NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Every year on the center stage of collegiate sports, we hear the story, often told by television announcers, of the touching tale of the courageous walk on.  Visions of Rudy instantly come to the forefront as the journey of the underdog warrior starts to unfold.  “He was never recruited out of high school by any of the major programs . . .” says the announcer during his crescendo to the game breaking play.  “He has waited his whole life for this moment, battling disappointment after rejection.”  It is heartwarming.  Life is fair again. That could have been me.

There are few stories that compare in nature.  There are fewer that compare in occurrence.  The closest relative to Rudy would be the 71 year old retired truck driver who on his last few dollars cashed in on millions playing the random pick’m game at the local gas station.  The only difference is, that story happens more frequently!

For the serious competitor, walking on to a collegiate athletic team can be compared to earning a medical degree and then working as a custodian.  You both work in a hospital but unlike all of your classmates, you’re not actually doing what you trained so hard to do for so long.  Most collegiate athletes have played their sport since before they could remember, years and years, always starting, usually better and often in the spotlight.  To cash in a lifetime of hard work and natural talent for a dream that was forged from within a child’s perspective seems foolish.

Take football for example.  There are over 800 colleges that offer football as a varsity sport.  Most sports fans in this country can name up to fifty.  In baseball there are over 1000 colleges that offer the sport.  How many can you name?  There are numerous opportunities to explore if the desire to actually play exceeds common ignorance and childhood fantasies.

Walk-ons, just like custodians in hospitals, have vastly different experiences than the scholarship players.  First, the ceremonial National Letter of Intent signing day – that does not happen.  Next, the preferential class scheduling – no.  The second, third, or fourth pair of coaches’ eyes watching you to make sure that you’re taken care of – not so much.  You are a necessary tool to help the real players practice, rarely taken serious, rarely awarded a scholarship and sparingly shown respect.  Rudy was a great film but I hope it is not your story.  Below is a short video of how USC treats its potential walk ons.  There are a few questionable language choices in this clip so do not watch if you will be offended.  USC Walk On Clip

In summary, if you work your entire life to achieve the goal of becoming a college athlete, find a place where you are wanted.  Find a school where you will play and make an impact.  Go somewhere that will set you up to have a great experience while you earn your degree, an environment that will help provide you with teammates for life.  Step outside of your comfort zone and learn all you can of what is out there.  You just might find something that is priceless.

Why do people play sports?

Some play for fun. Some play for glory. Some play for exercise. Some play for competition.

And some play so they can dream. This is one of those stories.

On the field of play, anything is possible. On the field of play, everyone is equal. On the field of play, anyone can win and anyone can lose.

Fresno State’s baseball team did a lot of that this year, losing that is. 27 times in 60 regular season games the Bulldogs came out on the wrong end of the final score. They were wildly inconsistent at the least, underachievers at best. In a word, they were average just like each of us. But that’s the thing about sports, even the most average of players, the most average of teams, can become something more. All it takes is some collective dreaming.

A month and a half later, the Bulldogs are still dreaming. With a record of 33-27 heading into the WAC tournament, they weren’t even under consideration for an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. But my how things have changed.

Do or die in the WAC tournament? No problem. Four straight wins later and their prize was the #4 seed in the four-team Long Beach Regional, which featured three nationally ranked teams. Only one #4 seed had ever won a NCAA Regional. Strike that. Make that two. From there it was on to Tempe, AZ for a date with the Sun Devils of Arizona State, the nation’s #3 ranked team. After dropping the first game and facing elimination, they reeled off back to back wins and a berth in the College World Series. Once in Omaha, down went #6 Rice, #2 North Carolina, and last night #2 North Carolina again, in a winner-take-all bracket championship game.

So that brings us to tonight. The giant-killers from Fresno will take on the other Bulldogs, the ones from Georgia, in the first game of the Best-of-3 College World Series Final.

This team wasn’t supposed to be here. #4 seeds aren’t supposed to make it out of the regional. They aren’t supposed to win 8 NCAA tournament games, all against nationally ranked teams. They aren’t supposed to do all of these things without one of their stalwarts, senior SS Todd Sandell who was thrown off the team mid-season.

But they are, and they did.

The beauty of college sports is that it gives 18-22 year-olds in all corners of the country the opportunity to run with a dream like Fresno State has this month. Any opportunity to compete is an opportunity to dream.

Some play sports for the love of the game. Some play because it is what they are good at.  Some play sports in hopes that greatness is just one play away.

Dream on Fresno State. Dream on.

    After spending the last two years speaking with families about the recruiting process, two clear themes have emerged.  The first is that 99 percent of the families that I speak with are ignorant to the process yet unwilling to acknowledge the fact.  The second theme is that people are typically hesitant to invest in professional assistance.

            The first theme is understandable as most families are navigating this process for the first time so their ignorance is due to lack of education about the process which is not always readily available.  The second theme is rather alarming.  The recruiting process will affect a student athlete’s entire life for better or worse.  Knowing the impact the process might have on their child’s future and the lack of experience most families have, one would think that every parent would want to pursue every avenue possible that might help their child succeed in this process.  Unfortunately, most families hear the word “investment” and immediately eliminate that avenue.  As a former athlete who failed at successfully finding the right school and being forced to transfer colleges, I wish I had as much help as possible even if that meant investment money into some sort of professional assistance. 

            The harsh reality is that even if the family chooses to navigate this process by themselves, it will cost money!  To successfully handle the process, an investment will have to be made financially.  Between videos, mailing profiles, visits, camps, etc. the process will most likely cost a family quite a bit of money.  The irony is that families spend hundreds of dollars on camps, combines, and tournaments thinking they will provide the exposure that is lacking only to realize they rarely do. 

            Just one of these days I would like to ask a parent who seems hesitant to invest money in professional help what they plan on doing with the money they are saving from “saying no” to the service…and better yet, how that expenditure could possibly benefit their son’s future more than helping him make the right college decision professionally?  I have yet to think of an answer that would satisfy me after seeing so many families fail to maximize this process…

   The NCAA and NBA are getting together, and high school basketball players could be the ones who get hurt the most.

   A potentially monumental change to the way youth basketball is structured is in the works. The end goal: to win Olympic gold medals. As outlined by Christopher Lawlor of ESPN, the world of college recruiting could be changing before our very eyes. The idea that high school athletes will be “found” simply by playing for top AAU and club teams is no longer valid. By further restricting the April contact period, many so-called “exposure tournaments” will lose any ability to create exposure for student athletes.

Think AAU will get you a college scholarship? Think again.

   So what is a high school athlete to do now? If you’re committed to playing in college, the onus is on YOU. Your AAU or club team is not going to get you a scholarship. If you want to play in college then you must fully commit yourself to this process and take the initiative. You must create your own exposure by being proactive.

   You only get one shot at being recruited. Are you going to sit back and hope that someone finds you? Or are you going to take ownership of your own future? The decision is yours.

Clearinghouse? Official Visit? Dead Period?  After speaking with hundreds of families and student-athletes on a daily basis about their recruiting experience, I’ve been able to draw a simple conclusion; most families have no idea what these terms mean.  When it comes to recruiting there are a lot of specific guidelines that college coaches have to follow and they are put into terms that most families that aren’t familiar with recruiting don’t understand.

 It is referred to as the “Package Deal.”  An athlete is offered a scholarship to hopefully entice their more talented friend or sibling to also attend a school.  Ohio State’s Greg Oden and Mike Conley were a classic example of this type of arraignment.  The Buckeyes recruited both players and rode them all the way to Final Four.  Along the way Conley emerged from his friend’s shadow and played his way into the NBA Lottery.

Of course, this perfect scenario is far from the norm and sometimes things can get quite complicated. You may recall his running back Rashard Mendenhall leading the Illini to the Rose Bowl and being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in this past NFL Draft.

This weekend his brother, Walter Mendenhall, announced that he will leave the program for Illinois St.  Most observers felt that the only reason Walter received a scholarship in the first place was to further entice Rashard to attend Illinois. 

Now the arrangement has ended poorly for all parties. Rashard was recently quoted, “As long as Ron Zook is there it will be hard for me to support the University of Illinois football team.”

Athletes need to remember that they are making an important decision that will affect the rest of their lives.  The school choice they make needs to be the right fit for them.  At NCSA we strive to help all of our athletes find the right school, but we recognize that sometimes a situation can change.  That is why we stay with all of our athletes throughout college and help with any transfer process that may arise.

by Matt Luckett, NCSA Recruiting Coach

Experience comes in so many different forms for college baseball players.  The biggest jump for baseball players is from high school to college.  This is why so many players take the Junior College (JC or JUCO) route, as it is the best fit for them.

When a four year program gets a JC transfer they are getting a player that is polished and is ready to compete.  Unlike most high school players who do not hone the skills to step in and make an impact as a freshman. Not only are players mature physically but they are more mature mentally.  One of the biggest successes in a transfer is their character.  They will prove it on the road, as well as, on and off the field. Players with grades from 2.0 – 3.0 GPA find the transition to a JC much easier.  This is a great way to get adjusted to the college academic schedule and demand.  Also, when transferring the academic requirements is much lower then a high school student, making it easier to get into a four year school. Many players get overlooked because there are so many ballplayers.  Many JC programs duplicate that of major DI programs.  Thus making the player prepared to make an impact right away.  As JUCO coaches are more reputable than high school coaches when it comes to judging player talent. By attending a JC and proving yourself you may get the opportunity to play at a higher level program then offered out of high school.  Many college coaches have stated that they prefer to take a transfer over a high school freshman.

The one of the most important parts of the recruiting process is doing research and making sure you are on a four-year school’s radar.  Looking at college program’s roster and player bio’s will give you an idea of where you might fit.  Whatever your decision becomes, the junior college is never a bad way to go.