In this issue's "In My Opinion" section, Frank Pace contributes an article about the college recruiting process - the good, the bad and the ugly. Meanwhile, NSCAA President Al Albert dedicates his column to the everlasting contributions of collegiate soccer to the sport in this country. He suggests that college soccer has been a positive force in this country in spite of the perception that college soccer actually retards soccer's overall growth in America.
With reference to a four-part New York Times series by Bill Pennington about Division I athletics, my contribution to the discussion is a pragmatic look at the dream held by many young American players of earning a collegiate soccer scholarship.
More and more players (and parents) believe it is worth investing several thousands of dollars a year on select dubs, uniforms, showcase tournaments, elite camps, recruitment services and even private trainers to improve the odds of landing a soccer scholarship.
A recent survey of parents at the Jarosi Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, revealed that more than 60 percent of parents view soccer at a "select" level as a means to a college athletic scholarship.
The father of a local U-12 player recently removed his son from a private school the child had attended for eight years. The father plans to use the money he will save on tuition to pay for private trainers for his son with a goal of improving the chances of receiving a soccer scholarship.
Advertisements for elite clubs, camps and recruiting services give the impression that signing on with them will increase chances for a scholarship. They seem to suggest that scholarships are there for the taking. Aflyer from an elite club in Ohio, for instance, makes the claim that 80 percent of the club's players receive soccer scholarships.
College recruiting services routinely advertise that their service will improve a player's chance of securing a college soccer scholarship. Alan Yost of the recruiting service NCSA said, "Every high school player who signs on with us expects a scholarship offer...every player!"
A look at the facts paints a far different picture of soccer scholarships. Critics say that select clubs often inflate the number of players who receive scholarships. Many coaches throw away the information from recruiting services, preferring instead to use their own resources and go to many tournaments to watch players. Personal trainers
have offered no data on the number of scholarship athletes they work with. So why do parents buy into the "scholarship sales pitch?"
While there is nothing wrong with using soccer to help a high school player get into one of the best schools - and perhaps get a scholarship - everyone involved should be realistic about the situation.
A study in 1996 determined the following facts for the high school age soccer players:
• There were 8,182 boys and 6,500 girls soccer programs.
• There were more than 283,700 boys and 209,000 girls playing high school soccer.
• There were 51,066 boys and 37,620 girls who were seniors, played soccer and graduated.
• There were 721 college programs for boys and 736 for girls.
• There were 4,326 spots available on college teams for boys; and there were 4416 spots available for the girls.
• There were playing opportunities for fewer than 8 percent of graduating seniors.
• There were 433 scholarships for boys and 806 for girls.
• Less than 1 percent of the graduating boys and around 2 percent of the girls received soccer scholarships.
How's that for a dose of reality? But the good news is that in 2008 the situation is much better, right? Not really.
There are more scholarships available for both men and women. But there are many more players playing the game in high school.
In Pennington's New York Times series, he discussed the scholarship situation for all NCAA sports. According to him, "Excluding the glamour sports of football and basketball, the average NCAA athletic scholarship is nowhere near full tuition, amounting to $8,707. In sports like baseball and track and field, the number is routinely as low as $2,000. Even when football and basketball are included, the average is only $10,409. Tuition and room and board
for NCAA institutions often cost between $20,000
and $50,000."
While the data compiled by the NCAA for the 2003-2004 academic year dealt with all sports, let's focus on men's and women's soccer. The article determined the following:
• Only about 2 percent of all NCAA Division I athletes receive a scholarship.
• There is no such thing as a four-year scholarship. All scholarships are renewable annually.
• There were 330,044 boys and 270,273 girls playing high school soccer.
• There were 2,357 scholarships for boys and 3,964 for girls.
• Those scholarships were awarded to 6,047 boys and 9,310 girls.
• The average award was $8,533 for boys and $8,404 for girls - that means the men's scholarship covered only 39 percent of costs and the women's scholarships covered only 43 percent of costs.
• Only 1.8 percent of high school soccer playing boys received a soccer scholarship; only 3.4 percent of the women received a soccer scholarship.
In the NYT series, Pennington quotes NCAA President Myles Brand as saying, "The youth culture is overly aggressive and while the opportunity for an athletic scholarship is not trivial, it's easy for the opportunity to be exaggerated by parents and advisors. That can skew behavior and, based on numbers, lead to unrealistic expectations."
The statistics above suggest that there is one
Soccer Journal • May-June 2008
NCAA scholarship for every 145 men who played soccer in college. Joe Taylor, a scholarship soccer player from Villanova, said, "It is a huge dogfight to get whatever you can. Everyone is scrambling. There are so many good players, nobody understands how few get to keep playing after high school! If I had to do it over again, I would have skipped a practice every now and then to go to a concert or a movie with my friends. I missed out on a lot of things because of soccer. I wish I could have some of that time back."
It is important that parents and coaches know these statistics and realize how difficult it is to receive a soccer scholarship. Although getting a soccer scholarship is a long shot, there is some good news. Being a good soccer player may give an athlete an edge when colleges award academic scholarships and need-based aid. In fact, there is much more money available to soccer players for academic excellence than athletic prowess. An increased focus on academics will pay greater dividends than soccer excellence in the long run - it may also pay off on the short run.
A recent study by the College Board Association of Princeton, N.J., determined that independent colleges in the United States award more than $10 billion in financial aid each year. This includes awards from institutional funds for scholarships, fellowships and trainee stipends. Add state and federal financial aid funding and there is in excess of $50 billion available for academic and need-based aid each year.
The numbers say that soccer scholarships are relatively scarce. Should your
players stop cracking shots and spend Saturdays cracking the books in a library
instead? Of course not. We know that soccer is a great game. It has an important
place in the lives of your players, whether or not there is a soccer scholarship in
the future. Everyone involved with soccer should just keep the scholarship issue
in perspective. Your players should be playing for fun, fitness and the challenge
of the game. If your players (and parents) are playing only to earn a soccer
scholarship - maybe they should spend more time in the library!
Showing posts with label RECRUITING. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RECRUITING. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
College Scholarships - 1
The elusive college scholarship
Please read the following article on the pursuit of scholarships from the NY Times. As an interesting note, the soccer player in the article who went to Villanova was also recruited by me when I was at Georgetown - mostly based on his play at a summer camp I ran, but I remember the game he is talking about in the article. Interestingly, we only had 1.5 scholarships available in the entire prgram at the time, so were not able to offer him what Villanova was able to do. So even if you are a scholarship level player, you never know what will turn the tide for a coach. Sometimes lack of an offer is not lack of interest - just lack of resources.
Also - read the question and answer from the last blog on recruiting. Very good question regarding goalkeepers in it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10scholarships.html?scp=1&sq=college+scholarship&st=nyt
Please read the following article on the pursuit of scholarships from the NY Times. As an interesting note, the soccer player in the article who went to Villanova was also recruited by me when I was at Georgetown - mostly based on his play at a summer camp I ran, but I remember the game he is talking about in the article. Interestingly, we only had 1.5 scholarships available in the entire prgram at the time, so were not able to offer him what Villanova was able to do. So even if you are a scholarship level player, you never know what will turn the tide for a coach. Sometimes lack of an offer is not lack of interest - just lack of resources.
Also - read the question and answer from the last blog on recruiting. Very good question regarding goalkeepers in it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10scholarships.html?scp=1&sq=college+scholarship&st=nyt
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Important questions for college coaches in the recruiting process
Following is part of an article by Avi Stopper about the college recruiting process. I want to add that I think it is important to ask the coach where he feels you may be within your first 2 years should you join his/her program. If there doesn't seem to be much chance in the first 2 years, then it is not a good soccer option.
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The Question College Hopefuls Must Ask
By Avi Stopper
Wilbur Avataria is a good soccer player. He's been in touch with a dozen or so college coaches, visited a handful of those schools, and scored a stunning goal at Dallas Cup. Recruiting is moving along pretty well for him. But there's one glaring exception: he has no idea how serious any of these coaches are about having him on their teams.
Yes, he's sent them a profile, a copy of his transcript, and a video. He's visited their campuses, watched practices, and stayed with players. And he's gotten the coaches to see him play. It really seems like he's actually being recruited. (He text messaged his teammate the other day: "omg! it's happening!!! ttyl")
The problem? Despite the strides he's made, his status is still largely unclear. For all he knows, there could be 50 other players in the exact same position - and in fact, there probably are. College coaches maintain massive databases that contain up to 1,000 players. Gradually, coaches pick up information about the players in their database and then try to make well-reasoned judgments about who's right for their team.
Some players like Wilbur do everything right - they provide coaches with transcripts, schedules, videos, recommendations, etc. - but then fail to ask The Question: "Where do I stand?" The answer to this question is the only thing that really matters in recruiting.
Doing the legwork to get to a college coach to know enough about you to make a well-reasoned judgment is essential. But once this has been accomplished, you must ask the college coach for an honest assessment.
Before you go practice on your little brother, remember that The Question isn't meant to be an interrogation. You don't want to back the college coach into a corner with aggressive questioning. No less, the coach has the responsibility to provide you with an honest answer.
Here are four responses you might hear:
1. Join Us! In the best case scenario, the coach will tell you that he'd really like you to come play for his team.
2. Uh, Sorry. There's always the possibility that you'll hear something like, "We don't feel like you're a good fit for our team." Ouch. It may sting, but getting this sort of honest response, painful as it may be, is actually a good thing. It lets you focus on the schools that are interested.
3. More Info Needed. Another response you may hear is, "We need to see you play more before we make a decision." This is great because it helps you plan your next steps.
4. Ambiguous Blah. You may also get an ambiguous response along the lines of, "We think you can contribute." Don't be afraid to ask a follow-up question like, "What exactly does that mean?" The coach may still not be forthcoming, which is why it's essential for you to communicate with coaches at multiple schools.
The best player-college coach relationships are built on honesty and respect. By being forthright about your interest and asking the coach to do the same, you're setting the right precedent.
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The Question College Hopefuls Must Ask
By Avi Stopper
Wilbur Avataria is a good soccer player. He's been in touch with a dozen or so college coaches, visited a handful of those schools, and scored a stunning goal at Dallas Cup. Recruiting is moving along pretty well for him. But there's one glaring exception: he has no idea how serious any of these coaches are about having him on their teams.
Yes, he's sent them a profile, a copy of his transcript, and a video. He's visited their campuses, watched practices, and stayed with players. And he's gotten the coaches to see him play. It really seems like he's actually being recruited. (He text messaged his teammate the other day: "omg! it's happening!!! ttyl")
The problem? Despite the strides he's made, his status is still largely unclear. For all he knows, there could be 50 other players in the exact same position - and in fact, there probably are. College coaches maintain massive databases that contain up to 1,000 players. Gradually, coaches pick up information about the players in their database and then try to make well-reasoned judgments about who's right for their team.
Some players like Wilbur do everything right - they provide coaches with transcripts, schedules, videos, recommendations, etc. - but then fail to ask The Question: "Where do I stand?" The answer to this question is the only thing that really matters in recruiting.
Doing the legwork to get to a college coach to know enough about you to make a well-reasoned judgment is essential. But once this has been accomplished, you must ask the college coach for an honest assessment.
Before you go practice on your little brother, remember that The Question isn't meant to be an interrogation. You don't want to back the college coach into a corner with aggressive questioning. No less, the coach has the responsibility to provide you with an honest answer.
Here are four responses you might hear:
1. Join Us! In the best case scenario, the coach will tell you that he'd really like you to come play for his team.
2. Uh, Sorry. There's always the possibility that you'll hear something like, "We don't feel like you're a good fit for our team." Ouch. It may sting, but getting this sort of honest response, painful as it may be, is actually a good thing. It lets you focus on the schools that are interested.
3. More Info Needed. Another response you may hear is, "We need to see you play more before we make a decision." This is great because it helps you plan your next steps.
4. Ambiguous Blah. You may also get an ambiguous response along the lines of, "We think you can contribute." Don't be afraid to ask a follow-up question like, "What exactly does that mean?" The coach may still not be forthcoming, which is why it's essential for you to communicate with coaches at multiple schools.
The best player-college coach relationships are built on honesty and respect. By being forthright about your interest and asking the coach to do the same, you're setting the right precedent.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The College Decision Process - part 1
Georgetown – 22 years – Advice for contacting coaches for recruiting..
Part 1
Above all else – the student-athlete must be the one to contact the coach first. There is always a “yellow flag” that goes up when the parent calls or e-mails first. I am sure you can think of some of things a coach may conclude:
The player is not really interested – just the parent.
The parent does everything for the player.
The player does not have good interpersonal habits, so the parent is covering.
A player making the first contact is much more impressive. We will be coaching and mentoring the player, not the parents (or not supposed to mentoring the parents). You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Almost no matter what, that is best done by the player. Common excuses are that “I am calling for my son because he is in school and can’t call you from there. By the time he is home, you probably wouldn’t be in the office.”
Obviously, if the player tries to call after school, then he may find the coach is in the office. We don’t work 9-5s – much more than that. We all have voice mail – even if you just leave a message that I am trying to contact you and will call back is better than the call from someone other than you. If you leave your number and ask the coach to call you back, then you are also finding out how interested they may be in you and/or how professional they are.
Remember NCAA rules prohibit a coach from calling you until after July 1st prior to your senior year of HS. So if you are calling before that and leave a message, then you will not (or should not) receive a call back.
After the initial call it would not be improper for a parent to touch base. However, if it now becomes just the parent, then the same conclusions as above may apply. Parents are an important part of the process and can affect things. Obviously a parent should do all he/she can to allow the process to work for the student-athlete. Too much or none at all could spell out certain cautions in the mind of the coach.
Remember that we recruit players whom we feel will help our programs on and off the field and, obviously, fit into the academic profile of the school.
To find out more information on NCAA rules for the College Bound student-athlete you can go the following site:
http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2006-07/2006-07_cbsa.pdf
Part 1
Above all else – the student-athlete must be the one to contact the coach first. There is always a “yellow flag” that goes up when the parent calls or e-mails first. I am sure you can think of some of things a coach may conclude:
The player is not really interested – just the parent.
The parent does everything for the player.
The player does not have good interpersonal habits, so the parent is covering.
A player making the first contact is much more impressive. We will be coaching and mentoring the player, not the parents (or not supposed to mentoring the parents). You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Almost no matter what, that is best done by the player. Common excuses are that “I am calling for my son because he is in school and can’t call you from there. By the time he is home, you probably wouldn’t be in the office.”
Obviously, if the player tries to call after school, then he may find the coach is in the office. We don’t work 9-5s – much more than that. We all have voice mail – even if you just leave a message that I am trying to contact you and will call back is better than the call from someone other than you. If you leave your number and ask the coach to call you back, then you are also finding out how interested they may be in you and/or how professional they are.
Remember NCAA rules prohibit a coach from calling you until after July 1st prior to your senior year of HS. So if you are calling before that and leave a message, then you will not (or should not) receive a call back.
After the initial call it would not be improper for a parent to touch base. However, if it now becomes just the parent, then the same conclusions as above may apply. Parents are an important part of the process and can affect things. Obviously a parent should do all he/she can to allow the process to work for the student-athlete. Too much or none at all could spell out certain cautions in the mind of the coach.
Remember that we recruit players whom we feel will help our programs on and off the field and, obviously, fit into the academic profile of the school.
To find out more information on NCAA rules for the College Bound student-athlete you can go the following site:
http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2006-07/2006-07_cbsa.pdf
Monday, June 30, 2008
answering your questions
Following is an edited response to an earlier blog with several questions that I will answer. Sorry for the delay - was in Europe (yes- the Euros).
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Regarding recruiting, my son will be a sophomore in high school beginning in September 2008, and he would like to hopefully play soccer in college. We have a few questions in this regard and we would greatly appreciate your insights.
We see that most schools have recuriting web form for interested students to fill out. When during a student's high school years would you recommend that a high school student/player fill out such a web recuriting form for colleges that he is interested in, e.g., during his sophomore year, after his sophomore year, during the Fall of their junior year, etc.?
ANSWER: CERTAINLY NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF THE FALL OF THE JUNIOR YEAR. RECRUITING IS HAPPENING EARLIER AND EARLIER...NOT A GOOD TREND IN MY OPINION, BUT REALITY. LET THE COACHES OF SCHOOLS YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN KNOW EARLY.
Also, are such web forms a good and appropriate way for a student/player to make first contact with a college coach? ANSWER: BEST WAY IS VIA A PERSONALIZED LETTER AND/OR E-MAIL. PHONE CALLS ARE GOOD (BY THE PLAYER - NOT THE PARENTS) BUT COACHES CANNOT RETURN A CALL UNTIL AFTER JULY 1st BETWEEN THE JR AND SR YEAR. BE SURE YOU GET THE COACH'S NAME IN YOUR E-MAIL - NOT "DEAR COACH".
And, what other types of and frequency of player/student contact with a college coach would your recommend? UPDATES ON UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS ARE USEFUL. THERE IS A LINE BETWEEN OVERLOAD AND NOT ENOUGH CORRESPONDENCE. COACHES ARE SWAMPED WITH E-MAILS NOW A DAYS, SO BRIEF AND TO THE POINT IS BEST.
Finally, what are your thoughts on college camps? If a student/player is interested in a specific school, would it be a good idea to go to this school's soccer camp, and when would the best time be to attend such a camp, e.g., before the student's junior year, or before the student's senior year? ANSWER: I RECOMMEND GOING TO A SPECIFIC COLLEGE CAMP IF THE PLAYER IS VERY INTERESTED IN THAT SCHOOL. OTHERWISE I RECOMMEND GOING TO A CAMP THAT HAS A NUMBER OF COLLEGE COACHES AT IT (SHAMELESS PLUG FOR ELITE300.COM :) ) EITHER WAY THERE IS A BENEFIT. GOING BOTH BEFORE SOPH AND JUNIOR YEAR IS HELPFUL - AGAIN-ESPECIALLY NOW THAT RECRUITING IS HAPPENING EARLIER THAN YEARS BACK. COACHES NEED TO KNOW YOU BY YOUR JUNIOR YEAR WHENEVER POSSIBLE. NOT KNOWING YOU CERTAINLY DOES NOT ELIMINATE YOU, BUT OTHERS GET A HEAD START IF THEY HAVE DONE THEIR DUE DILLIGENCE.
HOPE THAT HELPS AND GOOD LUCK. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO THROW OUT OTHER QUESTIONS IN REPLY TO THIS BLOG.
Thanks very much for all the great information and guidance you are providing on this blog! And congrats again on the MD ODP boys successes.
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Regarding recruiting, my son will be a sophomore in high school beginning in September 2008, and he would like to hopefully play soccer in college. We have a few questions in this regard and we would greatly appreciate your insights.
We see that most schools have recuriting web form for interested students to fill out. When during a student's high school years would you recommend that a high school student/player fill out such a web recuriting form for colleges that he is interested in, e.g., during his sophomore year, after his sophomore year, during the Fall of their junior year, etc.?
ANSWER: CERTAINLY NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF THE FALL OF THE JUNIOR YEAR. RECRUITING IS HAPPENING EARLIER AND EARLIER...NOT A GOOD TREND IN MY OPINION, BUT REALITY. LET THE COACHES OF SCHOOLS YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN KNOW EARLY.
Also, are such web forms a good and appropriate way for a student/player to make first contact with a college coach? ANSWER: BEST WAY IS VIA A PERSONALIZED LETTER AND/OR E-MAIL. PHONE CALLS ARE GOOD (BY THE PLAYER - NOT THE PARENTS) BUT COACHES CANNOT RETURN A CALL UNTIL AFTER JULY 1st BETWEEN THE JR AND SR YEAR. BE SURE YOU GET THE COACH'S NAME IN YOUR E-MAIL - NOT "DEAR COACH".
And, what other types of and frequency of player/student contact with a college coach would your recommend? UPDATES ON UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS ARE USEFUL. THERE IS A LINE BETWEEN OVERLOAD AND NOT ENOUGH CORRESPONDENCE. COACHES ARE SWAMPED WITH E-MAILS NOW A DAYS, SO BRIEF AND TO THE POINT IS BEST.
Finally, what are your thoughts on college camps? If a student/player is interested in a specific school, would it be a good idea to go to this school's soccer camp, and when would the best time be to attend such a camp, e.g., before the student's junior year, or before the student's senior year? ANSWER: I RECOMMEND GOING TO A SPECIFIC COLLEGE CAMP IF THE PLAYER IS VERY INTERESTED IN THAT SCHOOL. OTHERWISE I RECOMMEND GOING TO A CAMP THAT HAS A NUMBER OF COLLEGE COACHES AT IT (SHAMELESS PLUG FOR ELITE300.COM :) ) EITHER WAY THERE IS A BENEFIT. GOING BOTH BEFORE SOPH AND JUNIOR YEAR IS HELPFUL - AGAIN-ESPECIALLY NOW THAT RECRUITING IS HAPPENING EARLIER THAN YEARS BACK. COACHES NEED TO KNOW YOU BY YOUR JUNIOR YEAR WHENEVER POSSIBLE. NOT KNOWING YOU CERTAINLY DOES NOT ELIMINATE YOU, BUT OTHERS GET A HEAD START IF THEY HAVE DONE THEIR DUE DILLIGENCE.
HOPE THAT HELPS AND GOOD LUCK. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO THROW OUT OTHER QUESTIONS IN REPLY TO THIS BLOG.
Thanks very much for all the great information and guidance you are providing on this blog! And congrats again on the MD ODP boys successes.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
More on the Non-Academic/soccer factors in the college decision
Non-academic-athletic factors – These include the location of the school (urban or rural), size of school (and of classes), off-campus activities, housing, social life, etc.
Consider where you are when you step off campus. What does the city or town offer and is it what you are looking for. This is not saying that one scenario is better than another, but your entire college life will not just be within the confines of the campus. If you are in a major city, then you have the option of taking advantage of the many cultural and social outlets that will be there. At the same time you will have the challenges that a big city brings – transportation, safety, noise, etc.
If you come from a small private school with small class sizes you may wish to continue that. Ask the average class size at the school. There is usually a direct correlation of class size to total student body size. What are you comfortable with?
Clearly you need to see what other the school offers within its campus that will enhance your experience. That may be concerts, clubs to join, speakers and many other events.
Spend a night in a dorm if you can. Certainly if you are a potential student-athlete then you should take an overnight visit to get to know the team. Remember that the dorm room is critical to your enjoyment as you will end up back in that room everyday you are in college.
Truly, just walking around and looking at the current students gives you an idea of what you would be joining. The best thing that can happen is that at some point during your visit to a school you are able to say – “I know this is for me”.
Consider where you are when you step off campus. What does the city or town offer and is it what you are looking for. This is not saying that one scenario is better than another, but your entire college life will not just be within the confines of the campus. If you are in a major city, then you have the option of taking advantage of the many cultural and social outlets that will be there. At the same time you will have the challenges that a big city brings – transportation, safety, noise, etc.
If you come from a small private school with small class sizes you may wish to continue that. Ask the average class size at the school. There is usually a direct correlation of class size to total student body size. What are you comfortable with?
Clearly you need to see what other the school offers within its campus that will enhance your experience. That may be concerts, clubs to join, speakers and many other events.
Spend a night in a dorm if you can. Certainly if you are a potential student-athlete then you should take an overnight visit to get to know the team. Remember that the dorm room is critical to your enjoyment as you will end up back in that room everyday you are in college.
Truly, just walking around and looking at the current students gives you an idea of what you would be joining. The best thing that can happen is that at some point during your visit to a school you are able to say – “I know this is for me”.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
more on the college decision process
Parts 3 and 4 of a decision...
3. Non-academic-athletic factors – These include the location of the school (urban or rural), size of school (and of classes), off-campus activities, housing, social life, etc
4. Financial Factors – Obviously this is critical, but I put it last for a reason. I strongly urge people to try and decide on the college they want to go to and then see if they can make it work financially. You will be amazed at the many ways of working out a plan to pay for school. Your best resource for help is the financial Aid Department at that school. Many of the high cost schools have some creative ways of funding the education. Naturally, you may have the opportunity for athletic scholarships (if you are the best of the best), but there are other ways to get to the school you want).
I will expand on these 2 areas in the next blog.
3. Non-academic-athletic factors – These include the location of the school (urban or rural), size of school (and of classes), off-campus activities, housing, social life, etc
4. Financial Factors – Obviously this is critical, but I put it last for a reason. I strongly urge people to try and decide on the college they want to go to and then see if they can make it work financially. You will be amazed at the many ways of working out a plan to pay for school. Your best resource for help is the financial Aid Department at that school. Many of the high cost schools have some creative ways of funding the education. Naturally, you may have the opportunity for athletic scholarships (if you are the best of the best), but there are other ways to get to the school you want).
I will expand on these 2 areas in the next blog.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Advice for Recruiting - #2
“The Main Ingredients”
Part 1
I often give talks on the college recruiting process to HS, club and camp groups. I break down the process into 4 categories of consideration:
1. Academics – Find the schools that are the best challenge for you. Be sure they have the areas of study you are interested As many will not know yet what they want to study and some of you will change your mind, make sure you find out how one goes about deciding on a major at each school. Is it easy to change direction after a year or 2? NCAA rules give you 2 years before you need to declare a major – plenty of time to figure things out (and change your mind!)
Category 2 next... Athletics/Soccer
Part 1
I often give talks on the college recruiting process to HS, club and camp groups. I break down the process into 4 categories of consideration:
1. Academics – Find the schools that are the best challenge for you. Be sure they have the areas of study you are interested As many will not know yet what they want to study and some of you will change your mind, make sure you find out how one goes about deciding on a major at each school. Is it easy to change direction after a year or 2? NCAA rules give you 2 years before you need to declare a major – plenty of time to figure things out (and change your mind!)
Category 2 next... Athletics/Soccer
Monday, July 9, 2007
RECRUITING ADVICE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Georgetown – 22 years – Advice for contacting coaches for recruiting..
Part 1
Above all else – the student-athlete must be the one to contact the coach first. There is always a “yellow flag” that goes up when the parent calls or e-mails first. I am sure you can think of some of things a coach may conclude:
The player is not really interested – just the parent.
The parent does everything for the player.
The player does not have good interpersonal habits, so the parent is covering.
A player making the first contact is much more impressive. We will be coaching and mentoring the player, not the parents (or not supposed to mentoring the parents). You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Almost no matter what, that is best done by the player. Common excuses are that “I am calling for my son because he is in school and can’t call you from there. By the time he is home, you probably wouldn’t be in the office.”
Obviously, if the player tries to call after school, then he may find the coach is in the office. We don’t work 9-5s – much more than that. We all have voice mail – even if you just leave a message that I am trying to contact you and will call back is better than the call from someone other than you. If you leave your number and ask the coach to call you back, then you are also finding out how interested they may be in you and/or how professional they are.
Remember NCAA rules prohibit a coach from calling you until after July 1st prior to your senior year of HS. So if you are calling before that and leave a message, then you will not (or should not) receive a call back.
After the initial call it would not be improper for a parent to touch base. However, if it now becomes just the parent, then the same conclusions as above may apply. Parents are an important part of the process and can affect things. Obviously a parent should do all he/she can to allow the process to work for the student-athlete. Too much or none at all could spell out certain cautions in the mind of the coach.
Remember that we recruit players whom we feel will help our programs on and off the field and, obviously, fit into the academic profile of the school.
To find out more information on NCAA rules for the College Bound student-athlete you can go the following site:
http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2006-07/2006-07_cbsa.pdf
Part 1
Above all else – the student-athlete must be the one to contact the coach first. There is always a “yellow flag” that goes up when the parent calls or e-mails first. I am sure you can think of some of things a coach may conclude:
The player is not really interested – just the parent.
The parent does everything for the player.
The player does not have good interpersonal habits, so the parent is covering.
A player making the first contact is much more impressive. We will be coaching and mentoring the player, not the parents (or not supposed to mentoring the parents). You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Almost no matter what, that is best done by the player. Common excuses are that “I am calling for my son because he is in school and can’t call you from there. By the time he is home, you probably wouldn’t be in the office.”
Obviously, if the player tries to call after school, then he may find the coach is in the office. We don’t work 9-5s – much more than that. We all have voice mail – even if you just leave a message that I am trying to contact you and will call back is better than the call from someone other than you. If you leave your number and ask the coach to call you back, then you are also finding out how interested they may be in you and/or how professional they are.
Remember NCAA rules prohibit a coach from calling you until after July 1st prior to your senior year of HS. So if you are calling before that and leave a message, then you will not (or should not) receive a call back.
After the initial call it would not be improper for a parent to touch base. However, if it now becomes just the parent, then the same conclusions as above may apply. Parents are an important part of the process and can affect things. Obviously a parent should do all he/she can to allow the process to work for the student-athlete. Too much or none at all could spell out certain cautions in the mind of the coach.
Remember that we recruit players whom we feel will help our programs on and off the field and, obviously, fit into the academic profile of the school.
To find out more information on NCAA rules for the College Bound student-athlete you can go the following site:
http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2006-07/2006-07_cbsa.pdf
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