NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

While most 9th and 10th grade athletes in High School are facing the typical challenges of 14, 15 and 16 year olds, soccer standout Ellis Whitt was dealing with something much more serious. His mother, Angela, was in a battle with Breast Cancer that would take her life during his sophomore year.

“Ellis went through a period of his life after that where he didn’t care about much,” said his grandfather George. “He missed his mother that much.”

NCSA Educational Speaker Charlie Adams

“Ellis was the oldest of her children,” said Becky, his grandmother. “Even though things were rough Angela was always there for him, even in the final two years when she was always in bed or the recliner and worn out. He would come in after school or a soccer game and plop down on the bed next to her and tell her about everything that happened. They were so close. She loved jelly beans and this one time she caught him sneaking out of her room with jelly bellies. Here she was, just 84 pounds at that point, and she was chasing him around the house!”

Becky laughed, and she cried, as she reflected on Angela.

“She was a good Christian woman,” Becky added. “She was always concerned about where he was spiritually, and would ask him not to listen to certain music. She was a concerned, loving parent.”

Soccer player Ellis Whitt of Bremen, IN

His grandparents took physical custody of Ellis and his two younger brothers. All of this happened as he was emerging as a potential top soccer talent. The Bremen (Indiana) High School student was blessed with remarkable speed and had all kinds of potential as a soccer player with the realistic ability to possibly be a  College soccer player. He was a successful High School player but for any young person that is serious about becoming a College Soccer player, Club Soccer is critical for many reasons including skill development and caliber of competition. Ellis’ Club Tryouts with the NIFA Premier/Junior Irish U 15 team were just a week after his mother had died.

“I didn’t want to go,” said Ellis. “But my grandmother said I should and that if I wasn’t good enough to make it then I wouldn’t. In the end, I felt my Mom would want me to do it.”

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Roy Roelke, his Club Coach. “They had buried his Mom like three days before. I did not know that at the time. I saw a very quiet, removed kid and recognized he was nervous at that first tryout. He had raw, unrefined talent. He was very fast. I encouraged him to relax and he did well. Two days later, at the final Tryout, a lot of the kids were really nervous because this would determine if they made the team. I took him aside and told him I wasn’t supposed to do this but I told him he had already made the team. He got tears in his eyes and told me his mother had just died and that he really appreciated the way I had handled this.”

“His Coach took him under his wing,” said George, “and we appreciated that. It gave him that male presence that was so important for him at that time.”

“That first year he was very unrefined,” said Roy. “He hadn’t had high level coaching coming from a rural community. One of the things I told him was that if he wanted to play College soccer he would have to work on his weaknesses, and that is what he did.”

Ellis’ academics suffered during that time because he was so low.

“That is something we told College coaches later,” said his Grandfather. “They needed to know why his grades went down. Families have to communicate those kinds of things during recruiting. During this whole time his life didn’t settle down until his senior year.”

“His grandfather,” said Becky, “had been a Middle School Principal in Culver, Indiana. He went in to talk to his teachers, especially in Pre Calc. Sometimes people look at an athlete like Ellis, who is muscular and works out, and think he isn’t motivated as much academically, but George taught him that you have to talk with your teachers and not just assume they will come to you. That will serve him well in College because you have to have relationships with Professors.”

Deep into his junior season, Ellis was not being recruited much. He had played in Club Tournaments (TFA Cup in Cincinnati and the Scott Gallagher Tournament near St Louis) and his team won both, but nothing was coming from the College coaches.

“We were a good Club team,” said his coach, Roy, “but not a national caliber team and unless you play on the national scale you won’t be in front of a lot of College coaches.”

Although Club sports are very important, you cannot assume they lead to scholarships. College coaches go to showcase events and tournaments primarily to evaluate players they already have a relationship with, and not always to discover kids.

Then two things happened that are important in recruiting. Ellis and his grandfather came to hear NCSA’s College Recruiting Simplified in May of his junior year. Junior Irish makes the presentation possible each year at their huge Junior Irish Memorial Day Tournament that draws teams from all over the Midwest. I delivered the Talk in their big white tent. We had a bunch of chairs set up and I poured out the education and the inspiration! I felt like a Tent Revival preacher. Parents walking by the Tent to games came into the tent to listen to the powerful content of the 5 Things You Need to Know and the 5 Things you MUST Do in recruiting. Ellis and his grandfather listened intently. They later talked with NCSA Senior Recruiting Coordinator Doug Vose. Here are the observations Doug made during that talk with his grandmother:

“When I first spoke with Becky Irvin in regard to her grandson Ellis back in June, it was apparent fromthe beginning that Ellis was the sort of athlete that coaches dream of – he eats, sleeps and breathes soccer. Although Ellis is a talented athlete, it was clear that Becky was new to the concept of helping to navigate a student-athlete through the recruiting process. In June, Ellis was receiving mail from some schools due to his solid grade point average, but the family had only seen athletic related contact from one or two schools. The notion that many of Ellis’ peers of similar ability were already being recruiting was a foreign one for Becky.” Doug Vose, Senior Recruiting Coordinator, NCSA

Doug set up an Evaluation Call with NCSA Senior Scout Jenny Goodpaster.

I remember clearly the day I did Ellis’s evaluation after my colleague, Doug Vose, had set up the meeting.  In talking with Ellis’s Grandparents, George and Becky, I could tell they really cared about finding the “Right FIt” for Ellis.  Becky mentioned, when I asked, ‘what are you looking for in a college for Ellis?, she answered, ‘Jenny, we want the professors to know Ellis and have it be personal.’  I knew right then that it was about him being happy and getting a great education.  That is what is important to me as a scout in helping families and changing kids lives.  While soccer
is an added bonus, him searching and discovering a perfect environment to be for the next four year whiles he gets his degree is a true blessing.  Albion College snagged a good one” Jenny Goodpaster, Senior Scout, NCSA

After that thorough Evaluation they then joined the NCSA family.

Wham! This unknown talent from tiny Bremen, IN was now in the data base of College soccer coaches.

“I hadn’t even started recruiting,” said Ellis. “I didn’t know where to start. As soon as I heard your message I got going. Being with NCSA made it so much easier. You don’t have to present yourself everywhere. The College coaches come to you. I had a lot of really good schools come after me because I was in the NCSA data base.”

The other thing that was pivotal was the involvement by his Club Coach. As I always say, it is not ‘the job’ of your High School or Club Coach to get you a scholarship, but there are many that do everything they can, like his Coach. Roy did have connections and one of them was Jerry Block, the Head Coach at Albion College in south-central Michigan. Jerry and Roy both had played for DePauw University (at different times) and knew each other from working camps. Roy let Coach Block know about Ellis. In this case it was the NCSA Profile and the Club coach working together that led to the right fit for Ellis.

“Coach Block loved my NCSA profile,” said Ellis. “The video really made a big difference and he liked that he could see exactly what my grades were.”

The video showed the amazing speed Ellis possessed as a Right Midfielder, Left Midfielder or Forward. NCSA’s Video team put an arrow on Ellis at the start of every play on his tape, making it easy for the College coaches to identify him. You can’t make College coaches play Detective trying to find you on a tape. Their time is too valuable.

“He is brutally fast,” said his Club Coach. Ellis was the Most Valuable Freshman Sprinter for Bremen.

“He has got some wheels,” said Jeff Schlicht, NCSA’s Soccer Recruiting Coach and former College Soccer player at Western Michigan University. Schlicht evaluated Ellis and got his information sent out to Colleges that were the right academic and athletic fit.

Ellis Whitt loves soccer and wants to play it at the next level

Ellis and his grandparents took three visits to Albion. “I liked that it was smaller and I felt very comfortable there,” said Ellis. “The guys on the team were all very nice. They’d let me know about the program and other things than soccer. Albion is 2 ½ hours from home so my family can come see me play. At first, I kind of wanted to go far off to College, but now I like the idea of being 2 ½ hours away.”

“I told him to invite us up,” said Becky. “They have really good food in that cafeteria at Albion! I really liked the Coach. He is a nice young man and I could tell he is a man of character. It is a beautiful campus.”

Becoming comfortable at D3 was a process.

“It took him a while to get there,” said his grandfather. “He had some contact with some D 1’s but didn’t get much interest from them. After talking with lots of people he came to realize he probably could land at a D1 or D2 but sit awhile. If he really wanted to play, he needed to look at D3. He really grew up through this process and came to draw his own conclusions.”

“People don’t understand how competitive D3 soccer can be,” said Roy, his Club Coach. “There are loaded teams with all kinds of kids that were All Conference in High School, Player of the Year in their Conference and State. People should go see Ohio Wesleyan play DePauw sometime.”

“I was surprised at how much talent they have at Albion,” Ellis, who was Offensive Player of the Year twice for his Bremen High School team, said. “I thought I would be one of the better players.”

Ellis went to two games and one practice during his three visits to Albion. It is so important that families take those unofficial or official visits. When you hone in on one school, visit again. Make sure it is the right fit.

Ellis is a young man that loves his sport, and couldn’t imagine being in College without being able to play it. Because of his speed, and how his skills have grown from his excellent coaching in Club, his dream is to play professional soccer after College.

“With all that happened to him,” said Roy, his Club Coach, “it would have
been easy for him to turn into a punk or throw in the towel, but he didn’t. He has faced a ton of adversity with the death of his Mom. I think his story should be shared in the newspapers and on the local TV News.”

His grandfather, George, is grateful they went into the big White Tent that day during the Junior Irish Tournament and heard “College Recruiting Simplified.”

“Without the information from that Talk,” said George, “we wouldn’t have known where to go. I had no clue. We are thankful his information was sent out through NCSA and his Club coach was involved. It really helped to have his video sent out. A lot of coaches called. The thing I noticed was since his information was verified it gave coaches something to look at that was concrete. They knew exactly where Ellis stood academically and with soccer skills. He had several options, but Albion College was the one that really, really cared.

Go where they REALLY want you, where there is funding, and where if you blow out your knee you will still love the College. That’s what I always tell audiences at College Recruiting Simplified.

Ellis says he wants to continue to get better to honor the memory of his mother. “I want to be successful so I can give back to my community in Bremen,” he said. “Maybe I can inspire players to go on and do more than I ever do.”

Ellis Whitt, honoring the memory of his Mother

The College Athletics Recruiting process is not just about trying to connect with a scholarship. It is about growing up and maturing. That’s what Ellis has done.

“At the funeral,” said Becky, “his maturity started to show. He and his twin brother had not had the best relationship up to that point. It was adversarial. He was the older brother who was the soccer star. They were in the background. But at the funeral the two younger brothers were crying so much, and Ellis went over to them and put his arms around them and held them. I saw that and I cried and cried. And ever since then he has helped them. He became that big brother.”

“He is respectful to us always around the house. If the driveway needs the snow shoveled, he just goes and does it. He listens to us. He may not agree with everything his grandparents say, but he is respectful when he disagrees. He knows what he wants. He knows it won’t be easy but he is going after it.”

Ellis has completed his freshman season at Albion, playing in nine games.  Only 7 percent of High School athletes have what it takes to be a College student-athlete. Ellis is one of them…

To Talk with a College Scout about the Recruiting Process, click here

Charlie Adams, Speaker

NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network

cadams@ncsasports.org

Things got real interesting after signing day. I had about 7 offers from Division II and NAIA schools and the Coaches were still calling. I really thought I wanted to go to one school and was mad at my mom for buying me an air ticket to go and check out another school. Right before I left for that visit, I got an email from NCSA saying Stony Brook in NY, a D1AA school, was looking for Tackles. Apparently their commit fell through. I left for my visit just feeling like I could not even consider yet another school. When I got back from my visit, I was certain I had, again, found my school and did not even want to look at Stony Brook online. I was getting a lot of pressure from a couple of schools to sign. I received a threat from one coach stating if I got on a plane to NY, he would pull his offer. In speaking with people I trusted, including a Coach from a Jr. College with no vested interest, I decided I had to check out Stony Brook. I started out online and was very impressed. By the time I spoke with the head Coach, Chuck Priore, I was ready to go check it out in person. So, I did lose the one offer, and things were very stressful for about three weeks because of the timing to get out to NY. I would strongly encourage recruits to hang tough. Don’t let anyone bully you into signing. Check out all your options and keep in mind, you have to do what’s right for you, not the Coaches. You gotta be tough. Saying no can be rough, especially when you’ve established relationships. Passing up signing day can be risky. Ultimately, you’ll know when it’s right.

Thanks NCSA, that last minute email that has changed my life. I’ll red-shirt as Stony Brook and look forward to playing Right Tackle in the years ahead.

Matt Acey

NCSA has been a successful recruiting tool for me and my parents. I was able to get evaluated, build a professional one stop resume online with my edited highlight films, and build relationships with hundreds of coaches who were interested in me because of my website. I received two great D2 offers and finally chose Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, TN. I believe this college is a perfect fit for me athletically and educationally. I am able to pay for the majority of my college through scholarships with the opportunity to gain more athletic monies based on my performance. I am totally pumped to move to Tennessee and pursue my dream that NCSA helped make possible. I could never have done this without my NCSA helper Ryan Newman and all of your great staff. Thank you for all your help and encouragement!

Toby Slagle

Many recruiting stories and professional careers might not begin the way most casual fans would assume. Many 1s Round Picks, All-Pros, and Hall of Famers weren’t initially heavily recruited. They had to work hard to get their name out to schools. Bryan Bulaga is an NCSA recruit who didn’t initially receive interest from many schools. However, he got pro-active and eventually ended up at the perfect school. The right college fit, led to a great collegiate career and to the NFL.

My name is Dalton Spinas and I am a student athlete in California. My primary sport is football (offense / defense lineman), and I also participate in track and field. My journey began when I learned of NCSA and signed on with them as a sophomore. NCSA was helpful because they opened the initial doors as far as getting my information in front of coaches. They also provided a lot of information so that you are educated and understand the process you are going through and how to go about it.

My journey had its ups and downs. I really had a desire to be able to play ball at the Division I level and in my junior year began to hear from a lot of schools from every division (about 70 schools in all). The real excitement for me was hearing from the big football schools like Fresno State, Washington State, and several others that were showing interest. Then, in my senior year things began to change and the division I schools weren’t showing so much interest and some of the division II schools weren’t either. After much frustration I asked one of the coaches that had been recruiting me why the lack of interest now. It came down to size (height). I am just shy of 6’2” and they wanted someone at minimum of 6’3”. That was tough to swallow especially after being told by so many that they can see I will be an excellent football player at the next level. Thankfully my parents made me stay in contact with every coach who had shown any interest – even the division III schools. The constant reminder was that I am one play away from football being over for me do to injury and college is about getting the best education first and foremost. Turns out that one of the schools that I thought I had no interest in and would never attend is exactly where I will be going in the fall of 2010 – Occidental College in southern California. More exciting is that I have been told by the coaches that I am penciled in to start as a true freshman and it is my job to lose!

My advice to anyone currently going through the recruiting process/journey is as follows:

1. Always follow up with any coach/school that contacts you.

2. Make sure you do your homework on the schools showing interest in you to make sure you would feel comfortable on that campus.

3. Do your visits and take advantage of opportunities to stay over night on campus to really get a feel for the school and the students attending the school.

4. Never ever let someone else’s experience dictate your decision. I almost did not take advantage of an invite to a college because of input from some other people, my parents made me go, and it turned out to be a very good visit and I left with my “own” impressions of the school.

5. None of it is real until they call and offer you that scholarship. You will receive tons of letters and emails, but the real serious coaches will begin calling.

6. Keep your mind open because you will find there are a ton of schools out there that you have never heard of that have a lot to offer.

7. Be honest and real with not only yourself, but everyone you are dealing with during the process – having good character and top grades is huge these days for college recruiting.

8. Keep your grades up and be successful in the classroom.

9. Stay positive and keep your chin up. The probability of you attending your first choice for college is slim.

10. Make the college that is interested in you “show you the money.” I appealed the first financial package from Occidental (annual cost of $55,000) and received a second offering that made it very affordable for me to attend. Remember Division III does not offer athletic scholarships.

Good luck.

Dalton Spinas

My name is Kaitlin Robinson and I am a senior at Skyline High in Front Royal, Virginia. My experience with NCSA has been incredible. The staff was always willing to help and answer any questions that my family and I had. The most challenging part for me in the recruiting process was narrowing down my options and making sure it was what I wanted. I wanted a school that was not very big and had a softball program that fit me. That is why I chose to attend Shenandoah University in the fall. Shenandoah is a small college with a 8 to 10 student faculty ratio. They offer a 3, 2 fast track for Occupational Therapy which means I could graduatue with my masters in OT in 5 years. Their softball programs coaching staff is welcoming and open to questions. Observing the team on the field has been a great experience.

The best part of my recruiting process was the support that I got from my family and NCSA. My advice to members and furture members of NCSA is to keep all options open at the start of your recruiting process and narrow your searches by your personal preferences, academically and atheletically. Take advantage of open houses and checking out the different campuses and their athletic programs.

Coming from a relatively small school in Vermont, I face a lot of challenges when I think about continuing on in my career as a college football player. The biggest challenge you could possibly face, besides getting your name out to coaches, is keeping up with the competition. In this day and age the competition is rapidly increasing and teens are developing a lot earlier. One of the most important things you MUST do is stay in shape. In my case I lift weights 3 days a week, when I’m not lifting I’m running. When I told people at my school that I was participating in an NUC combine they thought I was just going to go down there and get beat on. Well, I won the Offensive Line MVP award, that just goes to show you it doesn’t matter where you come from. What you put in, is what you get out. When it comes to getting your name out there, NCSA is incredible. The recruiting seminars are fantastic and they really know what they’re doing. For any young man or woman this whole ordeal can be very stressful, the most important things to do are to keep a clear head and keep up with your school work.

Yes, the Texas Tech opportunity seemed to come out of the blue however it was simmering for a little while.

My wife and I attended Texas Tech. One of my former classmates happens to be the broadcaster for Tech baseball. He had been telling me all along to send video of Zach to their head coach, Dan Spencer, but Zach was pretty clear with us that he wanted to stay in the midwest. Well three weeks ago, there was a big article about Zach in the local paper. My wife posted the link on Facebook. My friend, the broadcaster, saw it and mentioned to Dan Spencer that he needed to check out this kid from Illinois. Tech has had a rash of bad luck with injuries to their pitching staff; they also expect to lose a couple of their current players and at least two of their 2010-11 recruits in the MLB draft. So, they need pitchers.

A couple of days later, about two weeks ago, Coach Spencer contacted me and asked for video of Zach. We sent that down, they took a look at it (and apparently did some background work on Zach on the web) and told us right away that they wanted him. So, we arranged a quick trip to Lubbock and they offered him a recruited walk-on/roster spot. They also told us that it’s possible that they’ll have athletic aid after the draft, however that didn’t weigh on Zach’s decision.

Zach really enjoyed the trip to campus, the players, the coaches, the facilities. Zach wants to major in Finance and Texas Tech has a solid business school. He took a day to think about it and decided playing in the Big 12, for a coach of Spencer’s pedigree (he was the pitching coach at Oregon State when they won national championships in 2006-07), was a great opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.

Interest in Zach has really spiked since his season started (measured by how many coaches are at the games when he pitches). He’s now 6-1 with 2 saves in eight starts and two relief appearances and has a 0.94 ERA. College coaches at his start this past Friday had him pitching at 86 into a 30+mph wind. Last year, Zach’s high school team had two senior starting pitchers that were all-conference so Zach was the 3rd guy. We had so many rain-outs that Zach’s time on the mound was really limited. Now that he’s the #1 starter for his team, which is 21-4, word is spreading fast. I think Tech saw what was happening with him and jumped.

NCSA has definitely been helpful, particularly in showing Zach how to plan out what he needed to do to get the word out – managing the entire process, and showing him what interest was out there for him. What we’ve learned though is that baseball, mostly at Division 1, is greatly affected by the MLB draft, and so opportunities can come up late in the process (late compared to basketball and football).

Current players and recruits (and their coaches), as the spring season goes along get a feel for if/when they’ll be drafted. That projection changes what programs think they’ll need. The smaller schools either get kids who already know that they can’t play at big schools, or wait until the big schools finish making their selections. Sort of a domino effect. We know of several kids that have made their college choice but also know many that are waiting on schools to know what they’ll need.

It’s been an interesting ride and it’s turned out wonderfully for Zach. Thanks for your help and support.

Barry Johnson

Also, I can’t believe how many coaches have been on Ty’s site. We sent a short thank you to every single coach. He has already heard back from several. U or Charleston basically said that he can play any position that he wants. I have to say – I am very happy we went with you at NCSA. Best move that we made!

I am letting you know that we signed with the Air Force Academy to run cross country and track. We did follow your program religiously. It was the major reason that we landed such a great scholarship. This was the best we could imagine particularly with all the costs we have endured over the last two years due to our losses. Shawn has everything paid for. An Academy scholarship is now valued at 500,000 dollars plus. Thanks for everything you and NCSA has done for us. We are so proud.

I have known ever sense I started playing softball that I wanted to play on a college level and without NCSA I could not have done it. NCSA will lead you step by step in the recruiting process and make it a great experience. My favorite part of my recruiting process was hearing the words “we would love to have you on our team”. There were also challenging times in my recruiting process such as trying out for a team but no matter the outcome I knew I did my best and that was a great feeling. Without NCSA I could not have done it and they make my recruiting process the easiest and best it could be.

Kyle is a great kid. You guys are far and away the best recruiting service. We use you exclusively. I have spoken publically among other coaches that you guys are the best service! Your rating system is spot on, as we usually are very excited about a 3 ranking or higher, and that is usually what we aim for.

I loved the whole experience and thanks a ton for all the help. I couldn’t have done it without you!

Thanks to NCSA my dream of playing lacrosse in college has come true. My parents and I were unsure how to begin the recruiting process, what the guidelines were and what to do during the recruiting process. After researching several other options, we spoke with a representative from NCSA and decided to make a commitment to use their services. It was a great decision! Having my video, educational and athletic background available on their website made it easy for me. One of the best services they offered was matching me with colleges and universities. Also, I liked the fact that I could tell which coaches had viewed my information and how many times. I would definitely recommend using NCSA for many reasons. They were always available if I had a question and with a busy schedule it helped me and my parents from having to do all the work. Last week I became the first women’s lacrosse player in my high school to receive a scholarship by signing with Tennessee Wesleyan College. I have worked hard in school and athletics to achieve my goals but thanks to NCSA my recruiting process was easier than we ever thought and successful.