Otto C. Campbell Blog: September 2017

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Why do college coaches call prospective athletic recruits?

I will talk about later in a future article, there is no doubt in my mind that phone calls are a very important part of the recruiting process for all sports. These are a great time as an athlete to get questions answered about the schools that you are looking into. And if you have an organized system to track the recruiting process, you will also be able to take notes about each individual call.

While these calls are great for potential recruits, they are even more important for the coaches at the schools that are recruiting you. These coaches are calling you for a number of different reasons and many have to do with making sure you know how interested they are in you overall. Without further ado, here are some of the main reasons that college coaches will call prospective recruits:

To learn more about you
In most situations, college coaches will do most of the talking. And because of this, they will be asking you many questions to learn more about your likes and dislikes.

To build a relationship between you and the coach
This relationship is a huge part of the recruiting process. If a coach has an in with the overall relationship, they are more likely to land you as a recruit.

To gauge your overall interest in the school
I will stress again to consider all of your college options so even if a Division III coach is calling, you should be interested. Even if the coach is uninformed about your Division II offer, they want to know if you would be interested in their school. Finding your interest level is huge in recruiting.

To find out more about where things stand with you in the recruiting process
Many coaches will ask about what other schools are recruiting you and if any have offered. While they can read articles on Scout and Rivals, asking these questions is the easiest way to find out where they sit in the process.

To get you on campus for a visit
Calls are used frequently to set up visits and get you on campus. For some colleges, getting them onto campus is half the battle.

To figure out if your personality would fit in with the team
Some coaches are looking for a perfect fit for athletes on their team and they may use phone calls to judge your personality.

When I was in high school, I know the few college coaches that I spoke with did most of the talking. With prep recruits, there is no doubt in my mind that this happens all of the time as well. So if you are a little shy with someone you don’t know, there is nothing wrong with that. But again, you should get away from the TV, video games, or computer and actually focus on the calls.

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Friday, September 29, 2017

Make sure the athletic recruiting process is a joint effort between parents and athletes

A few weeks back I talked about how much feedback parents should get when helping their children make a college decision. And while some agreed and others disagreed, the child has to be the one making the final call because a college education is vital these days for helping your long term career prospects.

But when going through the athletic recruiting process, I have seen plenty of parents run the show. They are the ones that always seem to be asking the questions and fielding the calls. If anything, it seems like they are the ones who want to be recruited and get an opportunity to play college athletics. This is a huge problem because the entire process needs to be a joint effort between all involved.

I know that there are a lot of teenagers out there who lack social skills and just won’t ask questions unless basically forced to. But parents can be able to use this part of the athletic recruiting process as a learning tool. They need to have their children be involved as possible and that is not just for the final decision.

The athlete must help do the research, help put together the recruiting profile, and have their hand in just about everything that is done throughout the process. If the parents are doing the college searching and marketing themselves, they are looking what they think might be a perfect for their child. Parents need to be helping here, not doing everything.

I have rarely encountered a situation where the athlete is doing all the work. What mainly happens is the parents know that their child is skilled at athletics so they want to do whatever they can to help them live their dream and get college paid for. There is nothing wrong with a parent pushing their son or daughter into a direction to help themselves get recruited and get marketed.

Yes, your child may be busy playing multiple sports, homework, and a social life. But you as a family must find a time where you can start doing things together. As a parent, you will need feedback on what they like about their recruiting profiles. Athletes need to make sure that their input is valued because this is going to be their final decision.

What happens if my child doesn’t seem to care and is not getting involved with the recruiting process? If that question is something that you are worried about, then you need to make sure that playing college athletics is really something that they want to do. It doesn’t matter if you want to live your life through them, if they don’t want to play at the next level, you will be wasting all of your time trying to help them get a scholarship. Having a love for their chosen sport is a must if they want to play in college simply because of the time that they put into it.

If they do want to play athletics in college, then they really should be interested in learning more about the recruiting process and what needs to be done to earn a scholarship offer. I will be honest; I had no clue what I was doing when I was a teenager so your child may have a similar problem. That means both parties must learn and share what they know about recruiting. That will help both the parents and the athlete get a better feel for what needs to be done.

I can promise you that if there is a joint effort involved, then there likely will be a joint decision at the end. If the parent handled the entire recruiting process and the athlete had little to do with it, that lack of investment will show at the end. A joint effort will help get everyone on the same page and know where an athlete sits in the eyes of college coaches. This is by far the best way to battle the recruiting process.

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Thursday, September 28, 2017

Glitz – Availability, Prices, Plans

iFortune Homes' Glitz, designed by GBL Architects.

At a Glance

located across from Richmond City Hall
9-storey mixed use: residential, commercial, retail
77 condos from 1-3 bedrooms
Richmond Centre shopping
close to Canada Line rapid transit
countless dining options nearby
walking distance to Minoru Park

iFortune Homes' Glitz as seen from Anderson Road in Richmond Centre.

Live Brilliantly
iFortune presents Glitz, a mixed use project across the street from Richmond City Hall that includes 77 condominiums, 100,000 sq ft of office space, and 12,000 sq ft of retail space. Home owners will enjoy the convenience of finding their daily necessities nearby at Richmond Centre or shopping at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet just ten minutes away. A world of dining choices lay at your footstep, as does a variety of recreational activities at Minoru Park. At Glitz, live, work, and play in the heart of Richmond!

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Pricing for Glitz
Final pricing for Glitz has not yet been made public. To ensure timely updates for this attractive purchase opportunity, sign up to our VIP list above.

Floor Plans for Glitz
Contact me today to discuss availability and plans.

The courtyard of iFortune Homes' Glitz in Richmond's Brighouse Village.

Amenities at Glitz
Residents will enjoy use of a 1,453 sq ft shared amenity space, a 12,000 sq ft outdoor common area, and a 2,422 sq ft childrens play area.

Parking and Storage
Glitz will provide off-street parking for 237 vehicles, consisting of 155 commercial, 82 residential, 15 visitor, and five handicapped spaces. Resident bicycle parking will be available in 94 Class 1 and 15 Class 2 stalls. There will also be two large and three medium loading bays.

Maintenance Fees at Glitz
To be included with finalized pricing information.

Developer Team for Glitz
iFortune is a developer, builder, general contractor, and project manager for a variety of types of projects of all sizes and complexity. The principals have over 100 years of combined local experience and a proven track record in the development and construction industry. iFortune Homes has significant development experience throughout the Metro Vancouver region. They are involved in every step of the development process, from sourcing the right team to acquisition of lands, arranging financing, obtaining approvals, designing solutions, managing construction, to marketing and sales.

GBL Architects is a progressive Vancouver-based firm of 38 architects, project managers and technicians with a 25-year reputation of providing a full range of architectural services to the private and public sector. GBL design with the belief that form plays a vital role in defining experience through an ever-changing dynamic between sculptural artistry and social responsibility. To that end, they regularly practice green design through the LEED Canada Program.

Expected Completion for Glitz
Sales start Fall 2017.

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Check out these great Richmond Presales!

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I am a senior football player with college interest. What should I do now?

In this series of articles relating to a variety of sports and a number of different age groups, I have to admit that the most important one is those in the senior class in this situation. If you are a senior football player with interest but no offers, you need to figure out quickly what the interest level of the schools that are recruiting you.

While scholarships have obviously not been offered yet, it is pretty easy to see what schools are showing you the most serious attention. The way that you can tell is which are the coaches that are calling you. If you aspire for the Division I level and are only hearing on the phone from Division III schools, then it is going to be a difficult process to get to that level this late.

For most senior football recruits, chances are that your season now is somewhere around the midway point (It could be earlier or it could be later, it just depends state to state). What that means is that you should be sending out full tape tape from the first two or three games of the year. If colleges are serious about you, especially those at the scholarship level, they will have requested this already. And as soon as it is sent, make sure to let them know.

If you have done the right thing and already sent it along, now may be a great time to follow up with the coaching staff. Yes, they are busy this time of year but if they are serious about you as a potential scholarship recruit, then they should have watched it at last within four weeks. There is no doubt about that at all.

In the majority of situations when recruits send game tape, I honestly hear the same thing very frequently. They will tell you to keep working hard, finish your senior season strong, and we will continue to evaluate you. Coaches at this point honestly have a good clue as to who they are going to offer and what ability the player has.

There are two things that can change your status with a school in a lot of situations. The first is if a prospect at your position commits elsewhere and that leaves an open scholarship. I wrote about an athlete who was recruited hard by this Big Ten school but they had not offered. When one of the commits to this school picked another program, the school offered that prospect waiting in line. While schools may say they are further evaluating, unless you blow them away with that video footage, they are waiting on other recruits.

The second situation is if another school ends up offering you. For example, there is a quarterback last year who had a fantastic senior season. He had low Division I-A offers at the time but interest from a lot of bigger schools. Due to a coaching change at a school recruiting him, they ended up extending the scholarship to him. Because an in-state program didn’t want to lose him, they extended the scholarship. It was almost like a domino effect in a short amount of time.

If you have sent out your video, got an evaluation, you can do one of two things. The first is to wait and hope that something comes through from the schools that are recruiting you. I honestly feel that you are rolling the dice if take this option. Yes, you could luck out if something comes up but what if others end up taking those scholarship spots. Would you be happy walking on there?

What I would do is dust off your recruiting profile, update it with senior stats, and start finding some new schools that interest you. It may be too late in the process but taking this step definitely will not hurt. Go through steps #2 and #3 of The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer. This is the way to broaden your recruiting base and see what else is out there. You may be dead set on a school that is making you wait but there could be greener pastures out there somewhere else.

The fall is also a great time to be making college visits. These unofficially visits may be paid by your family but at the very least, you will be getting a free football game out of the deal and a chance to meet the coaches at the school. It may be clear that State University is not recruiting you but if you can get tickets, it may be worth taking a trip.

The final recommendation for seniors is to have a great season and help your team win as much as you possibly can. The better your senior tape, the more doors that you could open. And the more that you win, the better chance your team has of getting to State and playing in front of a large number of college coaches. While it is harder when you really shine as a senior to push that into recruiting attention, it is not going to hurt to excel in your final year of prep football. It could really help the football recruiting process.

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Wednesday, September 27, 2017

I am a sure fire recruit but the in-state schools are recruiting nationally. Why are they doing that?

It doesn’t matter what college program it is, basically every coach has to recruit out of their local area. There may be some exceptions at the smaller levels but how many Division I programs in any sports have every recruit from in-state (if there really is a school that does, please let me know)? Schools like USC in football and Kansas in basketball recruit nationally to help themselves win games.

But sometimes athletic recruits want to know what these schools are doing in the recruiting process. Say you are a Division I recruit with offer from smaller schools and attention from others. Why are the Division I programs offering out of state kids when they have a talented athlete as myself right in their backyard? While that is a tough question to answer, I will definitely try to come to a conclusion.

The first reason is that they think this national recruit is better than you. I hate to be the one to say it but judging off of their football recruiting board or basketball recruiting board, an offer usually goes to the athletes rated higher on the board. If the #1 prospect commits elsewhere, then they may offer the #2 prospect. If you are the #4 prospect, it may be tough to get that scholarship if they are only taking one player at your position.

What is tough about this situation is that these college coaches do not factor in if you grew up loving their program. These coaches will base their evaluations on camps, stats, playing ability, athleticism, character, and your highlight video. If you are lacking in any one of these areas, that may be why the out of state recruit is ahead of you on the recruiting board. It is very difficult to be an honest evaluator of your talent as well as your parent because there will always be bias there no matter what. And with the coaches feeding you lines like keep working hard, send your first three game films, and things of that nature, it is tough for them to give you a true evaluation. I can safely assume most coaches will not tell you where you rank on the recruiting board.

The second reason is that the in-state prospect is under the microscope more than the national recruit. If you are thirty minutes away from the school versus ten hours, the college coach can make visits much easier to your basketball games, wrestling matches, or things of that nature. They can evaluate you more in-depth and take a closer look at your athleticism. These coaches can only do so much with a national recruit.

The in-state coaches will also have more connections in your area so they will likely be able to find out more about you. When you see a kid who grew up in Columbus, Ohio and has offers from all over the country except for Ohio State, something is very wrong that the Buckeye coaching staff knows. My guess is it has something to do with character and it is something these other coaches will eventually find out about. But as an in-state athlete, you will be scrutinized more often and more in-depth.

The third reason (and this one is debatable) is that they know they can wait longer to offer because you are an in-state athlete. This may or may not be true but I have seen it happen many, many times. The University of Texas normally does not offer recruits until Junior Day during the winter. Even if schools like Texas A&M, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and others extend offers, the Longhorns usually wait to get the athlete on campus before offering (note that this has been changing somewhat but it is something that Mack Brown likes to do).

The reason that these coaches do this is they know that many recruits are willing to wait for that in-state offer from the school that they love. I spoke with a recruit a few years back and he had offers from about five schools but the in-state program he grew up loving had not offered him. In talking to him, this recruit said that even if the in-state school offered, he would probably not go there anyways. A few weeks later the in-state school offered him and quickly after that he committed to the school. Some of these schools know that they can wait longer to offer because the school may be their dream offer.

I have seen one school in the Big 10 wait on a number of athletes before eventually offering them. One such prospect had a few mid major offers but saw a team currently ranked in the top five of the country offer. That in-state school quickly offered the following day. Do you really think it was the evaluation that night that led to an offer? This athlete eventually picked the in-state school who had waited on the offer.

The recruiting process is a crazy time and even if you feel that State University should be offering you, it is important to be patient and realize things happen for a reason. Maybe instead of going there you are meant to go to the Division I-AA school and be an All American. Only time will tell and patience in the key.

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Tuesday, September 26, 2017

4 Ways You Can Get Rid of Dark Circles Fast

This post first appeared on Beautiful Canadian Laser & Skin Care Clinic.

Concealing dark circles all the time requires so much work and cosmetics – it’s a stressful process. Why don’t you try the following tips for a fresher, dark circle-free look even without makeup on! Cool down. If you need to minimize the appearance of dark circles and under-eye bags STAT, cooling down the area is […]

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October NYCDevOps: Two meetings! DNSControl and Storing Secrets in the Cloud

We will have two meetings in October. The extra meeting will be on Mon, Oct 2 co-located with the VelocityNYC conference. You don't have to be registered for the conference to come to the meeting.

Topic: DNSControl: "DNS as Code" from StackOverflow.com
Speaker: Thomas A. Limoncelli, SRE Manager @ Stack Overflow
Date: Monday, October 2, 2017
Time: 6:30-9:30 PM (SPECIAL TIME AND LOCATION)
Location: Madison Suite, Hilton Midtown, 1335 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019
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VelocityNYC is in town this week. They've graciously provided space for us to host an additional meeting. Space is limited! RSVP soon! Full details and RSVP.

Topic: Storing Secrets in Cloud based Key Management Services
Speaker: Dan O'Boyle, Stack Overflow, Inc.
Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Time: 6:30-9:30 PM
Location: Stack Overflow HQ, 110 William St, 28th floor, NY, NY
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The A/C is fixed! Don't miss this cool event! Full details and RSVP.

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Football recruiting questionnaires and basketball recruiting questionnaires: Why should I fill them out?

Chances are that if you played at the varsity level in just about any sport and contributed, you may find yourself on a recruiting database. The first step in that recruiting database is to send out a questionnaire. The reason that these college coaches send out these questionnaires is to get more information about you.

The first layer of defense that the questionnaire can provide for college coaches is to take athletes off their recruiting database. If you are a 5-foot-8 linebacker or you finished your junior season with six tackles total, you are likely going to get deleted.

If you get past this first hurdle, then the questionnaire can provide them with a great deal of information. The top priority for them is personal contact information. Instead of having to send you form mail at the school, they should now have your home address, email, and phone numbers. Again, if you get to this step, it allows the college coaches to easily get in contact with you and keeps them from trying to track down the information themselves.

There will also be other questions regarding your potential academic interests and more information about your parents. I would assume that if the coaches at that school ever call you, if they were doing a good job, then they would talk to you about your academic interests and how strong their school is in that field. It may not happen with every school but the ones tracking that stuff should use it as a selling point if they have easy access to it.

So is it worth it to fill out a questionnaire? There is no doubt in my mind that it is definitely worth the time. If anything, you can basically send back your recruiting profile included and then answer any other questions that you didn’t include. This actually saves you some time from having to fill out ten questionnaires if you have already answered similar questions on your recruiting profile. I would assume the coaches wouldn’t mind.

Should you expect to hear back from a school shortly after sending back the questionnaire? That is a question I can’t really answer because it varies by school. I would guess that a lot of colleges send out thousands of recruiting questionnaires and it obviously takes some time to input all the data and cross athletes off the list.

One parent said that their son had sent back the information a month ago and had not heard back from the school. This could be one of three things. First is that they just don’t think your son is good enough, big enough, or strong enough academically to get into their school. This happens all the time. If an athlete is too small, didn’t play enough, or grades are too low, they may move on. With thousands of other kids in the current pool, unless there is a connection between your family and the school, they will likely move on.

The second factor, like mentioned above, is that the school has a ton of questionnaires coming back everyday so they are still processing that information. If you send out 5,000 questionnaires and get back 3,000 of them, that is a lot of data processing. This could very well be a factor here. The third factor is simply that the school doesn’t send back an acknowledgment of the questionnaire. You may still be on their list but they don’t send anything back. It just depends on the timing and your age here.

I really do believe that you should fill out all questionnaires and make sure college coaches have all the information that they are looking for. However, I personally prefer to see families send out recruiting profiles before these questionnaires even come. The reason I like the emailed recruiting profiles is because you can track if they received it. If not, move on to another coach at the school over a set period of time.

College coaches who send questionnaires believe athletes who don’t fill out questionnaires are not interested in their school. But what happens if the questionnaires gets lost in the mail or is filled out but forgotten about? That is why I prefer you taking control of the process and marketing yourself to college coaches with your recruiting profile. It takes some of the mysteries out of the equation.

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Monday, September 25, 2017

My 43 Vegan Pumpkin Recipes (Updated 2017)

This is one of my favorite round-up posts.. all things pumpkin! Vegan Pumpkin Recipes. From pumpkin cinnamon buns, pumpkin fritters, cozy soups, rice dishes, ice cream, donuts, quesadillas and multiple versions of vegan pumpkin pie - these are all my pumpkin-y recipes. These recipe posts are both recent and vintage. Savory and sweet. A few that are super healthy - and plenty that are quite decadent and sweet. There is something for everyone on this list - so if you have a can of pumpkin sitting in your kitchen pantry, give this list a look and hopefully find some inspiration!Read more »

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There is a major time commitment involved to make an informed college decision for athletics

It doesn’t matter at this point if you are a football recruit with Division II offers, a basketball recruit with Division III interest, or a baseball recruit with NAIA scholarships, making an informed college decision is difficult and time consuming. What makes this so tough is the fact that you need to do so much leg work in researching the schools and finding more information about them.

If you put in a lot of time into the second step of The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer (Which by the way is finding schools that match you), there is little doubt that you will be spending a great deal of time on the Internet each and every night doing research. While this leg work does get boring, it hopefully will pay off in the end with schools that you are interested. But the time commitment put in also includes visits, calls, and so much more.

I recently had a chance to speak with a recruit who knows that he wants to play college football at the Division II level. He does not have “Division I eyes” but seemed focused on the DII level. This recruit currently has no scholarship offers at this point but a ton of interest from schools at that level. He has been spending a good portion of his fall on college visits and he is already tiring of the process:

“It has been (hectic). I want there to be a Saturday where I can sleep and relax. I guess that is the cost you pay for recruiting.”

It is great for everyone to be able to have a lazy Saturday to relax but this recruit needs to realize that things are only going to get worse over time. If this recruit decides to take five official visits, that is likely five weekends in December or January that he spends at the school. The family will likely drive to all of these official visits (They will however be reimbursed by the school) and that may get old for him quickly. Throw in phone calls to these five schools as well as many, many others and that is a lot of time going into the recruiting process.

What makes this so tough for many athletes is that they are balancing this with school work, their senior year, a boyfriend/girlfriend, their current or upcoming sporting season, family, friends, and so many other things that can quickly pop up in the life of a high schooler. It is really not an easy balance at all.

However, taking the time to make these visits, talk with the coaches over the phone, and research the school is something that is worth doing. The main reason is that even though the main reason you are going to that school for a sport, you also need a backup plan of being able to get a great education. Finding a school that has the major and possibly minor that you are looking for is more important than how the football team does. And that is why this research is so vital because you can look at more than just sports.

In the end, if you really want to make as informed of a decision as possible, you are going to have to spend a lot of time going into it. When I was in high school, I made one college visit. That had something to do with the lack of resources but I wish I had made more. While it is taxing to spend every Saturday traveling, feel lucky that you can as it will help you make the best college decision for yourself.

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Sunday, September 24, 2017

Pumpkin Risotto with Sage

Pumpkin Spice Risotto with sage is my pick for a simple seasonal fall entree that is loaded with comfort food vibes. Risotto, in general, is one of my all time favorite recipes to make and eat. It takes a bit of time in the kitchen, stirring continuously, as the rice simmers and plumps and everything gets creamy and cozy. But to me, the process is meditative, since there is not much thinking involved. You just stir and inhale the delicious aromas rising from the skillet. Forget pumpkin-spice candles and potpourri, this is my version of fall-flavored aromatherapy. And it is so satisfying to watch simple white rice turn into this creamy-velvet, dense and fluffy entree dish. Get the recipe and curl up to a bowl while you watch Hocus Pocus or dream up Halloween costume ideas. (I mean, it is...

This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!

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Five Keys to a Football Recruiting Scholarship Offer

The football recruits out there reading this know that this football season is about as important as it comes. It doesn’t matter if you are a senior in your final year on the prep football field or a sophomore ready to take your first snaps at the varsity level. This is the reason why you have been working so hard during the summer months.

And while the season is important, every player out there would love to get some attention from college coaches. Because of this, I have put together five keys that will help you in landing a scholarship offer. You don’t need all five of these keys to get a scholarship but they are ranked in order of importance. Find out what areas will help you the most as you hope to track down an offer.

1.) Size/Speed/Strength
You ever wonder why college coaches may end up offering an athlete who hasn’t done much at the high school level? That is because they are recruiting them based on their potential. If you have the size/speed/strength that a college coach is looking for, they are likely going to take a chance on you. Not only does it happen at the college level, this is exactly what helps athletes make a major move up the NFL draft charts as well. Football coaches are in awe of those physical specimens that have size, speed, and strength. If you have those (or even one of those three attributes), then there is a decent chance that you will get a scholarship somewhere. A lineman who is 6-foot-8, 295 pounds will likely get a scholarship at some level simply on potential. He may not be good enough to play at the Division I-A/BCS level but a Division I-AA/FCS or Division II school will take a chance there.

2.) Skill/Abilities
It doesn’t matter what level you want to play in college, you have to have the skills and abilities at that level in order to get a scholarship offer. But you could also be the greatest linebacker in the world but if you are 5-foot-7 and 165 pounds, it will be a tough ride to get a Division I-A/BCS scholarship offer. Your skills and abilities are essential because it really can help get you on the field at the college level. If you are good enough to get on the field, the college coaches are trusting you enough to perform because you will have a big say on if they keep their job over the long run. Having the skills and abilities that college coaches want will certainly help you get a lot of attention.

3.) Work Ethic
I have talked to enough college coaches to know that they love hearing when athletes are gym rats or weight room warriors. One Division I basketball coach told me a story about how an athlete got up at 5:00 AM everyday to lift weights. He played hoops at a very small school but hearing that work ethic was enough for the coach to pull the trigger on a scholarship offer. It may have been his first and only scholarship at the time but the coach saw the work ethic himself and it made the difference. That work ethic eventually helped him be an All Conference player in a major BCS college conferences. Not bad for such a small school player.

4.) Grades
The importance of academics and grades continues to grow as the NCAA has put more of an emphasis on the APR (academic performance review). I have mentioned this before but some Division I coaches have APR numbers tied into their contract. The better the grades are for the team, the more money they make. College coaches are much more prone to add walk-ons with excellent grades.

5.) Character
I hate that it is this far down the list because character is important but that is just the way things go. College coaches want to recruit athletes who they can bring to campus and not worry about for four or five years. The character of an athlete is what keeps them from getting a DUI or a bar fight. Yes, college students will do dumb things but athletes should stay as far away from that as possible. That is the last thing you want to end up in the newspaper for.

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Saturday, September 23, 2017

I am a parent who feels helpless in the athletic recruiting process. What should I do?

For most parents reading this, the reason that you were able to find this site is that you want to be able to be proactive throughout the athletic recruiting process for your son or daughter. Maybe this is your first time and for others you may have done it before but there is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the most confusing times in trying to help your child.

Parents may even feel helpless because they are not exactly sure what they should be doing and if they should be doing stuff to help. When I went through the Division III recruiting process a while back, my mom had no idea what was going on. She took me to one visit and just didn’t have a clue regarding letters, calls, or things along that line. I thought now is as good of a time as any to help parents figure things out in the athletic recruiting process.

Here are a few different things that I feel will be a major help to parents that have children with aspirations to continue their sporting career in college. Like the definitions list that I have been updating, this may be a feature that continues to grow over time because I want readers who are parents to be as informed as possible throughout the athletic recruiting process.

Communication with the athlete is key
College coaches will contact athletes through their high school coach, call their cell phone, and even send letters to the school. While many coaches know that the parents will be an important part of the recruiting process, their first step is to draw the interest of the kid to their school. This means that communication about the recruiting process is a must between you and your child. While I know that most kids don’t seem to open up to their parents during the teenage years unless they need something, parents need to know what goals and dreams their son or daughter has about playing college sports. Being able to talk to them about the letters that they receive, what level they hope to play at, and things along that line will be great not only for the recruiting process but also learning more about your child.

Bank roll the recruiting process
Parents will do just about anything to make their kid’s happy. You can do that by bank rolling the recruiting process. I am not saying to go on extravagant college visits and going to every camp you are invited to. I am saying that you will likely have to pay for a highlight video to be made, take care of the for gas to make unofficial visits, and handle the costs involved for camps. If you take care these things yourself, it is going to be a major money saver in the long run rather than hire it out.

Do the behind the scenes leg work
I am not talking about you picking out schools that you would have loved to go to in the recruiting process. I am saying that parents can do the leg work behind camps, highlight videos, and potential videos. For the highlight videos, you can speak to the high school coach, other recruits, search the Internet, and talk to people you know about possibly getting a quality video made (See http://ift.tt/2de41iU for more). While a 17-year old can do it, chances are you will be better at following through during the process. And since the athlete probably cannot write the check themselves, this has to be something where you can do the work and handle it. While they may need to ask the high school coach about getting video, you should work on setting things up while putting it in place.

Don’t try to live through them
You obviously hear about the parents who weren’t successful in sports when they were younger so they try to hone their children to be major recruits. Don’t do it. It is going to create a major strain on the bond between you and your son or daughter so just don’t even try. If they don’t want to play in college, let them decide. The athlete should also be the one picking the schools that they are interested in. This is about them and where they will be happy for four to five years. Keep that in mind and don’t try to live through them.

Inform yourself
I assume the reason that you are visiting this site is to inform yourself. As I have mentioned before on this site, feel free to post comments with your questions. There is nothing bad about asking as many questions as possible. That can include asking the high school coach question, the guidance counselor questions, and the college coaches questions. Many parents go into the football recruiting process or the basketball recruiting process with little previous information. This is a process that you can do yourself if you decide to study up and inform yourself as much as possible about how the recruiting process works.

Be realistic
As a parent, this may be almost impossible. It is very difficult to be able to have realistic opinions about your children and their ability in athletics. You are 100% bias having raised this child that it is going to be hard. So try to get as much outside opinion as possible. If your kid wants to play Division I and he is a Division III type player, you are going to waste a lot of time and money if you are not realistic about the situation. You need to have a good feel what level your kid can play at. Finding that honest opinion would be up to you and something that needs to be done before really diving into the recruiting process.

The post I am a parent who feels helpless in the athletic recruiting process. What should I do? appeared first on Recruiting-101.

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