NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

We recently caught up with the Head Coach of the co-defending champs of the New England Collegiate Conference, Mike Leonard. During this busy spring season he was generous enough to let us know more about the Blazer traditions and his coaching style:

1. How would you describe yourself as a coach?

As I coach I pride myself in being hard working, positive, energetic, consistent, and organized.  Our practices are always high energy and we utilize our time by following an organized and specific practice plan daily.  I expect a lot out of myself as a coach and therefore expect a lot out of my players.  The baseball players here at Elms are constantly being challenged as individuals and as a team which I believe bring out the best in them.

2. What is unique about the experience at your school?

Elms College is a small school which creates an outstanding environment for learning and athletics.  In a word I would describe as Elms as a “family”.  There is never a shortage of support for students dealing with academic, personal, or athletic issues and is a large reason for the success of our student athletes.

3. What do recruits need to know about you?

Recruits need to know that when they come to Elms, they will get a full commitment from me to help them improve.  I always tell my players and future players that if they have the work ethic and the desire to improve I will do everything possible to help them achieve their goals.  Whether it’s in the weight room, in the batting cage, on the mound, in the field, or in the classroom, I am always willing to help them get better.  If players come to Elms with the work ethic and the desire to become a better baseball player, they will leave Elms a better baseball player.

4. What do you look for in recruits?

I look for work ethic and commitment in recruits.  I like recruits who shown dedication to their previous teams and have been willing do anything to help the team win.  I also look for recruits who have shown the ability to lead on and off the field.

5. What is the one thing every recruit needs to do with the recruiting process?

Recruits need to know that if they are serious about a school, they should let the coach know that.  Nothing is more frustrating than communicating with a player and not getting responses or getting generic responses.  Recruits who do their homework on a school to know if it fits what they are looking for in a college and who can communicate that to the coach are always great to deal with.

6. What sort of questions do you really like to hear from recruits?

I always like to have recruits ask me how our practices are run, what our schedule is like, and how we have done in the past.  In addition, it’s always important for recruits to ask about the academic commitments of the school to see if it is the right fit for their academic needs.

7. What turns you off when you are recruiting a student athlete?

Arrogance and dishonestly are my biggest turn offs from recruits.  Even if a recruit has ability above our level of play, and they are not interested, I would rather them be an adult and say thank you for the call but I am not interested rather than pretend to be interested.  There is nothing wrong with telling a coach that the school is not what you are looking for, but be sure to at least listen to what the coach has to say and look over the schools website, you may be surprised at what a school you have never heard of has to offer.

8. What do you think your program is the most successful at?

I am in my first year as the head coach here, but I want to make it a priority that our program has success making our baseball players better people.  I believe in the division III philosophy of using athletics as way to enhance a student’s educational experience.  I want our players to have great baseball careers that will lead them to a college degree and help them be a productive part of society after college.

9. Why should a recruit consider your program?

Recruits should consider Elms if they are serious about the game of baseball and are looking for an environment where they can achieve their academic, social, and athletic goals with the help of great faculty and staff.

10. If a recruit is interested in your program, how should they reach out to you?

Recruits can contact me through mail, email or by phone.  Emails and letters are perfectly ok, but a phone call shows an elevated level of interest and will definitely be received with higher priority than a letter or email.

You can learn more about Elms College as well as reach out to Coach Leonard by going directly to their website below:

http://athletics.elms.edu/sports/bsb/index

One of the most common questions we receive from parents who are guiding their son or daughter through the recruiting process is this:

“What can I do to help my child get recruited by college coaches?”

While the answer is not always simple and usually requires far more work than any parent ever expects, every family needs to understand what they need to do.

After working with thousands of student athletes and college coaches, NCSA has been able to answer that question through a list of Five Recruiting Requirements that every student athlete and family must posses in order to be successfully recruited.

Here are the Five Recruiting Requirements:

1. Evaluation
2. Verified Website
3. Highlight / Skills Video
4. College Contacts
5. Guidance

Over the next five issues of our newsletter, we will focus on one of the steps in this process beginning with the first thing that must happen:  Evaluation.

An objective third party evaluation of a student athletes’ athletic and academic ability about what colleges and universities they might qualify for must be the first step every family takes.  Without that knowledge, the recruiting process will lack the direction needed to find the right fit.

Often parents and student athletes are unsure of what level of play their abilities might make them a good candidate for.  Unfortunately, many families tend to overstate their abilities which can lead to unrealistic expectations of DI scholarships offers.

85% of the opportunities to play collegiate athletics fall outside of the DI scope which means that the vast majority of collegiate athletes are playing at the DII, DIII, NAIA, and NJCAA level.  These schools offer not only wonderful academic experiences, but also attractive financial packages for serious student athletes.  Many families discount DIII opportunities simply because they do not offer “athletic” scholarships.  A study done about NCSA’s graduating class of 2008 revealed that our DIII athletes received an average of over $21,000 in financial assistance.  If you understand how DIII recruiting operates, you will quickly realize there are other avenues for financial assistance that can make these schools more affordable than the in-state alternatives.  If you are only pursuing DI colleges and universities, you are hurting your odds of playing at the next level.  Here are three simple steps to follow:

• Listen to an expert - Speak with a trusted source who has knowledge of what college coaches at each level are looking for athletically and academically and listen.  You can find sport specific recruiting guidelines from NCSA that will help you begin that process.
• Be realistic – If the trusted source indicates that you are a DII or DIII athlete at that point, then it is time make sure your expectations are aligned with your athletic and academic ability.
• Research - Once you have received an honest and accurate assessment of your ability and have acknowledged the proper level of competition that fits that evaluation, you should begin to research those schools.  This will focus your search and save you a great deal of frustration.

Sending athletic information to a DI college coach when your academic and athletic qualifications dictate you might only be a DII athlete is a no win situation.  The college coach will not spend his limited resources recruiting that student athlete and the families will waste time, effort, and money pursuing the wrong opportunities.

Next week I will discuss the second Recruiting Requirement:  Verified Website.

Last week we discussed the first step that every student athlete must take:  Receiving an objective evaluation.  Once you have taken that step and you have developed realistic expectations, it is time to convey your academic and athletic abilities to the college coaches through the second step:  Building an Athletic Resume Website

Years ago, families would send hundreds of paper resumes to college coaches through traditional mail distribution channels, thankfully those times are behind us.  With the improvements in technology, information is easily updated and sent through the internet which has changed the way college coaches recruit.  In today’s recruiting world, student athletes need to have some sort of athletic online resume.

Why an online resume?

Let’s start with the obvious.  Every student athlete needs an athletic and academic resume.  This will allow college coaches to examine all the important measurable information they need to make decisions.  With that in mind, families can either create a physical paper resume or build an online resume.  Let’s look at the advantages of having that information online compared to paper:

• Customization: As student athletes progress through the recruiting process, the majority of their athletic and academic information will change. In some cases this information will change frequently. The idea of updating a paper resume and printing out a new copy for every change seems rigid and difficult. However, most websites and online resumes can be changed within seconds making them much more logical to use for this type of resume. Advantage: Online Resume

• Distribution:Let’s assume that a student athlete is qualified for 200 college programs. Each one of those programs has multiple coaches on the staff and each one should receive the information to ensure it will be reviewed. If each program has 4 coaches, that information now needs to be sent to 800 individuals. The thought of sending a paper resume through the mail to 800 people should make most families shudder. The evolution of the internet and email has now made traditional mail channels almost obsolete. Emailing the information to 800 coaches does not seem nearly as time consuming or expensive. Advantage: Online Resume

• Trackability: Once the information has been sent off to college coaches, the knowledge of whether or not it has been looked at will be critical in determining the next steps. When sending a paper resume through the mail, the only way a student athlete will be able to know that a college coach has seen their information will be waiting on a response or return letter which might never happen. Advances in technology provide student athletes the unique opportunity to place tracking capabilities in their online resumes. This means that if they email the college coach, they will know whether or not the college coach opened the information and provide them the understanding of how to follow up. Advantage: Online Resume

What should the resume contain?

To put it simply, the online resume should contain all the athletic and academic information a college coach might be interested in.  The information needed by the college coach will vary depending on the sport.  Every student athlete will not have all the information immediately.  It will be a process of gathering all the data needed throughout the recruiting experience.  However here is a list of some basic aspects that each resume should contain:

• Personal Info
• Statistical Info
• Scholastic Info
• Athletic History
• References

Remember, the purpose of this online resume is to spark the interest of the college coach and convince them to allocate their time and money towards recruiting that student athlete.  Of course the quality of the athletic and academic information being evaluated will be the single most important determining factor.  However, the coach might only look at the information for a few seconds, so the more professional in appearance and the easier to navigate, the better the odds are that they will take the time to evaluate the entire resume.

For an example of NCSA’s athletic resume website that we create for our student athletes, click here.

Next week I will discuss the third step in the process:  Highlight / Skills Video

A critical part of recruiting for college coaches is the evaluation process.  Simply put, if college coaches do not believe a student athlete possesses the ability to play for their school, they are not going to spend their recruiting resources pursuing that student athlete.  In most cases, college coaches have two choices when attempting to evaluate a student athlete.  They can either watch a student athlete compete in person or they can accomplish a similar evaluation by watching a highlight or skills tape.

Most college coaches would agree that in an ideal process, all their evaluations would take place in person to allow for the most thorough assessment. Unfortunately, college coaches are restrained by time and money when recruiting which is why a highlight or skills tape has quickly become the most efficient way for a college coach to initially evaluate talent.  Let’s compare the two ways that college coaches can evaluate a student athlete based on two key factors:

Time: While recruiting is a significant portion of a college coach’s job responsibility, they are also in charge of actually coaching and managing their team.  It would be impossible for a coach to travel to high school competitions, showcases, tournaments, etc. to evaluate all of their prospects.  This much travel would never allow a coach the opportunity to evaluate prospects outside of their immediate geographic region.  Utilizing the skills or highlight tape allows a college coach to initially evaluate potentially hundreds of student athletes all across the nation in a matter of days, making the process far more efficient.

Money: College coaches are always constrained to a specific recruiting budget.  On average, this budget is less than $1,500.  Aside from being time consuming, traveling to evaluate prospects in person is extremely costly.  However, athletes should never make the mistake of thinking this means that grant and scholarship money is unavailable.  Remember, scholarship and recruiting money come from two different pools.

Between time and money, it becomes clear why the highlight or skills tape is far more effective and efficient for college coaches to evaluate prospects.  Of course, the college coach most likely will want to evaluate the student athlete in person at some point, but the initial evaluation is almost always done by watching film.

Now that we have established why the highlight and skills tape is more logical for college coaches, here are some crucial questions to ask when taking this mandatory step in the recruiting process.

What should I film?

The purpose of the highlight or skills tape is to allow the college coach to evaluate a student athlete’s ability.  Each sport will require a different set of skills to be filmed and it is vital you capture the necessary skills for a coach to make an informed decision.  NCSA has developed thorough, sport specific guidelines after surveying college coaches.  For information about those guidelines, click here.

Also keep in mind that coaches are now using film to evaluate student athletes in all sports.   In the past, some families and student athletes felt as though, due to the nature of their sport, they did not need a highlight or skills tape.  For example, because sports such as track and swimming are “time” oriented and more objective, the misconception was that college coaches only need the hard numbers.  With increased competition for recruits, college coaches not only want the times and numbers, but they also want to watch technique to factor in the potential of a student athlete.

The bottom line is that every athlete in every sport needs a highlight or skills tape.  Each sport dictates a different set of skills be filmed, and if you do not know exactly what to film then the student athlete might not be receiving the proper evaluation from college coaches.

How should I edit the film?

Once the footage has been taken, it is time to edit the film in order to best present the student athlete.  It is important to sequence the video in a way that will make a college coach want to watch more.  If the first few plays or skills are unimpressive then chances are the college coach will not spend his time watching the rest.

Also, make sure the student athlete being evaluated can be easily identified.  In sports such as basketball, football, soccer, and many others, the amount of athletes on the field or court make it difficult for a college coach to distinguish the student athlete they are supposed to be watching.  That’s why NCSA employs a technique called “spot shadowing” to highlight the individual student athlete.  Check out the differences:

Enhanced

Unenhanced

Which student athlete is going to be evaluated accurately?

How should I send the highlight / skills tape?

Once you have gathered all the footage, sequenced the highlight or skills tape to accommodate a college coach’s evaluation, it is time to send the video out to the coaching community.  This crucial step will require college contacts and some sort of mechanism to distribute the information to a sufficient number of coaches.  Next week, we will discuss the fourth step in the recruiting process:  College Contacts.

One important reality that student athletes and families must face during the recruiting process is that receiving a few letters from college coaches does not constitute serious recruitment. While finding a few letters in the mailbox and email inbox might indicate a good start to the process, it certainly does not mean a scholarship is inevitable.

After a student athlete has put together an athletic resume website and highlight or skills tape, the next step involves connecting that information with an expansive college coaching community…

In order to fully grasp the importance of having the appropriate number of contacts with college coaches, it is helpful to analyze how the coaches themselves begin their recruiting process:

Once a college coach has developed a massive list of potential student athletes who might be a good fit for their program, it comes time to contact the student athletes. Even though college coaches are always restricted by their recruiting budgets as I have discussed in the past, they usually begin their process by contacting thousands of student athletes. Of course that number will vary depending on the sport and amount of money a coach has available, but either way it is almost always surprisingly high.

For example, a DI college football coach who has 20 scholarships available for next years team might begin the process of filling those spots by sending out 8,000 letters! Why on earth would the coach contact that many prospects if the coach only has room for a small percentage on their roster? The answer is simple: The more options that coach has, the better opportunity he will have to find the right fit.

Student athletes and families need to play the same game.

When beginning a marketing campaign to the college coaching community, depending on the sport, the student athlete should target a minimum of 100 (preferably 200) schools. Keep in mind that many college coaching staffs have numerous coaches and I would recommend sending the student athlete’s information to as many as possible. This will involve a lot of work researching each school’s athletic website and gathering as much contact information as possible. Given the number of coaches on each staff, this might require sending the athletic resume and highlight or skills tape to hundreds of individuals. If you would like to learn how NCSA might be able to streamline this process through our relationships and technology, click here.

NCSA has learned that families typically receive a 10% return on marketing campaigns to college coaches. This means that if a student athlete reaches out to 100 colleges, assuming they qualify athletically and academically for those schools, they should realistically expect to wind up with about 10 legitimate college contacts. There are certain ways to improve those percentages and here are a few tips:

Be open to start the process

Families need to realize how many opportunities actually exist at the collegiate level and be open. For example, there are over 1,600 colleges and universities that offer male student athletes the chance to play basketball! If a student athlete is 100 percent committed to playing college athletics, they might have to expand their search to involve as many of those schools as possible…at least initially.

Just as a college coach casts a wide net to begin their process, student athletes and families should do the same. Limiting a search severely at the start of the marketing campaign will diminish the odds of the student athlete playing at the next level. Start the process with an open mind and begin to narrow down the search after they have ample college contacts to choose from.

Be relentless

If a student athlete truly wants to play at the next level then they should be relentless in contacting college coaches. If a student athlete calls a college coach and does not receive an answer right away, try again! College coaches recruit student athletes by employing an unparalleled persistence of sending letters, calling, emailing, and visiting potential student athletes. Student athletes should display the same fervor as they pursue college coaches.

Find an effective distribution mechanism

Once a student athlete has compiled their athletic and academic resume and highlight or skills tape, they face the task of actually sending the information out. The choice of distribution mechanism is critical in increasing the likelihood of the college coach actually receiving the information. The improvements in technology have made email and the internet the easiest and most efficient ways to distribute information in the recruiting process. That does not mean that college coaches are opposed to receiving information via traditional mail channels, so do not neglect that avenue. The most important factor to consider when contemplating the mechanism to utilize is who the prospect information is actually coming from.

College coaches receive information from a lot of student athletes and families. Due to this volume, they simply do not have enough time to review all the information and video they receive. However, if the information is coming from a source that the college coaches know and trust, they are far more likely to evaluate the recruiting package. Whether that source is the high school coach or a credible third party, that familiarity will greatly increase the chances that the information is opened – which is the purpose of sending it!

In order to implement a successful marketing campaign, student athletes and families have to be willing to commit the necessary resources of time, effort, and money. Whether attempting to distribute the information on their own or with the help of a third party, student athletes must have a large number of college coach contacts. Once a student athlete has successfully marketed their information to the coaching community, the knowledge of how to appropriately address each situation that will arise during the next part the process will be critical in determining which recruits are seriously pursued and those who are marked off the coach’s recruiting list. Next week we will discuss the last step in the recruiting process: Guidance.

Now that you have completed all the work of receiving an evaluation, posting an athletic and academic resume online, creating a properly edited and enhanced highlight or skills tape, and distributing all the information to the college coaching community, it is time to turn all that effort into relationships with the college coaches.

College recruiting is all about building relationships.  Just like receiving a few letters from college coaches does not constitute serious recruitment, those letters do not signal a relationship with that college coach either.  In order to develop a productive relationship with a college coach, every student athlete needs the last Recruiting Requirement:  Guidance.

To understand the importance of receiving guidance throughout the recruiting process, it is necessary to examine how college coaches recruit.  Last week, I mentioned that college coaches begin their process by casting a wide net initially in the recruiting process, sometimes contacting thousands of student athletes.  After that initial marketing campaign, the college coach is then looking for reasons to cross student athletes off their recruiting lists in an effort to make their process more manageable.

What does this mean for student athletes?

Essentially, this means that any mistake at any point in the recruiting process could result in the student athlete’s name being moved down a college coach’s recruiting list, or worse yet, crossed off entirely!  At the end of the day, that mistake could result in the absence of a scholarship offer or roster spot for the student athlete.

While this might seem harsh and excessive, it happens all the time.  Some families think the idea that a bad highlight skills tape might prevent their son or daughter from receiving a scholarship offer is absurd.  Or believe the fact that an unimpressive unofficial visit might be the difference maker is unfair.  Unfortunately, it’s the reality of college recruiting.

Again, when thinking about recruiting from the college coach’s viewpoint, it does not seem so excessive.  If the coach receives a poor quality highlight tape and is unable to evaluate a student athlete, why would they spend more time and money recruiting that student athlete when they have hundreds or thousands more to choose from?  It’s far easier to cross them off their list and put in the next tape.

What most families who go through this process realize very quickly is that it’s extremely complicated and overwhelming.  Just think about this short list of situations that a student athlete will face at some point in the process:

• How should I choose which camps to attend?
• How do I know if the coach is seriously interested in me as a recruit?
• What do I do if I sent my video to a coach and have not heard back?
• What should I do on an unofficial visit?
• How do I turn this letter into a relationship?

That is small sample of the types of questions that will come up.  Remember, handling any of those situations incorrectly might severely hinder the student athlete from developing a relationship with the college coach.

Aside from the countless situations a student athlete will face, the process is constantly changing.  NCAA rules change, college coaches change their recruiting strategies, and the technology used changes.

My advice: Seek guidance from an expert!  Make sure your recruiting information and efforts are current.

Given the impact this process will have on a student athlete’s life and the potential damage that can be done if mishandled, make sure to associate yourself with an individual who is an expert on the process.  Every year, thousands of families attempt to navigate the process despite on their own being inexperienced.  I can think of no other aspect of a student athlete’s life that receives equal neglect.  Parents rely on high school and club coaches to teach student athletes how to play their sport.  They rely on teachers to educate student athletes in the classroom.  The same type of specialized “coach or teacher” should be utilized for the recruiting process as well.

This “Recruiting Coach” can be anyone ranging from the high school or club coach, guidance counselor, or an objective third party organization.  Here are some prerequisite requirements to look for when searching for this type of mentor:

* Extensive knowledge about the recruiting process.

This Recruiting Coach should have worked with a number of student athletes who have gone on to successfully compete at the collegiate level.  They should be well versed in the steps that need to be taken from a recruit’s standpoint as well as all the NCAA rules and regulations that might affect a student athlete.

* Recent Experience

As mentioned earlier, college recruiting changes every year, if not more frequently.  If your Recruiting Coach has not been involved in the recruiting process for a number of years then you need to keep looking.  Many parents mistakenly feel their past experience in recruiting can effectively guide their student athlete.  Things have simply changed too much

* College Coach Connections

Ideally your Recruiting Coach will have a large number of contacts among the college coaching community.  This will increase the likelihood that the Recruiting Coach is familiar with the process and better equipped to guide a student athlete.  Simply knowing one or two local college coaches does not constitute college coach connections so make sure to inquire about this during your search process.

The recruiting process is a once in a lifetime experience.  Student athletes cannot go back and “redo” this process which places an enormous amount of emphasis on getting it right the first time.  Through all my years working with families and student athletes, there is one prevailing themes that has remained true regardless of all the changes in recruiting:  “You can never start too early and you can never get too much help.” Make sure every student athlete has an expert in the recruiting process to depend on to ensure they are not being crossed off a college coach’s recruiting list prematurely and given every opportunity to continue playing their sport in college.