NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

My name is Megan Mayfield and I’m going on a softball scholarship to Lynn University.  Being recruited isn’t something that just happens overnight and you can’t just rely on talent alone, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes.  Between team and individual practices, the hours spent on the practice field are uncountable. If you’re struggling with something, work on it until you get it. Go out with a coach, a parent, or even one of your teammates and practice it until you get it. Playing softball is only part of the process; you can’t be recruited if no one knows about you.  You have to get your letters out, get them out early, and make them personal. No coach wants to get a mass email; if you can’t take enough time out of your day to personally contact them, why do they want to take time out their day and personally come watch you?  When you get to the tournament, you can’t do anything more so relax and just do your best.  Make yourself standout from the rest of the team, my coach will tell you that the only reason she started watching me was because she saw me take off on a dead sprint to my position in outfield. Do something to get yourself noticed, be loud, be focused, hustle, or wear bright crazy sunglasses anything to make them look at you, because they’re looking at you they’re watching you.

There are ups and downs to be recruited.  Being denied is the worst part about the recruiting process and I was denied like there was no tomorrow.  I’ve been told that I was too small to play college ball since I was a kid, but when a college coach says it, it can be discouraging. However, I was determined to get recruited so I shook that stuff off and kept doing my best. The first time a coach waits behind the dugout after your game to talk to you is the most exciting part of being recruited. In your mind you’re thinking I did it, I got recruited and now all those practices, games, batting slumps, everything else pays off. The NCSA did the best they could’ve done for me, they put reality in perspective. They made me realize how competitive being recruited was and they helped me have a chance in that competition by telling me what I needed to do. They gave me an upper hand on all the other athletes that didn’t have someone walking them through the long process.  The only thing I can tell anyone wanting to get recruited is never give up, hustle everywhere you go, be competitive,  challenge yourself, and most importantly have just have fun.

The quest to find the right college for a student-athlete is a challenge that we here at the National Collegiate Scouting Association readily accept with open arms. We understand not only what it means to families to have their student-athlete comfortable and excited to be attending the university of their choice, but we also understand the passion and desire that our student-athletes have to find that particular university. We also understand how important it is for college coaches to be matched up with qualified student-athletes who will help their universities grow both academically and athletically. With this being said, we here at NCSA will do everything we can to match student-athletes with universities that we feel would be a good fit. But when it’s all said and done, it’s up to the student-athletes to visit these schools, meet these coaches and decide for themselves if they truly see themselves being members of that university for the next four years of their lives. So how does a student-athlete go about doing this? How do they put themselves in the best situation possible to meet coaches and visit schools? They should be utilizing a somewhat untapped resource and with this I would like to introduce the unofficial visit.

For those student-athletes who have seen movies like The Program, He Got Game and Blue Chips, the recruiting process might seem like a dream come true. In The Program, Darnell Jefferson is welcomed to Eastern State University by a charter bus filled with cheerleaders. NBA superstar Ray Allen plays the main character in He Got Game and is whisked away from campus to campus for weekends of fun and spoil. Several “blue chip” prospects in Blue Chips receive gifts and frequent visits from the coaching staff. One thing each and every parent, coach and student-athlete needs to know is that these are movies attempting to depict a very long and difficult process. For the majority of high-school athletes, the best way to get a feel for a school and a coach is to take advantage of the unlimited amounts of unofficial visits a recruit can take during their four years of high school.

One might ask, “What is an unofficial visit and what other kinds of visits are there?” Great question. An official visit is one where the cost of part of the visit is incurred by the school. For example, a recruit is invited to visit the campus and during their visit the school will pay for their flight, hotel room and meals. These are less common than unofficial visits and are heavily regulated in terms of how many a school is allowed to give out and how many a student-athlete can attend. The alternative is the unofficial visit, where a student athlete visits the campus on their own and pays for it themselves. Although it may be less glorious than the official visits depicted in films, it is just as effective in terms of finding a school that you would be comfortable and eager to attend. Did I mention that you can take an unlimited amount of unofficial visits? Read on…

So let’s say you are a student-athlete and this blog has inspired you to take some unofficial visits…but you don’t know how to go about it. Here is your crash course to the unofficial visit.

First, come up with a list of schools and programs that you are interested in learning more about. Basically, you want to narrow down your list to schools you would realistically like to attend and compete for. Next, pick a weekend where you know the coach of your respective sport will be on campus. Football and basketball games are very popular events for coaches to entertain recruits, so pick a weekend where there is a game such as football or basketball. Next, you want to contact the coach to let him or her know that you will be visiting that weekend. Ask if they can give you a few minutes of their time to meet and possibly answer some questions that you may have (hint, hint…come prepared with academic and athletic questions for the coach). Next, contact admissions and also make them aware of your visit. Campuses are constantly giving tours and you want to make sure you see the campus in its entirety because it will be your home for the next four years. You also want to have a main contact in the admissions department to answer any questions you may have before, during and after your unofficial visit.

So now you’ve got your game plan to schedule some unofficial visits, but what is it that coaches are looking for when a recruit comes to campus. Marc Thibeault, head coach of John Carroll University’s baseball team, explains what he is not looking for.

“I can’t tell you how many times a recruit shows up with holes in his jeans, hat backwards, earring in and really has no questions when they visit. “

Coach Thibeault looks for potential student-athletes who can carry themselves well both on and off the field. Making a good first impression when meeting coaches is essential, and your appearance is key. A great point Coach makes is the ability of the recruit to ask meaningful questions during their visit. Think of it as a job interview; when your potential employer asks if you have any questions and you say “Nope, I think we’re all good here,” they are going to take that as a lack of preparation and excitement on your part when it comes to becoming a member of their team. College coaches will view this the same way.

When asked about some good questions for recruits to ask on their visit, Coach Thibeault had a few in mind.

-What did your graduating class end up doing upon diploma?

-How many freshmen ended up playing 4 years?

-What are the years of players playing my position?

-What were the credentials of last years recruiting class?

The above questions are great things to ask coaches and by asking these questions, a recruit shows the coach that they are interested, committed and eager to contribute to the program.

The bottom line is that no one buys a car without test driving it. No one gets married without dating first and no recruit should commit to a school without visiting campus. So instead of waiting by the phone or the computer for a coach to invite you for an official visit, maximize the unlimited amount of unofficial visits you can take and put yourself out there. The recruiting process may seem less glorious than depicted in the movies, but the end result of choosing the right school is all the glory a recruit needs.

The fall sports season is truly one of the most exciting times in all of the sporting world from the high school level, collegiate level and on to the highest ranks of the professional sporting leagues. As Major League Baseball enters their postseason play, the National Football League kicks off their season and the puck drops for the National Hockey League. High school athletes are in mid-season form for their respective sports and the same goes for college athletes across the country. What is so magical about this time of the year is that while so many sports are going on congruently, at so many different levels, one major lesson is to be learned by everyone participating in these sports. Whether you are taking the field as a professional athlete or waking up early for off-season training for your high school or college, one thing is happening to all athletes. They are being taught the values of hard work, commitment and dedication by their parents, coaches, teachers and teammates. To many, sport is merely that; a game that is played by people of all ages and that it is merely a game. However, those who understand sport at a much deeper level know that it is so much more than just a game. The lessons that are learned and the work ethic that is instilled in athletes are truly amazing. Let’s take a look at a few examples of how athletes use what they’ve learned in sport and have applied them to everyday life.

Nothing has changed for Trevor Heffernan in terms of his schedule since he graduated from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During his days at WMU, he would wake up at 4 and 5 AM for early morning skate with the Men’s Ice Hockey Club Team where he played goalie, and then head off to school for a full day of classes. This routine was engrained within Trevor so when it was time for graduation, he was well-practiced in the ability to be a hard worker no matter what he was doing. Whether it was working down at the Chicago Board Options Exchange upon graduation or working on his family’s farm in upstate Illinois, Trevor always put 110% into whatever it was he was doing.

“The bonds I formed with my teammates playing hockey are unbreakable. It was these bonds that taught me the value of counting on the person next to you, whether it’s on the ice or working on my family farm. You need to commit and work towards your goals regardless of what they are.”

Today, Trevor’s main priority is preparing his family farm, Susanna Farms, for the annual harvest, which is a month long celebration of the history and natural beauty of the vast acreage of their farm. To be more specific, Trevor spends countless hours making sure things are prepared for hayrides, pumpkin picking and his pride and joy, the First Annual Haunted Hayride.

“I understand and appreciate the great history that this farm represents. Everything I learned about respect and dedication, I put towards this farm and getting it ready for other people to enjoy it as I have.”

Trevor is a true example of how playing college athletics can not only mold you physically to perform at a high level on the fields, courts and rinks, but more importantly, mold you mentally to be an all-around better person.

Kellen Kmiecik began his collegiate career playing baseball at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. He soon found opportunity elsewhere at Southern Wesleyan University in South Carolina. During his college years, Kellen competed in several prestigious summer leagues including invite-only leagues in Alaska and South Carolina. In January, Kellen will head to Arizona to compete in an invite-only league so professional teams can evaluate his talent. However, Kellen brings the same passion and determination to the baseball diamond that he brings when he helps his father run the local Recreational Center in Elmwood Park, Illinois.

“I enjoy my time at the recreational center because it is a great way to give back to the surrounding area and it’s so enjoyable to see all the kids come in here and play the sports they love to play.”

When I asked Kellen if playing baseball, especially at the collegiate level, had anything to do with this, his response was precise.

“I learned everything I know about respect, focus, hard work and dedication from playing baseball. I was always taught from an early age that playing baseball is about ability and respect. There is a right way and a wrong way to play the game, and I play the game the right way. I try and live my life the way I play the game.”

Parents often worry about their student-athlete as they head off to college for their freshman year in terms of academics and athletics. Will they play enough? Will they get a good education? Will they make the right decisions? Both Trevor and Kellen are great examples of student-athletes becoming upstanding, respectful citizens upon graduation. So much goes into being a collegiate athlete that is behind the scenes, and those who can’t handle the responsibility of hard work, dedication, commitment and respect will quickly make the adjustment or fade away.

The first step towards finding the right school for your son or daughter is through an aggressive and meaningful recruiting process. We here at the National Collegiate Scouting Association understand what it takes to not only be a student-athlete, but also be a well-rounded citizen. We understand the process and the requirements better than anyone in the business and we urge you to take that first step towards starting that recruiting process. The road may seem long and harrowing, but what lies beyond it for your future student-athlete is truly amazing and will make you proud.

Sports Illustrated recently questioned the effectiveness of paper mailing in recruiting techniques.

During his sophomore year at Santa Barbara (Calif.) High, Roberto Nelson placed a cardboard box behind a green recliner in the family room of his home. It was a decent-sized container—it once had been used to ship a microwave—and a sufficient catchall. If he tossed something behind the recliner, it almost always fell safely into the box.

Mail arrived at the apartment complex where Nelson lived at around 2 p.m. each day. Larger envelopes didn’t fit through the slot in the front door, so the mail carrier often dumped the delivery on the doormat. Nelson would leaf through the stack when he got home from school and then toss everything over the green recliner. Sometimes he would mimic a jump shot as he cast that day’s bundle into the box.

The box Roberto Nelson placed behind the green recliner was part of an experiment to see what, if anything, had changed 25 years later. In the era of e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and the like, did coaches still use old-fashioned correspondence to court players? Could recruiting by the post still sway a kid? In short, does recruiting mail still matter?

Nelson would eventually receive scholarship offers from UCLA, Florida, Ohio State and a dozen other top programs. A 6′3″ guard, he was ranked among the top 100 players in the class of 2009. At SI’s request, Nelson saved every piece of mail he received from recruiters. The collection started with that big box but quickly expanded to include another, and then a milk crate, three shoe boxes and two large paper bags. Nelson received 2,161 pieces of mail from 56 programs, a haul so massive that at one point his mother, Roberta, threatened to throw it all in the trash if SI didn’t cart it away. “It can’t stay here anymore,” she said, likening the expanding pile to a giant blob. “It’s taking over my house.”

As the 1984 SI article noted, basketball coaches began embracing the mail as a recruiting technique after the NCAA put restrictions on alternate methods, such as the repeated visits made by Switzer’s assistants. In the 1990s innovation came only in the form of carpet-bombing campaigns such as the one USC basketball assistant David Miller orchestrated in 1996. He twice sent a future Trojan, Kevin Augustine, 500 handwritten letters in a single day.

The only significant change in the last decade has been the targeting of recruits at younger ages. Middle schoolers began receiving handwritten letters from basketball coaches, and some recruiters started sending notes to fifth- and sixth-graders. The NCAA changed the language in its bylaws last year and now prohibits coaches from mailing recruiting materials to a player before June 15 of his sophomore year of high school. But there is a loophole. Coaches are allowed to send camp brochures, questionnaires or NCAA-printed materials, such as eligibility guides, to prospects regardless of their age. Some recruiters inundate a young prospect with those documents so as to get envelopes embossed with their school’s logo into his mailbox. In one instance a basketball program sent one page of the NCAA’s 21-page Guide for College Bound Student-Athletes to a recruit each week over a stretch of more than five months.

Most striking about the correspondence Nelson received was not the volume, not even Kentucky’s whopping total of 295 mailings, but how little of it was personalized. Of the 2,161 pieces of mail that arrived on Nelson’s doorstep, only 200—or 9.3%—featured writing tailored specifically for him. Everything else was a form letter, a media guide, a press release or, most often, a photocopy of a page from a media guide.

With that as the high point it is no wonder that on most days Nelson heaved the latest bundle behind the recliner without even a cursory look. In all, he opened only 387 pieces of mail, or about 18%. (He later permitted SI to open the sealed letters.)

Five other top recruits—three from the class of 2009 and two from the class of 2010—say they also opened only a small percentage of their mail after realizing it was mostly impersonal. Why, then, do schools still send recruiting letters?

“Most coaches, especially the younger ones, know the mail is not the way to build a relationship anymore,” says a recruiter for one Pac-10 school. “But everyone else is doing it, so no one wants to be the one not to.”

In Nelson’s mass of mail it was easier to find an NCAA violation than a well-turned phrase. LSU, for example, sent Nelson four recruiting letters before the NCAA’s first allowable date, then Sept. 1 of the player’s junior year. “That occurred under the previous coaching staff,” says LSU associate AD Michael Bonnette.

“Schools often mistake what year in school a recruit is, or they are just trying to get a jump on everyone else,” says Foti Mellis, an associate athletic director at Cal.

But even those breaking the rules still send mostly form letters and other impersonal correspondence. Thus there would seem to be little separating recruiters from the credit card companies, Pennysaver and Valpak.

They all mail junk.

Noting the environmental cost compared to the number of letters Nelson opened, Gleason asked the obvious question: “If recruits don’t open the letters, why keep sending them? Why waste all that money and paper?”

Some schools might soon ask themselves the same thing. In May, Michigan and Ohio State jointly announced that they would cease printing media guides. Bygones from the pre-Internet age, these publications contain as many as 208 pages (the NCAA-mandated maximum) of records, stats, player biographies and other team information that is now also readily available electronically. Long a recruiting tool, they are no longer of much value on that front either. (Nelson received 44 guides and says he looked at “one or two.”)

Cal, Iowa, Wisconsin and the entire Mid-American Conference quickly followed the Wolverines and the Buckeyes, perhaps signaling the beginning of a trend of athletic departments’ rethinking what they print.

“The environmental issue came up after the decision was made,” says Bruce Madej, Michigan’s associate athletic director. “Mostly it came down to: Why spend $100,000 printing something that is no longer doing what it was meant do be doing?”

Even if coaches continue to recruit via paper mail, the internet has still become the dominant media in the recruiting process. For recruits, the days of paper resumes and mailing film are numbered. Coaches are looking to streamline their recruiting by looking at online profiles and watching streamed highlight videos on the internet.

Q: Are college coaches allowed to send you recruiting letters when you’re a freshman or sophomore?

A: This depends on the sport, below is a chart of when coaches can being sending questionnaires/camp brochures and recruiting materials.

However, an athlete may contact a coach at ANY time.

To see more about recruiting guidelines click on your specific sport here.

Q: When can you talk to a coach? Can you do it through email or in person?

A: Student-athletes can call or write a coach at ANY time. However, coaches are restricted to contacting recruits during times called “dead periods”. You can look up individual sports’ dead periods here. They are also limited in how often they can contact a recruit. To see those dates go here.

A recruit may also talk to a coach any time during an unofficial visit. An NCSA survey found that 58% of college coaches preferred to be contacted in person rather than by email, phone or snail mail. Coaches prefer to meet a prospective recruit on campus in the form of an unofficial visit. The second favored mode of communication was email, and telephone was a close third.

Q: When can college coaches start calling?

A: Here’s a list of the first dates a Division I coach can begin making phone calls to recruits.

Football:   D1 football coaches can make one phone calbetween April 15 and May 31st of  junior year

Men’s Basketball: June 15th after Sophomore year

Women’s Basketball: In Apirl on or after the Thursday following the Final Four

Men’s Hockey: June 15th after Sophomore Year

Women’s Ice Hockey: July 7th after Junior Year

All Other Sports: July 1st after Junior Year

How often the coach can call also varies. For the complete list which also gives the regulations for sending recruiting materials along with dates for official visits go here and click on the desired sport.

In an ESPN article, Andy Katz shows how ever changing practice regulations put in place by the NCAA may be shifting drastically in college basketball.

College coaches have whined for years about the lack of access to their current players in the summer.
The complaint is legitimate. Anyone — notably agents and their hand-picked workout employees — can have complete access to the players. To think there isn’t any influence over the player, especially on his game, is naive. That doesn’t mean all the advice from a third party is wrong. It’s not. But college coaches want to be in control of a player’s college career.

They might finally get their wish — with a hitch.

Next month in Indianapolis, the NCAA’s board of directors will listen to a proposal from the basketball academic enhancement committee, chaired by UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, that would allow coaches access on the court with players as long as they’re in summer school.

The model would be that over an eight-week period the coach would have access to the player, with two hours a week in skill development and the other hours to be determined, with possible uses like watching tape, observing pickup games or weight-room workouts. The only thing the coaches couldn’t do is have a full practice.

Guerrero said the minimum for a player to be eligible to participate is three hours of summer school in the initial year. In the subsequent summers, the player must attend six hours to be eligible to work out with his coach. The NCAA won’t make this mandatory because there are a number of schools that don’t have summer school (like schools in the Ivy League). According to Guerrero, there is also a cost analysis that has to be taken into consideration.

This is obviously a long awaited change for both coaches and players. Many players enroll in summer school without this ruling in place in order to lighten their academic load during the season. Now while they are advancing academically, they can also improve athletically with coaches that know what specific skills they have to improve. Also, this is a great way to keep players out of trouble. There have been many recent examples of NCAA sanctions that have hurt the eligibility of player. If coaches have more contact with players, they can make sure they stay out of trouble and on top of their grades.

But what does this mean for basketball recruits? According to Katz:

If this is passed in the legislative cycle next year, the July evaluation period might get another tweak in 2010. If college coaches are allowed to work with their own players in July, it will lead to even more coaches and assistant coaches heading back to campus either in place of or between recruiting evaluation assignments in July.

This means that there will be even less time to get evaluated by college coaches! The recruiting world is competitive as it is and if coaches have fewer opportunities to look at potential players it’s even more important that you familiarize yourself with the Five Things You Need to Know About Recruiting and the Five Things You Need to Do to Get Recruited in order to give yourself an edge over the competition.

I came an article about a 2010 football recruit from Pennsylvania named Dakota Royer and it sparked so many thoughts about how complex the recruiting process can be. This young man has emerged as a top prospect for the class of 2010. But it didn’t just happen for Royer. He has put in an extraordinary amount of hard work and made good decisions that have allowed him to become someone college coaches are looking at and talking about.

An all-state defensive end during his junior season, Royer decided to use his speed and strength to help the offense this season. Royer’s high school football coach Mike Williams says, “He became a complete player.” Not many things are more appealing to a collegiate coach, than knowing an athlete can serve more than one purpose on their team. If you want to increase your value as a student-athlete, make sure you are the complete package. Get stronger and more familiar with different positions on the field. If you are a swimmer, look at mastering other events and strokes. If you are a pitcher, become more dominant by adding more pitches to your arsenal. If you are a golfer, be certain your putting game is just as strong as your drive off the tee. There is always more you can be doing and ways you can be getting better to increase your value to a coach and their program.

After his freshman year, Royer transferred to a different high school because of their agriculture programs. His interest in that field is something he plans on pursuing in college. Royer said he had nothing against his previous high school. “It was great there,” he said. “There was not a problem. It’s not like I had to get out of there. I just wanted to do the best thing for my future.” Whatever college Royer decides on, he will be starting off with a great academic foundation and a plan for what he wants to pursue off of the football field. It’s so important to remember you are a student-athlete. Your college search cannot just include the athletic side of things. You don’t have to know exactly what you want to study or major in, but you should have an idea of what kind of academic school you are interested in. Look at everything from class sizes, to what academic programs are offered, to coursework requirements. Part of being the “complete package” for a coach is how you perform in the classroom. So make sure you stay educated on everything regarding your education.

Because Royer has been so proactive in his recruiting process (making his own highlight DVD and attending football combines since his freshman year), he now has the option of choosing from over 20 Top Division I football programs. A decision he will make within the next month – before taking even one “official visit.”

As he has narrowed his choices to a “Top 5,” Royer gave a brief explanation for his interest in each school. This is what grabbed my attention the most from this article. His answers covered such a large spectrum of things that could possibly make or break a student-athlete’s decision on a school. A great example of how multi-dimensional the recruiting process is. From that list of 5, here are some things that Royer considered: familiarity, being close to home, an NFL team’s proximity to the campus, condition of the campus, social aspect of the campus, football stadium, team contract with NIKE, locker room perks.

Finally, in a move fitting of what we now know about Royer, he decided to increase his marketing appeal to college coaches – and perhaps even future NFL scouts. After hearing that a newly-drafted NFL player drew attention on ESPN for making a clean jump OUT of 3-foot deep swimming pool, Royer knew there was only one thing he needed to do. Make that same jump out of 4 feet of water. So, that’s exactly what he did. Now his video is getting hits all over Youtube.

Dakota Royer is the consummate recruit. He has looked at and contemplated everything that will give him the greatest college experience possible. Now it’s just a matter of prioritizing. Out of all of the information he has collected he will choose which school and football program meet his priorities the best. He knows that the decision on where he will go to school and play football is HIS. And the reason he is sitting so comfortably in the driver’s seat: Royer has made himself the kind of student-athlete that college coaches are looking for – “the complete package.”

Right now is the most critical time in the recruiting process where coaches are expecting phone calls from players. If you haven’t started you need to start ASAP. You need to start separating yourself from other recruits on the coaches list.

In order to be adequately prepared for a call with a coach, there are a couple things you must do. You should first think about the following areas: your overall tone, your confidence level and your leadership ability.

Most importantly, you need to make sure that you are enthusiastic when talking to coaches! They will be able to sense if you are doing something else at the time or if you really don’t want to be talking to them. It can be an easy way to lose out on an opportunity and you don’t want to risk it.

Before you have your first live call with a coach, you need to have a couple practice runs.

1. Call coaches at schools you are not interested in, talk to that coach and see how you do. You have nothing to lose since you aren’t really interested in that school.
2. Role play with a teammate, friend or parent and go over the questions you are planning to ask as well as the questions coaches usually ask.

In terms of leaving voicemails:
1. Practice leaving voicemails for coaches on your cell phone or house phone.
2. Listen to your voicemails, would you call yourself back? Goes back to tone and you need to get used to paying attention to this.

When it comes time to actually calling a coach, you need to make sure you have written down your list of questions to ask the coach and you want to have a pen and paper ready.

It is important to have a pen and paper ready!

1. To be able to write the answers to your questions and the questions you were asked
2. You will be more prepared to ask your questions
3. You will remember everything a coach tells you.

If you are prone to saying um or like when you get nervous, it may help to have a note for yourself that reminds you not to say it or reminds you to be enthusiastic. These things are very easy to forget about when on a call.