NCSA Blog

Among the many reasons to enter the college sports recruiting process earning an athletic scholarship to pay for college is always at the top of the list. Playing in college offsets the burden of paying for college. After all, who wants to be paying for college 10 years after they graduate because of student loans? In May 2007, testimony before US congress revealed that a quarter of all students graduate with too much debt to pay back on a starting teachers salary. That is way too high.

If that’s the case, shouldn’t you be knowledgeable in the ways of Financial Aid?

I earned my MBA from one of the top business schools in the country and traded sophisticated financial instruments for over 20 years. I thought I could figure this financial aid thing out. I couldn’t. I needed help. I’m very glad I invested in professional advice that helped maximize the grants and scholarships my daughter received. One of the great things about NCSA is that their advice on how to maximize scholarship dollars actually works. And it continues to work. Except for the less than 1% of college athletes who have “full rides” (tuition, books, room & board, fees, transportation), most families must negotiate their financial aid package on an annual basis. Paying for that expert advice helped - a lot! As she enters her junior year, my daughter has received over $135,000 in financial aid. Not one penny of that is a student loan. It’s all grants that don’t have to be paid back. Do you think I’m happy with the professional advice I received? My return on that investment was over 6700.00 per cent!

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.

The secret to College Athletic Recruiting success boils down to setting and achieving goals. To become a college student athlete, a parent should encourage their youngster to write down their goals. Then parents should support their children in achieving those written goals.

If you want an example of how this works, one need look no further than swimmer Michael Phelps who just earned his 8^th Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics. I was struck by this Michael Phelps quote I read in Jay Mariotti’s column in the Chicago Sun Times: Phelps said, “The reason I was so emotional, I’ve dreamed a lot of things and I’ve written down a lot of goals but this one was the biggest one I ever wrote down. Everything was accomplished,”

Did you catch that? He wrote down that he would win 8 gold medals. Then he won them. Now, did the mere writing down of the goal make the gold medals inevitable? Of course not. The execution is the hard part. The perseverance to do the lonely work that allowed him to reach those goals was equally as important as stating the goal. But one thing a student-athlete should understand, the human brain has a magnificent capacity for helping you keep focused on that hard work if you give it direction. Writing down goals allows one to stay on task to achieve those goals.

Do you want to set realistic and achievable goals? Would you like to know how to put yourself in a position to be recruited to play college sports? Then get some expert advice. You can begin that process at NCSA.

For all you softball players out there: What did you this summer? Going to the movies, hanging out with friends, shopping at the mall?

Or did you play softball?

Hopefully, if you’re serious about the college recruiting process, you were doing the fourth option. According to an article written by Kenny Cress, the verdict from coaches is out. If you want a college scholarship, you better have travel experience. From the piece:

What [Cal State Bakersfield’s head softball coach Kathy Welter] said about travel ball softball echoed what much of the other coaches interviewed by the Santa Maria Times said about it. Travel ball is extensive, travel ball is expensive and travel ball is a must if a player wants a college scholarship.

“They can play a lot more games than they can (during the high school season), and of course they’ll have a better chance of being recruited by coaches,” thanks to exposure tournaments, Welter said.

So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. Playing travel sports – not just for softball, but soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming and volleyball to name a few more — give you a better chance of playing at the next level. It comes down to dedication, striving to become the best player you can be.

And yes, travel and club sports can be expensive. But here’s the thing — college is expensive! The end goal is to get some sort of aid for college expenses, and if a couple thousand dollar investment could ultimately lead to a scholarship and knock $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 off your education bill, that’s a pretty impressive return on investment.

I’ve talked to over 4,000 families about college recruiting. Most are looking for college sports scholarships to help pay for college.  However, some parents are not looking for college athletic scholarships.  In about 20% of those conversations, either the mom or dad doesn’t want their child to play college sports. When I ask why, I get some amazing answers that are so far from reality that I’ve decided to write this post. These parents’ concerns have a common theme. They think their child will not have the time to adequately devote to their studies if they play sports in college. Mom/Dad… let’s get real. Your child is not going to be devoting 100% of their time to their studies. In fact, college students have a well-earned reputation for finding creative ways of filling up their free time.

I suggest a more productive way of using that free time is through college sports. One cannot play college sports at any level without discipline, time-management skills, a commitment to improve one’s game through hard work, and being held accountable to your teammates. Learning these life skills make college graduates who play sports much more marketable when they enter the workplace or when applying to graduate school.

In my previous career, I worked on the wholesale side of a very large multi-national bank. For a 2-year period, I was responsible for hiring newly minted college graduates for our entry-level training program that could lead to career opportunities anywhere in the world. I interviewed students from the most prestigious academic institutions including the Wharton School at the U. of Pennsylvania, The U. of Chicago, Northwestern U., the U. of Michigan, and the U. of Illinois. Most applicants were very sharp, had done their homework, came in prepared, and had great GPA’s. What separated them was their ability to demonstrate to me that they had leadership potential, were team players, would work until the job got done, enjoyed being held accountable, and could manage their time. Who did this best? My most memorable interviews were with students who played an intercollegiate sport in college. They had to manage their time. They had to be team players. They were leaders among their peers. They had the discipline to go to bed early so they could make early morning workouts. They had great GPA’s also. And they graduated on time. In short, they were exactly what I was looking for. Every one of them got a job offer from me. None accepted. Why? They always had 3 or 4 more other offers from companies paying more than my bank would pay.

Are you a student-athlete who is on a mission to play college sports? Are you a student-athlete who has played your sport for years? Imagine your first sport season after high school and you’re not playing. What would that feel like?

Most student athletes and their families are unaware of how early college recruiting begins. Or the reasons it begins so early. The problem is that 93% of high school students who go on to college are applying through the academic door. They begin researching colleges late in their junior year or early in their senior year. They listen to the high school guidance counselor who advises them to apply to several schools. They place these schools into 3 categories: 1) Reach schools (if I’m lucky, I’ll get in.) 2) Stretch schools (I’m pretty sure I’d get accepted to half of these I apply to.) and 3) safe schools (I’ll get in no matter what.) Make sure you have all of your applications in before Christmas break.

Unfortunately, student-athletes and their families think that college athletic recruiting operates along the same time-line. It doesn’t!  If you wish to apply through the athletic door, you need to understand the different calendars and timelines.

Different sports have different recruiting calendars and time-lines. However, all sports have the following in common:

1. College coaches would love to find out about you early. In some sports that’s as early as 7^th and 8^th grade, other sports it’s by 10^th grade. Waiting until the beginning of junior year begins to reduce your opportunities.
2. A college student athlete has a certain athletic profile. For example, in baseball, a student athlete needs to have a certain 60-yard dash time, a certain overhand throwing velocity, a certain bat-speed, etc. For very competitive schools, those metrics need to be achieved by the end of junior year. If not, many college coaches will refuse to evaluate a student-athlete. It takes time to develop physically and student-athletes need to train to that level early to ensure they reach that level on time.
3. College coaches only give scholarship money to student-athletes they know, like, and trust. Those trust-based relationships take time to build. Because of the recruiting restrictions placed on college coaches, it’s important that a student-athlete begin to build those relationships as a freshman. Most don’t know how to go about that.

If you’re serious about being a college student-athlete, you need to implement that game plan that will get you there. Knowing what to do is as important as doing it. If you don’t know what to do, you should contact an expert for an evaluation. You can do that at NCSA.

 Why do high school student athletes want to play collegiate athletics?  I speak with so many student athletes who express that commitment on a daily basis and often times I wonder if they truly realize the advantages of being a collegiate athlete. Outside of love for their sport which is the best reason to want to continue to play at the next level, I believe that if student athletes realized the ancillary benefits of partaking in collegiate athletics, their desire to maximize the recruiting process would increase significantly. 

I have often contemplated writing a list of all the rewards that accompany playing collegiate athletics to pass along to prospective student athletes, but quickly realized that it might take hours if not days.  Secondary advantages such as an immediate community of possible friends on a new college campus all the way to an instant alumni network for career opportunities after college fall into this extensive list that student athletes should think about.  I believe it will inherently create more value on the goal at hand and thus a greater attention to the steps required to achieve that goal.   

Student athletes should realize that a love for their sport should serve as their main motivation for working hard in the classroom, on the field, and throughout the recruiting process.  However, they should also understand the ramifications of taking part in collegiate athletics and how that might change their entire life.  Knowing what’s at stake, every student athletes should make sure to maximize this process.  What are some other advantages that college athletes receive?  I think that is a topic well worth a discussion…

 I was recently reading a few posts from blogs that I frequent and the topic that athletic scholarships are not guaranteed for four years but rather a renewable contract that is signed each year at the discretion of the head coach came up a number of times.  I suppose this information is new to many parents and student athletes, so I encourage you to read more about the specifics, but I would rather focus on a different aspect of this topic.

There are certain reasons for a college coach to not renew an athletic scholarship that most reasonable people would find understandable.  Failing to meet academic requirements, legal issues away from the field, and poor work ethic on the field all seem like logical reasons for a coach to decide against renewing a scholarship.  The most controversial and least publicized reason for a college coaching neglecting to renew the scholarship is the student athlete simply not being good enough to play for that program.  The reason this issue is controversial is because coaches do not take advantage of it enough!

The reality is that college coaches are fearful of negative publicity when they decide not to renew a scholarship which will frighten potential recruits in the future.  Rather than experience this backlash, the coach will often times become brutally honest (or manipulative in my opinion) with the athlete and let him or her know that the chances of them playing anytime in the near future are very slim in the hopes that this will discourage the athlete from staying with the program and maintaining their athletic scholarship.  To me this seems cowardly. 

***Warning…What I am about to write might upset many people***

I believe college athletics would be better served if the college coaches would simply tell the student athlete they are not good enough to play at their program and they have decided not to renew their scholarship.  While this might upset the student athlete, at least they will have an opportunity to pursue a school where they will have a realistic chance to play.  I realize the downside to what I am proposing, but I ask the naysayers this; is it that much worse than what is currently being done?  Wouldn’t we all prefer the coaches actually be honest with a student athlete rather than give some distorted version of the truth in the hopes that the student athlete will do them a favor and leave the program on their own accord, thus saving their reputation for future recruits?

In an article about college recruiting and receiving athletic scholarships, I was struck by the following information from the dad of a highly recruited D1- A football player who had visited 21 colleges in 24 days found here.   The article states: “His father estimates the trips have cost $5,000….” Think about that, this kid’s parents care enough about him that they want him to find the perfect college fit.  That $5,000 doesn’t even include any other recruiting expenses such as SAT test preparation, putting videos together and mailing them, long distance phone calls to set up unofficial visits, personal training expenses, camps and combines attended, medical bills incurred, etc. Is it worth it? Considering there can be scholarships that total well over $200,000 on the line, then an investment ranging from $5,000 to $30,000 to prepare a student-athlete to be recruited seems worth it. But what if a parent invests all of that money and they don’t know how to play the Recruiting Game?

Every day, I speak with families who want to do the best for their kids. They’ve been playing club sports since they were 8. When you add they’re investment in club, travel, training, etc., the total is in the tens of thousands of dollars. Then I ask them what has been happening with college recruiting and there is nothing, zippo, nada. I’m amazed! They don’t know the first thing about playing the recruiting game. Most are hoping all of their student-athlete’s efforts will get them “discovered”. While that happens to “blue-chip” athletes, only about 5% of the student athletes recruited by colleges are in that category. Some parents think they can do it themselves. But what they didn’t bargain on is that it becomes a part-time job. As a parent who has been through this and been close to many others who have, plan on spending a minimum of 500 hours in effort to do it right.  How much is your time worth?

In order for a serious student-athlete to achieve their dream of playing their sport in college, it will require a significant investment in time and money. Can parents do it themselves and be successful? That’s up to you to decide. But if your student athlete is entering their sophomore year in high school and they haven’t received any contacts from college coaches, they are well behind their competition and need to catch up in a hurry. Understand getting contacts is only 10% of the game. The other 90% of the game is turning those contacts into relationships with college coaches, that eventually lead to scholarship offers. Out of more than 4,000 families I’ve spoken to in detail about this subject, less than 10 have a clue about executing that last 90%. Is that knowledge worth having? You bet. Do you need to pay for it? Yes, you will pay for it one way or the other. You’ll pay by hiring an expert or you’ll pay with missed opportunities of not knowing what to do. You could pay with your student-athlete not playing at all. But you will pay.

The college recruiting experience has many twists and turns.  There are many factors that play into recruiting for a student-athlete but one they have control over is doing the research.  Every student-athlete’s process is completely unique and different.  Doing research on the colleges and the process should be one of the top priorities!

Not only is the Stanford University one of the top academics schools in the country but it is also one of the best athletic programs (Stanford has won 14 consecutive Directors’ Cup).  The Stanford baseball program is a regulaly in the College World Series and is a two time National Champion. 

The Baseball Assistant Coach Dean Stotz at Stanford talks about the importance of research and choosing a college; “I have been doing this a long time, and if I may be so bold, I would like to help you simplify the process of selecting what college you will attend. First of all, please have respect for the magnitude of this college decision. You will live with this decision THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! This is not a “four year” decision, but a “FORTY YEAR DECISION”. There are no “mulligans”, no “do-overs”. Consider the task as if you are doing the most important research paper of your young life. The title of your research paper is: Where will I attend college? Now, how do you do well on a research paper?–RESEARCH!!!

There are three broad areas of risk in your college decision. You must decide what type of “academic challenge”, what type of “baseball challenge”, and what type of what I call “social challenge” you wish to take on.  In Coach Marquess’s and my 31 years we have not graduated 9 people who attended Stanford for four years.” What do you think?  Please post a comment on this topic!!