Lesson of the Day:
So your dream is to play your sport in college, and someone told you that your first step should be to make a list of your favorite colleges.
It makes perfect sense. It’s never bad to start with a plan.
Creating a “bad” list of top schools
might not seem like a monumental pitfall, but it can certainly derail your collegiate strategy and waste a ton of time if your plan gets off on the wrong
foot. So to shed some light on the topic, I’m giving you five (5) of the more common mistakes. Hopefully, they’ll help you avoid them altogether and come up with a strong list instead.
Mistake #1:
Division I or bust!
Athletes often feature a Who’s Who of major Division
I colleges/universities in their initial
college list, and the reality for many is, it’s simply not a realistic list. In fact, in many cases, the list is completely disconnected from the athlete’s
“true” athletic/academic credentials.
Look, everyone
dreams about the “Big Time” and you should aim high until it’s clear that the opportunity is out of reach. Just understand that only about 1% of America’s
varsity athletes will put on a Division I uniform next year. And by the time you’re a junior in high school, many of these opportunities have already been offered to the nation’s top prospects.
Even if you’re not a Division
I caliber prospect, that doesn’t
mean there isn’t a fantastic college
home for you out there.
Ball State University (NCAA Division I) Head Football Coach, Pete Lembo, says, “Parents
must try to keep their expectations realistic for their children.
Very few high school players have the physical tools and skill
set to play at the highest
level. However, there is a place for every high school player
to fit in on the college level if they have the grades, standardized test scores and passion
for the game.”
Five mistakes athletes make when creating their college list
So your dream is to play your sport in college, and someone told you that your first step should be to make a list of your favorite colleges.
One thing’s for sure: compiling your list of top colleges can be a daunting task. But it really doesn’t have to be if the goal is to assemble a group that matches up well with your athletic abilities, appeals to your academic interests and offers the overall experience you’re looking for in a college. That and, it’s always nice if these schools actually want you, too.But did this person tell you how to compile your list? There are 4,000+ colleges in America. How in the world do you know where to start? What makes certain schools your “favorites?” Is it the uniforms they’re wearing on television?
"High school players and their parents can get ‘caught up’ in lunch time and cocktail party talk of ‘where are you going’ rather than finding the best fit for the athlete. (Athletes need to) choose a place that really wants you, and where you can become an All‐Conference and All‐American player. You need to find a fit, not a place that looks and sounds good when telling people where you're going." - Dan O’Brien, Head Baseball Coach Santa Clara University NCAA Division IMistake #2: Ten schools ought to do it, right?
Of course, I’m referring
to influences by the media, friends and family.
Athletes, you’re going to be attracted to schools for various reasons,
and while everyone has their own unique set of priorities, the most important thing to remember
here is that the school you attend should
be the best fit for YOU; not anyone
else. This is about your future, not what sounds good when you’re
talking to your friends. This is about your experience, not where your mom or dad went to school. Just because this team has flashy new uniforms doesn’t
make them a great fit!
Here’s a great exercise
for you and your parents.
We call it an opportunity comparisons chart, and it’s basically
an inventory of your interests
and how each college/university compares to one another
using a numerical
value. Plenty of people use an Excel spreadsheet to do this because
they can include
as many colleges as they want and automatically add up scores, but you can scratch this on a piece of paper just as well.
Mistake #4: Home Sweet
Home
Of course,
you may still end up choosing your “perfect
fit” school closer
to home, which
is great if it’s the best fit for you. In the beginning, though, it’s always wise to consider opportunities outside
a 500 mile radius.
As a general
rule of thumb, we encourage student-athletes to consider
areas all across the country
when looking at schools. For one, most 16 & 17-year olds change their minds, and so schools they often like from first glance are typically not schools they end up liking. And since kids don’t always
know what they're
looking for in a school, their preliminary college choices are often based off what they hear or think, as opposed to what they know. So the more coaches
kids can interact with, the more perspective and knowledge
they can gain. The more they can learn about themselves and the more the process itself reveals to them, the better they can position
themselves moving forward.
The more interest kids receive from various colleges, the more leverage they ultimately possess. If college coaches around the country are legitimately interested in you, not only will it enhance your recruiting experience by opening more doors, it also validates your ability level for those coaches who may have passed on you otherwise. So if you want to improve your chances of receiving offers from schools in your backyard, make sure you’re recruited heavily by schools far away (and vice versa).
Finally, it’s important to understand some basic college demographics. Nearly 79% of all colleges in the US are east of the Mississippi. So when a west coast prospect
starts drawing a line through east coast
opportunities, for example, s/he starts
to exponentially limit her/his college options. Simply put, there are fewer schools
(and therefore fewer roster spots) for kids that want to stay in the west. If you’re
not a major D1 caliber player
with a spot on a Pac-12, Mountain
West or WAC roster, don’t give up. There’s a number of amazing
opportunities likely waiting for you out east, so take the time to learn about those schools and you might just find exactly what you’re hoping
for.
Mistake #5: Smaller colleges,
like Division III schools,
don’t offer athletic scholarships so I’m not even going to include them on my college list.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
As mentioned earlier, if you were blessed
with the talent level to be considered a Division I prospect, then shoot for the stars! However,
there are plenty of Division I-caliber players who elect to play Division
III.
True, Division III schools cannot award scholarships on the basis of athletic talent. However, like all college coaches at every level, they must recruit to stay competitive and maintain job security. The fact is, Division III financial aid awards are simply packaged with non-athletic line items, such as endowments, academic scholarships, grants, loans and/or need-based aid. While their recruiting budgets are typically tighter than larger college programs, the rules governing D3's are far less stringent, so their recruiting strategies and incentives are limited only by the institutions they represent. Bottom line, you might get a better offer at a Division III school, so don’t automatically rule them out if they offer great fit opportunities.
"While playing sports at a Division I or II school may be more prestigious, there are advantages to a Division III school. Athletes can still get extra consideration in the admissions office at Division III schools, and even though these colleges don't offer athletic scholarships, they can offer academic scholarships. Playing for a Division III team might mean more playing time, which is important when you love a sport, and the satisfaction of being a big fish in a small pond. Since Division III schools tend to be smaller colleges, athletes may find more personal attention, smaller classes and greater ease in socializing with the rest of the college community."
Student-Athletes, when you look at your initial
list of possible college
choices, ask yourself some key questions:
A: Try the opportunities comparison and see how many match up with your athletic abilities, academic credentials and personal priorities.
Q:Which of the coaches on my current
college list are interested enough
to want to know what’s going on in my life?
A: If the answer
is “zero”, then your list isn’t doing you much good and you need to formulate
a better plan immediately.
A: You’ve worked hard to get to this point. You’re among the elite 5% who gets to play their sport in college. Would you be happy riding the pine at a big school or being a fixture in the starting lineup at a smaller school?
A: If you aren’t sure how good you are, see if a local college coach will evaluate your film, or attend a couple college camps and ask for written evaluations. Knowing the truth about how you compare with other prospects will save you lots of time and ensure a much more productive college recruiting experience. Also do as University of Kentucky coach, Brian Green, suggests. “Match yourself against the top of the collegiate scale. Match your skills with a player from a major Division I school that plays the same position. See where you stand, and be realistic!”
Q: What is my action
plan if the coaches on my college
list don’t want me?
A: It’s likely that you’ll
experience some disappointment in the recruiting process. It’s part of the game. But if you have a strong
plan in place, you’ll be well-prepared to position yourself
for great fit opportunities.