NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

 I often hear from athletes located in small towns that are concerned they won’t receive any exposure.  But some times this works to their advantage.  Being the big fish in a little pond allows them to stand out from their peers. 

Other athletes from large towns are sometimes perfectly able of earning an athletic scholarship but are overshadowed by more talented local talent.  This is definitely the situation in Texas.

Big 12 recruiting coordinators joke they can throw a rock in Houston and Dallas and find more potential football players within a 20-mile radius than any place in the country. It’s why those areas have become the recruiting center for almost every team in the conference.

An ESPN.com survey indicates that 45.4 percent of all players in the conference played at Texas high schools. Every team in the South Division has more Texas players on its roster than those from any other state.

Both Missouri and Kansas have parlayed contributions from lightly-regarded Texas recruits to become North Division powers in recent seasons.

Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel was ranked as a solid prospect at Southlake Carroll in suburban Dallas-Fort Worth, but never turned the heads of national powers when he was recruited as might have been expected after watching his college career play out.

But the Tigers have also hit the jackpot on Texans like wide receiver Danario Alexander (Marlin), defensive tackle Ziggy Hood (Amarillo Palo Duro) and defensive end Stryker Sulak (Rockdale) to become huge producers.

Kansas coach Mark Mangino has employed the same strategy, clicking on players like quarterback Todd Reesing (Austin Lake Travis), wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe (Dallas Cedar Hill), Dexton Fields (Dallas South Oak Cliff) and Marcus Herford (De Soto Cedar Hill) and safety Patrick Resby (Houston Forest Brook) to help fuel last season’s trip to the Orange Bowl.

The survey indicates that seven schools have more Texas players on their roster than any other state. Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech all have rosters tilted to the Lone Star State.

Texas coach Mack Brown realizes that he can’t keep every top recruit in the state.

“There are a lot of kids that get out of Texas because there’s 350 of them and we can only take 22,” Brown said. “So there’s about 330 that are mad at me every year.”

The talent hotbed has been identified in Texas and as a result coaches focus on recruiting the area.  But, athletes all over the country can be overshadowed by other recruits for a variety of reasons.  Students need to get more schools involved in the process to make sure they don’t fall through the scholarship cracks.  Just because you may initially be overshadowed doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. 

 On Friday the head of the NCAA, Myles Brand, sat down with the Dallas Morning News and gave his thoughts on the NBA’s so called one and done rule forcing high school players to wait one year after high school graduation before entering the NBA Draft.  Rather than look at the impact on the top players, Myles believes that the rule actually benefits a much larger pool of players with unrealistic expectations.

“My own view is there is an advantage to the one-and-done rule that’s not often recognized. Namely, if a young man understands that in order to be eligible for the NBA Draft, he’s going to have to go to college for a year and that means he’s got to be admitted to college and eligible for college and he can’t blow off high school.

“So in the old view, you have hundreds of kids blowing off high school, thinking they’re going to be one of the 10 kids who is going directly from high school to college. Now, believe it or not, not everyone is Lebron James and not everyone is going to be able to play at that level. So you have hundreds of kids who get disappointed and they blew off high school and they’re not going to graduate from high school, they’re not prepared for college and once they don’t get into the NBA, what are they going to do? Flip hamburgers at best? So now if they figure at least ‘I have to be eligible for college, I got to graduate high school, I have to take my core academic courses’ and then after one year, I’ll go into the NBA. Well, a vast majority is not going into the NBA, but now they’ve graduated from high school, they’re prepared for college, they’re in college, and many more now will get a decent education as a result and not just high school but a number of them have graduated from college as a result.”

“And that’s hundreds of kids, not the handful who are going into the NBA, so I think the media, the sports media, has really focused in on - this year it was 12 - the 12 kids who are going to the NBA after one year. Good luck to them. I don’t have any problems with them going to the NBA and making millions of dollars. Good luck to them. I’m worried about the hundreds, literally hundreds of others, who otherwise were left out in the cold who are now getting a high school education and probably a college education and they’re much better off. So it has some beneficial effects for lots of kids, as soon as you stop talking about the 12 who are going into the NBA.”

The Money Players Blog disagrees with his view stating:

When people make the argument for or against requiring players to go to college, there are certain names that pop up. For every Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard, there is MJ, Shane Battier, Grant Hill and Brandon Roy. And for every example used to support the benefits of college (Korleone Young, Leon Smith, Taj McDavid), there are players who screwed up in the NBA after attending college.

Two names off the top of my head: Latrell Sprewell and Jason Caffey. Collectively they spent 8 years on college campuses (I hope it was ironic that they both went to the same school). Did college prepare Sprewell and Caffey for life in the NBA? Both have had financial problems and both filed bankruptcy protection. Sprewell infamously choked his NBA coach. Caffey sadly has an assault on his record too. In the NFL, players must go to school for at least three years. Rae Curruth, Tank Johnson and Michael Vick did their time in college and then did time. For every good example why someone should go to college, there’s a bad example. There’s no one-size-fits all, as much as we’d like to there to be.

Is college a great place to develop as a person and as an athlete? Absolutely. But there are corrupting influences in college ESPECIALLY for those who have no interest in school are basically foced to attend against their will.

The NCAA has repeatedly told us college sports is a privilege, not a right. So I wonder what valuable educational experience did LeBron James not miss that helped him thrive so extraordinarily. In the final analysis, a college education does not guarantee success by any measure. Nor does lack of a college experience put someone on the fast track to flipping burgers.

What do our readers think about the oppsoing views?

Most parents come to the NCSA with the ultimate goal of having their son or daughter play a college sport and potentially obtain a college scholarship. Fact of the matter is, sports can be a fantastic gateway to attending college, and if your son or daughter is committed to doing well in both sport and school, the goal can be accomplished.

Be warned, however — it doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes, for whatever reason, playing sports in high school isn’t enough to get your child to the next level. But not all is lost. 

A little while back, Ryan Newman wrote a post, where towards the bottom, he compared the recruiting process to a job interview:

Let me ask you, Mom or Dad, when you are in the job market, do you sit there and wait for that great job with great pay to come to you? No, you send out your resume, follow-up with that resume, try to get an interview with the decision-maker.

To be blunt, the strides that your son or daughter makes today in athletics and recruiting will impact him “tomorrow,” when he graduates from college, interviews for a job, develops positive working relationships and becomes a full-fledged functioning member of society. Or in Lehman’s terms: a grown-up.

I recently learned of a book written by Dan Doyle, executive director of the Institute for International Sport, entitled The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting,that shares the same philosophy. From an article in The Providence Journal:

In addition to promoting physical fitness, sports - if kept in the proper perspective – can instill the all-important values of honesty, self reliance, self control, perseverance, respect, empathy, teamwork, tolerance and moral courage, Doyle writes in his book.

The book also provides common parental issues in sports, including proper behavior at your child’s games, intervening, dealing with medical issues and – what I got most out of playing sports — character development.

Here’s the thing: I knew I wasn’t going to become a professional athlete. Only a microscopic percentage of athletes get paid to play, and I knew I was nowhere close to that level. But I didn’t get involved with sports for character building, either. Any one who gives this reason more than likely is lying to you.

Like your little princess or your little tiger, I played because I loved playing and I loved the competitiveness. It is only now, after my serious playing days, that I realize exactly what impact playing had on me — time management, teamwork, self-confidence and overcoming adversity to name a few.

My parents always were there to support me. They knew I would see the value in sticking with sports, even though I wasn’t a Joe Montana, a Michael Jordan, a Tiger Woods or a Steve Prefontaine. And guess what — I used the above skills then, and I still use them today.

As Doyle said, “Good sports parents contribute to a positive and civil society. It goes beyond medals. It’s a big issue.”

-by Bobby Coburn 09 Football Grad 

Hey everyone this is Bobby Coburn, a tight end from Lake Forest Academy (IL) blogging for NCSA. I’ve been with NCSA for well over a year now and I would not be where I am recruiting wise without them. So far I’ve gotten a mixed bag as far as looks from schools go; I’ve received a lot of attention from NESCAC schools (Colby, Wesleyan, and Tufts), some D2 schools (Bentley and St. Anselm) and some great D1 schools (Richmond, Illinois State, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Columbia, and Penn to name a few).

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 One of the most exciting times of the football season is the first couple of practices when starting jobs are won and roles are defined.  It is extremely important for you to remain confident and focused throughout your team’s Two-A-Days.  This article will supply several tips from some guys who have been through the grinder more than a few times.

1. Hydration

Staying hydrated throughout camp is extremely important to keep your body in peak condition.  Dehydration impairs athletic performance whenever body fluid level falls below 98% of normal. The primary cause of dehydration is sweat loss, when you don’t replace what you lose in sweat, your performance and physical well-being at risk

How do you make sure fluid intake is adequate? You should start their day with 16 ounces of fluid and make it a point to drink at every meal, before, during, and after practices. Drinking fluids not only prevents heat-related illnesses but also helps them sustain performance. When practice is grueling, being fully-hydrated will help you get through it.

Here are some specifics for them to follow:

• Drink 16 ounces of a sports drink one hour before exercise as it takes one hour for one liter of fluid to leave the gut.

• Drink 20 to 40 ounces of fluid (sports drink/water) per hour of practice.

• Drink 24 ounces of fluid (based on recent studies) for every pound of body weight lost during exercise, immediately post exercise.

Ideally, you should weigh yourself before and after practice and drink enough fluid to replace the lost weight. That is, 150 percent of the lost water weight should be consumed. A player who loses five pounds during a practice would need to drink 120 ounces of fluid to replace the water weight loss.

Are sports drinks better than water?  During two-a-days, sports drinks provide an edge over straight water. When sweating you lose electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and chloride that are essential to hydration and muscle function.  Sports drinks provide a total package to keep you body running.

At the same time, you should not overhydrate. Although consuming enough fluid is essential, it is possible to drink too much. Overhydration can cause hyponatremia, or low blood sodium levels. This can result in headache, apathy, fatigue, nausea, and cramping.

2. Nutrition

During two-a-day practices, skipping breakfast is not an option. If you don’t eat breakfast, you will not have the energy to make the most of practice.

An ideal diet for football players requires 55 to 60 percent of their daily caloric intake to come from carbohydrates, 15 percent from protein, and 30 percent from fat. This translates that each meal should be two-thirds carbohydrate and one-third protein, with an emphasis on moderate fat. Each meal should look like a peace sign, with one-third of the plate as protein (red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, milk, yogurt, dried beans, nuts, soy products), one-third as a starch (rice, pasta, potato) and one-third as fruits and vegetables.

Emphasize carbohydrate-containing foods with lower fat: bagels over doughnuts, mashed potatoes over fries, grilled chicken over fried, frozen yogurt over ice cream. Upping the amount of carbohydrate in your diet will provide them with more available energy during practice and games. Eliminating fried foods decreases the chance of an upset stomach, which may also boost performance.

Our recommendation is that you begin working on hydration and fueling one month prior to training camp. Just like you need to get your muscles in shape for two-a-days, you also need to get your digestive tract in shape one month before training camp. This will help the body be better acclimated and adjust more quickly to the demands of preseason, which will minimize injuries and maximize performance.

You should schedule beverages at every meal, as well as before, during, and after exercise. You should also practice drinking larger volumes before and during exercise-gulps instead of sips.

3. Confidence

Finally, everyone needs to be ready to work hard on every snap to separate yourself, not only from the competition on your team, but around the country.  Indiana’s late Football Coach, Terry Hoeppner was fond of quoting the following poem to his players:

DON’T QUIT

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit-

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns;

And many a fellow turns about

When he might have won, had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow-

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a faint and faltering man;

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor’s cup;

And he learned too late when the night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out-

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit-

It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

                        -Leo Piggott

“I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

 Relationship Building and Recruiting are two skills that go hand in hand in college athletics.  Coaches are always striving to build their recruiting networks and develop solid contacts at high schools, camps and most importantly with student athletes.  The time tables involved in that cycle have been getting earlier and earlier in recent years.  InsideCarolina.com sat down with second year Coach Butch Davis to discuss the challenges he is facing while rebuilding the University of North Carolina Program.

You mentioned on Signing Day that you still felt like you were a little bit behind in terms of building relationships…

“I didn’t realize how badly — we were probably two years behind the day I took the job compared to everybody else in the country. Recruiting has changed so much and it’s changed even more just in the last year. With kids pushing to try and get commitments from 2010 kids, we hadn’t even gotten the ‘08 kids into school yet, and we’re already half-through the ‘09 class and already talking to 2010 kids.

“When I took the job so many kids - you pick up the phone and call the high school coach and you’d like for the kid to visit - and he goes ‘well, coach, Carolina’s ok, but I’ve gone to Phil Fulmer’s camp the last three years’ or ‘I’ve gone to a camp since I was in the ninth grade.’ So, we were trying to recruit kids and it’s like trying to talk to somebody that’s engaged and going to get married next month, to somehow break up and that doesn’t happen very often, you know?

“But, the longer we’ve been here now we’re getting 500-600 kids every summer into camp. We’re starting to build relationships and now we’re starting on an even playing field with a lot of the coaching staffs, for the kids in the ninth and 10th and 11th grade. Now, they don’t have those committed loyalties because of where they’ve been going.  Now, hopefully recruiting starts to swing a little bit.

Coach Davis explained exactly why it so important for recruits to start developing relationships early. Since slots are being snatched up by athletes earlier than ever before its up to recruits to jumpstart the process and start contacting coaches pro-actively.

 Do you know anyone who plays a sport at NCAA Division II Claflin University (S.C.)?

I guarantee that you don’t. Well, that promise holds true until Sept. 9.

The Panthers were granted full NCAA Division II status yesterday, after completing a three-year term as a provisionary member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. 

But just because Claflin is new to the NCAA party doesn’t mean they’re going to stand in the dark corner. From the TandD.com:

“Last year, Claflin had 20-win seasons in men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball. Plus, the men’s basketball team (24-2) finished with the best record among HBCUs. Now, with its newly acquired Division II status, Claflin hopes to build on previous success.”

To learn more about athletics at this historically black college in Orangeburg, SC, click here. 

 When I talk to families I often get confronted with a lot of questions about playing Division III athletics.  It is very understandable; the schools don’t hand out scholarships (they use aid packages), they are rarely on TV, and just the fact that it’s the “lowest” level creates some confusion about the league.

Today’s Campus Connection on NCAA.org sat down to discuss Division III with Rachel Cook, a recent graduate and former volleyball student-athlete at Millikin, and the school’s volleyball coach, Debbie Kiick.  You can find the full audio here and read some highlights below:

Q: How difficult is it to find high-quality student-athletes like Rachel? I assume you’re competing against some of the smaller Division I and Division II schools. It seems like a very competitive field. What have your experiences been like?

Coach Kiick: I would say that you just have to find the right mix of person who would be interested in Division III athletics. A lot of people play the big-time clubs and they want the ego of saying they have this Division I scholarship, etc., but there are a lot of kids who play because they love playing but want to be a good student and put that first and want to graduate in four years…It’s the exact same player who’s maybe an inch or two shorter than the profile that they want for Division I or II.

Q: What advice would you have for potential recruits, people currently in high school, who are looking to play a collegiate sport after they graduate…maybe looking at a smaller school, like a Division III school?

Cook: My advice for student-athletes trying to figure out where they want to go to school is don’t settle. There are absolutely small schools that put academics first that are highly competitive. Make sure that you realize the goals of that school and where they want to go with the program, and I think everyone can find a really competitive place to play.

Taking the time to learn about the different division levels can make the difference in finding the right program and not playing at all in college.  You can start talking to Division III schools as a freshman and no matter what level you end up playing at, getting started with Division III early makes sense.  Think about it, would you want to be on the phone with a coach for the first time as a junior when one conversation could determine the course of a relationship?  Wouldn’t you feel better about that conversation after having a year of preparation?  You can never start too early and Division III schools are a great place to start.

 They call it “The U.”  Since the early 80’s the Miami Hurricanes have been one of the dominant programs in college football.  During that time they have also taken their fair share of criticism for a variety of topics.  Among those topics is the charge that the school has sacrificed their academic standards for athletic success. 

More fuel was thrown on the fire as yesterday’s Miami Herald reports that at least three of their incoming recruits will have to take a detour to prep school for failing to qualify. Coach Randy Shannon admits that “about six” of their 33 recruits have yet to be cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center.  Despite their incredible athletic talent they will have to wait to show it off for at least one year.

Recruits need to be aware of the requirements to be eligible to compete as freshmen.  It is never too early to start reading the NCAA’s Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete.  It summarizes the rules that every recruit needs to understand including the proper core courses that every potential recruit needs to pass.  Don’t let your self fall into the same trap by failing to prepare!

From the Record-Courier, a newspaper out Carson Valley area in Nevada, comes an article about the Robertson family. Two of the Robertson kids have already garnered Division I athletic scholarships, and the third seems poised to do the same.

Needless to say, the family has learned quite a bit about the recruiting process. John Robertson, the father, shares what he has learned. From the article:

“Until you have an official offer for a scholarship in your hand, anything can happen.”

“Division I schools are making a huge investment in you as an athlete, so they are very particular and selective when they offer.”

“Athletics is [sic] so fleeting. Very few people make a living at it. You need to go somewhere you’re comfortable with the academic program. Make sure they have majors you are interested in.”

Then again, some of the things he said, in most cases, aren’t necessarily true for all student-athletes:

“If the head coach is the one who is visiting, it’s a pretty good bet that a scholarship offer is coming.”

• Correction: If a head coach is the one who is visiting, it’s a pretty good bet that he is extremely interested. Now, as far to a scholarship offer, in many cases, that will come after he talks with you and your parents and gets a good idea of what kind of student, athlete and person you are. It can happen that he gives you a scholarship when he visits, but nothing’s a sure thing.

“Baseball coaches are different,” John Robertson said. “They are more laid back, more mello. They don’t have heavy sales pitches because a full-ride scholarship in baseball is almost unheard of.”

• Once again, this is more than likely the Robertson’s personal experience. But the truth of the matter is, that because baseball coaches don’t have an abundance of scholarships to offer, their sales pitches could be construed as more intense because they need to sell their school on things other than “scholarship!”, such as academics, program prestige, coaching style, playing time, etc.

“It’s tremendous that there are so many coaches coming to the Reno area to see the athletes up here. It helps out these small-town kids. They may come to see someone from a Reno school, but these coaches see the whole game, both sides. It only opens up more options for the kids around here.”

• It’s great that because of the Reno schools, the smaller-town athletes get the opportunity to be watched in person by college coaches. But as far as that being the sole reason for opening up more options for the kids, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. These small-town kids can be helping themselves through early contact with college coaches, sending out highlight tapes, taking unofficial visits, etc. By no means should anyone have to depend on another town or high school to get those looks.

And finally, the recruiting experience isn’t the same for everybody, even three Div. I-recruited brothers. To find out how you can get the right recruiting experience for you, take the first step.