.

“I’m telling you,” Walker told Sports Illustrated. “It was dark everywhere. I didn’t have any choices. A lot of guys were getting scholarships that I thought I was better than, but I didn’t know what the deal was. I was state player of the year and I didn’t know what more I could have done.”

Recruiting Earth to Wes Welker– you could have played the recruiting game better. Like Rich Kern says above, he waited for recruiting to come to him, almost to the point of it being too late. Many times undersized athletes and those from smaller High Schools are going to have to work the process harder to convince college coaches they can play.

This may come as a shock, but college coaches and pro people as well make many mistakes in this area. They get caught up in measureables and miss out on the Wes Welkers. In their defense, if they were to sign too many small kids that didn’t pan out, they could lose their jobs, so they are often stuck between a recruiting rock and a hard place.

I talk a lot about knowing how involved your coach will get in the process. Wes’s high school coach reached out to over 100 college coaches at that point. Texas Tech responded. He ended up with a scholarship someone else had bailed on. Walker was awesome there, and then promptly had to prove himself all over again in the NFL when they felt he was too short too!

This is a serious time of the year for seniors. You HAVE to know where you stand in recruiting. Freshmen, sophomore and juniors – you need to start the process so that you can find the right fit.

To set up an Evaluation with a College Scout click here

Charlie Adams
NCSA Senior Educational Speaker
cadams@ncsasports.org

To bring recruiting education to your High School, Club or Special Event tell us more about your recruiting education needs here

Laura Zeamer was just getting up from a nap when I reached her to talk about her successful college athletics recruiting process. The 12th grade volleyball standout had taken the ACT earlier in the day to get her score up one more point. It was the second time she had taken the test.

“One point higher and I qualify for another academic scholarship,” she told me. As we continued our conversation, she said a lot of important things regarding finding the right fit to be a college student-athlete. No matter what your sport, you will be able to apply successful recruiting principles that she learned along the way.

Laura’s father Jerry came to hear me talk when I delivered NCSA’s College Recruiting Simplified at a major Club Volleyball event. She was an 11th grader at the time heavily involved in Club Volleyball. She had one particular school that was really interested in her. Wanting to make sure they did everything right in recruiting, they took advantage of NCSA’s ability to connect college coaches with her, as well as the many other tools available to families in the recruiting process.

“Being in NCSA lets college coaches know I REALLY want to play college volleyball,” said Laura. “After a few weeks I was getting a lot of communication with college coaches. I couldn’t believe how many college coaches said, ‘We saw you on NCSA.’ The College Search Map within NCSA was very helpful. All of the Tools helped me organize everything and figure out what school was best for me.”

Before joining NCSA, Laura had been recruited by a handful of schools. Being a  6’1” volleyball player (photo to left) will get you noticed by some regional Universities, which is what was happening to her. She had started playing Club in 9th grade for a team that played a big national schedule, going to events across America. “The misconception people have about Club sports,” said Laura,“is they think, ‘I play Club so people will see me.’ They have to understand the number of girls that play Club across the country. There are thousands and thousands. The college coaches aren’t necessarily going to come to you. We used NCSA to get my name out more.”

At the time her Dad heard “College Recruiting Simplified” Laura was being recruited hard by Winona State University, a D2 Minnesota University a few hours from her Jackson, Wisconsin home.

“Recruiting was going well with them,” Laura said. “NCSA gave me assurance that a lot of other schools would recruit me too.”

Laura was team captain for Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School High School and earned first-team all-conference and honorable mention all-state honors. She earned KML’s Best Offensive Player award. Along the way, Laura spent a lot of time making sure she found the right fit athletically, academically, socially and geographically when it came to making a decision that would impact the next 40 to 50 years of her life.

“I had a couple of Division One schools talk to me,” said Laura. “I wasn’t quite tall enough for them as a Middle Hitter. At 6’1” they said I would make a good outside hitter, but my vertical leap isn’t that great. I knew if I went D1 I wouldn’t see the court much in games and I did not want to go to primarily be a practice player. D2 gives me a place where I can be very competitive and be a good player. I could see myself possibly being an impact player there. Nothing is promised. What I liked about the program is the current players talked about how much Coach Dave Simon continued to make them better. They said he was always teaching.”

When speaking on the Recruiting Process and how to connect with Scholarships, I talk about starting the recruiting PROCESS as early as possible. She took a couple of unofficial visits to Winona Sate and went to their Camps twice. It was by going to their camps early in High School that word got to her that she was “on their recruiting radar.”

When choosing Camps to go to, I always encourage people to make sure they are Camps at the right level of College that the athlete would eventually play for in College. Had Laura been going to the Penn State Camp, or the University of Texas camp, they wouldn’t have been realistic fits for College. They would not have had her on their radar. She had a realistic evaluation that D2 was the right athletic fit for her.

She was looking to play at a University that wasn’t too big or too small. “I liked that the size of Winona State is 8000 students,” she said. “I didn’t want to go to a University where I would get lost in the crowd or one so small that everyone would know me. That was what I was looking for in College. I liked that Winona State is 3 ½ hours away from home. It is far enough away to be independent, yet still be able to come home for weekends.”

When I speak on Recruiting, I often give examples of the different kinds of scholarships that are out there. Families often hear about “full ride D1” and have no idea about the other kinds of scholarships. Remember, less than 1 percent of High School athletes will get a “full ride D1 athletic scholarship.” The massive majority will play the sport they love in college on a combination of scholarships.

Laura got a significant athletic scholarship. It wasn’t full, but it covered most of tuition. Because of her ACT score, she is able to connect with a sizeable merit scholarship, and she is in the process of applying for more. Most of her college will be covered.

“I am looking at majoring in Biology and maybe some other science,” Laura told me. “I want to eventually go to Grad School and focus on Physical Therapy or something along those lines.”

Laura is ranked #1 academically in her senior class. She carries a 4.0 and has taken Honors Classes in such subjects as Anatomy and Physiology. She has scored a 31 on the ACT.

She told me she has never had an issue with burnout in playing Club. She has loved Club and High School. “There are days where you don’t want to go to practice,” said Laura,” but in a match you or a teammate gets a big Kill and it is all worth it!”

Laura earned a significant scholarship to Winona State. She did what it took to get her name out there. She found the “right fit.”

Charlie Adams, NCSA Speaker

cadams@ncsasports.org

To get into the Recruiting Database that Laura was in, click here