Whose job is it to get your child noticed?

This is one of the great myths of college recruiting! I read about this very subject in a book called Put Me in Coach, and I thought it would be helpful information for you and your family. 

Full article here (PDF)

What Should I Expect from AAU and Club Teams?

Excerpt from the book "Put Me In, Coach" by Laurie Richter (from Chapter 12: Marketing Your Child)

For many sports, such as basketball, volleyball, baseball, soccer, and ice hockey, club and AAU participation has been migrating to mandatory as opposed to optional. 

Here is a list of the things I can guarantee will happen if you and your child choose to participate...   Full article here (PDF)

How many scholarship offers are made by D1 coaches?

Ever wonder how many prospects Division I schools are targeting? 

Below is a snapshot of the recruiting depth charts for several major Division I programs, and it shows how many players these programs were actively recruiting (targets), how many recruits were offered scholarships, and how many have verbally committed already.

For many, it's pretty shocking to learn that so many offers are extended to juniors AND sophomores.  The reality is, this trend is not just limited to college football. Coaches in all sports at every college level are offering prospects early. So if you're getting letters while others are receiving offers, then you need to find out WHY.

School	Targets	Offers (JR)	Offers (SOPH)	Verbal Commits
	244	139	4	6
	244	116	2	5
	213	114	9	10
	212	41	1	2
	204	117	6	4
	184	95	13	9
	163	116	2	2
	155	73	6	5
	152	63	2	6
	123	72	0	4
	95	70	0	6
	84	30	0	16

If you aren't sure where you stand with coaches, don't panic. You just need to understand how the process works, and you need to have a good plan.

Take care, and please call us if you would like to request a consultation. 

Changes in Recruiting Rules

Rule changes in the world of college recruiting are rampant. 

And while we're seeing some drastic rule changes for Division I coaches, among the most significant rule changes implemented by the NCAA recently are at the Division II and III levels. In case you haven't heard, this might interest you!

Division II. With little debate, Division II institutions approved legislation that will ease recruiting restrictions on multiple fronts. To make better use of new technology and to put athletes on a more level playing field with non-athletic recruits, colleges supported a number of changes.

• D-II coaches can now visit with players as many times as they want beginning June 15 following the prospect's sophomore year in school.
  
  
• D-II coaches can now send unlimited correspondence and make unlimited phone calls beginning June 15 following the prospect's sophomore year in school.
  
  
• D-II coaches can now send unlimited instant messages and text messages beginning June 15 following the prospect's sophomore year in school.
  
• As long as the correspondence is private, a Division II coach can send a recruit a direct message on Facebook, but s/he cannot write on the recruit's "wall."

Division III. Coaches in Division III can now use unlimited text messaging to communicate with recruits, which will ease communication with students who increasingly prefer texting to e-mail or phone calls.

If you have any questions or if you need direct assistance to improve your collegiate opportunities, please contact us right away.

The Perfect College Recruiting Lifecycle

Few things are certain about college recruiting, but this we do know: It's an incredibly complicated project. It's easy to make costly mistakes. It requires hundreds of hours of work.

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Like any other project, the college recruiting process is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end. The project involves extensive planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. And like most projects, attacking it without a well-conceived plan will drastically minimize your chances for success.

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And yet, most parents and athletes who embark upon a project of this magnitude do so without a well-constructed plan. They might have a goal, but no real understanding of what needs to unfold in order to achieve it.

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And that's why we came up with The Perfect College Recruiting Lifecycle...

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... to give college-bound athletes & parents a simplified diagram of the architecture - or "lifecycle" - of the college recruiting process; a way to understand exactly what needs to happen from the time you first get noticed by coaches to the day you sign your Letter of Intent.

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Take a look and let us know what you think!

NCAA Scholarships - Headcount vs. Equivalency Sports

You may be wondering why some of the figures in this chart are not whole numbers. There are two different designations: headcount sports and equivalency sports.

For a headcount sport, each athlete on scholarship counts toward the maximum headcount the school can have on scholarship, so whether a player is given a full athletic scholarship or given only one dollar, s/he is counted toward the headcount for that sport. Since a men’s basketball team can only have thirteen scholarship athletes in their headcount, a school might as well offer thirteen full scholarships so it can attract the thirteen best players possible. For headcount sports, full scholarships are more common. The list is not long. Men’s headcount sports are basketball and football, and women’s headcount sports are basketball, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball. 

For an equivalency sport, coaches have a certain total dollar amount in the “scholarship pot,” but can split it up among multiple athletes in any proportions they want. They can carry more athletes on partial scholarships and this provides the opportunity to develop more players. It is harder to get a full scholarship in an equivalency sport because it is in the coach’s best interest to use the allotment of scholarship money to get as many high potential athletes on the team as possible. Every other sport offered at the collegiate level not mentioned above as a headcount sport is an equivalency sport. Look back at the chart for a minute. You will notice that D-I men’s soccer allows 9.9 scholarships and D-I men’s volleyball allows 4.5. With eleven soccer players on the field at a time, and six volleyball players on a court, even all of the first string players can’t be awarded full scholarships. And don’t forget all the other players waiting on the sidelines. For most sports, partial-scholarship athletes, walk-ons, and non-scholarship athletes are an important part of the mix.

SPECIAL REPORT: College Recruiting Goes Viral

There may be no clear definition of College Recruiting 2.0 (CR 2.0). 

One thing is for certain though: CR 2.0 marks a fundamental change in how college coaches recruit, and how prospective athletes connect with them..

Full article here (PDF)

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.

It makes perfect sense. It’s never bad to start with a plan.

But did this person tell you how to compile your list?


Full article here (PDF)

Know The Rules: College Visits

Official visit. Any visit to a college campus by you and your parents paid for by the college. The college may pay all or some of the following expenses:

-Your transportation to and from the college;

-Lodging and three meals per day for both the prospect and the parent or guardian; and

-Reasonable entertainment expenses, including three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest.

 

Before a college may invite you on an official visit, you will have to provide the college with a copy of your high school transcript (Division I only) and ACT, SAT or PLAN score and register with the NCAA Eligibility Center.  

How many? In Division 1, you may only take a total of 5 official visits (one per school). In Division 2 and Division 3, you may take an unlimited number of official visits. 

When? In Division 1, for every sport other than Men’s Basketball, you may not start taking an official visit until the opening day of classes your senior year HS. In Division 1 Men’s Basketball, you may start taking official visits January 1 of your Junior year HS.

In Division 2 and Division 3 for ALL sports, you may not start taking official visits until the opening day of classes your senior year HS.  

Unofficial visit. Any visit by you and your parents to a college campus paid for by you or your parents. The only expense you may receive from the college is three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest. You may make as many unofficial visits as you like and may take those visits at any time. The only time you cannot talk with a coach during an unofficial visit is during a dead period.