NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

I had an enlightening conversation with the mother of a highly recruited athlete that will help other families understand the process of finding the “right fit” for their athlete, no matter what the sport.

Caity Farus is a 6 foot 3 inch middle hitter volleyball player from Knox High School in northern Indiana.  She is tall! I am 6 foot 5 inches, so it is not often a young lady is practically as tall as I am (!). The 12th grader plays for the Black team at Dunes Volleyball Club. Each year I speak on the recruiting process at Dunes Tryouts for Club Director Rick Ashmore.

Caity’s mother, Julie, told me that in 9th grade, Purdue contacted her High School coach to express their interest in Caity and wanted her to come in for an unofficial visit. Her mother’s initial reaction was, “Are you sure? She is just a freshman.” The response from Purdue was “we start early.” Purdue also said that besides playing High School volleyball, if she really wanted to play college, she should play Club Volleyball.

I constantly have people say, “Oh, my kid is just a freshman. It’s too early.” No, it is not too early to start the recruiting PROCESS. Your kid may not get the kind of initial interest a 6 foot 3 inch volleyball star gets in 9th grade, but families constantly hurt their prospects by waiting until 11th or 12th grade to START the recruiting process. It’s not to say a lot doesn’t happen in 11th or 12th grades in recruiting, but you are best served to lay the groundwork as soon as possible.

Caity joined the highly respected Dunes Volleyball Club and started getting better and started getting exposure to college coaches at events they played in during Club season. Because she played on Dunes’ top team and she was 6’ 3” it didn’t take college coaches long to learn about her and get her on their recruiting lists. However, what often confuses families is they think it they automatically do Club, Travel Ball, AAU and such things, that college coaches will discover their kid and scholarships will soon come flying their way. In Caity’s case, yes, because she was on their top team and she was very tall and skilled. Although her personal work ethic has meant so much, she has been blessed with God given height. Her mother played basketball at St. Joseph’s College in Indiana and her Dad, Jeff, was on the football team. Genetics played a big role in all of this. If there is an athlete College coaches will ‘discover’ at Exposure-type events, it is someone like Caity.

College coaches tend to find the courts of the top teams of Clubs. But many families get frustrated because their kid doesn’t get that kind of response, and they are traveling all over creation wondering what is going on. That’s why Rick, the Club Director, brings me in to deliver the NCSA message, so they learn the 5 Things They Must Know and the 5 Things They Must Do to have success in recruiting. He has told me that many families don’t understand how proactive they must be in the recruiting process.

Caity was evaluated early on to be a Division One prospect. The question then would be finding the right level of D1. In her high school career she racked up over 1500 kills and 650 blocks. While many may have thought she would be dead set on a Big Ten school, she put a lot of thought into the various levels of D1 and was determined to find the ‘right fit.’ Among the Universities that watched her at Nationals in Louisville, KY was High Point University in North Carolina, a Division One school. On September 1st of Caity’s junior year they were allowed to write her, and they did with an email and a packet that got there as soon as possible.

At first, Caity and her family put them off, not wanted to go all the way from northern Indiana to central North Carolina for college. As recruiting played out, Caity got serious interest from other schools such as Ohio State, Cincinnati, Dayton, Purdue, Oakland University, Valparaiso and many others, but High Point “put on the full court press” according to Caity’s Mom.

“Rick the Club Director,” said Julie, “suggested we go visit. He said they REALLY wanted Caity.”

One of the things I say when I speak at High Schools, Clubs, Combines and other events is “Go where they want you, where you can get funding, and if you have a career ending injury, you would still love the school.”

They took a visit and it was magical.

“At every other school we visited,” her Mom said, “there was always something that held her back in totally liking the school. Not with High Point. Everything clicked. The University is so beautiful. Many buildings had marble floors. They take you around on these golf carts and you are amazed at everything.”

“I felt at home there,” said Caity. “I felt like I would be taken care of. Their coach, Jason Oliver, I could tell that he was not only a coach but a parent away from home. I liked him as a person. The girls all liked me. I saw us as one big family.”

“Playing time is very important to me,” Caity added. “I have an opportunity to possibly start as a freshman there.”

Other schools wanted her to redshirt. At some Big Ten schools she could the feeling she would red shirt and probably not get quality playing time until her sophomore year. Some kids are fine with that plan while others want to be on the court as soon as possible.

“Parents need to have long talks with their athletes about a lot of things,” said her Mom, “including how important playing time is to them. These kids are playing all the time in High School and Club. They get to college and some have a hard time being a reserve.”

Putting a lot of thought into how far away from home you want to go is a big part of the evaluation process. Caity will be going all the way from rural Starke County in northern Indiana to the central part of North Carolina.

“I will miss my family,” said Caity, “but I won’t have much time to be homesick. I will get there for summer school to get adjusted and then will be working hard as an athlete and as a student. There is a girl, Brittany Durham, on the team from Noblesville, Indiana and another from Chicago.”

Their roster shows players from North Carolina, Arizona, Ohio, Indiana, Nebraska, California, and Washington.

High Point University is not what you would consider the top level of D1 in volleyball, like Penn State, Texas, and that crew, but one of the motivations for athletes going to a school like High Point is they can be a part of the teams that take the school to a higher level of achievement. High Point recently lost to 12th ranked Duke University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the first time High Point had ever been in “the big Dance.” Maybe Caity can be a part of teams that make it deeper into the NCAA’s. That’s another thing for High School athletes to consider. Do they want to go to a program that’s in the NCAA’s every year, or go to a school where they can help get that program to where they go to the NCAA’s every year.

It’s like in college football recruiting. One young man might by motivated by signing with the University of Florida and getting a shot at a National Championship at least once in his time there, while another young man might be motivated by signing with Central Florida and helping them take a major step in their program by getting to a major Bowl game.

There are all kinds of things to consider in finding the right fit. It’s why I always say start the recruiting process early instead of this ridiculous notion of STARTING the recruiting process in 11th and 12th grade. That kind of logic would mean you would start saving for retirement around age 53.

Being a Division One athlete in Volleyball means you get a “full scholarship.” Caity’s scholarship will be in the $40,000 a year range. What a relief that is for her family, especially in these times when going to college is so important yet costs can be challenging.

Caity got the best of both worlds in High School. She played Club Volleyball, which she says dramatically increased her skills and gave her exposure, and she played High School Volleyball which meant so much to her community. Before she started playing, not many people came to the Knox HS volleyball matches. By the time she was done, the stands were packed and she helped them to their first Regional title in school history. She was the school’s first ever Indiana All Star in volleyball. She helped them to their first ever Top Ten Ranking. Those things will always be remembered. Club volleyball is vital, especially in sports like volleyball, but communities remember athletes for their achievements on the High School team. That’s where their legacy is carved.

I hope this has helped you gain a greater awareness of the recruiting process and how important it is to find the right fit. For Caity, it is High Point University.

UPDATE: Here is a synopsis of how Caity’s freshman season at High Point went for her -

2011: Completed her rookie season appearing in 21 matches with 14 starts for HPU … Had four kills and four blocks against Virginia Tech (8/27) as well as one ace … Posted two service aces and two assists in 3-0 win over Navy (9/3) … Set career-highs with 10 blocks, five service aces and six digs vs. Norfolk State (9/24) … Had five kills, zero errors and hit .455 with five blocks vs. UMES (9/24) … Recorded five kills, zero errors, hit .455 with two blocks in a 3-0 win over Charleston Southern (9/30) … Tallied four kills, with zero errors and hit .444 at Coastal Carolina (10/1) … Hit .417 and tied her career high with five kills at Gardner-Webb (10/28) … Broke her career-high with eight kills and included six blocks in a 3-1 win vs. NCCU (11/08) … Talied up six kills, two assists, and four blocks vs. Charleston Southern (11/12) … Set career-high nine kills and had four blocks in the Big South Tournament match vs. Radford (11/17/11).

Where are you in recruiting? 6’3″ athletes like Caity will be chased by college coaches. The great majority of High School athletes, though, have to be more proactive in recruiting. It is very important to have an Analysis of where you are in the Recruiting Process now.

click here for an Evaluation from a College Scout

Charlie Adams, NCSA Recruiting Network Speaker

cadams@ncsasports.org

To bring a former College Athlete, Coach, or Broadcaster to educate parents and athletes at your School, Club or special event click here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

You can also get your questions answered directly by contacting an NCSA Recruiting Coordinator at 866-579-6272.

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

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

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

Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

You can also get your questions answered directly by contacting an NCSA Recruiting Coordinator at 866-579-6272.

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

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

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

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

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

Charlie Adams

cadams@ncsasports.org

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

I was driving near Indianapolis this week and heard former Indiana University Basketball Coach Dan Dakich hosting his daily talk show on 1070 the Fan. A caller called in a little ‘bent out of shape’ that IU Basketball Coach Tom Crean had recently received two commitments from players that had yet to play a second of High School basketball. Two highly rated 9th graders had made their decision to attend IU. The caller just could not understand how they could be doing that at such a young age. Dakich, who was an assistant coach at IU for years and knows recruiting inside and out, wasn’t surprised. He said back when he was evaluating talent he could often tell if a 7th grader could play at a major D1 level like Indiana and the Big Ten. In recruiting, basketball is especially accelerated and seasoned evaluators like Tom Crean can project early if a kid can play. Back in the 1980′s, Bob Knight went down to Bedford, IN to watch a legendary 8th grader named Damon Bailey play a game. In the book, “A Season on the Brink” Knight made a comment to the author John Feinstein that “Bailey is better than any guard we have right now. I don’t mean potentially better, I mean better today.” Bailey ended up going to Indiana and was a very good player at that level.

It’s not that way for every basketball player that eventually plays D1, but it is for the special ones. Trey Lyles is one of the two players to commit to IU. He stands 6’9″ as a 9th grader. The other one is James Blackmon, Jr. His Dad was a very good player back in the day at Kentucky. Tom Crean and his staff have no doubt those two project to be winning Big Ten players. As Dakich said on his radio show, the IU coaches know what they are doing because they are seasoned evaluators. They have been watching those kids in the July evaluation events.

Less than 1% of the High School athletes will get this kind of “fawning over.” The rest have to be proactive in recruiting, and understand the process starts early whether you are a 6’9″ ninth grader or not. A 5’9″ 9th grade basketball player that is not even on the varsity team needs to understand how important it is to make his baskets in the classroom so that he can have more options in recruiting when he is a junior or senior. That kid may never get a D1 offer, but if he and his family get educated in recruiting and he works his tail off, by the time he is a junior and senior he will have more options in recruiting.

Charlie Adams

cadams@ncsasports.org

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

I had a long conversation with a mother and father whose daughter, a soccer player, had just found the right fit for college.

She was found by the college coach when he was looking at another recruit’s video. The other recruit was not clearly identified on the video, and the college coach noticed their daughter making plays on it. This is why you cannot make college coaches play detective in trying to figure out where you are on video, or some other kid will get a scholarship off your tape. I have found the NCSA guidance in this area critical. An arrow pointing at the recruit at the start of a play is very important. One of the points of College Recruiting Simplified is to make a “winning Highlight/Skills video.” The key word there is ‘winning.’ Families often have no idea how much more successful they will be in recruiting if they had a better understanding of how to work the video process. I continue to be amazed at how many families don’t even have a plan for it, and don’t have video of their kid – even as 12th graders sometimes!

The mother, father and daughter made several unofficial visits during her High School days. The young lady evaluated out to be a NAIA or D3 player, so they met with several coaches. One young head coach got all wound up during their meeting and talked about how they would have a “D1 mentality” at the D3 school. He was a little too gung-ho. They appreciated his fever and enthusiasm, but wanted to find someone a little calmer. They continued the process, made more visits, and found a school with a veteran coach who still had the fire for coaching. It wasn’t the reason they picked the school. Their major reason was the school would allow her to grown in her faith, athletics and academics, but they felt this particular coach had the calm, steady approach and decades of experience to better fit her. Now, the next kid might eat up that other coach’s wound-up approach. It’s all part of getting out there and finding the right fit. I spoke at the Mizuno Mid East Regional Volleyball Qualifiers in Indianapolis earlier this year. I talked with one mother whose daughter had already been on three unofficial visits in the Fall of her junior year, and was close to firming up the right fit. It was because she was “out there.”

For an Evaluation of your College Recruiting potential

Charlie Adams

NCSA Senior Speaker

cadams@ncsasports.org

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.