NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

When discussing athletic recruiting with families I almost always hear the words Full Scholarship and Division 1 school mentioned in the first 5 sentences.  For the majority of athletes a full ride to a major school represents the ultimate level of success in the college recruiting process. I wrote a few months ago about the story of one of the nations top recruits, Elena Delle Donne, who left a full ride scholarship on the UConn Basketball team to pursue a volleyball career at Delaware.

So far her decision appears to be paying off. 

Whenever, I get the chance to discuss recruiting with young athletes I always suggest they research schools at every level.  Some athletes frown on the possibility that a smaller school could be a better fir, but Elena Delle Donne’s unorthodox decision proves that bigger isn’t always better.

One of our favorite players to evaluate when compiling the Takkle Top 200 Football Players in America was Manti Te’o.  When you watch him play it is clear how much enthusiasm and passion he brings to the game. 

We were pleased to see that Manti was honored by the Sporting News as their High School Athlete of the Year.

His quote about choosing a college was particularly interesting to us:

On his college status:“I have gone on two official visits, to UCLA and Notre Dame. I had great experiences at both universities, but I have a few more visits to go on — Stanford, USC and BYU — so I’m not really ready because of my lack of knowledge of the other three.”

NCSA encourages all of our athletes to take as many unofficial and official visits as possible to make their college decision.  Not every athlete is in Manti’s position where he can make a choice at the last second, which is why encourage athletes to start taking visits as freshman!

Most people would agree that choosing which institution to attend is one of the most crucial decisions a student-athlete and his or her parents will make in one’s lifetime.  It is crucial to find the right fit, to find the school that gives you the best chance to be both successful and happy for at least the next four years.  It’s important that the student-athlete coming out of high school, along with those who are going to help make the decision, weigh all options so as not to make a hasty selection.  A poor or ill-informed choice of schools could result in a transfer or, even worse, a dropout situation.

The following are some of the things I believe are of importance to the student-athlete when considering which is the best college or university to attend:

1. Would I be content to attend this school if I couldn’t play my sport anymore?

Unfortunately, injury is commonplace in athletics.  Even though many athletes get hurt during their career, most do not suffer career ending injuries.  It is possible, however, that the athlete is one play away from never participating in their particular sport ever again.  I’ve always advised recruits to pick a school they would go to even if they couldn’t play sports.  Social and academic contentment is the most important

2. Will the school provide me a good opportunity to succeed in a career after my playing days are over?

Sometimes athletes get so wrapped up on the hype surrounding their sport they lose sight of reality.  Someday they will be part of the work force and will need a vocation in order to make a good living and provide for a family.  The college or university of their choice should provide a sound education in a field they may have to work at for the next thirty or forty years.

3. Don’t get wrapped up in the size of the school.

It really doesn’t matter if you go to a school of 500 students, 5,000 or 50,000.  You are only going to have a couple of handfuls of really close friends.  There are usually others in your particular sport or field of study.  A large institution can be as personable as you make it.  Your free time is going to be more limited than ever before.  Practices, workouts, attending class, study sessions, etc keeps you on a very tight schedule.  Don’t worry about sitting around with nothing to do, you’ll be plenty busy.

Parents and students must understand that class sizes are pretty much the same at all institutions in undergraduate studies.  Class size will be reduced as the student athlete progresses though his or her major.

4. Don’t make distance from home a big issue.

This is one of the toughest issues to deal with for the student-athlete and especially for mom and dad.  Trust me, there are students who attend college in their own home state or even home town that do not make it home any more than students a thousand miles away.  You get so wrapped up in your sport, your academics and your social life that within a semester or so at school, the loneliness and shock of being away from mom and dad will subside.

5. Make sure the college or university has a good support system.

No matter how good of a student or how outstanding of an athlete you are, there will be times you’ll need help.  Choose a school that has a good tutoring, mentoring and counseling system.  Most schools have required study table for their athletes.  The coaching staffs have a lot of time and money invested in each athlete they recruit and it is to their advantage you succeed in the classroom and on the athletic field.  On your official visit to campus, most schools will be very informative in relation to the strength of their support system.  If they don’t, watch out!

6. Look for reasons to go to a particular school, not for reasons not to go.

So many students and parents have pre-conceptions about a school before they even visit.  Always keep an open mind.  Find out about all the positives, the negatives will stick out like a sore thumb.  Many times a particular school is much more attractive than you thought prior to visiting campus.  It’s an important decision, don’t jump to early conclusions.

7. How competitive is the school academically?

One of the biggest transitions from high school to college is the fact that academic programs are much more competitive.  You must ask yourself “Do I have the self-discipline to compete in the classroom?”  The biggest problem most students have entering college is poor study habits.  They simply do not know how to structure their time when it comes to their studies.  The material covered is massive and you must absorb it at a much faster pace.  Most college professors do not care that you’re an athlete.  They expect you to keep up and compete with everyone else in the classroom.  You’re academic success is directly related to your own efforts.  Don’t expect any special treatment.

Bill Conley worked at Ohio State for 17 years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.Bill Conley worked at Ohio State for 17 years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

 Former Recruiting Coordinator at Notre Dame and University of Michigan and current NCSA Speaker, Bob Chmiel, recently presented a Recruiting 101 Seminar at Owensboro High School in Kentucky.  Senior Guidance Counselor from Owensboro, Jane Prince, played a key role in bringing Coach Chmiel to educate families and student athletes. 

Aside from her role as Senior Guidance Counselor and high school coach, Jane is the mother of a current collegiate athlete and wife of a former collegiate athlete.  The bottom line is that Jane has experienced recruiting from several perspectives.  NCSA caught up with Jane to discuss the importance of recruiting education.

NCSA: What motivated Owensboro to bring in an expert to educate families about the recruiting process?  Why NCSA and Coach Chmiel?

We will be working with NSCA this January to help my son achieve his goal of playing college football.  He is currently a sophomore in high school.  I’m also a Senior Guidance Counselor at Owensboro High School in Kentucky and coached high school tennis and swimming.  Over the years, I worked with many high school athletes.  My husband is the Head football coach at OHS and played college football at The University of Kentucky. My daughter plays college basketball at Georgetown College (NAIA).

Five years ago, another teacher and I formed a program at this high school to prepare high school athletes to become college athletes and I thought the NCSA presentation would be an excellent opportunity for parents to hear information about the college recruiting process from an outside source.  We were just lucky that our guest speaker was Coach Chmiel.  He is able to tell stories about his life experiences that get the attention of his audience and pull them in for the real message.

What was the most valuable information that Coach Chmiel passed along to families in your opinion? 

He had some excellent suggestions like:

• Don’t send film to a college without the specific name of the coach that you are sending it to…..unidentified film goes in the trash”
• Separate yourself from problems or problem people

He also talked about three important aspects of an athlete necessary to be successful: (1) Strong academics, (2) good character, and (3) always give 110 % on every play and in all preparations to play.

What are some of the most common misconceptions about the recruiting process that families have?

Most families wrongly believe several basic concepts:

(1) That most athletes are discovered like a Hollywood movie star for their scholarship

(2) DI level of play is the only one that provides financial assistance

(3) It is the high school coaches’ responsibility to get their athlete a scholarship

(4) Academics really are not that important if they are talented enough athletically

(5) Every scholarship, in every sport is a full-ride.

What type of advice would you give families who are going through the process for the first time as not only a guidance counselor, but also a mother and wife of collegiate student athletes?

• Start preparing your potential student/athlete in the 9^th grade by explaining the core GPA and the NCAA process. Register at the beginning of their junior year with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Keep constant tabs on their transcript and daily grades.

• Build a resume of sports accomplishments and awards as well as community service and inter-scholastic activities and honors. Save it in your computer and update it with everything they have accomplished each month. This resume should be sent to college coaches. This allows them to see the student/athlete as a person that is active and has good character.

• Choose a few good sports photos to have on hand to send with your resume and other sports related scholarships that they may apply for, such as state sportsmanship scholarships for example.

• Form good relationships with high school coaches; remember they will give the final recommendation.

• Learn how to speak to the media; you are representing your family, community, school and yourself. Complement your teammates and coaches in interviews; you didn’t get there on your own.

• Play other sports in high school, it’s good for you and makes you a more appealing athlete.

• Fill out all sports questionnaires, even to schools you may not attend. It’s a small world and coaches change jobs every day and may remember you.

• God gave you a certain body size and ability. You may be of size for the big time and you may not. Be thankful for whatever opportunities may come your way at any level whether it is DI, II, III, NAIA or Jr. College.

I really could go on and on…….there is so much for them to know……

Would you encourage other high schools to provide recruiting education similar to the seminar at Owensboro?  If so, why?

Yes, it was very helpful to hear Coach Chmiel.  He didn’t try to force the NCSA on his audience. He simply gave his educational message about the recruiting process and informed people about the NCSA at the end.  I think this made people more interested in the NCSA material. Parents are really misinformed about athletic scholarship and need a lot of help in the process.

 If you would like to learn more about potentially scheduling a Recruiting 101 Seminar, click here.

The athletic recruiting process is never easy.  Many athletes lean heavily on their parents and coaches to help them evaluate which school provides the best fit, but what happens when a coach or parent is reluctant to offer advice?  Athletes are forced to make an extremely and important decision themselves.  Kayla Lommori recently made that difficult decision by signing a letter of intent to play volleyball for Santa Clara.  Here jopurney was recently chronicled by the Reno Gazette Journal.

Still, the recruiting process wasn’t always fun for Lommori, who got frustrated at times when her parents didn’t offer much input, saying it was up to her.

“That’s why it got frustrating,” she said. “They (parents Scott and Leslie) wouldn’t tell me which one they wanted the most. They didn’t say anything”. They wanted me to make the decision.”

For athletes like Leslie NCSA provides the guidance they are desperately seeking.  Our expert Recruiting Coaches work with student athletes all over the country to provide the objective 3rd party objective that so many athletes crave.  If you are looking for that type of guidance I urge you to get an evaluation today!

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

I would be shocked if the more than a handful of the nations top basketball recruits know much about Bob Cousy.  After all, it has been more than 61 years since Cousy led Holy Cross to the Men’s Basketball Championship.  But even though the program hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game since 1952, Cousy remains convinced of the greatness of his alma mater.  The championship team was honored this week and Boston.com caught up with Cousy.

“In my opinion, there’s not another school in the country with this kind of sports legacy,” he says. “Given the logistics, the size of the school, the recruiting budget, the lack of television market - we’re hidden away in a little town.

“And despite all that, you have an NCAA basketball championship, an NIT championship, the only school in New England to win the college baseball World Series, an Orange Bowl, multiple All-Americans . . . it’s quite a legacy.

“The school has focused on academic life and reputation and integrity - as it should - but they have not exploited their rich sports history, which is unique and singular.”

His admiration for his school is echoed by his teammate Togo Palazzi.

“It’s a wonderful thing to have this happen,” says Palazzi, a rugged frontcourt man who looks like he could still give Doc Rivers 20 minutes a night. “Holy Cross represents four of the most productive and happy years of my life. I’m so happy that my mother wanted me to go there. It’s great that they’re doing this, and thank God we’re all still around.

“We all know that the philosophy of the college is that academics comes first, but this gives Coach Willard another way to promote the basketball history and tradition of the school.”

Everyday at NCSA we help athletes make the important decision of where to attend college.  It is our goal to make sure these athletes look back on their decision with same fondness as the legends.

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.

It isn’t often that you can find a story about top recruits that shun the big name programs because they find the right fit at a smaller university.  I constantly encourage recruits to consider all of their options, but in practice most athletes end up going for the glitz of a big-time program.  However, signing day provided several examples of athletes opting for the road less traveled.  USA Today examined a few of these scenarios:

During his basketball recruitment, Zeke Marshall received countless letters from major basketball programs. He says the letters mostly talked up teams’ gaudy numbers, as in won-loss records, championships and frequency of televised games.

“That’s all they would send,” Marshall, a 6-11 senior center at McKeesport (Pa.) High School, said Wednesday. “It would get annoying. I wanted to know something else.”

Marshall said he signed a national letter of intent with the University of Akron on Wednesday because of its basketball team and because the school touted a major in computer information systems that he will pursue. Rated a top-40 prospect by Scout.com and Rivals.com, he bucked the trend that sees highly touted players pick power schools by signing with the Mid-American Conference school.

Two other notable defections from the power-school route: Rashanti Harris, a 6-8 post player at The Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C., and Aaric Murray, a 6-10 center at Concordeville (Pa.) High. Harris confirmed early Wednesday he was signing with Georgia State of the Colonial Athletic Association, and Murray signed with La Salle of the Atlantic-10 Conference.

Similarly, top-10 prospect DeMarcus Cousins, a 6-9 forward at Mobile (Ala.) LeFlore High, has publicly committed to Alabama at Birmingham of Conference USA, but has not yet signed.

This change may be a result of seeing other mid-major programs achieve recent success.  Davidson’s Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament led by NBA prospect Stephen Curry is still fresh in many recruits minds.  The change can also be attributed to the expansion of games on the Internet and cable networks.  Recruits understand that if they are good enough the NBA will find them. 

However, most importantly this change is a great example of maturity and athletes making informed college decisions.  At NCSA we use the phrase “You aren’t making a 4 year decision, you are making a 40 year decision!”  These athletes are proving that statement true.

When I ask high school athletes if they are committed to  playing in college the answer is always the same: “Yes!”  However, there can be a huge difference in answering yes and actually doing what it takes to receive an athletic scholarship.  For some athletes it is easy.  They simply perform on the field and the offers come pouring in.  But, recruits need to realize that this group of athletes is extremely small and if they want to have the opportunity to play they are going to have to get serious and put in some serious effort.  This includes taking the time to send out hundreds of DVD’s, making phone calls, filling out questionnaires, sending letters, going on visits and more.  None of these tasks is a walk in the park, so only the most committed athletes end up with the amount of opportunities and offers necessary to maximize their recruiting potential.  However, even if you are willing to spend the time, the process can be incredibly confusing.  That is exactly why families turn to NCSA to ensure they are taking the necessary steps to find the perfect college.