NCSA Blog

Tomorrow is July 4, our Independence Day. It’s a day filled with grilling, fireworks and patriotism.

More importantly, it’s a day for remembering that the United States was once a minuscule group of 13 colonies, overcame the monumental odds, and 232 years ago, broke free of Britain’s reign.

USA Basketball’s fortune is a different story. Since its first appearance in the 1936 Olympics up until 2000, the Stars and Stripes has dominated the competition, losing only two games total in 14 Olympics and winning the Gold 12 times (it should have been 13 … if you don’t know what I’m talking about, look up the 1972 Olympics). 

But things took a turn for the worse. Athens 2004 saw a “team” of NBA stars lose more games than they had in the prior 14 Games and take home the bronze.

But that’s not even the worst of it. In the 2002 FIBA World Championships, the Americans failed to win a medal for the first time in 20 years. In 2005, they lost more games than they won (4-6) in the FIBA Americas Championship to finish fourth.

All of the sudden, it was the colonies all over again.

But things are changing. After that miserable fourth place two years prior, USA swept past the competition in last year’s FIBA Americas to take home the gold, the first one since the 2001 Goodwill Games.

Finally, the United States of America’s Basketball team is becoming just that … united. With prior “Dream Teams,” it was 12 players. With this year’s squad, it’s one team, and as Lebron James points out, one country.

“Our only goal in Beijing is to win the gold medal. That should be everybody’s goal, even if you’re not even a part of this team. Everybody in America should have the same goal for any Olympian going over there wearing the red, white and blue, not just the basketball team.”

So although tomorrow is technically called ”Independence Day”, think about what life would be like without depending on each other. 

For most Americans July Fourth symbolizes hot dogs, fireworks and star spangled parades. For many of NCSA’s student-athletes, however, July Fourth equals recruiting season. Every summer thousands of college prospects travel to camps and showcases to better their skills and network with college coaches. If you are traveling near a college campus, the summer is a perfect time to take an unofficial visit.

Unofficial visits give student-athletes a perfect opportunity to meet college coaches on their turf and get a close-up perspective of the campus. Visiting a campus before senior year will help you get a sense for what you like or dislike about a school, coach or team.

Here are a few tips to help you prepare for your unofficial visits:

1) Remember that “unofficial” means the school can not pay for your trip.

2) Unofficial visits can be taken as early as freshman year of high school!

3) Contact the coach! Do not show up on campus unexpected and expect the coach to be accommodating. Call him/her in advance to schedule the visit.

4) When you talk to the coach, use the term “unofficial visit”. By using proper recruiting terms you will demonstrate that you are serious and informed about your college search.

5) Ask questions!

6) Pay attention. This is your insider glimpse into the school so be sure to keep your eyes wide open.

7) Send a thank you note. Always say “thank you” to the coach and any other member of the staff or admissions department who took the time to introduce you to their college or university.

8) Have fun!

 In the world of the college recruiting “market,” the college coaches represent the sellers and the student athletes (and their families) the buyers.  In this market, the currency is athletic scholarships and roster spots.  Much like the housing market right now, this is a buyers market!

The reason for this is not because there are far more scholarships than student athletes making them easy to receive and inexpensive.  The reason the college recruiting “market” is in favor of the buyer (student athletes) is because there are almost zero rules preventing them from researching and doing everything in their power to receive them. 

While the sellers (college coaches) are hindered with rules and restrictions placed on them by the NCAA preventing them from pitching their school as the perfect fit for hundreds of student athletes, student athletes face very few of those rules.  A student athlete can call, write, and visit a school anytime they want!  This is a huge advantage in the marketplace. 

When buying a car or house, rarely does the consumer sit at home and wait for a car salesman or realtor to knock on their door and offer them the perfect car or house.  With that in mind, why do so many student athletes sit around and assume a coach is going to write, call, or visit?  If you want a scholarship, you should become a proactive consumer, find the best product for you situation, and then use your strengths and abilities to buy it!

All who read this have probably seen the NCAA commercial where the narrator says, ” there are over 380,000 NCAA athletes and most will be turning pro in something other than sports.” So how does being a collegiate student-athlete help you get a great job? Let me explain.

In my previous life as a foreign exchange trader for a large, international bank (over $60 Billion in assets), I took on the role of interviewing recent college graduates for entry-level positions. I traveled to the finest undergraduate schools including Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan business school. Without question, the most impressive and memorable interviews that I had were with students who also competed on those schools intercollegiate sports teams.

Why were they so impressive? 1) They were very poised and prepared for our conversation. They had done their homework on my company and they asked great questions that showed they knew more than just our company name. 2) They demonstrated very clearly the leadership skills I was looking for. They knew that to be a successful leader, you had to learn to follow first. They all experienced being a freshman and all that means to developing leadership skills. 3) I was looking for team players. All of these students had great stories that demonstrated their willingness to work for the good of the team. 4) They clearly had exceptional time management skills. In most cases, the student-athletes had a higher GPA than the other students I interviewed. To do that and maintain a disciplined training regiment was very impressive. As a big time employer in a highly competitive industry, all of these demonstrated skills were very important.

Now lets think about where these student-athletes initially gained these skills. It was going through the recruiting process as high school students. The interview skills a student athlete develops while building relationships with college coaches are skills they will use over and over again in life. So get the right coaching so you can be on top of your recruiting game!

Now here’s the real payoff: You may not believe this but I never hired any of those student-athlete college graduates who impressed me so much. Why? Well my lousy bank didn’t pay enough in salary for us to compete effectively with the other 3 or 4 job offers those students had! They always ended up choosing a higher paying job over my bank.

 Usually when a coach leaves a program the school looks to replace him with a long-tenured assistant or someone with head coaching experience.  At the very least they hope to bring in someone with name recognition to the alumni.  Marquette University took the unusual step of promoting little known first year assistant Buzz Williams. 

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently detailed his climb from un-recruited athlete to head coach at a major university.  His journey through the ranks mirrors the tales of many high school recruits.  The bottom line is that persistence and desire can make up for a lack of initial contacts and exposure.

Couldn’t play, had no relationships, had nobody in my family in college coaching,” Buzz said. “Had to pay my own way to college, so that restricted where I could go.”

Determined to make it in coaching, he began to form a network, working as a student assistant at Navarro. Each week, he wrote letters to every coach he met, regardless of their rank or affiliation.

He contacted every Division I coach, asking whether he could work at their summer camps. A “very small percentage” replied, but the lack of responses didn’t stop the letters from coming.

“I didn’t know what to say. I just knew I wanted to be a college coach,” Williams said. “It was your typical 17, 18-year-old’s handwritten note.”

Coach X,

Hope you’re doing good. Hope recruiting’s going good.

Have a good day. I’ll send you a note next week.

-Buzz

The name at the bottom of the page didn’t mean much back then, but Williams’ persistence built relationships that helped launch and accelerate his career.

So if you aren’t hearing from the schools you want to hear from it’s time to get moving!

It’s July 2, meaning summer is official in full-swing. Chances are, student-athletes are doing one of four things to occupy their time off:

1. Lying around the house (this is a no-no)
2. Taking summer school classes
3. Working at a seasonal job
4. Going to various camps for your sport

Hats off to you if you’re doing No. 2 and No. 3. But if you’re doing No. 4, you get an extra tip of the cap.

The University of North Alabama, located in Florence, just wrapped up its three-day Offensive/Defensive Line and Offensive Skills camps, where more than 600 high-school players attended and participated. While these camps allow high school players the opportunity to improve their game, they also give serious student-athletes the opportunity to showcase their on-field talent and potential.

And you might ask, “600 players? How am I going to get noticed with that many participants?”

I’ll let UNA coach Mark Hudspeth take care of that one.

“Every position coach has a group of 14 players he is responsible for,” Hudspeth said. “They let me know who to watch, and that allows me to walk around and see each prospect.

And you might gripe, “But  it’s only a camp! I don’t need to go to a camp to prove I’m scholarship worthy!”

True, you can get offered a scholarship from a school without attending its camp. But in some cases, like UNA’s … well, I’m going to throw it back to Coach Hudspeth.

Hudspeth said it is not unusual for a player to impress the coaches so much in camp that the kid heads back home with a scholarship offer.

“We do offer some that we haven’t seen before camp,” he said. “On Sunday night, we visit with a select few, and have them fill out a questionnaire. We’ll either offer them a scholarship there or let them know that we will be recruiting them.”

There you go. Right from the horse’s mouth. Now of course, this is not to say that every camp offers scholarships to stand-outs (or s’mores and songs for that matter). But if you never go, you’ll never know.

So you think you are being recruited because you received a questionnaire?Did you know that the Mississippi State baseball program sends out an average of 1,500 prospect questionnaires each year?

It is becoming more and more common to graduate a semester early to attend college. Student-athletes are not only getting a head start on school but on the playing field. You are starting to hear this in football but baseball? Trevor Bauer of Newhall High School in California has decided to forgo his final spring semester of high school to attend UCLA. This means he will not be playing baseball his senior season of high school but playing for a potential top 25 team (UCLA was 08 Pre-Season #1 by Baseball America).

After nearly a year after the hit, Barry Bond’s 756 home run ball is now in Cooperstown.  This ball has been through much controversy and is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame with an asterisk.  Do you think the ball should be in the Hall?  Do you think Barry will ever play in the Major Leagues again?

Do you have a good coach? 

In Al Wood’s Recruiting Blog he discussed bad coaches versus good coaches. According to Woods, there are a lot of bad coaches.

These coaches are the ones that are doing nothing for their players. Some of these coaches have been known to quit on their team at season’s end. Some bad coaches are egotistical, evil and mean toward everyone. These coaches may have good teams but for the most part, they are not good people.

I’ve run into many of these coaches over the years at many summer events and during the season, when you try to talk to them, most have an attitude or some kind of problem. Some of these jerks act like they own the players, and won’t let anyone talk to the players. It has always been easier to talk with a college coach than a high school coach and that will never change.

As NCSA’s Recruiting Coach Director I have spoken with hundreds of student-athletes and parents who all tell me the same thing, “my high school coach is terrible!”

Is it possible that we live in a community dominated with so many awful coaches? Are these people all motivated by their own athletic failures and want nothing other than to take their frustration out on our innocent children? Or, perhaps many families have a misconception of what a high school or club coach’s role is supposed to be.

Even at the most competitive high school and club levels, youth coaches are hired to teach the game and to manage a group of young athletes. These coaches are hired to run practices and develop talent. In some cases, youth coaches are babysitters. I have never heard of a youth coach who is hired to help their players find scholarships or collegiate opportunities. Some coaches take this challenge upon themselves, but just because they are ready and willing to help does not necessarily mean that they are equipped with the necessary recourses to help their players take their game to the next level.

If you have a legitimate concern about your coach, the first step is to speak directly with him or her. However, if you are frustrated that your coach is not helping you with recruiting, you might be looking for help in the wrong place.