I am a sophomore football recruit with no interest and no scholarship offers. What should I do?

Since the football season for many recruits has either wrapped up or is nearing an end, this is a very important for sophomore football recruits to get a head start on other athletes in their class.  These are going to be the same players that you may be fighting with in the end for scholarship offers and playing time at the school.

Before going into this, I must state that you must have a great deal of varsity experience under your belt.  I feel strongly that even if your team is one of the best in Texas and you didn’t play varsity, sending out sophomore or junior varsity stats is going to be a waste of time and possibly money.  There is no reason to take these steps forward unless you have played extensively on the varsity level.

So for the sophomores who have really excelled this season on the football field, you may be wondering where my recruiting attention is?  The fact of the matter is some sophomores will get attention early and others won’t.  It depends a great deal on a number of factors.  Are your games covered heavily in the media?  Does your in-state Division I schools usually recruit sophomores this early in the recruiting process?  Is your coach the type that will help get your name out there?  Did you make any All State teams?

Regardless of these answers, you can take control of the recruiting process yourself.  Obviously this is not a guarantee for a scholarship offer but it is the best advice when trying to garner interest from college programs.  That interest could eventually lead to visits, phone calls, and hopefully scholarship offers as well.

As mentioned in The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer, the first thing that you must do is put together a Recruiting Profile.  If you have really been on your game this fall, then you may have already done the recruiting profile and have been updating it week by week.  If you haven’t done that, don’t worry because it is still very early in the football recruiting process.  Making this recruiting profile is like building a resume.  You are looking for a job offer (aka a college scholarship) and the recruiting profile needs to be as professional as possible.  Make sure to keep that in mind when putting it together and have it proofread by multiple parties.

The second step in The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer is to market yourself to college coaches.  However, I need to be honest here.  How many sophomores really know what they want to major in?  Do they know what area of the country that they want to spend four or five years at in college?  While it can be done and you can do that to find the schools that match you, it may actually be worth skipping to the third step and market yourself to college coaches.

If you do decide to skip the second step, which at this age, I think may be a decent idea, then you should move on to the marketing process.  The school that I would be marketing yourself to would be the Division I schools in your state, the surrounding states, and possibly any dream schools that you may have.  It may also be worth looking into a few Division II programs as well just in case things don’t work out as you had planned two years down the line.

When marketing yourself, you will want to send your recruiting profile and include an email about why you are interested in the school.  Please try to make this something personal about their program and not a generic statement.  Coaches know coaches and the may catch on that someone is sending out the same template to every school in his area.

It is important to keep track which schools you contacted and the coaches that you emailed at each program.  You can do it on paper or in a database but keep it updated and make sure to mention which coaches contacted you back.  After somewhere around two to four weeks, it may be best to contact that same school but to try another coach.  Do not do this in less than two weeks simply because college coaches are extremely busy, especially during this time of the year.

The final two steps of The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer are up to you.  I don’t believe that all sophomores need a highlight video but you may want to get it done.  Building a website with video may be something that you consider but it doesn’t have to be done.  Think about where you are in the recruiting process and then make decisions on these two areas.

It may be a bit early but you could also start looking into what summer camps that you want to attend.  With no interest, that may be tough to figure out what schools you want to camp at but it is something that you can think about now.  You might as well find one dream camp that you may be able to attend.

And as all college coaches will tell you, keep working hard and doing well in the classroom.  You still need to make major improvements over the next two years if you want to get that college scholarship.

 

 

 

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It is harder to get college athletic looks when breaking out as a senior

The easiest way to get recruited and stay recruited during your high school athletic career is get to the varsity level early and make a name for yourself.  By doing this, it makes it easier for you to get your name out to college coaches.  These coaches can see you early in your career and see the improvements that you have made over the off-season.  While this is the ideal way to go, it doesn’t always happen like that.

We recently had a comment from a grandparent who saw his grandson really break on the scene this fall on the football field.  He was wondering when the recruiting attention would start after such a break out year.  The problem is that when you break out as a senior, it is a much tougher battle to impress college coaches and earn a college scholarship.  It may not be fair but that is the way it works in the world of recruiting.

College coaches, especially at the Division I-A (BCS) level, like to get recruiting started and finished as early as possible.  These coaches are always looking ahead to the biggest and best thing.  They may be working to finish the the senior class but if a coach has been in the State for a while, they have a great feel on the upcoming juniors, sophomores, and possibly even freshmen.

Let me state that even if you are not on their initial radar, it doesn’t mean that you can’t earn a scholarship at the college at next level.  The problem is that you are going to have to work a lot harder to make up for lost time.  Most athletes don’t worry about which school will realistically offer them if they are not producing on the field.  You must now find a way to make up for that time and make the most of your opportunities in the eyes of college coaches.

If you are striving for Division I-A attention in any of the BCS schools and you don’t have interest from these programs, chances are slim that you can get a scholarship offer.  Walking on may be a potential thing to look into but break out seniors rarely receive Division I offers from those major programs.  As mentioned above, these schools are focused in on a number of targets that they have already evaluated and seen in person.  Getting them to watch your video this late in the process is not going to be easy.  Your tape must be amazing to really get a serious scholarship look from these schools (again, it can happen but the odds are against you).

In all honesty, my focus would be at the Division I-AA (FCS) and Division II levels.  These schools are normally a step behind in the recruiting process simply because they are waiting to see which athletes the Division I-A schools offer.  These FCS programs do offer a few athletes here and there but they usually wait until late November, December, and even January to really make it apparent as to which athletes they want to land in each class.

These schools rarely have commitments this early and that means more scholarship money is open at these schools.  If you can impress them with your recruiting profile, then there is a better chance to have them watch your highlight video.

A good example of getting this to happen is when a football player is either hurt his junior year or playing behind another Division I athlete during that year.  If that is the case, then you may be sitting there waiting in the wings and hoping for a chance.  At most schools, unless you are far and away better than the senior ahead of you (during your junior year), chances that you will be sitting most of the time.

If you are a recruit who just broke out during your senior year and have little recruiting interest, here are a few things that you should do differently that could help you get that scholarship offer:

• Broaden your search: Don’t just focus on the big schools in your State.  Look at schools that may fit you all over the country and at all levels.  I don’t want to hear the Division I eyes excuse like I normally get either.
• Put together a fantastic highlight tape: If you break out as a senior recruit, make sure that highlight tape is as good as it can be.  This will help.
• Have a very professional recruiting profile ready to send: This needs to showcase what you did as a senior and why you didn’t do it as a junior.  These coaches need to know
• Get your video out there: Put together a quality product on hudl and get it to Rivals, Scout, 247Sports, and others.
• Contact media people in your area to try and help: What is the worst that can happen, they will say no?  Getting some publicity is a great thing
• Make up for lost time: The next few months need to be spent researching schools, contacting coaches, and getting your name out there.  The time you spend will pay off if you work hard enough and are good enough on the field.

 

 

 

 

 

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Tofu Croutons

These simple and tasty Tofu Croutons are perfect for adding a punch of protein to your salad or soup. They have a mild cheezy, peppery flavor and golden edges all around. Infuse some serious flavor into your tofu, and fall in love with it all over again! If you love croutons on your salad, or are looking for flavorful ways to add more protein, give these a try!...Read more »

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How do you make up for a lack of experience during the athletic recruiting process?

If you have a family that includes multiple kids who want to play college athletics, and you are planning on not hiring anyone to hold your hand, then there is no doubt that your family will get better over time. The more that you see, hear, and learn, the better off you will be in hoping to help your son or daughter catch the eye of a college coach holding a scholarship.
But unfortunately, there always has to be a starting point for families where they are not on child number five and have the athletic recruiting process mastered at all levels and and all sports (note: this mastery likely will never happen because of his much recruiting changes but it is nice to imagine). So if you are new to the athletic recruiting process and lack experience as far as what to do, how do you make up for it?
The first thing I must stress is that you must never be satisfied in what you already know. I don’t care if you were the #1 recruit in the country 25 years ago when you played, it is always important to be searching for more information, more articles, more reading material, and more ways to help your child get a scholarship offer. Things change rapidly and it is important to know that even if you sent one son to the Division I level five years ago, there is definitely a lot of new things to learn.
A good story about this was in regards to a senior last year. He was a very good football recruit but he lacked the speed to get a Division I scholarship. His dad emailed me frequently asking why her son didn’t have a scholarship offer. In reply, I sent him a link to this website and he declined to look at it saying that he had a personal recruiter taking care of things.
This was a family who couldn’t see the true college ability of their child and then they are expecting someone else to do all the work. I don’t care how much you are paying a service or a recruiter, they don’t have as much invested in the process as you do. So when they turned down a chance to learn more, it was obvious to me that there was no way that scholarship would come his way. He ended up walking on so following him will be very interesting.
The second thing is to ask a lot of questions. What is it going to hurt if you ask a college coach a ton of questions about the recruiting process? Think about talking to a media person about what you should do. How about another parent who just went through the process? Just because you ask someone questions doesn’t mean you have to take the path that they took/are taking. Gather as much information as possible and see what you can learn.
Throw these same questions by the high school coach. He or she may be very knowledgeable about the recruiting process or have no idea. Again, don’t take everything you hear and use it. What you are trying to do is find out what worked and didn’t from other sources.
And last, go through the process yourself. It is impossible to describe every single thing that you will see in recruiting. So if you have five kids that hope to be recruited, the experience from the first will be invaluable. It is vital that you do it so if you come in wanting to learn and having an open mind, it will help you quickly make up for any lack of recruiting experience.

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Vancouver City Councillors Vote to Rezone Single Family Homes as Duplex Lots

On the economic front we were waiting for August's inflation numbers which were announced last Friday. The inflation numbers were right on consensus at an increase of 2.8% year-over-year.

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How do you know that the college coach will stay at the school you sign with for athletics?

The NCAA National Letter of Intent that you sign to accept a scholarship offer makes sure to include a part that talks about you are signing with the school and not the coach. I think the main reason that this is included is because when coaches leave, the school can hold the athlete hostage and basically force them to go to that school (Unless of course they want to go prep school/junior college, which many do not want to do).
And while this NLI may say that, the truth is that the head coach and the assistant coaches are a huge factor in what school you pick. They are the ones that you bond with during the football recruiting process or basketball recruiting process. They take you on tours around the campus, call all the time, and that relationship is huge in the recruiting process. But how can you tell if a coach is going to stay at your school during your four or five years there?
If you are at a bigger school, you can check the web and be able to find that information in an article in the local newspaper. This will tell you how long the coach has been there and the length of his contract. You may also search for how long the coaches at that school stayed there beforehand.
Another source you can check the web for is rumors about a coach possibly wanting to go to the NFL or a bigger school. There are many up and coming coaches that will get a chance to coach at a bigger school. Signing with that school may be a big deal if you are not sold on who they could hire.
While rumors are not everything in the recruiting process (Other coaches may use negative recruiting), the phrase where there is smoke, there is fire holds true here. If there are rumors every year about a coach leaving or moving on to another program, there is a good chance that it will happen. Some coaches will not want to move their family if the kids are in high school. Outside of that, most coaches don’t care so they would be willing to move at a drop of a hat. It happens all of the time.
On the other side of this discussion is if a coach might get fired. Again, search the web to see what you can come up with the length of their contract. If it is ending soon, there is a great deal of pressure on them to win, and they are struggling, chances are high that the coach may not be there when everything is said and done.
Honestly, it is hard to figure out which coaches will leave one a better offer comes. Some coaches will realize that they have a great job where they have done so well that there is little pressure on them. If they moved to the SEC or Big 12, things are going to get much more difficult. Other coaches will have one good year and run to the money.
The best thing is to talk to the coaches about it yourself. While they may feed you some lines about never being able to predict the future, it is important to play for a coach that you respect. In some ways, your coach is like a father away from home. He is the one keeping an eye on you so it is essential to have a good relationship with them and hopefully play for them for four or five years.

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Lazy Mac'

Mac and Cheese is an easy meal or side dish to crave. Tender, fluffy pasta, coated in a rich, cheezy sauce. Well, one day, ok ok, many days, I get lazy about making dinner. Yes, even food bloggers get cooking fatigue! And though I absolutely adore my usual cheezy sauce, sometimes I want something that literally takes seconds to make. Lazy Mac' to the rescue! With Lazy Mac', you get a cheezy, creamy sauce that is totally dairy-free and vegan, but is just crazy, stupidly simple. Feeling lazy, but still want some homemade comfort food? This one is for you!... Also check out the Instagram giveaway I am hosting this week..Read more »

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Should I commit to a school even if I am not 100% so that I have a scholarship?

As I have mentioned many times in my recruiting definitions for parents and players, college coaches are prone to deadline an athlete during the recruiting process.  I even spoke with a college coach just yesterday about an athlete.  He said there was an athlete with an offer still waiting to decide but they had another kid ready to pull the trigger who does not have an offer.  If the first kid doesn’t decide soon, they will deadline him and move on.  And just for the sake of mentioning, this is from a Division II school.

When a college coach deadlines you in the athletic recruiting process, it is a difficult situation no matter how many scholarship offers you have.  But what makes it even harder is if there is only one athletic scholarship on the table and only interest from other schools.  If you are deadlined, is it worth committing to the school even though you are not 100% sure about it?

The answer to that question really depends on a lot of things and varies from a case to case situation.  If a basketball coach deadlines you now, chances are that they will want you signing with the school.  Before there are two different signing periods for basketball, you have to realize that you will likely not be getting out of your Letter of Intent.  So for basketball, I would make 100% sure that want to attend that school because the coaches will want a National Letter of Intent faxed in next month.  If a football program does that now, you actually have some time between now and February to make sure that you are confident with that decision.  But even if there is time between now and Signing Day, it is a tough question to answer.

The first thing that you must think about is what is the worst case scenario that you can go through here?  Lets say you wait out the deadline and they end up getting a commitment from another recruit at your position.  You may now have lost your opportunity to attend that school on a scholarship.  So what other schools are showing you interest?  Do you like these schools more?  Is there a realistic chance of getting a scholarship offer (that is a tough question to answer)?  If it is a Division I school you are being recruited by, do you lose your chances of playing at that level?  Would you be happy playing at a Division II school?

In the worst case scenario situation, these are some important things to think about.  It may be worth telling the other schools that are recruiting you the situation.  It may entice them to offer a scholarship and help your situation in the recruiting process.  Others will likely tell you that they need to further evaluate you and will know more later.  Being honest with the other coaches is the best way to hopefully help yourself in the recruiting process.

The second thing is how do you feel about the school itself.  Does this school have what you want to major in?  How do you feel about the location?  How is their football/basketball/other sporting program?  No matter where you pick, there will always be doubts that may creep in.  If these doubts seem to come up each and every time that you think about this school, then it may not be the place for you.

My personal opinion overall is that unless something changes (ie: coaching change or the coaches recruit another player at your position), if you commit to a school, you should remain committed the entire time.  But it is much more difficult when the coaches say that you have until a certain date.  You might as well ask them if you can have more time because unless you are 100% sure, it may be best to wait and see what happens.  The worse they can say is no and then you will really be restricted by that time table.  My opinion is that there will be a coach that wants you bad enough not to deadline you into a final decision.  What level that is at is a question mark though.

 

 

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Updated Athletic Recruiting Definitions for Parents, Athletes, and Coaches

When talking about the recruiting process, there are a number of different terms and phrases that I use.  While it is something that I assume most people know, I do realize that for people new to the athletic recruiting process, some of these terms may go over your head.  So with that in mind, I have decided to start an article that has different definitions of athletic recruiting terminology.

This definitions article will hopefully be updated every few weeks or months as to help families throughout the recruiting process.  So if there is anything that you have questions about, please let us know so that we can get it added.  The list is in alphabetical order and has a quick definition on each term.  Also see the related articles on each definition as well.

Big Time Athlete Syndrome
After using the media to help publicize your recruiting and help get your name out there, you suddenly don’t update them once a scholarship offer comes in.  This happens all the time to athletes who are suddenly too big time to be loyal to those that helped pub them early on.

Cold Sending
What I mean by this is when an athlete sends out a recruiting highlight video to a college coach without a request.  If you cold send a tape, chances are slim that the coach will be watching it.  In many cases, the tape will end up in the garbage and you will not hear anything from the coach.  I do not recommend cold sending a highlight video.

Deadline
When a player receives a deadline, the college coach is telling them that they have until a certain day to commit or the school is going to offer another prospect.  For example, your son Jim has until November 1st to commit or we will offer another point guard.  This applies in all different sports but the smaller the scholarship number, the more often it happens.

Division I Eyes
This is a recruit that will only look at Division I schools in the sport of his or her choice.  Having Division I eyes is a terrible decision because it limits the amount of schools that you will look into.

Eyeball Test
This is something college coaches love to do before offering an athlete a scholarship.  They want to see that player in person so that their listed height and weight are realistic.  If they are impressed by the highlight tape and the athlete passes this eye ball test, then a scholarship may be offered.

Four in Five Year Scholarships
A four in five year scholarship is when a college coach offers an athlete a four year scholarship after they pay their own way in year one.  The recruit is redshirted in that first year and then put on scholarship the following four years.  This is a handshake agreement that is not binding and the coaches can change their mind at any time.

Grayshirt
Grayshirting happens when a school is full in the current scholarship year but they want to bring an athlete in on scholarship.  If you were in the senior and accepted a scholarship, you would not sign any paperwork.  You then would take classes part time in the following fall and workout on your own.  That December, you would sign a National Letter of Intent with the school and be enrolled full time in school during the spring.  This is usually a numbers issue when grayshirting happens.

January Recruit
A football recruit who is a last minute decision for the college coaches.  It is a backup recruit because the coaches are waiting to see if their higher priorities will take their scholarship offers.  If they don’t, then January recruits come into play and end up getting scholarship offers from those schools.

Highlight Video
This is one of the most essential parts of the recruiting process, especially for football players throughout the country.  It is important to have it done well via hudl or professionally produced.

In-Home Visit
This is setup normally late in the recruiting process when a college coach/coaches make a home visit to the residence of a recruit.  This gives coaches a chance to build a stronger relationship between themselves and the family.

Interest
Colleges are showing interest by sending you mail.  They have not done anything else outside of showing basic interest.

Non-Commitable Offer
When a school offers a scholarship but you are unable to commit because they have other higher rated prospects on the line they are waiting to decide.  This started in the SEC but has branched out across the country.  It basically means you don’t have a real offer unless a number of other recruits for the school falls through.

Official
An official visit is one that the school recruiting you pays for.  They will either fly the athlete in or reimburse them for mileage driven to the school.

Recruiting Street Cred
Basically you either have All State/All Conference honors or size that college coaches desire.  This street cred will get you onto their recruiting database without trying to fight with them over and over about it.  An example would be a lineman who is 6-foot-8, 290 pounds.  College coaches will look at you because of this size, aka recruiting street cred.

Redshirt
This is when a recruit take a year to adjust to college, get bigger, and learn the system.  They have five years to play four seasons so a redshirt will not take any of their eligible years away.

Scholarships breed scholarships
This phrase has been mentioned a lot but it shows the importance of marketing yourself in the athletic recruiting process.  If you have a scholarship offer, more college coaches will take a longer look at you during the recruiting process if they know.  That could lead to more scholarship offers, and thus the phrase, scholarships breed scholarships.

Signed
A player being signed and being a verbal commitment are often confused.  What signed means is that the athlete has signed a National Letter of Intent.  These can only be signed during Signing periods, which vary by sport.  If a football player picks a school in the summer, e is not signed until he completes his National Letter of Intent during the February Signing period.  This is a binding contract between you and the school and it is very difficult to get out of without having to sit out.

Silent Commitment
A silent commitment happens when an athlete decides to commit to a school but for whatever reason would prefer not to make the commitment public.  Many athletes give silent commitments before officially announcing their college decision at a press conference or an All Star game.

Spring Evaluation Period
This focuses on football recruiting and is when college coaches can start visiting the schools.  It begins in mid-April and ends on May 31st.  This time also gives coaches the opportunity to call recruits that they are serious about and help their relationship with the players grow.

Unofficial
An unofficial visit is when a prospect visits a college on their own dime.  They pay all the expenses to get there.

Verbal Commitment
This happens when a player pledges verbally that he or she will be attending a school.  They usually call the coaches from the school and then speak with media after to get the word out.  Verbal commitments are 100% not binding.  If you have ten scholarship offers, you could actually make a verbal commitment to all of them during that time.

Verbal Offer
A verbal offer is when a college coach verbally tells an athletic recruit that they have an offer.  I personally don’t believe a verbal offer until…..

Written Offer
This is when a college coach puts the offer in writing.  If they really want you, they will put the scholarship offer in writing to not risk losing you.

 

 

 

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What questions should I ask college football or basketball coaches on phone calls?

I recently wrote an article on the site related to how to act when college coaches call.  With this being busy such a time for seniors who have college potential in their chosen sport, there is no doubt that if you have the skills and have taken the steps to market yourself these coaches should be calling.

But with most teenagers, the coaches will seem to be the ones talking the majority of the time because they are trying to build a bond.  If these coaches don’t talk during most of the time, then there will be a lot of dead air and awkwardness.  If you want to take control of the athletic recruiting process yourself, you should not let this happen.  Instead, what you should be doing is asking questions and trying to find out as much as you can about the school.  Find out which questions are among the best now!

When thinking about any potential college, think long and hard about what you want to know.  If a coach is calling you, there is a solid chance that they hope to have you as a student athlete at their school.  So any questions you throw there way will either be answered or researched and then responded to.  The more questions you ask, the more interested you seem in the school.  As mentioned in that previous article, the most you are wasting is the ten or so minutes you are on the phone with the coach.

Here are some of the most important questions you should think about asking when these calls are arriving.  It is easy to think of more but these are some of the most obvious ones that should be brought up:

How will I fit in on the team?

Do you plan on redshirting me my first year?

(If the team is struggling), what is the coaching staff doing to turn things around?

(If the team is doing well), what is the coaching staff doing to continue to help the school have success?

(If the coaching staff may be good enough to move up to a better job), what are the possibilities that the staff will be in place during my four or five years at the school?  This same question applies if the staff is doing a poor job as well.

Where do you see the program in the next four or five years?

How many other players are you recruiting at my position (this may receive a very interesting response)?

How do athletes balance academics and athletics?

Is there help in the classroom if I am struggling in a class?

Are you able to help set up internships with former alumni in my field of study (ask this to the head coach)?

How would you describe your coaching style?

What are the best features of your school?

Why should I pick your program over a conference rival that is recruiting me?

How is the admission process handled and will any preference be given to student athletes?

If there is a concern with the city/area, ask about it.

Will the facilities be updated any time soon (take what they say with a grain of salt)?

How will you help me become the best player I can be?

What does the depth chart at my future position look like?

Are you looking to bring in other scholarship recruits at my position?

How well does the school/student body support the program?

Does the team go on any unique travel opportunities during the year or the summer?

How is the training staff at your school?

Is there a full time strength and conditioning coach that is willing to help me become a better athlete?

How is scholarship money handled and when do I know a final total for how much I am paying (this one obviously depends on the level you are looking at)?

How would you describe the overall attitude of the team?

Again, there are so many others that you can add to the list.  These are just some of the ones that I thought of.  All should be considered but it is probably best that you only pick a few because if you have a talkative coach, you may be on the phone with them for hours.  That won’t look good on that eventual cell phone bill that your parents will be paying for.

 

 

 

 

 

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How many college applications should I fill out during the athletic recruiting process?

With the time it takes to fill out an application as well as the fee for each one, this would not exactly be something that high school athletes look forward to. It is something that they will dread, especially one that requires an essay, simply because of the time and effort involved. Teenagers spend enough time in school that they don’t want to do much critical thinking outside of the classroom.
But in order to find a college that perfectly fits you, these applications are needed in order to be accepted at the schools. Basically this is a necessary evil and something the parents shouldn’t be taking care of (even though I know it happens all the time). I personally believe that the recruiting process is a growing experience for athletes so doing this will help in the long run. But how many of these should I be filling out?
Unless you commit before your senior year or are prompted to fill out an application by a college coach for a strong academic institution, filling them out likely doesn’t need to be completed until early in your senior year. Without any offers, filling out applications for schools is difficult because you may end up walking on or going to a Division III program. There are so many different options that it makes it tough to really decide what direction you are headed in.
One school I would certainly apply to might be a state school that you head to if athletes are not in the equation. This is likely going to be a backup plan if you lose your love of the game or if you get seriously injured and can’t play any more (which likely won’t be happening). Knowing that there is a good school you can always get an education at is a huge benefit to have in your back pocket if things don’t work out.
If a school ends up offering you a written scholarship and you are serious about the program, then you will likely want to apply there too. The key is just to make sure that you can get in. I knew an athlete a few years ago who had a chance to walk on at a school in his home town. But because his high school had great academics, he was in the bottom half of his class with a 3.1 GPA and couldn’t get in. Knowing that definitely will change things overall.
Outside of that, I would wait until you start narrowing things down. If you have been accepted at your backup school, then you know that is the worst you can do. You know that is there no matter what does or does not come throughout the athletic recruiting process.
So how many schools should you narrow it down to? That really depends on how many letters and calls you are getting from coaches. I feel strong that if a school is not calling you, then there is no reason to apply to their program. They are not showing enough interest in you so why show it back? Applying to a school is not going to make them get serious about you as a recruit.
I would end up picking somewhere around four colleges that you are seriously interested in. These should be ones that you have visited, have talked to the coaches, and know have a major that you are interested in. Don’t waste time with schools that don’t fit you academically, athletically, and socially.
If you pick four final schools, that would mean you apply for around five total. That would just be a few hours and between $100 and $200, depending on what the application fee is (it may be higher depending on the school). The first thing you need to do is get in and then you can work on athletic and academic scholarships from there.

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Schools that always talk about scholarship offers during the athletic recruiting process

If you are using this site and learning more about the overall athletic recruiting process, I would assume that your goal is to land a college scholarship. This scholarship will help offset the costs of getting a college education and could help you finish with a degree debt free afterwards.
So if that is your goal, your entire family is likely waiting to officially hear the words that a college will be offering you a scholarship. This could come over the phone, in-person, or even in an official letter. But what makes it tough on the journey is the college programs that through you off by saying how much they like you and how they are getting serious about an offer. The problem is unless they actually pull the trigger on it, all the talk means nothing.
Over the last six months, I have talked to a great number of athletes about the football recruiting process. Players at a variety of positions have told me that a certain school was recruiting them that is in their area. Three of these players told me that they think this school could be close to offering a scholarship based on what they said on the phone. Things about how much they like you, how close you are to an offer, and how it is between you and two other players.
Two athletes said that they talked to this program about scholarships in the spring and another this fall. Yet neither currently holds a scholarship from this program. Could they come before Signing Day? Of course they could. But I personally don’t think it is very ethical as a college coach to be leading on high school athletes.
The best part of this was that the two recruits who said that they both talked to the school about an offer play quarterback. Each was told that they were extremely high on their recruiting wishlist and that they were in line for a scholarship offer. The problem is that schools don’t frequently take multiple quarterbacks in a class.
What you can take from hearing a school that talks about scholarships is that they like you. But until they either verbally or send a letter that states you have a scholarship at the school, I wouldn’t be expecting an offer to come. I have even seen schools where they have verbally offered a scholarship but they never sent the paperwork and eventually moved on. So wait until the official letter arrives. If a school really want to offer, then they will pay the postage to send the offer.
I hate to say it and be cynical but take everything they say with a grain of salt. I know I talked to a recruit who signed last year with a major program. He was told after one camp that the coaches knew he was a Division I player. The problem is that they didn’t think he would be a Division I player at their school. The good news for him is that an even better school closer to home eventually offered and that led to a very quick commitment.
While this story is more geared towards football, it applies to all sports. I know coaches who will questionably talk about scholarships and how bad they want you at their school, but if an offer isn’t on the table, then they must not want you bad enough.

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SREs with Windows experience? (NYC-area)

My team at Stack Overflow is looking to hire SREs with Windows experience, particularly administration of Microsoft SqlServer.

If you are a system administration looking to move into more of an SRE position, this is an ideal opportunity.

Here's the job listing:

https://stackoverflow.com/jobs/190514/

NOTE: While we are a remote-first team with team members all over the world, this position will have occasional datacenter work requirements, which means 1-hour travel time to our Jersey City, NJ datacenter is a requirement.

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I'll be at All-Day-DevOps: Free registration!

https://www.alldaydevops.com/

All Day DevOps is a global event held on the internet. 24 hours of talks, over 100 speakers, all streaming over the Internet. 17-Oct-2018

Registration is free!

I will be presenting my talk Stealing The Best Ideas From DevOps: Applying DevOps Outside Of SDLC

More info is at: https://www.alldaydevops.com/

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Easy Vegan Caramel Sauce, for Caramel Apples, Dipping & Drizzling

(updated post) These Easy Vegan Caramel Apples are perfect for Halloween and/or your fall apple harvest. And despite what you may think about "vegan caramel" this recipe couldn't be easier! In fact, there are just two main ingredients and this caramel can be made in a matter of minutes!.. Read more »

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

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At What Age Did You Realize You Were a Veggie Eater?

I could've called this post: "At What Age Did You Realize You Were a Vegan?" But the reality is that most people go vegetarian before going fully vegan. It is a slow drip for most. You experiment by cutting out a few easy to drop animal products. Foods that you never really liked anyways. Maybe red meat. Maybe eggs. Maybe dairy. Maybe fish. Then slowly, after reading more, browsing online communities like FindingVegan, chatting with friends, watching documentaries and just exploring in general, some people, choose to transition to a fully plant-based lifestyle. While others, stay vegetarian, perfectly happy in that space, because that is what works for them. Diet is such a personal thing! We are all so different. Each of us has to listen to our guts (literally), our hearts,...

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

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Why do college coaches call prospective athletic recruits?

As 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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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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LISA '18: Save on LISA registration!

LISA this year is in Nashville, TN, Oct 29-31, 2018. The full schedule is up! Registration is open!

Three things you should know:

1. This year Usenix LISA will be 3 days long, instead of the usual 7. This makes it easier to attend, and more focused. I think this is a really good direction for LISA.

2. The schedule is awesome. I got super excited while reading the schedule. All the talks seemed to be much more focused and a greater emphasis on cutting edge topics and things I want to learn about but haven't had time to study.

3. I have discount codes. The first five people that email me will get a 5 percent discount code. Send email to tal at whatexit dot org with the subject "DISCOUNT LISA". These are a special thank you to the readers of my blog.

4. I'm speaking on Tuesday. (Bonus item). I'll be giving a new talk about reforming your operations team on Tuesday. Hope to see you in the audience!

Register soon! https://www.usenix.org/conference/lisa18

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Tom @ nycdevops meetup on Tuesday!

I'll be the speaker at this month's NYC DevOps meetup. My topic is about reforming the operations side of DevOps in a new talk called "My Operations Reform Checklist".

• Topic: My Operations Reform Checklist
• Speaker: Tom Limoncelli, SRE Manager, Stack Overflow, Inc
• When: Tuesday, September 18, 2018, 6:30 PM
• Where: Stack Overflow HQ, 110 William St, NYC, NY

For complete details and to RSVP:

• https://www.meetup.com/nycdevops/events/fmgjmnyxmbxb/

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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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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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23 Vegan Apple Recipes for Fall

Today I am rounding up twenty-three of my favorite Apple Recipes for the fall season. Apples are by far my favorite fall produce item. I absolutely love filling up my cart or farmer's market bag with Honeycrisp, Fuji, Granny Smith and more apple varieties. And click ahead to see what my favorite apple variety of all time is... Apple Season Bliss. I actually think New York City has an epic apple season. I remember walking home from the Union Square Greenmarket with a giant HEAVY canvas bag of giant apples. I always pick out the largest apples I can find. Anyone else do that? So today, I have plucked my fave recipes for all you fellow apple lovers out there, enjoy these and tag me on Instagram if you make something from this list! I would love to see it!...Read more »

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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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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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Canadian Jobs Plunge in August As Unemployment Rises

The post Canadian Jobs Plunge in August As Unemployment Rises appeared first on Team RRP.

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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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Cashew Cheese Spread, Party-Perfect!

This dreamy, party-perfect appetizer is going to be a must-have recipe for the upcoming holiday season! My vegan walnut-crusted Cashew Cheese Spread is made without the need of a cheesecloth. The texture is spreadable and smooth, yet firm enough to create a pretty cheese shape and to allow you to rim the edges with whatever nut or herb you'd like. So before the official holiday season begins, test this out a few times and you will see how easy and impressively delicious this 'cheese" appetizer is!..Read more »

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