NCSA Blog

 With Football season kicking off recruits are starting to send tapes to colleges all over the country knowing that decisions on scholarships are offered at a sometimes blinding pace.  Many athletes are depending on their high school coach to assist with the process.  At Fleming Island, one of the top athletic high schools in Florida, Coach Neal Chipoletti is working overtime to make sure his players get the recognition they deserve.  Gatorcountry.com details Coach Chipoletti’s efforts in assisting 2010 Florida commit Ian Silberbman:

“We sent out Ian’s highlight tape to over 100 schools across the country,” Fleming Island coach Neal Chipoletti said. “If a kid demonstrates the interest in playing college football, we will do everything we can to help them out.”

Fleming Island offensive line coach Damenyum Springs has known all along that he has a big time player on his hands. He knew it wouldn’t be long until the rest of the country discovered what he already knew.

“A lot of people didn’t know or hadn’t seen him,” Springs said of Silberman, whose first season as a starter was last season as a sophomore. “His highlight film was nice and people said ‘wow, how did we miss this kid?’ Then everyone jumped [to try and recruit him].”

Chipoletti said he bought $1,500 worth of DVDs, in order to make highlight tapes for his players and also has invested heavily into audio-visual equipment to help make the process go smooth.

Things have paid off quickly for Fleming Island, which has sent 30 players to college in only five seasons of fielding a varsity football team.

Overall, it takes a total commitment from everyone involved at the program to help kids make it to the next level.

“My principal and athletic director have been very supportive of everything we’ve done,” Chipoletti said. “They’ve allowed me to bring in talented coaches … the coaches who coach for me are professionals and do a great job with the kids.”

What parent and recruits all over the country need to realize is that the effort by Coach Chipoletti is far from the norm.  Even with all of his extra work several issues need to be considered.  There is a tremendous cost involved with sending so many DVD’s around the country.  For athletes that aren’t targeting D1 schools, 100 schools may not be enough.  Also, many athletes are asked by coaches to send in updates as the season progresses or early next season.  If this is the case the tremendous cost and effort in sending out so many DVD’s will have to be repeated.  Can you count on your high school coach for that much help?

The reality is that you can’t.  Coaches are paid to coach, not to find athletes a place to play in college.  That is why thousands of athletes are turning to NCSA’s verified scouting reports.  They allow athletes to quickly send updated information and video to coaches around the country efficiently.  Too many athletes wait too long waiting for help that never arrives.  I suggest that you get moving today.

Recently, while evaluating football players for the NCSA/Takkle Top 200 list at our offices in Chicago, founder and CEO of NCSA Chris Krause came into the room to check on the progress of the project. At that time I reported to Chris that things were moving a bit slower than planned. The reason? The quality of some of the DVD’s that were to be evaluated. These DVD’s were of some of the possibly best football candidates in the country and they weren’t up to par!

Chris and I began to discuss as to what actually is a good DVD and what is a DVD that would be considered sub-par. Let me begin by saying that in this day and age, there is no excuse for a DVD being sent to colleges that does not give a clear picture as to the abilities of the young man in question. Let’s look at it this way — when you consider all of the hours, days, months and years that a young man prepares as a player and when his “audition” finally occurs, it is displayed in a manner that makes the sum and total of his efforts difficult to discern. It’s just is not fair to him, his team or his family.

This process should not be difficult. Camera equipment and the use of the equipment in today’s era of technology should be considered as an investment in the future of the young men on a particular team. When you consider the number of players on a high school team and the cost of basic and good equipment, the cost is minimal. There are adequate cameras that actually cost less than the amount of money needed to suit up one player!

Parents as well as booster club members need to investigate and know the quality of camera equipment at their respective school. As a college coach, I don’t want a huge production of a game tape. I want clear and concise footage that permits me to initially identify the prospect in question and to watch game footage knowing exactly where he lines up on every play.

I don’t want to have to be a “detective” searching for the young recruit on every snap of the ball. Again, I need a clear and concise tape that moves along in a manner that affords the evaluating coach an opportunity to make a fair and accurate evaluation.

Consider the consequences of poor footage. I can only reflect upon the years and years of being met by literally hundreds of VHS tapes in the staff room at the beginning of the evaluation process — hours and hours of evaluation that need to move along expeditiously in order to complete the process. At times, we had difficulty identifying a young man in question, so his particular tape was moved to “the back of the line.” This should never happen. It is just unfair to a young guy who has so much invested in his performance.

Every school has an AV office with trained professionals that should be solicited, and yes, compensated for the effort in assisting with the presentation of good game footage. Many times, these wonderful people just love to be included with “the team.” Look to these people at your school — include them, make them part of your football family. That investment will bring huge benefit to your program. Their technical knowledge will not only bring a very viewable tape to the table, but also, their expertise will be able to identify players with an actual arrow pointing to the player in question or use the technique known as “spot shadowing.”

Spot shadowing is the process by which a player singled out just prior to the snap with a bit of a shadow. Ah! Spot shadowing! An evaluators dream! At NCSA we have the ability to do both of these techniques. We are able also to educate you as to what college coaches are looking for in a prospect’s tape.

Finally, please do not let all of those hard, tough days on the practice field go unrewarded when all is said and done because there was not prudent diligence in the preparation of game footage. It is your duty and responsibility to know that when your school sends out a recruiting DVD, it is minimally of a quality that gives the young guy in question the opportunity to be evaluated in a fair manner as he pursues his dream of playing in the college ranks.

 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…

With offers from Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida State and UCLA among about seven more Division I-A offers, OL Stavion Lowe, a 6′6 294-pound senior from Brownwood, Texas, an ESPN Top 150 prospect and a member of the NCSA, has verbally committed to play football at Louisiana State University.

“All of the other schools that were recruiting me were great and they made it very difficult for me to make my final decision,” Lowe said on TigerRag.com. “But I feel like every player is not made for (every) program.”

With the assistance of the NCSA Football department’s education and guidance, Lowe found the school that’s right for him. Take the first step to finding the school that’s right for you.

Every year on the center stage of collegiate sports, we hear the story, often told by television announcers, of the touching tale of the courageous walk on.  Visions of Rudy instantly come to the forefront as the journey of the underdog warrior starts to unfold.  “He was never recruited out of high school by any of the major programs . . .” says the announcer during his crescendo to the game breaking play.  “He has waited his whole life for this moment, battling disappointment after rejection.”  It is heartwarming.  Life is fair again. That could have been me.

There are few stories that compare in nature.  There are fewer that compare in occurrence.  The closest relative to Rudy would be the 71 year old retired truck driver who on his last few dollars cashed in on millions playing the random pick’m game at the local gas station.  The only difference is, that story happens more frequently!

For the serious competitor, walking on to a collegiate athletic team can be compared to earning a medical degree and then working as a custodian.  You both work in a hospital but unlike all of your classmates, you’re not actually doing what you trained so hard to do for so long.  Most collegiate athletes have played their sport since before they could remember, years and years, always starting, usually better and often in the spotlight.  To cash in a lifetime of hard work and natural talent for a dream that was forged from within a child’s perspective seems foolish.

Take football for example.  There are over 800 colleges that offer football as a varsity sport.  Most sports fans in this country can name up to fifty.  In baseball there are over 1000 colleges that offer the sport.  How many can you name?  There are numerous opportunities to explore if the desire to actually play exceeds common ignorance and childhood fantasies.

Walk-ons, just like custodians in hospitals, have vastly different experiences than the scholarship players.  First, the ceremonial National Letter of Intent signing day - that does not happen.  Next, the preferential class scheduling - no.  The second, third, or fourth pair of coaches’ eyes watching you to make sure that you’re taken care of - not so much.  You are a necessary tool to help the real players practice, rarely taken serious, rarely awarded a scholarship and sparingly shown respect.  Rudy was a great film but I hope it is not your story.  Below is a short video of how USC treats its potential walk ons.  There are a few questionable language choices in this clip so do not watch if you will be offended.  USC Walk On Clip

In summary, if you work your entire life to achieve the goal of becoming a college athlete, find a place where you are wanted.  Find a school where you will play and make an impact.  Go somewhere that will set you up to have a great experience while you earn your degree, an environment that will help provide you with teammates for life.  Step outside of your comfort zone and learn all you can of what is out there.  You just might find something that is priceless.

    After spending the last two years speaking with families about the recruiting process, two clear themes have emerged.  The first is that 99 percent of the families that I speak with are ignorant to the process yet unwilling to acknowledge the fact.  The second theme is that people are typically hesitant to invest in professional assistance.

            The first theme is understandable as most families are navigating this process for the first time so their ignorance is due to lack of education about the process which is not always readily available.  The second theme is rather alarming.  The recruiting process will affect a student athlete’s entire life for better or worse.  Knowing the impact the process might have on their child’s future and the lack of experience most families have, one would think that every parent would want to pursue every avenue possible that might help their child succeed in this process.  Unfortunately, most families hear the word “investment” and immediately eliminate that avenue.  As a former athlete who failed at successfully finding the right school and being forced to transfer colleges, I wish I had as much help as possible even if that meant investment money into some sort of professional assistance. 

            The harsh reality is that even if the family chooses to navigate this process by themselves, it will cost money!  To successfully handle the process, an investment will have to be made financially.  Between videos, mailing profiles, visits, camps, etc. the process will most likely cost a family quite a bit of money.  The irony is that families spend hundreds of dollars on camps, combines, and tournaments thinking they will provide the exposure that is lacking only to realize they rarely do. 

            Just one of these days I would like to ask a parent who seems hesitant to invest money in professional help what they plan on doing with the money they are saving from “saying no” to the service…and better yet, how that expenditure could possibly benefit their son’s future more than helping him make the right college decision professionally?  I have yet to think of an answer that would satisfy me after seeing so many families fail to maximize this process…

Highlight tape A:

Highlight tape B:

To be fair, the question is a little misleading. I didn’t ask which highlight tape was better with regards to a specific area. Regarding cinematics, sound effects, and musicness (not a real world), the honors would have to go to highlight video A.

Regarding the potential to be recruited by a college, highlight video B takes it.

“But video A has cool cinematics, graphics, music and critics quoting her as ’thrilling’ and ‘majestic’!”

Here’s what video A doesn’t have.

• Diverse skills. For the first few clips, you just see quick flashes of the girl running and dribbling. If you’re wanting to play college soccer, I should hope you have those abilities.
• Relevant skills. We don’t get to see much passing, shooting, field vision — all things coaches are looking for. 
• Clear focus. The clips are so brief, I have trouble identifying what is happening, as well as the student athlete herself.

Most importantly though, the video is corny. It might impress the average eye with its bells and whistles, but a coach doesn’t care about any of that. If he’s going to give you a scholarship or even want you to play for his team, he wants to see you have soccer skills, not your Windows Movie Maker skills. Nevermind the fact that she’s falsely attributing the critics’ quotes about a movie to her play as a soccer player.

With tape B, on the other hand, you know who you’re supposed to be watching, and watch what you’re supposed to be watching. The video clearly highlights who you’re supposed to be looking at, and you see multiple skills, such as first touch, dribbling, evasive maneuvers, short passes, long passes, one-touch passes, runs, tackling and field vision.

These are the things coaches do care about.