NCSA Blog

This post will be the most incredible thing you’ve ever read.

It will open up the heavens, align the planets, clear your pores and allow your pets to communicate with you.

After reading that introduction, you’ll more than likely fall into two groups. The majority of the people are going call my bluff.The others will be really excited to read this post – so in advance, I apologize for the let down you would receive.

Let’s try this again.

This post will probably be beneficial to you. It will educate you, guide you and potentially open your eyes to ideas you might not have previously been aware of.

What’s the biggest difference between the two introductions? In the first, I’m cocky. In the second, I’m confident.

During my evaluations, I tell the student-athletes that I want to know every thing about them as a student-athlete – any accolades, any awards, any reason why if I were a coach, I’d want to recruit them.

Occasionally, I’ll get someone who falls under the first introduction. He’ll try to make me believe that he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

What I get more commonly is a student-athlete that I can obviously tell is uncomfortable talking about his or her achievements because he or she doesn’t want to come across as cocky.

So he or she will leave information out, which luckily for them in this case, usually is added by the parents.

That – omitting vital information – also leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

It’s like I said a couple paragraphs above – If I’m a coach, I need to know why I should want to recruit you! Don’t oversell me because I either won’t believe you or I’ll more than likely be in for a letdown. But don’t undersell me either because then you might not have the qualifications I’m looking for!

Both instances ultimately would lead to me not recruiting you. Instead, go through year-by-year, being honest about your statistics and the awards that you’ve received in a confident tone. Coaches will appreciate it, and after you’ve received a scholarship or an opportunity to play, you’ll appreciate it as well.

Over the last three years, I would estimate that I have spoken with over 5,000 student athletes and their families.  One of the first questions that I tend to ask since it seems to predicate the rest of my conversation is, “How serious is your son or daughter about playing college sports?”  The answer is almost always “100% serious.”  I suppose this should not surprise me, but I have come to realize that a lot of these student athletes really are nowhere near “100% serious.”

I often feel as though if a student athlete has played a specific sport for a number of years, and played at a relatively high level, they almost feel obligated to want to play at the collegiate level.  Note to high school student athletes:  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WANT TO PLAY COLLEGE SPORTS.

The reason that I am passionate about working at NCSA with student athletes is because I know how many advantages student athletes will receive from playing collegiate athletics.  From preferred scheduling, to an immediate group of friends on campus, to networking opportunities after college, the list of benefits is extremely long.  For those who truly want to play at the next level, that experience will prove to change their life in many ways and most of them overwhelmingly positive. 

However, if you have competed in high school or club athletics, please understand that you are not required to continue playing in college.  The most important goal should be earning a college education whether or not athletics is a part of that.  That being said, if you are passionate about playing at the next level then I strongly suggest you begin taking a proactive approach in your recruiting process because it will change your life in many great ways. 

by Chris Krause, NCSA Founder and President

There is something that sets a few select athletes apart from their competition in the eyes of college coaches.

What that “something” is might surprise you.

It isn’t anything that happens during competition.  It’s not something that happens during practice, or even in the classroom.

It’s what happens during a crucial part of the recruiting process, when a coach can finally get the chance to talk one-on-one with the prospect they are interested in after reviewing their academic and athletic credentials.  It’s what happens during a phone call from a college coach to a high school student-athlete.

What happens, most of the time, is a lack of good communication on the part of the student-athlete prospect that is getting a call from the college coach.  Most athletes give simple “yes” and “no” answers.  They mumble.  They don’t give coaches the information they are searching for in the phone call, and it frustrates those college recruiters.

You see, when a college coach gets to the point of calling a high school prospect, something pretty significant has just happened: That athlete has jumped ahead of the pack of other prospects on a coach’s list, and are now being called to see if they would be a good fit for that coach and his or her program.

Most prospects on a coach’s recruiting list do not get called.  Those that do hear from a coach have a unique opportunity to really stand out from the crowd, and accelerate their chances of getting an offer from a coach.

However, when that prospect doesn’t communicate effectively with a college coach that is calling them, it may cause the coach to reconsider whether or not that prospect would be a good fit for their program.  It’s one of the most frustrating aspects of recruiting, and it seems to be getting worse.  In the age of e-mail and text messaging, and the general use of computers by teens to communicate with other teens, coaches are noticing that it’s getting harder and harder to have really good, really in-depth conversations with their prospects.

That’s where the opportunity exists for prospects who want to get an edge over their competition for athletic scholarships.  If you can talk to a coach, carry on a conversation, and communicate effectively, you will stand-out from your competition in the mind of that coach.

If you are the prospect who gives them the information that they’re looking for, you will be the prospect that they are more likely to pursue because they are able to learn about you as a person, and not just as an athlete.

Do you want to be one of those prospects who knows how to talk effectively with a college coach?  Here are my tips for communicating with college coaches:

Return their messages.  If they leave a message on your voicemail or message machine, it’s vital that you call them back immediately.  Even if it’s late at night, call back and leave a message.  Let them know that you received their message, and that you are interested in talking to them.

Be persistent.  You will see that many coaches are pretty persistent when it comes to getting your attention and trying to convince you to come play for their program.  Take a page from their playbook, and make sure you are persistent in getting back in touch with a coach who has tried to call you.  Don’t give up after just one return call.  Call again, follow-up with an e-mail, and then do all over again in a day or two if you haven’t heard back from them yet.

Tell them when you can spend time talking.  Let them know when the best time to talk is, and what your daily schedule looks like.  Most prospects don’t do that, and it frustrates coaches. 

Speak clearly, and use your best grammar.  Don’t mumble or slur your words.  How you talk to your friends at school might not be the best way to talk to a college coach who is thinking about paying for your college education.  Try to impress a coach with how you speak.

Show respect.  Address them as “Coach Smith”, or “sir”, or “Ms. Jones”.  Until you have an established relationship with that coach, show him or her respect in how you address them.  It sounds like a small detail, but it can make a really positive impression in a coach’s mind.

Ask questions.  You should have a list of “ready to ask” questions that you would want to discuss with a coach.  They might be questions about playing time, the majors their school offers, or dormitory options on campus.  I recommend that you write down a few good questions and refer to that list when you hear from a college coach.

Answer questions with a lot of details and information.  Remember, do not give them short “yes” or “no” answers.  Go into a lot of detail.  Give them more than they are looking for in terms of information on a particular topic.  The more you talk to them, the more excited they’ll be about the idea of you coming to play for them.

Write them a thank you note right away.  Send a quick e-mail and let them know that you really enjoyed the conversation.  Then, do this:  Ask the coach what the next step in the process is.  If you do that, they will tell you.  And, you won’t be left wondering if you’re going to get recruited by that coach or not.

Do you see how important good communication on your part is?  Do you understand how rare it is these days that a college coach comes across a student-athlete who communicates effectively during the recruiting process?

If you commit to doing this, I promise that you will not be disappointed.  Coaches will notice your approach, and put you at the top of their call list.

September 1^st is an important date for several sports in the recruiting process. On this date college coaches will be allowed to start contacting prospective student athletes on a more frequent basis. Many student athletes have a certain level of anxiety regarding speaking to college coaches.

Some student athletes have trouble understanding which questions are important to ask, while others avoid these calls all together. And all too commonly, some student athletes will waste the opportunity they have with college coaches and not ask a single question concerning their status with the school. Whatever your scenario, it’s important that we review the basics of handling phone calls from college coaches.

The first thing I want you to do is breath, stay calm and don’t get anxious. When you start to field phone calls from college coaches you will notice one common theme, they like to talk. Most of the phone calls you receive from college coaches they will simply be talking at you. Meaning they’re driving the conversation. For the most part you will simply sit there and listen. Occasionally you might be asked a pretty basic question regarding last Friday’s game, or how your classes are going but for the most part you should have no trouble answering the questions they ask you. So don’t worry, these phone calls are nothing to get anxious about. I can guarantee after your first call you will not have any anxiety regarding future calls.

Now that you’re relaxed, I want to make sure you understand what your objective should be as a recruit who fields phone calls from college coaches. It’s all about information, plain and simple. The ego stroke most recruits receive about how great of a player they are is really just a side bonus, trust me.  Don’t let the ego boast side track you, stay focused and remember to get as much information as you can from these coaches. 

Now you may be asking yourself, “What sort of information should I find out?” If you asked yourself that, congratulations, you’re starting to understand this process. For the most part it’s simple. You know what you want to find out about, maybe it’s the major that you’ve always wanted to study, maybe it’s whether or not you will have an opportunity to play early, maybe you want know about what kind of academic support the school offers their athletes. The fact is most of the questions need to come from you, ask yourself what is important and then find out whether or not the school can offer what you’re looking for.

I encourage you to write out a list of questions, that way you can ask the same set of questions to every coach you deal with. This will allow you to compare the different answers each school gives you. This will help you when you enter into the decision making part of this process. Trust me; it will be extremely helpful to simply look down at a pad of paper to find your questions, versus having to remember all of them on the spot.

Remember the trick is to get as much information from these coaches as possible. I recommend always working towards finding out where the coach is with his recruiting class, (in terms of offers made at your position) where you stand on his recruiting board, and when you can expect a decision on whether or not they are interested in having you join there program. Finding out this info will really allow you to organize your recruiting effort in a much more effective manor hopefully allowing you to find as much success as possible.

                                                                                                                                                                                          The landscape of college recruiting has changed in recent years. There is no denying this fact. Most parents and former players remember a time when the senior year would determine the opportunities they had at the collegiate level after the fall seasons were complete. As seniors all over the country are finding out, scholarship offers have been made, some rosters are full and in many cases, doors have been closed. This can be a devastating realization for families that have not realized just how much the recruiting process has evolved over the years and thus accelerating its timeline. In most cases parents are left wondering, “Have we started to late?”I’m here to tell you there is still time. In the famous words of Douglas Adams, “Don’t Panic!” If you have a sincere desire to find a home to continue your athletic and academic career, there is a place for you to play. But I am going to be honest with you; the recruiting process is a game, plain and simple, and you have to know how to play it.

The first thing you have to realize the game has already started and you have to make up ground. Second, if you don’t know the rules of the game, or how it works, you can guess that you aren’t going to have much success in attempting to win the game. Now apply that analogy to the recruiting process and you can easily guess that your first step should be to get educated on exactly how the recruiting process works. Don’t go into this process blind, get educated and start making up ground.

First, you should read the NCAA Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete. This will give you a ton of great info concerning the rules and regulations surrounding the recruiting process. You should use the information in this booklet to guide you on what sort of events should be happening to you throughout the year. You should quickly notice that there is a calendar of events or time periods that allow coaches to contact recruits through letters, calls and in person visits. This should allow you to construct a rough timeline for the recruiting process. Understanding this timeline is a great first step to becoming educated on how the process works and should really allow you to get off on the right foot with playing the game.

Now that you’re ready to play the game I want to pass along some very helpful advice on how you can make up ground. Recruiting is about relationship building. If you think of it in those terms it is easy to guess your next step. Whenever attempting to start any sort of relationship with someone, the first thing you would want to do is introduce yourself. Send out video, make phone calls, send emails, and get proactive! The more personal touches you can have with a coach and his staff, the more likely it will be that they will become comfortable enough with you as a player and a person to extend an offer. Use any means available to you to get in front of the coaching staffs that you want a chance to play for.

Be persistent and don’t take and don’t be afraid to hear the word no. Odds are there are going to be more schools that aren’t interested in having you play for you then there will be schools that are interested in playing for you. This is simply a numbers game. It’s ok to hear “no”, and “I’m not interested in players at your position,” you can hear one thousand “no’s,” but you only have to hear one “yes.” Odds are in your favor.

Again, keep in mind that you want to build a relationship with these coaches, so after you’re introduced don’t stop there, make sure to ask them questions, make visits and get to know the coaches that you want a chance to play for. A great way to build upon your relationship is to set up an unofficial visit to a local school. This way you can have an opportunity to ask questions about recruiting needs and opportunities at the various schools surrounding your home. Once you start to get introduced to these programs you should really start to see some momentum build for yourself, and hopefully those local contacts will turn into national contacts.

Building a strong relationship with each and every coaching staff that you are working with will ease some of the pressure of the recruiting process. It will make it easier to truly find out where you stand with them, and whether or not they plan to offer you a roster spot. If you’ve built a strong relationship, whatever the outcome concerning a scholarship, that coach will be an advocate for you in the future.

Remember there is still time left if you want to get involved with college athletics, but you have to start making up ground.  If you feel like you need assistance there are avenues you can explore to become more educated on how this process works. You only get one shot at the recruiting process, do not leave any stone unturned, and make sure to put in as much effort as possible and you will find success.

 a former D1 college football recruiting coordinator’s thoughts on what NCSA can do for every college football (all sports) coaches.

 ”If I knew then what I know now” my college coaching staffs would have had more success recruiting!

First, my background.

I capped off my days as a center for the Fighting Illini by playing in the Blue Gray All Star Game, and then signed with the Oakland Raiders. It’s been over 30 years since taking off my cleats and picking up a whistle joining coaching staffs at Illinois, UNLV, UCLA and Minnesota, many of these years as the recruiting coordinator. During that time I have been a part of a #1 ranked recruiting class, several top 5 classes and several more top 25 ranked classes in the country.

I’ve also been hired by nearly 40 D1 colleges to evaluate prospects for them.

Second, why am I writing this?

There is so much more to the recruiting process than getting your name on internet sites.

College coaches get hundreds of names and stats from the internet. What he needs to do is narrow that list of names down to a manageable working list of prospects that have the academic, athletic and social skills that he wants to recruit.

Third, how long is the recruiting process, really?

The recruiting process starts when a prospect gets the first letter from a school and ends when the prospect shows up for the first practice of the school he signed with.

Fourth, why is the recruiting process this long?

This is how long it takes the college coach to get the player on the field.

Once a coach decides the student athlete can play for his university (after a number of evaluations):

• the coach has to see if the athlete can qualify
• send many recruiting letters
• make several more evaluations (academic and athletic) of the prospect
• make a lot of phone calls
• get the prospect’s unofficial transcript and SAT/ACT scores to compliance or admissions at his/her school
• see that the prospect has registered with the clearinghouse
• check to see if the prospect will be admitted by the university
• make in person contacts
• set an official visit
• host the student athlete on the official visit
• sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI)
• financial aid paperwork
• admissions paperwork
• housing paperwork
• make sure the athlete is following the summer workout program
• help the student athlete with a summer job or get into summer school or maybe the summer “bridge program”
• have the student athlete report for orientation
• receive the final transcript
• be sure the prospect is certified eligible by the clearinghouse
• other paperwork the university needs before the player can step on the field (drug testing policy, physical, student conduct, etc.)

After all this a prospect can practice.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have, what college coaches refer to as the third party, experts like NCSA be available to advise you through the recruiting process?

As a former recruiting coordinator at several universities, “if I knew then what I know now” I’d love the help NCSA has to offer

I’ve just joined NCSA as a “Recruiting Expert” and am responsible for our relationship with college football programs. I will let every college I speak with know about our support of the student athlete’s family and how we can make the “recruiting process” work smoothly!

As I’m sure all of the staff at NCSA does.

Contact NCSA today for expert guidance!!

by Chris Krause, NCSA Founder and President

As the hype and hoopla of the upcoming college football season gets ready to kick-off next weekend, and all of our time and attention here at NCSA focuses on a new class of high school athletes in all sports who are entering the stretch run when it comes to getting noticed by college coaches and hoping for a full-ride scholarship, I want to talk to you about being the perfect walk-on player.

“Walking on???”, you say.  “Why are you going to talk to me about walking on to play sports at the college level?”

Because for many athletes, it’s what they choose to do.  In fact, it was almost the road that I took when I was searching for the right school as a high school athlete.

Furthermore, having the right “walk-on attitude” can help you right now as you compete for scholarships while you enter the final year (or years) of high school. 

I was reminded of that certain attitude when I ran across a great article about the walk-on football players at Marshall University.  In the article, it talks about how important the walk-on player for the program.  The reporter talked to an incoming Freshman walk-on player, Chris Bowers.  Bowers’ attitude was off the charts…here’s what the 6′ 2″, 280 lb. lineman had to say about his grueling pre-season workouts at Marshall University:

“It’s a privilege certainly,” Bowers said. “There are a lot of guys who would have loved to have been down here. They gave me the privilege and the shot to come down and show them what I can do.

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity. It’s a strange perspective since I’ve been around it all my life, basically. Actually being on the field with the guys you’ve been watching for a couple of years, it’s a strange perspective.”

“And as a walk-on I know it’s going to be really difficult, because I don’t have to be a little bit better than the guy in front of me. I have to be a lot better, because they brought him in for a reason.”

The thing is, no matter what happens in Bowers’ college football career, he’s going to be successful in life.  If he perseveres, he’s going to come away with a work-ethic and attitude that will make him unbeatable in his post-college career, whatever it is.

Marshall’s coach, Mark Snyder, agrees:

“It’s a rough road for them,” Thundering Herd head coach Mark Snyder said. “They’re paying their own way to school, and you’re relegated to scout team work. And you’ve basically got to make a way out of no way.

“But what we’ve found is that most of the time those guys become great leaders, because they’ve had the adversity. They don’t take things for granted.

“Those kids have done a great job. They’ve worked hard, and I’m glad they’re on our football team.”

After listening to Coach Snyder and Chris Bowers, here’s why I think every high school athlete should take on the attitude - right now - of being determined to be the perfect walk-on player in college:

• You will put yourself in control of the recruiting process.  Of course you want a full-ride scholarship.  But even for really good athletes, that sometimes doesn’t happen (especially in non-revenue sports at the college level).  Think about it: If you make up your mind that you’ll probably be a walk-on player in college, you can take control and choose the best school for you, rather than waiting for phone calls from your dream school.
• You will develop an unbeatable positive attitude.  That’s something that you will take with you your entire life.  Having a “can do” attitude is something that employers (and college coaches) look for in people.  Look back at the quote from Chris Bowers at Marshall: Does it sound like he’s unhappy to be a walk-on?  Absolutely not!  He’s a part of a program he loves, and even though it’s hard work he knows he will benefit in the end.
• You will develop GREAT leadership skills.  Why?  Because you will have to go through a little more adversity than some of your fellow athletes.  And I can tell you, as someone who has built a successful organization from the ground up and has gone through his share of adversity on the field and in the corporate world, you will draw on your experiences as an college athlete to power you through to success.  The walk-ons of today will be the CEO’s of tomorrow.
• You will be more grateful for the chance to play sports.  Walk-on athletes at the college level talk about the renewed passion that they have for their sport at that level.  Why?  Because they have to work harder to continue playing the sport they love, which propels them towards better performances in their sport.  Sometimes you have to go through a little adversity to launch you to the next level.
• Chances are, if you stick with it, you’ll earn a scholarship.  As you begin to hear from college coaches this year, don’t be surprised if they tell you that they have a policy of not giving incoming Freshmen scholarship money.  However, they will also talk about kids who stick with it, make the team, and then are awarded healthy scholarships for the rest of their college career.  My message here is that your hard work will pay off; usually with scholarship money, and almost certainly with new leadership abilities, more maturity, and with the ability to overcome obstacles in your life after college.

So, right now in high school, develop the attitude of the perfect walk-on player.  Decide to have the attitude right now, before you need it, that you WILL play college sports no matter what.  And, if it comes to taking a walk-on opportunity in your sport, you will look at it as an opportunity to build yourself into not just a better athlete, but a better person as well.

To maximize your opportunities to play college sports, I’d love to have my team of more than 70 former college athletes and coaches here at NCSA be able to help you through the process.  If you haven’t registered your athletic qualifications with us yet, click here.

NCSA’s Exclusive Rankings System Assesses Academics, Athletics and Student-Athlete Graduation Rates at Four-Year Colleges

August 25, 2008 (Chicago, IL) – The National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) is pleased to announce the release of our 6th Annual NCSA Collegiate Power Rankings.
 
NCSA’s 2008 Collegiate Power Rankings rate colleges and universities comprehensively based on student-athlete graduation rates, academic strength and athletic prowess of the university. The institutions posted in the 2008 Power Rankings are in an elite group of less than 6% of colleges and universities across the nation.
 
“With so many outstanding colleges and universities to choose from, NCSA’s power rankings objectively help student-athletes compare collegiate opportunities so they know how institutions stack up pound for pound,” said NCSA Founder Chris Krause. “With this ranking, it shows us which colleges not only places importance on winning games, but on academics and graduating their student-athletes.”
 
The Collegiate Power Rankings from NCSA are calculated for each college and university at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels by averaging the U.S. News & World Report ranking, the U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup ranking and the NCAA student-athlete graduation rate of each college/university. The collegiate power rankings based off of the U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup rating evaluates the strength of NCAA athletic departments, while the U.S. News & World Report rating recognizes institutions of academic excellence. The student-athlete graduation rates are based on those provided by the NCAA.   New for 2008, NCSA distinguished the top national and liberal arts colleges from the list of comprehensive colleges.
 
In addition to the Collegiate Power Rankings, NCSA publishes recruiting guidelines and provides education to the nation’s top clubs, camps, and combines to high school athletic directors, coaches and families of student-athletes who are interested in competing at the next level.
 
“The backbone of NCSA is education,” said Krause.  “The NCSA staff consists of more than 70 former collegiate athletes and college coaches whose focus is to match college coaches with qualified and committed student athletes, maximizing their collegiate recruiting potential.” 

Top 10 Overall

1. Williams College
2. Amherst College
3. Middlebury College
4. Washington University in St. Louis
5. Stanford University
6. Duke University
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
8. Tufts University
9. (tie) Emory University
9. (tie) Princeton University 
 

Division I

1. Stanford University
2. Duke University
3. Princeton University
4. Harvard University
5. University of Notre Dame
6. University of Pennsylvania
7. Northwestern University
8. (tie) Cornell University
8. (tie) Yale University
10. Georgetown University
 

Division II

Division III

1. Williams College
2. Amherst College
3. Middlebury College
4. Washington University in St. Louis
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6. Tufts University
7. Emory University
8. Haverford College
9. John Hopkins University
10. Washington and Lee University

More than 35,000 college coaches and more than 1,700 colleges and universities use NCSA to meet their recruiting needs. NCSA annually tracks more than 100,000 of the top student athletes in 25 sports who will be making their way on to college rosters with the ultimate goal of earning a college degree.
 
Please visit www.ncsasports.org/about-ncsa/power-rankings for a complete overall ranking list, as well as rankings by division level.  And, if you’re still one of those athletes who has not registered with NCSA to be evaluated by the recognized leaders in collegiate sports recruiting, click here. 
 

Do you think the college athletic recruiting process should provide you with the highest number of opportunities? Do you think understanding college athletics recruiting can reveal the perfect college fit for you? How do you go about increasing your opportunities? What system should you employ to make sure you are selecting the right opportunity for you?

College coaches begin by initially contacting 1,000 or 2,000 or even 10,000 (depending on the sport) student athletes by sending them camp brochures, emails, questionnaires, etc. Those same college coaches are clearly not recruiting all of those student-athletes. Why do they start with such a large pool? They are following the advice of Marketing 101: the more kids who they find out about, the better chance they’ll find the really quality student-athlete who will help their program. If that’s a good strategy for college coaches, shouldn’t a student-athlete use the same strategy? Doing so will increase your number of opportunities.

A savvy student-athlete will learn as early as freshman year that they need to develop trust-based relationships with college coaches. This can only happen through communication. Since the NCAA restricts the amount and timing of contacts initiated by college coaches, the student-athlete must be proactive. Unfortunately, the 14 or 15 year old student-athlete doesn’t have the life experiences or the maturity to begin building relationships with adults. The good news is they can be trained in that skill set. It’s like interviewing for a job. 

College recruiting boils down to trust-based relationships between college coaches and student-athletes. What college coach is going to make a significant investment in a student-athlete unless they know a lot more about that student-athlete than her/his performance on the playing field?

If you agree with playing the numbers game and building trust-based relationships with college coaches, have you thought about how you would do that? If you’re a student-athlete reading this, do you think your parents can do this for you? If so, you better forget about playing sports in college. Do you think your coach can do this for you? Again, if so, you better forget about finding the perfect college fit for you. You are the one that needs to take charge. You can only do that if you develop the skill set to do so. Who will teach you that?

Finally, if you do all of the above correctly, how do you determine the right fit? There are many different factors including: academic quality of the school, size of school, location of school, financial aid package, level of competition, opportunity to play early, getting along with the coaching staff and players, receiving tutoring help (if necessary), etc. There is a way to logically sort out all of those factors. If you need help, go here.

I look up to Elena Delle Donne. Not because she was Naismith national girls high school basketball player of the year or because she’s a lot taller than me (she’s 6′5).

No, the reason I admire Delle Donne, who was slated to play at UConn, is because she followed her gut instinct to not play basketball in college, despite being the best player in the nation. From the Hartford Courant:

“I have decided that in the best interest of both UConn and myself that I will not play college basketball this year,” said Delle Donne, a 6-foot-5 guard from Wilmington, Del., who committed to UConn last August. “Both UConn and I require 100 percent dedication to the sport, and as of now I feel I cannot give that level of commitment. It therefore would be unfair to the excellent program, Coach Geno Auriemma, the team, and UConn fans, for me to play.

“Coach Auriemma and the team have been extremely understanding during this time of my transition from high school to college, and I thank them for that. I am especially grateful to Coach Auriemma, whose kind wisdom has shown me why UConn is such a class program.”

It’s unfortunate that Delle Donne already had committed to playing at UConn before coming to this conclusion, but I do respect that rather than struggling through her freshman year, she admitted that she couldn’t commit to playing at that level.

As a star-athlete, you might feel pressure to play at the next level or take on an additional workload. But the only person who can truly tell you what to do and what is right is YOU. I’m sure Delle Donne felt said pressure, but rather than subcoming to it, she eventually broke out and decided that basketball in college is not right for her, at least not right now.

Athletics are a great way to help you get into college – I preach that everyday. But on the flip-side, you got to do what’s in your own best interest. If you plan on going to school by participating in your sport, and you might not necessarily enjoy playing at the college level, you have to think long and hard about the decision to accept any athletic scholarship that comes your way.

It’s all about being happy.