Vegan in 2019: Flash Sale!

Hey guys! In honor of a fresh new year just around the corner, I have a FVMeals flash sale to share with you. Details ahead..Read more »

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How do I get on an AAU or club team to help myself during the athletic recruiting process?

Before diving into this article, the main subject of this article is basketball but it can also be carried over into sports that have club teams (soccer/volleyball) and the majority of sports that have different off-season all star teams (football is the main sport that does not have this). So even if you see that I may be talking mostly about AAU teams, this information can apply to a number of other sports.

First off, the key is timing and that makes it very difficult for athletes to get on teams. While there are still tryouts for a number of these teams in all states, the majority of the sports (basketball and volleyball for instance) kick off their season early in the spring. As a note, I must say that I am mainly talking about 16, 17, and 18 year old AAU and club teams. I don’t plan on delving any younger just because playing at that young of level will do little to help you with the recruiting process. What really matters is after your sophomore and junior years so keep that in mind.

When these teams do have tryouts, I am willing to bet that the majority of them already have a solid core of players that they know will be making the team. These players amongst the core may have already been playing on younger versions of the team and will be making the move up to the older level this summer. Not all players are asked or invited back so there obviously will be opening for players that are good enough.

Most of the top AAU basketball teams that I am aware of do not have tryouts. Their coaches take the time to travel to games, jamborees, State tournaments, and anything else in their area that can help them see the top players in action. They also usually have a very trusted network of people around their area that can help them find excellent athletes. This really helps them finding players throughout the entire process.

So how do I go about finding out what teams have openings? The first thing you need to have knowledge of is the teams that are currently being run across your state. While you can look outside of state borders, the first and likely easiest place to search is those that are close. If you are a high school basketball player who is a junior, you honestly should know exactly who the top AAU teams in your state are. You should have heard about them or read about them many times by now. If you don’t know, ask your friends. If they don’t know, then search AAU teams in your state (or club teams as well).

Once you have found as many teams as you can, then you will need to go about contacting them. You can either email or call them. What you should honestly do is tell them a little about yourself, your accomplishments/stats, and then ask them about tryouts or what needs to be done for you to be evaluated. Many coaches will tell you about the tryouts or they may say they are full. If they are full, you spent ten minutes of your time looking into something that just didn’t come through. No big deal there. You should also ask about being an alternative on the team as well. Finding out as much information as possible is extremely helpful.

Again, the sooner that you do this, the better. Most club/AAU coaches want to have their teams finalized as soon as possible for the upcoming spring/summer season. They don’t want to be hoping for a bigman to give them a call two weeks before their first tournament. For basketball teams, they usually practice as soon as the majority of players have wrapped up their season. Some even have practices in the same city as the State tournament. While the players at State won’t be playing, the others will get a chance to practice together.

You should also look into potential new teams. While they may not be as reputable, it could give you a fresh start. You can’t blame politics if it is a new team! Again, taking the time to do this can be a major boast to you during the recruiting process. In these sports, college coaches want to evaluate your abilities first hand and not on tape (especially basketball). So getting on a quality AAU team with good players can help.

 

 

 

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The Recruiting-101 Effect

I have preached on this site for a year and a half about the recruiting process.  It matters more about you and your family taking these steps to help yourself rather than the sport that you play.  Yes, this site is more football and basketball specific but a Junior Day is a Junior Day, regardless if it is soccer or football.  So I recently got a comment that basically made my month from a father of an athlete.  Here is what he said:

First of all, I would like to thank Recruiting-101 for helping my son get an offer from our school of choice. We utilized the concepts mentioned here, did our own recruiting plan! My son came from a small school with a new football program, he only played 2 years, 1 JV and 1 varsity. He has great athleticism, size and grades, but hidden at a small school. Like this article, some other schools in the same NAIA conf. loved his tapes, but scared of experience, but the school with the better tradition (and several NAIA Natl Championships), said they didn’t worry about that and made the offer. They liked the whole package, potential, my son as a person and as a student.

I did not help Greg and his son out specifically or individually.  From my understanding, he has been an avid reader on the site and trusted my guidance and what I write about enough to give it a try.  And no, the NAIA level is not Division I but at the same time, he is getting a scholarship as well as playing for a national title contender.

Would this recruit have ended up there and with a scholarship in hand if not for the advice that this site has mentioned?  That I couldn’t tell you specifically at this point because I have not emailed Greg as of yet.  But it shows that taking the time yourself as a parent or a family and going through the athletic recruiting process is what I feel the best way to go after a scholarship offer.

I have said this before but the recruiting process for your son or daughter is the same way as those that manage your money.  The person that will care most about your money is you, not a money manager or a financial planner.  The same goes for your son or daughter during the athletic recruiting process.  The person who is going to care most about the eventual outcome is you, the parent.  That is just the way it is, no matter what you hear or are told.

You are the one that needs to be there to take the time to and help your child with putting together a recruiting profile.  If you don’t think you can do it, then you must find a way to get a computer savvy friend to do it.  You need to take the painstaking time to go through a number of different websites for schools and see what majors they offer and how good their athletics.  Let me stress painstaking in that process as well because that is not going to be a ton of fun.

But if you put the time in and have a child with the skills needed to play at the college level, then you can get a scholarship.  As shown with Greg from his comment above, if he can do it, the question that comes to mind is why can’t you?  He invested his time into finding all he could about the recruiting process by using what is written here for free.  You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars.  It just takes time.  And in the end, I can assume that the time Greg spent with his son during this process helped their relationship as well.  That is likely going to be something that they can look back on fondly in the years to come.

If you feel motivated by this story, which is 100% true, then I would say the best place for you to start is on The Five Steps to a Scholarship.  After that, consider subscribing via email to get daily updates in your inbox.  There is no perfect path for every single athlete to get a scholarship.  But this site will do what we can to help you get as much information as possible about recruiting.

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Top 21 Recipes of 2018

This is probably my favorite post to do each and every year. My Top 20 (or so) recipe round-up, looking back on my year of blog posts. So just in case you may have missed out on anyt fan-faves, here are my Top 21 Recipes of 2018. Plus, I share three things I learned about food + recipes in 2018, my personal fave two recipes and what I hope to bring to 2019!...Read more »

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Steps to avoid being stressed out by the athletic recruiting process – Part Two

Click here to read the first part of this article.  Continued from part one: Time may be tight but it is very important that you continue to reevaluate where you sit with the recruiting process.  This may get a little old but you need to have a good feel of where you sit with colleges.  You may have gotten two letters from your dream school but realistically, you need to be realistic and continually reevaluate where you sit with the programs that are after you.  You can use your recruiting attention log and figure out which schools are contacting you the most.

This evaluation process of the schools should be done as a family because it gives a great opportunity for parents to figure out where your children want in a future college.  And parents, realize that the answers you get from your child are likely going to change by the month, week, and potentially day.

You also should make adjustments based on this overall evaluation.  For example, say that you contacted all of the Division I-A coaches in your state and the surrounding state.  I wouldn’t recommend this but it was something you did so that you could play at the highest level possible.  In that contact, you included a link your website and highlight video.  A number of coaches contacted you back at the time but few have been in contact since.

When this happens, you need to start being realistic and setting your sights a little lower.  It may be a tough pill to swallow, even if State University is your dream school, but broaden your search to programs that fit you academically that may be at the Division I-AA/FCS, Division II, and Division III levels.  In the end, you want to have a lot of options on the plate to be able to choose from.  You can eliminate schools late in the process but the more options you have, the better for you in the long run.

Even if you decided to waste spend the money on a recruiting service or someone that you are paying to help you with recruiting, realize that the person(s) who will care most about the situation is you and your family.  This person/company you are paying is doing it in order to put a roof over their head.  It is the same when it comes to investing your money.  Realize that it is your money (or your recruiting future) and the person who will dedicate the most time/energy is you.

If that company doesn’t get you a scholarship, they are not going to be fitting the bill for a college tuition.  Regardless of what you decide, realize that you always need to keep learning in recruiting.  It just kills me when parents will complain about how great their son is and wonder where their scholarships are but won’t want to learn about recruiting because their “guy” is handling it for them.  That is a huge mistake that you must avoid at all costs.

One great thing about learning the process together as a family from a site like this (and a few others if you look hard enough) is that it will be a bonding experience.  Most teenagers don’t like to talk but if they want a college scholarship, then it will open up some lines of communication that should help with more than just recruiting.  This may be cheesy but it definitely can be a bonding experience that the athlete should be thankful for (and hopefully will realize that as they get older).

The last thing is to be realistic.  The more you try fooling yourself about the attention that you are getting and who is really recruiting you, the harder it is going to be to face facts and realize that you may just be a Division III athlete.  And for the record, there is nothing wrong with that at all.

I know of athletes, which I will talk about more in a future article, who didn’t start for the football team as a junior that plays in one of the smaller states of the country.  His team was good but not great.  In this state, if you are talented enough, regardless of who is in front of you, chances are that they may change your position and try to get you on the field.

Because this athlete has marketed himself (to the wrong schools I might add) and paid big money to go to all these combines, he is getting letters from some of the top programs across the country.  The issue is that when Signing Day nears for him, there is no possible way that these schools will still be in the picture.  The family continues to fool themselves and think that this is serious attention in the recruiting process.

If you had dreams of playing at the highest level, it really is tough to be realistic.  I have seen many athletes not get offers from big time schools so instead of getting your education paid for, they decided to give up their sport of choice.  While there is nothing wrong with that, having your education paid for is a luxury that most families cannot pass up.  So be realistic and know that even if the big boys are sending you letters, that doesn’t mean a damn thing until you get a scholarship offer.

The reason that this can be disappointing is because you may be stressing over if Florida offered a kid at your position.  Well, if the Gators are not really recruiting you, then chances are that offers doesn’t mean anything.  Following these steps will help alleviate a lot of the stresses that I see during the athletic recruiting process.

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College coaches are not always confident of their evaluation skills when offering scholarships to prep athletes

When talking about football camps during the summer months, I have mentioned the importance of going to just one day of camp at a number of different places. The reason is to save money, time, and get to more camps along the way. I have stressed this and will continue stressing this to readers simply because I feel college coaches are skilled enough to know in one day if an athlete can play or not. You will either get a scholarship, continue to be recruited/evaluated, or no longer be on their recruiting radar.

But one thing that I saw a great deal of this winter in the months leading to the second portion of Signing Day was the inability of college coaches to pull the trigger in offering an athlete. These were college coaches who had evaluated prospects for years and the reason they were not so confident about their evaluation skills was because the players in question didn’t have any other offers at the time. These coaches didn’t have the confidence and evaluation skills to be the first.

Let me say that the athletes that I am talking about all did end up with scholarships at the Division II level or above. Each was an All State performer over the last few years so it wasn’t as if they couldn’t play. They had provided the coaches with plenty of highlight film, game tape, and everything they could ask for. They were also strong students in the classroom and I was unaware of any problems that they got into away from the field.

So what gives? Scholarship offers breed other scholarship offers and the reason is because these coaches trust the evaluation skills of other coaches. If they see a school has done the research, looked into a prospect, and offered him, then another program may jump on board with less evaluation and film watching then the prior program. Then the more offers this athlete has, even less evaluation will be done down the stretch of the recruiting process.

This shows me first hand the importance (and weight off of your shoulders) that the first offer can bring. Once that scholarship is on the table, you need to make certain that the other schools that are recruiting you know about it. I don’t care what level those schools are at, the more people that know, the better for you during the recruiting process.

I recently had a chance to see a highlight video of an athlete who is a junior. In the tape, the quality is terrible, there are no arrows pointing out where he is on the field, and the tape was under two minutes long. But the lineman looked pretty athletic. That tape, along with passing the eyeball test, helped this standout recently receive his first scholarship offer. From there, the momentum started rolling as he picked about another in-state offer and a scholarship from an out-of-state powerhouse. If that first school would not have stepped up, what would have happened then? My personal opinion is that he would currently be holding zero scholarship offers at this point.

Two athletes over the last few years were waiting and hoping for the in-state powerhouse to offers them a scholarship. For both players, it took a conference rival to offer a scholarship for them finally to extend an offer to the athletes. One ended up signing with the school and the other is a junior currently who is leaning towards them. What is amazing about this story is that the in-state school is the one that is not afraid to recruit diamonds in the rough despite playing in the Big Ten conference.

Getting back to the original topic, if you don’t have any scholarship offers, it is a tough boat to be in. It is both stressing because you have no idea what you will be doing as well as frustrating because you have to wonder if you are good enough. This leads to doubts and worry about your future. All because a good number of college coaches think you are missing one part of your game and the don’t have the confidence in themselves to pull the trigger.

If you are in this situation, broaden your recruiting horizons and market yourself to more schools. The program that ends up offering you may have never recruited your state before but because you are a good fit for them, they may extend a scholarship. It is all about being in the right place at the right time in order for doors to open up at the college level for you. So be patient, work hard, and come to our camp (wait, that is what a college coach says every time you ask them about an offer).

 

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Steps to avoid being stressed out by the athletic recruiting process – Part One

It always seems that when Signing Day nears, the stress levels for entire families continue to rise.  Making that final decision is never going to be easy regardless of the situation.  But there are some ways that we will talk about that can help with reducing your overall stress level and making things easier for your entire family.

Again, these steps are not going to be a magical list that makes the athletic recruiting process a breeze.  What these will do is help you get things in line and ready so that when coaches come calling and visiting, you won’t be scrambling and struggling to get your information in line.

The first step, by far, is start everything early.  The later that you wait, the tougher and more stressful it is going to be on you.  I spoke with the owner of www.highlight-videos.com and one of the biggest things he told me is that everyone needs things turned around quickly.  The turnaround is needed because coaches are asking for the recruiting tape and now the family is stressed because they need to get it done.

Like I have said before in other articles, if you are seriously considering playing college athletics (especially football), then you need to get a highlight video produced shortly after your junior season.  And if you are smart enough to work ahead, you should use time during the football season to contact highlight video companies and find one that you trust and feel good about.  The hope will be that this company comes through and allows you to get things done early.

The same is said about getting information out to coaches.  You would be amazed how many athletes continue to think they are better off waiting until the season comes around and then the real recruiting will start.  It is vital that you market yourself to college coaches and the earlier you have varsity experience, the better it is to do that.

After you have everything done early, the next thing you need to do is keep track of all the recruiting attention.  You can use an excel file, a manila envelope, or anything that works for your family (and especially your son/daughter who will hopefully be fielding the calls).  You want to keep information about letters, calls, what was discussed, visits, and anything else that may be important.  The more information, the better down the road when making a final decision needs to be made.

Time may be tight but it is very important that you continue to reevaluate where you sit with the recruiting process.  This may get a little old but you need to have a good feel of where you sit with colleges.  You may have gotten two letters from your dream school but realistically, you need to be realistic and continually reevaluate where you sit with the programs that are after you.  You can use your recruiting attention log and figure out which schools are contacting you the most.

This evaluation process of the schools should be done as a family because it gives a great opportunity for parents to figure out where your children want in a future college.  And parents, realize that the answers you get from your child are likely going to change by the month, week, and potentially day.

You also should make adjustments based on this overall evaluation.  For example, say that you contacted all of the Division I-A coaches in your state and the surrounding state.  I wouldn’t recommend this but it was something you did so that you could play at the highest level possible.  In that contact, you included a link your website and highlight video.  A number of coaches contacted you back at the time but few have been in contact since.

When this happens, you need to start being realistic and setting your sights a little lower.  It may be a tough pill to swallow, even if State University is your dream school, but broaden your search to programs that fit you academically that may be at the Division I-AA/FCS, Division II, and Division III levels.  In the end, you want to have a lot of options on the plate to be able to choose from.  You can eliminate schools late in the process but the more options you have, the better for you in the long run.

Look for part two soon!

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Athletic recruiting process information I’d tell a 16-year version of myself if I could

I haven’t talked about it all that in-depth but I played college sports for all of my four college years at the Division III level.  There was very little recruiting because I played on a very good high school team, averaged very little stats, and basically didn’t know what I was during throughout the recruiting process.  We were also limited in our trips to schools because of a vehicle situation that prohibited us from driving too far away from our home town.  I basically received mail from five to ten schools, calls from three schools, and only took one visit.

The reason this site was started is for teenagers and their families to be informed about the athletic recruiting process.  So if I could somehow go back in time and speak to myself about what I could do to help myself in the athletic recruiting process, here are some of the main things that come to mind.

Apply to more schools
Yes, applications for schools were expensive a decade ago and they are even pricier right now.  But I should have been applying to more schools.  I only sent applications in to three schools and one that I was going to play sports at.  If I knew what I was doing, I would have applied to three to five schools for athletics and then shop the packages around.  At the Division III level, this certainly would have helped me reduce education costs.

Look more into NAIA/Division II/Junior College/Other Division III schools
If I knew about the whole marketing process of recruiting, I definitely would have looked into other options to help pay for my schooling.  I know my lowly stats would not have caught the eyes of many Division II schools but what would it hurt to try?  The other programs would have at least looked at me simply because of my height, the team I played on, and a good recommendation from my high school coach.   This coach was well respected in the state and that definitely would help.

Take more visits
Basically I needed to make more visits so that I could see what other schools had to offer.  I am thrilled with the education and athletic experience I received in college but more visits would have helped me make the best possible decision I could.  If we didn’t have a car that could do it, then I should have looked into friends that were visiting other programs, other family members, or even taking a bus.  More than one college visits needs to be taken.

Apply for independent scholarships
I know time is so precious as a 16-year old but taking the time to apply for independent scholarships is something that would be well worth it.  These scholarships take time simply because many require an essay but could help reduce overall tuition costs.  You may not get the scholarship but the short time invested is worth it.

Learn more about the entire athletic recruiting process
My mom has/had no clue about the athletic recruiting process and I had no idea as well at the time.  That didn’t make for a good combination in her helping me find a school.  I wish I would have been able to education myself as much as possible about the process so that it would have helped me overall.

Find out more about schools in my state/surrounding states
I probably would have wanted to stay close to home in some form or another but I knew very, very little about schools outside of the few colleges that were local.  It didn’t matter if a school was an hour away, I didn’t know about it, the level that it played at, or the conference that it was in.  Finding out this information could have definitely helped open up my options.

Again, I loved the experience I went through at the Division III level.  I graduated with two majors, had a GPA above 3.0, and excelled in athletics.  But there is no doubt that doing these things would have opened up more doors for me and helped me gather as much information as possible.

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Division I-A Football Recruiting vs. Division I-AA Football Recruiting/BCS Football Recruiting vs. FCS Football Recruiting

In the football recruiting process, there are some major differences between schools at the Division I-A level (BCS) and Division I-AA level (FCS).  These differences are something to think about long and hard before trying to receive the scholarship offer that you are longing for.  Schools at different levels offer at different times and their level of play factors in.

So first off, what is the biggest difference between Division I-A and I-AA?  The answer is simply in the timing of scholarship offers.  The Division I-A schools can basically offer whenever they want.  The bigger the school, the earlier the offer and the less that they care if Rivals or Scout writes about it.  Division I-AA schools on the other wait until later in the process.  The earliest I have seen a school at this level offer a player is at their summer football camp.  The reason is because the earlier that they offer, the greater chance a Division I-A school will offer them a scholarship.

In only one situation have I ever seen an athlete pick the Division I-AA school over the Division I-A program when location was similar.  This was a unique situation where the player had committed to the Division I-A school.  That program ended up changing their coaches and was not sold on the recruit.  So they told the recruit that they would greyshirt and then redshirt him.  He would also be making the move to the offensive line, which was much different than the tight end position he had grown up playing.  It wasn’t a huge upset when he picked the Division I-AA school.

Timing of visits
Most Division I-AA programs wait to hold their official visits in December or January.  They usually bring in their most sought after recruits first in hopes of securing an early verbal.  Division I-A schools don’t really care about the timing of official visits.  Most do it in December or January but mix in the top rated recruits with potential walk-ons.

Recruiting publicity
When a school like Alabama gets a commitment from an athlete, I am willing to bet that a “source” will leak the information to Rivals, Scout, and the newspaper.  If a Division I-AA school gets a commitment, they would prefer no one knew until Signing Day.  A Division I-A school could steal the recruit with a scholarship offer at any moment and it has happened in the past.

Scholarship offers
For football recruits, the Division I-A school has to offer athletes a full ride.  The Division I-AA program can offer anywhere from 100% to 1%.  In most situations, these Division I-AA only hold the full scholarship ride for their top rated recruits.  They can also combine the scholarship with academics and help the athlete pay as little as possible for schooling.

Timing of offers
As talked about earlier, if a Division I-A school is sold on a prospect, they will offer them very early in the process.  If a Division I-AA school loves an athlete, they likely will wait to offer.  If word leaks out that a Division I-AA school offered a sophomore prospects, the Division I-A schools in the area will be all over this kid.  Most of the Division I-AA schools end up offering the scholarship amount on the official visit for the athletes.  They may formally extend an offer during the summer but the numbers are finalized before the visit.

Type of attention
If you are major Division I-A recruit, you will receive the full court press from schools across the country.  They will send you all kinds of things to show you how interested they are in you.  Division I-AA recruits stay in their area for the most part and receive limited interest because of the recruiting budgets at the school.  I would be curious what the difference in recruiting budget is at Richmond versus Florida.

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The impact of crazy helicopter parents during the athletic recruiting process

When a college coach starts recruiting an athlete, they realize that they are getting you as an entire package. This includes your abilities on the court/field, your skills in the class room, and unfortunately for some coaches, that also means dealing with your parents for the next four or five years. Let me stress that the majority of parents that I have dealt with over the years have been outstanding. They may feel that their son or daughter is better than they really are but they are far from crazy during the athletic recruiting process.

However, there are some parents who take that crazy title to a completely different level. I will go into a few interesting stories that I have dealt with and/or heard in the past few years. But while the stories are funny, there is no doubt in my mind that this type of parent will scare away college coaches at a drop of a hat. Coaches at the next level have enough to worry about and would prefer not to have to listen to a parent calling them weekly as to why their son or daughter isn’t play. So keep that in mind before screaming at a college coach because they didn’t think your child was good enough to get a scholarship.

The first story is in regards to a football player. His mother was a single mom and this was her baby. Because of that, she couldn’t actually see the entire situation clearly. After one game, her son only received a few passes thrown his way during the game. In the end, the team dominated and earned a big win. This was however not what the mom was thinking about. She confronted an assistant coach and screamed about how her son wasn’t getting enough touches. This was all done in front of a college coach who was there watching the game. As soon as the college coach saw this, he told the head coach of the high school team that he was no longer interested in recruiting this athlete.

The second story happened early this decade and regarded a basketball player. This athlete put up some big numbers throughout his high school career but just didn’t seem to have the size to get a scholarship at the Division I level. Throughout the entire process, the family thought they they knew everything and could not figure out why their son was not getting an offer for hoops. Instead of trying to take the bias out of the situation (which is hard as a parent), these crazy parents thought that they were basically get black balled by the college coaches because their son was white. These same parents also threatened a lawsuit against the local newspaper if they planned to print a quote that had been said by their son. The family thought it was something that would hurt his recruiting, even though he said it.

Try to consider both situations from the eyes of a college coach. First off, would you really want to offer either of these athletes a scholarship simply knowing that you will have to be dealing with the player (and their parents) over the next few seasons? What is even stranger about the entire situation is that both athletes were great kid. It was their parents who had the issues.

Like when trying to market yourself, there is a fine line as a parent between informing college coaches about your son and letting them evaluate them versus getting mad that they are not offering your child a scholarship. I know enough college coaches at all levels don’t want to deal with a parent who is high maintenance.

The college coaches want parents who trust their judgment and leave the coaching up to those at the college level. Yes, it is never great when your child has to sit the bench. But if there is a reason as to why they are, have your child speak with the coach and ask them what they can do to help themselves earn playing time. This type of attitude is something that the coaches love to see first hand and it shows that an athlete wants to get on the floor. Getting that same question from a parent is a different situation and one that should likely be avoided during the athletic recruiting process.

 

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Do you need a highlight video to be recruited by Division II & Division III schools?

There is no doubt in my mind that if you want to play college football at the Division I-A/BCS or Division I-AA/FCS levels, you need to put together a recruiting highlight video to showcase your skills.  There are occasional exceptions but I would say over 90% that end up with scholarships at these levels have a highlight tape done.  And the higher the level, the more important this video is.

But what if your sights are set on smaller schools?  I have stressed the importance of considering all options but what happens if you are an athlete who already knows that he may be a little too small or too slow to play at a major level.  Does it make sense for you to make a highlight video if your eventual destination is likely a Division II or III school?

For the Division III portion of the question, we went straight to the source.  We had a chance to get a quote regarding their thoughts on a highlight video.  This is an assistant coach at a Division III powerhouse that has made the playoffs a number of times over the last decade.  Here is what he said:

We try to watch some kind of video on nearly every recruit we talk to so we can evaluate their recruitability. We prefer highlight videos for the convenience but for some kids we’ll just end up getting/watching game film. The better kids almost always have a highlight video anymore.

Even though coaches at the Division III level cannot give out athletic scholarships, they will make sure a kid is good enough to really go after hard.  Let me stress one word that he said in this quote; convenience.  It is a much easier process for even coaches at the Division III level to sort through a recruiting highlight tape than it is to watch a full game video and try to figure out where you are on the field.

Why should I make the video if they can’t offer an athletic scholarship?  Again, this always seems to be a hot topic but say that your tape blows away the college coaches at that school.  It makes you a top priority for the kids that they are recruiting.  They may not be able to offer an athletic scholarship but suddenly your aid package may increase.  They may be able to find a Leadership scholarship or something out of the woodwork that you would have never known about.  All because you made this video.

Going back to the above quote, read what he said in the last sentence; the better kids almost always have a highlight video anymore.  I hate to say this but the reason is because these kids don’t aspire to play at a Division III school.  They dreamt of playing at State University and starting for them.  But once they get realistic and realize that you can get a great education at a Division III program, then they can use that highlight video to their advantage in the search for a lower tuition rate.

For the Division II schools, if scholarship dollars are on the line, then yes a highlight video is a must.  If you are considering Division II schools, then having a strong highlight video is going to be very important when they are ranking where you stand on their recruiting board.

Think about it this way.  Would you rather take three minutes of time from the coaches and wow them with some of your best highlight videos OR would you send a full game tape and hope that they like it over a 45 minute period where their attention could easily get pulled away while you are making the best play of your high school career?  One look away could cost you a scholarship.

Unless finances is extremely tight, then take the money and get it made professionally (if you can do it yourself, then do it).  There are a number of quality sites out there so start searching.  We recommend www.highlight-videos.com but there are a number of others as well worth looking into.

 

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I’m a sophomore/freshman with football recruiting interest. What do I do?

If it is that early in the recruiting process, schools can only have limited contact with you. By NCAA rules, they can only send you a questionnaire and camp invites. Obviously with the numbers game at the summer camps, they would love to bring you on campus. That doesn’t matter if you will be the most sought recruit in that class or someone who eventually decides not to play in college.

But if you have already made a name for yourself as a sophomore and are getting that early recruiting interest, you are in a good position. You are already ahead of the game and have been added to the recruiting lists of college coaches. As mentioned before, these recruiting lists are huge in size but it is important to at least get yourself on them.

While it does not happen often, some schools do actually extend scholarship offers to sophomores. Because of the rules that were mentioned above, what the college coach has to do is work with your high school. The college coach has to call your coach and tell them to either relay message or have you call him. It does not happen all that often but for recruits that some consider can’t miss athletes, early scholarships are extended.

If you are hoping to get that early offer, realize that it will not be easy. The first step is to build an athletic profile (CLICK HERE FOR THAT ARTICLE). This is basically an information sheet that allows the coach to learn more about you, your abilities on the football field, and get contact information. Because I have already talked in great lengths about this, I won’t harp on it too much.

The second step you must take to get it is to put together a highlight video. You can either do it yourself, have your coach make it, or go through a third party service like www.highlight-videos.com. It really is up to you but you want the video to showcase your ability on the field. Coaches will also be requesting full game tapes as well so don’t be surprised when that comes.

One note that I must include. If you have not played varsity football, you are wasting your times with these steps. College coaches do not want to see an athlete dominating the sophomore or freshman level. The time and money you put into these steps is not worth it. Just be patient and wait your turn to be successful at the varsity level.

What I would recommend to do once the highlight video is completed is to have your high school coach, you, or your parents contact the college coach and ask them if they want a copy of it. Like I have mentioned before, I would never advise having a prospect just randomly sending out highlight tapes. Those usually end up in the garbage.

After about two weeks, you will want to follow up on the status of the tape. Even though it is early in the recruiting process, it is great to get as much feedback from college coaches as you can. They will speak with you about what you want to work on, what your strengths are, and anything else of interest. This is a great time to start building a relationship as well.

Some coaches may be so wowed by the tape that they may extend a scholarship offer. Most are likely going to recommend that you come to their camp this summer. If anything, I would expect the second response more than anything. Few sophomores have the highlight video needed to drop the jaws of college coaches and get an early offer.

When athletes are that good that early in their career, chances are they play other sports as well. Being the most gifted athletically will help push you towards other sports so make sure that the college coaches know that of your ability there. I wouldn’t necessarily include video of the other sports but make sure to add to your recruiting profile what you have done and what you have accomplished. Sometimes college coaches will want to see a football player on the basketball court and that allows the coach to see their athleticism and how they interact with teammates. It is always a huge help.

If you are unhappy with the attention you are receiving, then it is time to start looking into other options. This is step two in the five steps to a scholarship offer (CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE). What I basically recommend and scouring the schools on the Internet that may fit your criteria. You may be young as a freshman/sophomore but you should know if you want to stay close to home or travel away. What are you interested in studying? Think about these things when looking at these programs. Everyone would love to play for USC, LSU, and Florida but most prospects need to know that the education they receive is more important than the four or five years of football.

Once you have found those schools, now it is time to contact them and introduce yourself (CLICK HERE TO SEE STEP THREE). This is when you will be using your recruiting profile to send to college coaches. Tell them in the email that you are interested in their program because of these reasons. If you actually research the schools, it should be easy to come up with reasons why you are interested.

Those are the main steps that I would have if I was a talented sophomore/freshman player receiving early recruiting interest. You can setup a website with video highlights but it may be better to wait until you after your junior year to do that.

 

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Candy Cane Cake

Today I am sharing a Christmas Cake for the holiday season. My Candy Cane Cake is a fluffy, minty blend of vanilla and candy cane. Fresh, sweet mint can be tasted throughout. I did vanilla cake, but this frosting would also be yummy with a chocolate cake! Whatever you are craving. I loved the snow-like feel that this cake had. And the subtle swirl of red reminds me of candy canes, Santa Claus and red stocking hung by a crackling fire. So if you are feeling festive and want something other than Christmas cookies to bake, give this cake a spin!...Read more »

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Football recruiting, college coaches, and getting the best deal that they can get

One of the things that I always try to stress time and time again is how important it is to keep learning and throughout the athletic recruiting process (especially during the football recruiting process).  Even for someone like myself who has followed football recruiting for quite sometime, I always try to learn as much as I can every year.  Over the last few months, I have seen a very unique situation of a football recruit unfold under my eyes.

The recruit is from a small school and has some major skills in a number of sports.  While he was being recruited for other sports, football is the direction that he has wanted to go in.  And even with it being so close to Signing Day, this athlete has interest from schools at all different levels.  From Division I-A (BCS), Division I-AA (FCS), Division II, III, and NAIA, this athlete has some major interest and each of the college coaches are waiting on the others to make a scholarship decision.  I have been informed time and time again and it remains something that happens to a lot of athletes but is something new to talk about on the site.

Before getting to the actual purpose of the article, I want to give a little more background of the situation.  Currently this athlete has a Division II offer and walk-on offers at a Division I-A and I-AA school.  This football recruit has two more official visits setup up and is awaiting to hear what the programs have to say with regards to scholarship.  Those visits are at a Division I-AA and II school.

The situation that this recruit is going through is not unique.  A lot of athletes are considering schools at all levels this late in the process and is something that I stress when finding the best fit (as well as the best financial deal in paying for college).  What is so interesting is that college coaches at all levels want to be informed of situations at each and every program recruiting the athlete.  For example, if he is making that Division II official visit this weekend, all schools (which includes NAIA programs) wants to know what that Division II school is offering.

You might think that all of these schools would not be on the same playing field.  But apparently the coaches feel that they are.  It doesn’t matter if it is an NAIA school, they want to know first hand what other programs are offering.  But what makes it so interesting is the reason why.

Due to the fact that all non Division I-A (BCS) football programs can offer partial scholarships, these coaches are trying to use their scholarship money the best that they can.  The college coaches have a set budget and they are looking for last minute deals that could eventually pay off.  Looking from their point of view, if they can get an athlete who has no off the field trouble and will work hard, why not offer him a few thousand dollars to sign with them?  If it pans out, they get an outstanding player with a small investment.  If he doesn’t pan out, then they can have the money is the next football recruiting class looking for a similar steal.

Just to let readers know, these coaches are looking at what the overall costs of the school are.  For example, a $10,000 scholarship at these programs are not the same.  One school may have tuition costs of $15,000 while another may be $25,000.  So these coaches are looking at it in overall terms of how much school will cost.  If there is an in-state program that can offer a lower tuition because of the athlete, then they will take a serious look at that.  This in-state program might be able to match an out of state program with an offer only a few thousand dollars.  They are aware of this and could very well use it when trying to land this athlete.

My advice in this situation is to follow the request of the coaches and know where other schools sit in terms of tuition.  Shopping around will give the athlete the best chance to pay as little for college as possible.  It may not seem like much when you are an 18-year old but repaying loans later in life is something you will want to strongly avoid if possible.

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Virtual Holiday Movie + Baking Party: 68+ Vegan Recipes!

orig: 11/23/17 | updated: 12/20/18 I am excited to share (another) holiday round-up for you guys, featuring two things you need during December: holiday movies and holiday baking recipes! Bloggers, and a few readers too, share their fave movies and vegan holiday dessert recipes. I absolutely loved hearing everyone's movie faves, a few memories and traditions and recipes too. What a cool way to connect and share a piece of ourselves. Thank you to everyone who shared and participated! (And I hope you continue the party, by leaving your faves in the comments!) So snuggle up on the couch and turn on those twinkle light, movie + cookie baking season is in full swing! My Virtual Holiday Movie + Baking Party: 60+ Recipes to Explore!..Read more »

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If you want to be the best, you need to invest in the athletic recruiting process

I recently was driving and heard an outstanding quote from a basketball coach.  While he was talking about facilities for his team, what he said was if you want to be the best, you must invest.  Again, he was talking specifically about how this school needed to pony up some cash to build new facilities.  If they don’t, the school obviously could never compete ever again.

But this phrase also carries weight during the athletic recruiting process.  If you are an athlete who wants to play at the Division I level, you will need to invest the time to play there.  You may be a gifted athlete but you need to put in the time.  Specifically for the recruiting process, you must invest time into your child to be able to help the garner interest from college coaches.

Shouldn’t college coaches come to us and recruit him or her?  If you really think that, then first you haven’t read this site at all and second you have a lot to learn.  Unless your child is a freak athlete in their sport (and there may be only a few per year), then chances are you will need to do some work to help the recruiting process.

Parents will have to spent time doing a lot of things that they are normally not used to doing.  That is what makes it so tough for families because most are clueless about what direction they should go with the athletic recruiting process.  Well, if you want your child to go to the best school that they can and hopefully get the highest school, you need to invest the time.

This investing first off goes into learning more about the recruiting process as a whole.  Yes, I am sure you think your child can play Division I athletics but is that from the eyes of a parent or from a non-bias talent evaluator?  You need to take the steps from this website and many others to get a feel for the entire process.  Once you have done that, it is taking the time with that future scholarship athlete and finding what they are looking for in a college overall.

This includes talking about academics, campus size, location, sports, majors offered, and so many other areas.  Once you have invested the time with your son or daughter to figure that out, the next step is to start researching schools.  These schools will be key because if your child wants a unique major, wouldn’t it be best for them to go to a school that offers the major?  Yes, 17 and 18-year olds change their mind all the time but it is best to give them options in the fields that they enjoy.

After that, now you must continue following The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer and them to the college coaches.  Take the time and log what communication you have tried with them.  If they don’t respond or eventually move on to another recruit, what is it going to hurt to at least say that you try?

There was a good story recently on a recruit at the University of Texas.  He had received some major scholarship offers but didn’t hear a word from the Longhorns.  Instead of cursing them out and moving on with his life, he decided to take a chance by calling them.  He probably thought what could this hurt?  He spoke with a coach and they were extremely grateful for his call.  They invited him to an upcoming Junior Day (which is prestigious there).  If it doesn’t work out, no big deal.  It is just a day of his life.  But if he ends up at what could be his dream school because of the call, I am willing to bet he will not regret the ten minutes it took to call a member of the coaching staff.

As a parent, you will also have to invest in gas, room, and meals if you decide to hit the road and make some unofficial visits.  These are always on your own dime but are definitely worth seeing.  It will give you a better feel for the campus, how far away it is from home, and a better feel for the college overall.  These visits are vital for figuring out what type of program your child wants in college.

Going back to the original point, you need to invest time and money into the recruiting process for it to be successful for you and your family.  That is just the way of life and needs to be done in the majority of cases.  Keep that in mind before you expect all of the Division I schools in-state to come knocking on the door with scholarship offers.

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Countdown to Football Signing Day: The better academic school vs. lower tuition costs

Signing Day is around the corner and many senior football recruits have relied on Recruiting-101 to help them during the process of being evaluated and earning a scholarship offer.  And with some seniors about to make a decision, we are going to spend the week taking a time to look at some very vital areas to consider before committing to your top school.  We will tackle five different topics this week that should be something you think about before the first Wednesday in February rolls around.  So sit back and enjoy!

When talking to athletes about what they are looking for in their future college home, one things that always seems to come up is academics.  They may list it because their parents want them to, it is an easy thing to think of, or they really want to find a school that has strong academics.  But is finding a school that has strong academics worth the additional cost in tuition?

A good example could be if a football recruit is trying to decide between a Division III or NAIA school.  I don’t want to say this is true about all of these schools but in the large majority of cases, the Division III will have stronger academics but they cannot offer a scholarship.  The NAIA program on the other hand will not have much focus on academics while being able to lower your tuition costs with a scholarship.

So why exactly should you spend the extra money to attend a strong school academically?  The goal is that this will be your only time spent on undergraduate schooling.  You may go back to get your Masters or head to law school but you need to make sure that the time and money that you are spending is worth it.  The stronger the academics offered at the school, the more it should be able to help challenge you and prepare you for the real world.

Strong academic schools should be able to help you with connections towards getting a job after graduation.  If you are majoring in Business, then make sure to ask the professors before you pick the school about internships and what types of programs that they have in helping their students get a job once you finish up with your college education.

I would hope that the extra money you would be paying would be worth it here because this is vital for your long term prospects, even if most 18-year olds are not seriously thinking about growing up and figuring out their plans for the rest of their lives.

When you are out of college, having that degree listed on your resume should be a bonus.  In some situations, it will matter and it won’t in others.  It really varies on what field you are in and what job you are applying for.  But having a strong academic background with internships and relevant job experience is a bonus.

So why exactly should I attend the school that costs less but does not have as strong of academics?  I hate to say this but one of the things I have realized upon entering into the real world is that the key is having a degree.  In a lot of situations, work experience will trump attending a strong academic school because employers want to know that you are capable of more than just memorizing things out of a book.

Also once you graduate, going to a school that costs less will be a much lower financial burden for those that are paying for college.  If your parents are nice enough to fit the bill (you better be thanking them over and over and over again for this by the way), the cheaper school will be a much smaller financial burden.

If you are taking out loans to pay for your college education, then you will be setting yourself up better after you graduate.  Again, for most high school athletes, this is the last thing you are thinking about these days.  But trust me in saying that student loans are not a fun thing to pay every month year after year.

My final call is……. go to the best school that you can afford and will not be burdened by financially during or after college.  The key here is getting a degree and growing as a person during your four or five years in school.  Getting a top notch education is great but in the end, a huge difference in the price is sometimes not worth it overall.

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Athletic Scholarship breakdown – Percentage versus dollar amount

One of the most interesting things about football scholarship is that outside of the Division I-A (BCS) level, college coaches can offer any percentage of a scholarship to athletes. Hypothetically you could brag about your scholarship offer and the school really is only offering you $500 or it could be 10% of your tuition.

But before making a final decision, you need to realize what exactly the scholarship that you have received is worth overall. And if it is a set amount, that may be something that could hurt you down the road. Keep these things in mind before signing your National Letter of Intent.

A quick note before jumping into the article. Scholarships are one year agreements that the coaches have the decision to renew over your four of five years at the school. In most cases, if you do well academically, stay out of trouble, and work hard in your chosen sport, then the coaches will continue to renew it during your career. But again, it is important for athletes and their families to realize that.

So going back to the dollar versus percentage argument, I must stress that you really, really, really, really, really (I did mean to repeat it that many times) want your scholarship agreement to be percentage based.

Why does it really matter? If the school you are attending hypothetically costs an even $20,000 in year one, there is a big difference between getting a scholarship for 50% or $10,000. In year one, the numbers will balance out even in this equation if it was 50% or $10,000. But the problems arise down the road in years two, three, four, and possibly five if you redshirted.

If the price of tuition is raised each year 5% because the school is at a deficit, than means the price tag for the school over the next four years will be $21,000, $22,050, $23,152.50, and $24,310.13. Yes, that 5% is high but the sake of the article, I believe it is important to make sure high schoolers understand the difference in a big way.

As an athlete with a 50% athletic scholarship and no academic scholarships, your total costs over five years of schooling would end up being $10,000, $10,500, $11,025, $11,576.25, and $12,155.07. In the end, you will need to take out loans for $55,256.315 to pay off the tuition (unless of course you are very lucky and your parents and paying for the rest of your schooling).

The numbers are much higher if you stay with your $10,000 scholarship for five years. Costs over five years would be $10,000, $11,000, $12,050, $13,152.50, $14,310.13. Your total costs for a college education would be $60,512.63.

It may not seem like all that much right now but paying back $5,256.31 in student loans will really add up. Throw in interest and the time it takes to pay off and this will only be sapping your monthly salary after you graduate. And if your parents are paying for it, that is a lot of money as well.

Some schools will obviously try to walk you down the path of a dollar amount but make sure to do what you can to get a percentage agreement on your scholarship paperwork. This is the best way to help yourself for years to come.

 

 

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Sweet 'n Spicy Glazed Cocktail Balls

These Sweet and Spicy Glazed Cocktail Balls are a holiday appetizer favorite. A creamy spicy sauce, with pineapple-cayenne-maple flavors coats every toasty warm meatless meatball. No plate required for these tasty little balls. Perfect savory, protein-rich nibble at holiday parties! Get my recipe...Read more »

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Countdown to Football Signing Day: Winning program versus a school on the rise

Signing Day is around the corner and many senior football recruits have relied on Recruiting-101 to help them during the process of being evaluated and earning a scholarship offer.  And with some seniors about to make a decision, we are going to spend the week taking a time to look at some very vital areas to consider before committing to your top school.  We will tackle five different topics this week that should be something you think about before the first Wednesday in February rolls around.  So sit back and enjoy!

Sought after recruits will have a wide variety of college programs showing them interest.  Some of these schools may be dominant programs where the coach has been in place the last decade and they always seem to find a way to compete for conference titles.  Another school may have a new coach trying to sell recruits on the opportunity to turn around their program.

So why should I attend a college that has a winning program?  From my experience in college, I can tell you that I was much happier when my team was winning.  Losing game after game is very frustrating and it makes it difficult to keep up the moral of everyone on the squad.  The more winning a team goes through, the less complaining that should be coming from players.

The winning program also has established coaches who will have proven in past years that they can get the best out of their players.  You may have to sit a few years but once you are ready later in your career, you should be better prepared both physically and mentally to continue their winning ways.

Winning schools also seem to have fans and students who care much more about the team.  They are passionate for their school to succeed and they will do everything that they can to support them.  Having a fan base at a school is something that makes your college experience much better.

So why should I attend a college that is a school on the rise?  A school on the rise is likely going to be selling playing time to you.  Even if you may not be completely ready, this playing time will help you become a better football player at the college level.  It will give you a taste of what it takes to be success against older athletes while also motivating you to work harder to succeed.

Getting that early playing time likely means the coach will have a bond with you and won’t over recruit you.  At winning programs, the schools have to do everything they can to bring in the best players.  You will have an advantage on a school on the rise simply because your playing time against real competition should help you develop at a quicker pace and allow you to achieve your individual goals earlier.

If you can be an integral part of helping turn things around at that school, you will be a legend there.  Well, legend may be a bit strong but it will definitely be something that you can be proud of.  Turning around a losing culture is very difficult so helping a school do that around says a lot about those that have had a huge part in it.

My final call is……. to really think about what you want in your college experience.  I had the opportunity to play on a winning program in high school and then see a lot more playing time for a school on the rise in college.  While that playing time really helped me develop individually, I still would have rather been a bench player for a top program that won a great deal.  But again, it depends what you are looking for.  Many athletes would prefer to play early at a losing school than sit for a winning team.

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Christmas Tree Salad. Pomegranate. Pecans. Raw Chard.

originally published: 12/3/12, updated: 12/16/18 I had no intentions of making this raw chard ribbon salad a "Christmas Tree" Salad. It was just going to be a holiday salad. Until I piled it into my bowl and watched as it formed a peaked tower that resembled a decked out holiday tree. Complete with shiny red pomegranate "lights" - glossy grape bulbs - twinkly satsuma ornaments - and then, of course, I needed a star on top... ..sprouted grain toast star it was! So my holiday salad turned into an edible tree. And now, (six years later!!!), this has been a festive fave of mine. I hope you can give it a try and even bring your own creativity to it... Christmas Tree Salad By Kathy Patalsky Published 12/03/2012 This festive holiday salad looks like a sparkly, twinkly Christmas tree!...

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Vegan Snickerdoodles (Cream of Tarter-free recipe)

Snickerdoodles have always been one of my very favorite cookies. Light, buttery and tender, with a vanilla-cinnamon flavor and a unique delicate lemon-y tartness to them. Every year I like to try a new cookie - one that I haven't made in a while or ever and this year, these were it! Last year I fell in love with my Pfefferneuse cookies, and in case you haven't tried those yet, they are still absolutely my favorite Christmas party or gifting cookie. But if you want something lighter and just really lovely, vanilla-y and sparkly, these vegan Snickerdoodles are a big win. But one thing about Snickerdoodles, you usually see cream of tarter as an ingredient. Well, I tested these a few ways and actually found that the version without the cream of tarter was my favorite - yet still had...

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Countdown to Football Signing Day: Having the major I love vs. majors that I could end up liking

Signing Day is around the corner and many senior football recruits have relied on Recruiting-101 to help them during the process of being evaluated and earning a scholarship offer.  And with some seniors about to make a decision, we are going to spend the week taking a time to look at some very vital areas to consider before committing to your top school.  We will tackle five different topics this week that should be something you think about before the first Wednesday in February rolls around.  So sit back and enjoy!

When athletes talk about wanting a college that offers strong academics, they are talking about the overall perception that is offered at the school.  But with individual majors, most students go into college undecided and then figure it out as it goes.  That will become a major problem when getting a degree is what you are interested most ends up not being offered by the school you decided on.

So why should I attend a school that has the major I love?  Again, being able to finalize your major before you attend college doesn’t happen all that often.  The key is knowing the areas that interest you and what things you love learning about.  If you feel that you would love to learn more about Business and Engineering, these are two areas that you must study when doing research on each school.

If you do know what direction you want to get your eventual degree in, then figuring out what each school recruiting you has to offer in that field is a huge help.  Most people work until the retirement age of 65 so you will be working for more than 40 years.  That means you will want to go into the field that you love right after college because that is a long time spent doing something you don’t enjoy.

My belief is that you will have the most success in the areas that you are most passionate about.  If you find a school that doesn’t have what you are looking for academically, picking a secondary choice will make it difficult to really buy into the process and enjoy what you are studying and eventually getting a job in.

So why should I attend a school that has majors I could end liking?  While there are some fields that do require certain degrees to get jobs, a number of other positions rely more on experience and who you know rather than what you studied in school.  So what you major is will not be the end all when you graduate.

Like I said above, most college students do go to school without a firm grasp of what they want to study.  18-year old students can and do change their mind every week so it should come as no surprise that one month you are thinking about Business and the next month Computer Science and then the following month Education.  Because of this, it is hard to really research majors that seem to change every week.

You must find something that would be a good fit for you and making it work.  Experience is king in the job market and if things don’t work out as planned, you can go to grad school or consider taking night classes to get a degree in something that you are really interested in.

My final call is……. finding an area of study that you love and making the most of it.  Working in a field you don’t love for 40 years can make life a very miserable experience.  Don’t waste time at a school that doesn’t offer you a major in what you love or it will be a tough four or five year period.

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I am a senior in the football recruiting process without any offers but I have interest. What should I be doing now in December (Part Two)?

This is the second of a two part article.  Click here for part one now!
If you have the time, it is definitely worth it to take these official visits.  The colleges will reimburse you with a check according to the mileage that you drove to get there.  They will host you during the weekend (likely at a hotel) and handle basically all of your meals while you are there.  It may cost a little extra if your parents come but bringing family members is something I strongly recommend.

There may be schools that are calling and stopping by your high school that you really like. If that is the case and they haven’t mentioned an official visit, you might as well bring it up.  My opinion is what will it hurt if they give you a line about how they are still figuring out everything?  These smaller schools can normally get away with it simply because they do not have the recruiting attention that an Alabama or Texas has on multiple sites across the Internet.

It is however worth asking them.  If they seem to be putting you off an are mentioning a late January, early February visit, then you are likely going to receive very little to no scholarship money.  There are some exceptions but most college coaches try to bring in their top recruits as early as possible and secure a commitment from them shortly after those early visits.  The later the visit, the less chance that you are to get a scholarship offer.

But the good news for you is if they are clamoring about a late visit, that means you can turn to other schools and see what their situation is.  This is the exact reason why I stress over and and over again about having a lot of different options at all levels.  If all of your Division I-AA options don’t want you to visit until after Signing Day, then you can focus on your Division II schools because of the importance of a scholarship offer.

And if you are unhappy with the amount of attention that you are getting, then it may be worth it to go back through the third step in The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer.  This would be to market your child but in order to do that, you also want to see the second step and find new schools along the way.  Broaden your search and see what other options there are out there that could be good fits.

If you followed what I wrote about in November, you would have already updated your recruiting profile and have finished your highlight video as well.  This is the best way to help yourself get evaluated by college coaches.  In the search for a scholarship, having a professional product for college coaches to see is the best way to impress those at the next level.

Now would also be an excellent time to sit down as a family and figure out what your son is looking for most in his college experience.  I recently had a chance to speak with a family, and like most 18-year old boys, he had no idea what he wanted in a college.  But you have to think long and hard as mom and dad can’t guess your interests or base them on what you like four years ago.

So families, get the discussion process going on what your son wants in a college.  I am talking academically, athletically, socially, location, and anything thing else.  Most teenagers want great eye candy at the college but there has to be more substance than that behind a college decision.  Athletes should use their families to talk about things that interest them and be proactive in the football recruiting process. That is the best way to be happy about your eventual college decision.

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10 things to do if you are a senior and have an athletic scholarship offer

If you are a senior in the football recruiting process or other sports for that matter, my hope for you is that you are holding at least one scholarship offer.  Obviously this will not be the case for everyone in their final year of high school but having that offer on the table definitely will be a stress reliever knowing that at least part of your college education paid for.

But what should I be doing with that offer?  Should I be quietly reading over the paper work again and again as I hope more will come?  We have put together a list of ten different things that you should be doing if you are a senior holding a scholarship offer at this point in the athletic recruiting process.

1.) Market it to other college coaches
One of the biggest reasons why colleges offer late in the process is because many of their top recruits get offers from other big schools.  Do whatever you can to let them know that an offer is on the table from other schools.

2.) Market it to your media sources
If you have followed what we have talked about on this site, you should have media connections.  If they have taken the time to write articles on you, give them updates regarding offers and visits.  They should help pub both for you.

3.) If you haven’t done so already, talk to the college coaches about taking an official visit
Getting onto their campus will give you a better look at what the college coaches are offering and what the school is all about.  If they offered, they will want you for an official.

4.) Apply to the schools that have offered
Actually filling out the paperwork may be a formality but it is still something you need to do.  So pay the fee and make sure that you get accepted at that program.

5.) Try to figure out your total costs of going to that school (including tuition, room, board, books, etc.)
You will likely to be accepted at the school, have already filled out a FAFSA, and know exactly how much scholarship money that they school will be offering athletically as well as academically.  This can then give you a better feel of the total out of pocket costs that you will have at the school.

6.) Strongly research your considered majors at this school
Figure out a few areas that you are really passionate about.  Then see what the school has available and if those would be that field.  I hate to say it but if they don’t have anything you are interested, going there may be a waste of time.

7.) Figure out where they want you to play and research depth chart and potential incoming recruits
If it is a scholarship school, then you will likely be able to do research on their website and on the unofficial message boards that there are around the net.  Doing this is a great way to get a better feel for what recruits they are bringing in and if you have a chance to see early playing time.

8.) Do what you can to build a relationship with the coaches, especially your position coach
These coaches are a vital part to your decision.  The better you get to know them, the better it will be for you when making a decision.

9.) Try to see what the game day atmosphere is like
Officials are great but if the school has offered you a scholarship and you are interesting, taking an unofficial trip would also be worth it.  This game day atmosphere needs to be seen, not described.

10.) Be extremely thankful
Make sure to say thank you to all those that helped you along the way.  The position you are in is something that many dream of but few get a chance to experience.

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I am a senior in the football recruiting process without any offers but I have interest. What should I be doing now in December (Part One)?

When looking back on the month of November, some of the most popular articles was time based advice for football recruits out there reading this. It varied from seniors with offers, seniors with out offers, and juniors with recruiting interest. And because Signing Day is getting closer every week, we thought we would continue this tradition and update the article for December.

When thinking about the overall month of December for football recruiting, it really is a strange month overall. The top Division I-A (BCS) schools have finished up their regular season and will be having bowl game preparation. The top Division I-AA (FCS) and II teams will be battling for a national title. Throw in the holiday break and it is definitely strange overall to get a good feel of the recruiting process.

Things really will start to heat up in January but December is a vital month. This really is when things start getting to the nitty gritty and you will get a much better feel of where you sit in the football recruiting process.

Because the regular season portion of most colleges will be completed, this is a big month for college coaches paying visits to the school. They may be only permitted by NCAA rules to say “hello” but they will do whatever they can to bump into you in the hallway.

There are two reasons that they do this. The first is to make 100% sure that you are aware they are there. Traveling to your school shows that they are interested in you and your ability (there is an even bigger bonus if you are the only recruit that they are going to be bumping into). They can use this down the road if they offer you a scholarship.

And since they are still evaluating you, they will give you the eyeball test to see if you are as big as listed. I have talked about this in-depth in other articles but make sure you are wearing your big shoes and clothes that either show off or hide your physique. That depends on if you are skinny or big at the time so vary it depending on your weight.

The hot topic of conversation of December for Division I-AA (FCS) and II schools will not be scholarship offers. Instead it is official visits. Unlike the Division I-A (BCS) schools, they are normally not willing to extend an offer and tell you how much it is for over the phone or at your high school. In order to get a complete dollar amount and know what your package looks like, you will need to use one of your five official visits to NCAA schools to find out more.

These smaller level coaches love doing this because they have a set dollar amount in each class to hand out in scholarship money. If their season is over before the playoffs or early in the playoffs, they will be trying to bring their top recruits in early on in December. They offer the top recruits the most money and then see where they stand with them.

But getting them on campus is vital for a few reasons. Most coaches believe that getting athletes onto their campus is half the battle, especially for out-of-state recruits. If there is the potential of a scholarship offer coming their way, most recruits will jump at a chance to get their trip paid for during a weekend to see up close and personal what a college looks like.

 

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I’m a senior and my football scholarship has been pulled. What do I do this late in the recruiting process?

I hate to bring up an article like this because it may force parents to have nightmares when sleeping but this is something that does unfortunately happen to recruits at all levels. For example, as I mentioned a few weeks back, a linebacker who had committed to South Carolina had his scholarship offered pulled when his position coach changed schools. If you were in his shoes, what would you do other than being extremely mad at the world?

Last recruiting season, a lineman took an official visit to the school he had been committed to for six months. Going into the visit, this recruit assumed that the school would tell him about how they are looking forward to getting him on campus. Instead, they told him there was no scholarship available right away and he would have to grayshirt. How what would you do in either of those situations?

Again, there is no doubt in my mind that I would be extremely frustrated that you were lied to during the football recruiting process. With so little time left before Signing Day, it is definitely not going to be easy to find new schools, make visits, and eventually sign with a different program that you like as much or more than the previous school. But that is the way of life and something that you will need to get past in order to find another outstanding program. So basically leave out all the anger about the previous school and just be ready to move forward.

The first step I would take, especially if this happened at a major Division I-A (BCS) school, is get the word out to the media. The sources that I would go include any National Recruiting Experts (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, etc.), the sites of the school that you were committed to, any prep sites that cover your area, and the local newspapers.

That reason that media is important is not to stick it to the previous school that had wronged you. It is essential because you need to get the word out that you are uncommitted this late in the process as soon as possible. There is little time to lick your wounds because Signing Day is getting closer and closer. Colleges at all levels look at Rivals, Scout, 247Sports, ESPN, and sites along those lines. They will see that a lineman who had a major Division I scholarship offer is now open in the recruiting process.

If your high school coach had helped you in the process as well, try to get him to make some calls on your behalf. If you were smart about the football recruiting process and avoided burning bridges, then you can contact the schools that had been recruiting you beforehand. I have mentioned here before on how important it is to log information about schools that have been recruiting you. Doing that will make it easy for contact numbers, emails, and things along those lines at this point.

Basically what you will be doing is going through the step of marketing yourself to college coaches for the second time. What you may have on your side is the fact that a major school had offered you a scholarship. But that program is in the past and it is important for you to look ahead at what may be coming up in the future.

Chances are that if you committed early enough to a college program, then you didn’t get a highlight tape made. It may be worth looking into a few options for getting it professionally made. If you have already gotten the ball rolling, speak with the college coaches about if you need a highlight video. Some schools may have already offered and may just want to look at full game tape. That will save you money but make sure to speak with your high school coach about getting full game tape copies made.

Again, it is an unfortunate situation that I would not wish on anyone. But if you take these steps, you will put yourself in the best situation possible to get a scholarship. In the second story I mentioned above, the athlete decommitted from the Big 12 school and ended up going to a smaller school that was closer to home. It is still a big time program that won a bowl game this winter and allows him to see his family more often. The coach who ended up trying to offer him a grayshirt offer was eventually fired. Maybe it was karma?

 

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