How to Get Recruited for Athletic Scholarships

8/12/2019 How to Get Recruited for Athletic Scholarships

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Step # 12 - Write Your Athletic Resume 46

Step # 13 - Mail Your First Letters 49

Step # 14- Track Your Communications 52

Step # 15- Knowing When To Start Making Contact With Coaches 54

Step # 16- Sending Updates To Coaches 57

Step # 17- Your Last And Hardest Step: Being Patient 60

Summary Of The 17 Steps 63

Bonus Sections 1 through 20… Information You Need To Know

The Role Of Your Coach In The Recruiting Process 64

Why Grades Are So Important 66

Using Video In The Recruitment Process 68

Registering With The NCAA Clearinghouse 70

The Role Of Parents 72

Getting Multiple Contacts From Different Coaches 74

Getting No Response From Coaches 76

Trying Out For A Team 78

Walking On 80

The Role Of Summer Camps And Exposure Camps 81

Summer Leagues 84

Hiring A Marketing Service 85



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Scouting Services 87

Official Visits 88

Questions You Should Ask The Coach 87

Getting Multiple Offers 91

Getting A Coach To Make An Offer 93

Signing Day 95

Foreign And International Student Athletes 97

The Best Method: Combine An Online And Offline Approach 98

Summary – Make It Happen 100

Frequently Asked Questions 102



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About This Guide

Have you ever purchased an information product such as a book or CD, only

to find out it was so full of useless information it was difficult to find the

information you actually needed in the first place? I have, and it makes me

mad!

For that reason I decided to develop a step-by-step guide, and not just

another book. I wanted a guide with simple and easy steps anyone could

follow.

This guide has 17 concise action steps written in a simple, straightforward,

just the vital information you need style. I have purposely not filled this

guide with fluff you don’t need just to make it appear to be longer than it

needs to be.

Each step in this book has a specific purpose. Each step is designed to get

you closer to your goal of playing your sport at the college level.

Most of this guide is action based, meaning you will be getting closer to

your goal not only by reading, but by also taking action. Treat this guide as

your step-by-step resource for achieving your dream.

My system is simple, yet it requires effort and dedication on your part. As

they say, nothing in life worth having comes easily! If something is worth

having, you must work for it!

Take the actions I recommend in this guide and I think you will be happy

with the results!



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How To Use This Guide

The goal of this guide is to get you started on the path to playing at the

college level and to make sure you take all the right steps to get there. Here

are some things to keep in mind as you go through the guide:

• These are real world strategies that work! These ideas are not theories

that have not been tested!

• Each step gives you the critical information you need to be fully

prepared to move forward in the process. Each step leads to the nextStep you need to take.

• This guide is your athletic recruiting and scholarship secret

advantage!

• This guide is your complete resource! When you complete this guide,

you will have all the information you need to reach your goal!

•Most of your competition will not take the steps outlined in this guide.By reading this guide and taking the steps I recommend, you will have

a clear advantage.

• Nothing works unless you do! Don’t just read this guide and then

expect college coaches to be knocking down your door. You must

take the action steps I recommend and remain dedicated to reaching

your goal!



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Introduction

Why Should You Listen To Me?

Any time I hear someone describe themselves as an expert or guru,

especially when they ask me to pay them for the information they are

offering, I always have one specific question:

Why should I listen to you?

What have you done or accomplished, and why should I give you my hardearned money?

As you purchased this guide, I’m sure you still had some lingering questions

in your mind about me and whether or not this resource can you really help

you reach your goal of playing at the college level. If you did, I don’t blame

you. You should always be skeptical until someone proves they know what

they are taking about.

When it comes to being recruited, scholarships, and playing the sport youlove in college, I think there are three primary reasons you should listen to

the information I am sharing with you in this course.

1) I have been where you are now

2) I have done the research and learned all the ropes of college recruiting

and scholarships

3) I WAS SUCCESSFUL

Like many high school athletes, my son had a dream of playing his sport in

college. The problem was that he was not a blue chip athlete, he did not

play at a high profile school, and he did not have a high school coach who

was promoting him to college coaches.

It became clear to me that if he was going to play at the next level, it was

going to be up to us to get him there. I began the journey by reading



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everything I could get my hands on concerning the recruiting process and

athletic scholarships. I have to say, it was an eye opening experience.

Once I had all the information I could gather, we started the process of

marketing and promoting him to college coaches. Success did not come

overnight, but success did come.

Within just a few months of sending out our first letters, he had 18 colleges

expressing interest in him to play college basketball for them. Those few

letters turned into a two-year process of writing letters, contacting coaches,

sending tapes, following up, and making official visits. Eventually he had

around 30 colleges in had some interest in him at some level.

Watching him go through the process and having colleges recruit him to

play for their school was a very fulfilling time for our entire family. It was

stressful at times, but it was fun.

At that point, I decided to develop this guide because I know there are

thousands of other high school athletes who have the same dream as my son.

If I can help a small percentage of these athletes reach their goal of playing

in college, this guide will be a success!

Are you ready to get started?

Wishing You Total Athletic Success,

Gary



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Step 1

Believe You Can Reach Your Goal Of

Playing

The Sport You Love In College

Is it your dream to play at the collegiate level? Has that dream started tofade away as time has gone by and college coaches are not beating down

your door trying to convince you to come play for them?

The great news is that you don’t have to give up on your dream of

playing your sport in college. How can I be so confident in making such a

statement? I can be confident for these four reasons:

1) College coaches need athletes to play for them

2) Scholarships and financial assistance is available for deserving athletes

3) You don’t have to be a blue chip athlete to play in college

4) After completing this guide, you will have all the knowledge and skills

you need to market and promote yourself to college coaches

The key for most young athletes is learning the art of self-marketing or self-

promotion. You must be able to let college coaches know about YOU and

your potential to help their program immediately and in the future.

Most (95% or more) high school athletes never market themselves to college

coaches. They never take any steps to let college coaches know about them

or the skills they have to offer.



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Coaches Must Know You Exist

Here is a fact that you must know: You won’t play in college, if college

coaches don’t know you exist.

Did you get that? In case you didn’t, here it is again:

You won’t play in college, if college coaches don’t know you exist.

Of course, even if college coaches know about you, you still must have the

athletic skills and meet the academic standards required to play in college.

In other words, know matter how well you market yourself, you must havethe ability to play in college.

Just keep in mind, you don’t have to be a blue chip athlete or a superstar to

play at some level of college competition.

The sad truth is that there are thousands of high school athletes who don’t

get considered for college athletics simply because no one marketed and

promoted them to potential college coaches!

Keep following the steps outlined in this guide and you will know exactly

how you should be marketing and promoting yourself to college coaches.

This 17 step system works… IF you do your part.



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Step 1

Summary And Recommended Actions

Step 1 Points to Remember

1) You must believe you can reach your goal of playing college sports

2) You don’t have to be a blue chip athlete or superstar to play in college

3) College coaches can’t recruit you if they don’t know you exist

4) YOU must market and promote yourself to college coaches

Recommended Actions:

• Renew your goal of playing at the college level

• If you have the talent and skills to play in college, erase any doubts

that it can’t happen for you…it can

• Decide that you will take full responsibility for marketing and

promoting yourself to college coaches



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Step 2

Know The Myths Surrounding College

Recruiting And Athletic Scholarships

Among the many aspects of the recruiting and athletic scholarship process

there is one fact that never seems to change:

There are many myths out there that can keep you from getting the

opportunity you deserve to play at the college level!

Why are there so many myths out there? I think it’s because the facts

concerning the recruiting process have not been well publicized. What

happens when people don’t know the facts? They often make up their own

version of the facts!

Let’s take a look at some of the top myths and then focus on what is real and

most important to you.

Myth # 1: If I am good enough to play in college, college coaches will

find me.

Fact: There are thousands of high school athletes each year who are good

enough to play at the next level, yet college coaches don’t know they exist.

You must keep in mind that college coaches are very busy people.

Between coaching, recruiting, and their other obligations, coaches stay busyyear round. Coaches just don’t have the time it would take to learn about

every possible player that could possibly play for them.

In addition, many smaller schools just don’t have the recruiting staff or

budget to really go out and find diamonds in the rough. Smaller colleges,

especially at the Division II, Division III, NAIA, and NCCAA levels depend

on players being brought to their attention. These coaches are grateful when

potential players they are not aware of are brought to their attention.



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Myth # 2. My high school coach will help me get recruited and sign a

college scholarship.

Fact: High school coaches are good people trying to do a good job.

However, most of them are not able to promote athletes to college coaches.

They are limited by time, limited knowledge of the recruiting process, and

sometimes just a lack of motivation to promote players.

In addition, don’t assume that your high school coach has a bunch of

contacts at the college level. Most high school coaches do not. They may

have one or two contacts at the next level, but you need multiple schools

looking at you if you want to play at the collegiate level.

Myth # 3. Only blue chip players get an opportunity to play in college.

Fact: Let’s face it, if there is a blue chip player around, everyone knows

about him or her. They get all the press, and everyone in town knows their

name. When it comes to playing at the next level, it’s usually automatic for

the blue chippers. They will likely have to choose between multiple

scholarship offers when they pick their college.

For everyone else, you must promote and market yourself. When you are

not a blue chip athlete, it does not mean you are not good enough to play at

the next level. You may not play at an elite Division I school, but you can

play at some level if you are willing to market and promote yourself.

Myth # 4. Coaches don’t want to be contacted by players who want to

play for them.

Fact: College coaches, especially at smaller schools, are always looking for

future players. No matter how good their current team is, good coaches

know they must be preparing for the years to come.

If you have the potential to play at their level, coaches are very happy to

hear from you. The smaller the school and the recruiting budget, the happier

they are to hear from you.



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Myth # 5. If a player is good enough, grades don’t really matter.

Fact: Please don’t fall for this myth. College coaches want to know that

you have the skills and athleticism to play for them, but they also want to

know you can stay academically eligible to play. It does not matter how

talented an athlete is if they can’t meet the grade requirements to stay on

team.

If you are competing with several other athletes for the final roster spot on a

team, and you have the best grades of the bunch, you may just have the

inside edge on getting the scholarship. On the other hand, if your grades are

near the bottom, you may not get the offer.

At the Division III level where athletic scholarships are not given, your

grades will often determine how much financial aid you are eligible for.

No matter what level of play you are looking at, grades are important.

Myth # 6. I have already gotten a few letters, I don’t need to do

anything else.

Fact: Always keep in mind that college coaches send out hundreds of letterseach year. Just because you received a letter, it doesn’t mean you will get an

offer. Coaches usually recruit several players for each spot they have. They

will stay in contact with each player until they decide who they will offer the

spot on the team to.

If you are getting letters, you still need to do your part. Send updates to the

coaches and continue to contact other colleges. Don’t limit your options.

Myth # 7. Only Basketball and Football players are offeredscholarships.

Fact: Colleges give scholarships in all kinds of sports. Basketball and

Football are the money makers for schools, but they do offer scholarships, at

least partial scholarships for other sports.

Here are some of the other sports colleges offer scholarships for:

• Baseball



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• Track & Field

• Volleyball

• Softball• Hockey

• Swimming & Diving

• Water Polo

• Field Hockey

• Cross Country

• Soccer

• Lacrosse

• Etc.

Myth # 8. Most athletic scholarships are full rides.

Fact: Once again, you must understand the difference between blue chip

athletes and elite level schools and everyone else. If you are a blue chip

athlete and many elite level Division I schools are competing for your

services, you should expect a full scholarship. For everyone else, you can

most likely expect a partial scholarship.

Colleges have limited dollars for scholarships, so they will try and stretch

their money as far as they can. If you are playing at the Division II or lower

level, expect to pay a portion of your school costs. If you find yourself in

that situation, don’t forget about academic scholarships (another reason to

keep your grades up) and other financial aid opportunities.

Summary

Now that you know the myths and facts about the recruiting process and

athletic scholarships, you are better prepared to compete for the limited

number of scholarships that are available. As they say, applied knowledge ispower, so use the knowledge you now have to make your athletic dreams a

reality.



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Step 2



1) There are many myths about the recruiting process and athletic

scholarships

2) You do not need to be a blue chip athlete to play in college

3) College coaches want to hear from you if you have the skills,

athleticism and grades to play at their school

4) Most scholarships are not full rides. They are partial scholarships.


• Keep the facts you learned in this lesson in your arsenal as you begin

marketing yourself to college coaches

• Don’t give up on your dream of playing in college just because you

may not be a blue chip athlete and you may not get a full scholarship



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Step 3

Know What College Coaches Are

Looking For

It is no secret that each year thousands of high school athletes are dreaming

of playing their sport at the next level…and why not? These kids have been

playing their sport for 10 to 12 years by the time they are seniors in high

school. Their sport has become a part of their life, and they don’t want to

see their playing days end.

The problem is there are a limited number of colleges out there with a

limited number of scholarships and roster spots to give out each year. In

fact, only 3% to 4% of high school athletes end up playing at the college

level.

What You Must Know

If you have a strong desire to play your sport in college, there are three key

factors that most colleges will want to know about you before they would

ever offer you an opportunity. Although each coach has different criteria for

his or her players, here are the three key factors most coaches will be

looking at.

1) Skills/Athleticism: Colleges coaches want athletes that have the

skills and athleticism to play at their level of play. The higher the

level of play (Division I, Division II), the more important size,

strength and athleticism will be.

a. Some athletes have great skills, but they are too small for the

college game. Some players have good size and athleticism,

but their skills are lacking. College coaches want players who

have the skills, size and athleticism to play at the level they are

competing at.



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2) Grades: College coaches can’t afford to waste their time on athletes

who can’t make good enough grades to stay eligible to play at the

collegiate level. That is why athletes that also make good grades havea natural advantage in the recruiting process.

a. If three or four athletes are competing for the same spot, the kid

with the best grades will most likely get the opportunity, with

all other things being equal. Contrary to what you may have

heard, grades do matter!

3) Being Coachable: College coaches want to sign athletes for their

program who they can teach and coach. Coaches do not want athletes

who will not listen to them or may cause a disruption on the team.

a. Any athlete who is good enough to play at the college level is

probably accustomed to being the star player in high school, or

even all their lives. They are used to getting the headlines, the

most touchdowns, scoring the most points, getting the most

hits, being a starting pitcher, scoring the most goals, etc.

b. In college, everything changes. These athletes are now

surrounded by other players who are as good, or even betterthan they are. Coaches want players who are willing to fill a

specific role for the team in order for the team to be successful.

Coaches will even require players to play a new position in

college, a position they may not have ever played before. This

practice is very common in college football.

c. Some players are very coachable and make the transition from

star player to a specific role very easily. Other players struggle

with it. Coaches want players who understand their role and

are willing to commit to doing what is best for the team.

If you want to play in college, keep these three factors in mind. They will

most likely make or break you in the recruitment process. Ask yourself:

1) Do I have the skills or athleticism to play at the highest levels?

2) Do I have the grades to play in college?



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3) Would my high school coach say I am coachable?



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Step 3



1) There are three key factors college coaches will look at whenevaluating you: Skills/Athleticism, Grades, and how coachable you

are

2) You need the skills and athleticism to match the level of play you will

be playing at

3) Coaches are seeking players who are coachable and make their jobs

easier, not harder

Recommended Action(s):

• Make a commitment today to work on your grades and be the best

student you can be.

• Do a honest self evaluation about whether or not your high school

coach would describe you as coachable. If he or she would not, you

have some work to do.



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Lesson 4

Know The Difference Between Blue Chip

Athletes…And The Rest Of Us

Chances are you know an athlete who has been labeled a “blue chip” or

“superstar athlete.” Someone who doesn’t know anything about self-

promotion or self-marketing…because they don’t need too!

These type of athletes have often been on college coaches radar for a long

time…even from their middle school days. They are usually bigger,

stronger, and more athletic than the competition they face.

Blue chippers will start receiving letters from college coaches early and

often. They do not need to get the word out about themselves, because

everyone already knows about them.

My son played AAU basketball with one of these type of athletes. This kidwas six foot six inches tall by the time he was a sophomore in high school,

and he was an excellent athlete.

Once his name hit all the right circles and he started getting invited to all the

right camps, everyone knew his name. By the time his sophomore season

ended, he had already verbally committed to an elite level Division I

University to play basketball.

For most athletes, however, it’s not about colleges finding you. It’s about

you finding the colleges you think you could play for, and then letting them

know about you. How? You must become good at marketing and

promoting yourself to college coaches. It’s just that simple!

Making Contact With Coaches

Some athletes are embarrassed or just don’t feel right about promoting

themselves to college coaches. They don’t want to contact coaches because



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they feel like they are bothering the coach. This is a huge mistake! Self-

promotion and contacting coaches is a natural part of the recruiting process.

What kind of car do you drive? What kind of clothes do you wear? What

kind of athletic shoes is your favorite brand? How did you learn about all

these products? You know about them because at some point in the history

of mankind, someone decided to market and promote that product.

No matter how big a company is, it probably got started by someone

marketing and promoting it out of a spare bedroom or their garage. It only

became what it is today due to marketing and promoting.

You Are A Marketable Product

You should view yourself in this same way: A product that needs to be

promoted and marketed. You are the product and college coaches are the

consumers who need the products.

One thing for sure, if you are not a blue chip athlete and the world doesn’t

already know you exist, college coaches are not going to be beating down

your door to offer you a chance to play for them. It doesn’t matter what

sport you play, you must make contact with coaches and let them know youare interested.

Some of you may be fortunate enough to play for a high school coach who

takes an active role in the recruitment process. A coach who believes you

can play at the next level and is willing to call, write, and email college

coaches. If you have a coach like this, consider yourself very lucky. For a

variety of reasons, most high school coaches do not take an active role in the

recruiting process.



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Lesson 4

Summary And Recommend Actions

Lesson 4 Points to Remember

1) Blue chip or superstar athletes don’t have to market themselves.

Everyone already knows about them.

2) Most athletes must market and promote themselves, or coaches

probably won’t know they exist.

3) Marketing and promoting yourself is a natural part of the recruiting

process. You should not be embarrassed to contact college coaches.

4) Think of yourself as the product and college coaches as the consumer

who needs the product.


• Do an honest evaluation of yourself right now. Is my name getting

out there on it’s own, or will I need to make college coaches aware

that I’m interested in playing for them?

• Ask your high school coach if he plans on letting college coaches

know about you. If he does, ask him if you could be present when he

makes calls to college coaches about you.



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Step 5

Understand Why College Coaches Want

To Hear From YOU

Have you every thought about the primary difference between high school

coaches and coaches at the collegiate level? If you haven’t, here is the key

difference:

College Coaches Must Win To Keep Their Jobs!

Let’s be honest, in today’s environment of teacher shortages and all the

difficulties that come with trying to hire a qualified high school teacher

(remember, high school coaches rarely just coach, they usually teach also),

schools are not likely to fire a high school coach just because the team is not

winning consistently.

Don’t get me wrong, high school administrators want to have winning sportsprograms, but they can’t afford to fire coaches just because they are not

winning. Coaches/Teachers are too hard to come by to keep firing coaches

until your teams are winning. Once a high school coach is in place, they

tend to stay there until they relocate or retire.

On the other hand, college coaches find themselves in a very different

situation. They must eventually win, or they will be replaced. It’s just that

simple. It’s win or go home for college coaches, and they know it.

Why College Coaches Must Win

Why is the pressure to win so high at the collegiate level? There are three

primary reasons, and they all relate back to MONEY.

1) Winning sports teams create a winning identity. Prospective students

want to attend a college with a winning identity, even if they could



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care less about sports themselves. Attracting new students each year

keeps the bills paid and everyone happy.

2) Winning teams bring in more revenue. If a team is winning, more

students, parents, alumni, and members of the community are coming

out to watch the games. If a team is really successful, they can even

start attracting television and radio contracts. Once again, this keeps

the money rolling in.

3) Colleges usually turn to alumni for big donations, especially to their

athletic departments. Needless to say, alumni want to donate their

money to winning programs, not losing programs. Alumni want the

bragging rights and pride associated with a winning alma matter.Obviously, alumni giving big money also keeps the money flowing in.

For all these reasons and more, college coaches are under constant pressure

to win. This is especially true at the higher levels of competition such as

Elite Division I schools.

They Really Do Want To Hear From You

For those reasons and more, college coaches want to hear from you. Tohave winning programs, it takes good talent. If you have the potential to be

successful at the collegiate level and help the team win consistently, the

coach wants to know about you. If you can help them, they won’t mind

helping you.

Another reason coaches want to hear from you is due to their limitations of

time and recruiting budgets. There is no way coaches can have the time or

the budget to get out and see all the talent available on a yearly basis,

especially the smaller schools.

Coaches who have spots on their team to fill are happy to hear from

prospective players. They realize the more athletes they have to choose

from, the better the overall talent pool. Why choose from five players when

you could choose from ten or even fifteen?

You should never be embarrassed or feel intimidated about contacting a

college coach. They need to hear from players like you to be successful.

Just make sure you are contacting coaches at the level of play you are



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qualified for. Don’t waste a Division I coaches time if you are suited to play

Division III based on your size and skills.



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Step 5



1) High school coaches usually stay in place, win or lose

2) College coaches are under extreme pressure to produce a winningprogram

3) Winning teams bring in more revenue for the schools

4) College coaches want a large pool of athletes to choose from


• Change your mindset to realize that college coaches really do want to

hear from you.

• Start giving some thought to what coaches you want to contact. We

will make a list of schools to contact in a later lesson.



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Lesson 6

Determine What Level Of Competition Is

Right For You

As you begin to get serious about deciding which colleges you should

contact, you want to make sure you are contacting colleges at the level of

play that is right for you. Don’t contact only Division III schools if youhave the size, strength, athleticism and skills to play at a higher level. At the

same time, don’t contact only Division I schools if you don’t really qualify

for that level.

How can you know what level of collegiate sports is right for you? Here are

a few suggestions

1) Go to games at all levels of play and see what level you think you

may be able to compete at…and be honest with yourself

2) Talk to a trusted coach about what level is right for you

3) If you know older players who have comparable skills to you and

they are already playing in college, find out what division level they

are playing at

Use The Power Of The Internet

One great (and free) way to see how you measure up to the size and strengthrequirement at the different levels of play is to do some research on the

Internet. Simply visit the websites of the teams where you think you might

want to play.

Most colleges have their team rosters posted on their site. Look at the

players on the rosters who play the same position you play, especially the

freshmen. See what their height and weight measurements are as they start



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their college career. This will give you a good idea if you measure up or

not.

Being honest with yourself is the key requirement. Everyone wants to play

at the highest levels, but you have to promote and market yourself to the

right colleges, or you could be wasting your time.

The Different Levels Of Play

There are four primary (they are a few smaller organizations out there)

organizations which govern collegiate sports. Here are those organizations:

1) National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

2) National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)

3) National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA)

4) National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)

Within each of these athletic governing bodies, there are divisions of

competition. For example, the NCAA has Division I, Division II, andDivision III. These divisions are often referred to as D-I, D-II, and D-III.

The higher the division (D-I being the highest), the bigger and stronger the

athletes usually are.

Each organization, and even each division within the organization, have

different rules as to the number and types of scholarships they can offer.

Some divisions such as D-III, do not offer athletic scholarships. However,

they can offer academic scholarships and other financial aid to attract

athletes to play for them.

Here is a quick break down of the type of scholarships at each association

and division level.

NCAA

Division I - Formal Athletic Scholarships, full rides and partial rides

Division II - Formal Athletic Scholarships, mostly partial scholarships

Division III - No Athletic Scholarships. Academic scholarships and other



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financial aid

NAIA

Division I - May offer Athletic Scholarships or Financial Aid

Division II - May offer Athletic Scholarships or Financial Aid

NCCAA

Division I - May offer Athletic Scholarships or Financial Aid

Division II – Usually do not offer Athletic Scholarships. Financial Aidoffered

NJCAA

Division I - Grant-In-Aids

Division II - Grant-In-Aids

Learn More At These Sites

To learn more about all of these governing bodies and what they can offer

you, here is a link to each:

http://www.ncaa.org

http://www.naia.cstv.com/

http://www.thenccaa.org

http://www.njcaa.org

Spend a little time at these sites and you can really a lot about each level of

competition.



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Step 6



1) You must market yourself to the right level of collegiate competition

2) Go to some games at all levels to get a feel for the size and athleticismof the athletes

3) There are many different levels of competition out there that could be

right for you

4) Visit the websites of teams you want to play for and see how you

measure up to the height and weight of the players who play your

position


• Go to the NCAA, NAIA, NCCAA, and NJCAA web sites and start

doing some research.

• Go to college games in your area at all levels and see where you

believe you could fit in at

• Go to some of the college websites you are interested in and look attheir rosters. For the position you play, see how you measure up as

far as height and weight, especially for the freshmen that are in their

first year.



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Step 7

Decide Which Colleges Are

Right For You

As a young person, you have certainly heard this phrase:

“ The decision you are about to make will effect the rest of your life”

Needless to say, this phrase is often exaggerated and used as a way to get

young people to focus on an important decision. In reality, very few

decisions really have an impact on the rest of your life.

However, as you begin to focus on what college you want to attend, it truly

is a decision that will affect the rest of your life. The college you select to

attend will effect the type of degree you get, the type of grades you may get,

the type of job placement help you may get, what your first job and salary is,

and ultimately your entire career. Additionally, it effects the enjoyment andsatisfaction you will get from the sport you play in college.

If you are good enough, your college decision may even effect whether or

not you will have a chance to play your sport professionally. The college

you choose, and just as importantly, the coach you choose could help launch

a professional career.

There are now professional teams all over the world at many different levels

of competition. Some programs and coaches have an excellent track record

in helping their athletes play professionally.

THE QUESTIONS YOU MUST ASK YOURSELF

How do you go about making such a critical decision? I don’t know if there

is an absolute right or wrong way to do it, but here is a series of questions

you need to ask yourself that may help you with this critical decision.

1) How close to home do I want to be while I’m in college?



33

2) What state or region of the country is right for me?

3) What type of college major(s) am I really interested in?

4) Are my grades good enough to get into the schools I am considering?

5) What level of play (Division Level) is most appropriate for me?

6) What type of coach do I want to play for?

7) Do I have a real chance of playing my sport professionally in the

future? If so, what college(s) could help me get there?

8) Do I want to play for a large or small school?

9) Is the tuition and other costs of the college a factor for me?

HONESTY WITH YOURSELF IS THE KEY

These are the factors you want to seriously consider as you begin making

your list of coaches to contact. Honestly answer all these questions and thenmake your contact list accordingly. For example, don’t waste your time

(and the coaches time) contacting a college twenty hours away if you know

in your heart you will only seriously consider colleges within a few hours of

home.

Promoting and marketing yourself to colleges is a detailed and time-

consuming process. You don’t want to start devoting time to this effort until

you have your list of colleges exactly as you want it.



34

Step 7


Step 7 points to Remember

1) Many factors go into selecting the right college

2) Know what colleges are a real possibility for you BEFORE you begin

making contact with college coaches

3) Look at all the factors involved in the decision making process in

depth as you begin the process


• Take the list of nine questions from this lesson and write out your

answers to each one. Spend some time doing this and make sure your

answers are truly right for you.

• Keep your list of answers in a safe place, you will need them in the

very next lesson



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Step 8

Develop Your Contact List

Now that you have completed step seven, it’s time to actually put together

your list of colleges to contact. Obviously, this is a very important step in

the process. To end up at the right school, you must put together the right

list of schools to contact.

A normal question you may have at this point is:

How many schools should I have on my contact list?

I recommend putting a list of at least fifty schools together for your contact

list. The more schools you contact, the better your chances of playing your

sport in college. If you as the student-athlete have trouble putting together

this list, ask your parents for help. You can also go to the Internet for help infinding colleges by state, conferences, region, etc.

I recommend going to this free site to help you get information about

colleges for free. Just go to:

www.utexas.edu/world/univ/ state /

This site will give you a list of colleges by each state. It can also link you

directly to the colleges website. This is very valuable information, and it

can save you a ton of time.

GET THE RIGHT CONTACT INFORMATION

Once you get ready to actually mail your Athletic Cover Letter and Athletic

Resume (which you develop later), you will need to go to each college’s

website to get the right contact information. You’ll need the Coach’s name

(We’ll discuss which coach in Lesson 9) and the correct mailing address to

mail to. Yes, this is time consuming, but it’s free and worth your efforts!



36

MAKING CONTACT EVEN EASIER

If you want to take your search for colleges to the next step, you can pay for

a service that is certainly worth considering. The service I am talking about

is College Coaches Online.

College coaches online maintains a directory of NCAA and NAIA colleges,

their coach, their sports and divisions, contact information, and the cost of

tuition. This list is always kept up to date.

You can use this site to compile a list by the sport you play, location, size,

division, academics, etc. This list will give you the coach’s names,addresses, emails and phone numbers. This is the exact information you will

need.

To subscribe to college coaches online, simply go to:

www.CollegeCoachesOnline.com/

This information is not free, but it is very reasonable.

See the free bonus you received with this guide for a sample college coach

contact list you can begin using.



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Step 8



1) You must develop a college contact list

2) Your list should have as many colleges as possible

3) The more colleges on your list, the better your chances of playing

your sport in college


• Put together a list of colleges you want to make contact with. I

recommend at least 50 colleges be placed on your list.

• Ask your parents if you need help compiling this list

• Use the internet to help you complete this list

• Make sure you get the right coaches name and mailing address (See

Lesson 9)



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Step 9

Know Which Coach You Should Contact

As you put your college contact list together, you’ll soon be faced with a

dilemma:

Which coach should I contact?

Should I contact the head coach, one of the assistant coaches, or even bothof them?

The coach you choose to contact is extremely important. If you don’t

contact the right coach, you could be wasting your time. Your letter may not

even get read, or it may just die a slow death on someone’s desk.

Before I got involved in the recruiting process, I thought the head coach

would probably be the right person to contact. After all, he or she is calling

the shots, making the decisions, and has the most to gain from signing greatathletes that can help his or her program.

My experience in the recruiting process has taught me just the opposite is

true. You want to make contact with one of the assistant coaches. Don’t

just pick one of the assistants at random, do your homework and find out

which assistant is the right one to contact.

CONTACTING THE RIGHT ASSISTANT COACH

How do you know which one is the right assistant to contact? Just a little

research will give you the answer. Once you get to the website of the

college team you want to contact ( I do a simple Google search such as: East

Carolina University Baseball), you will usually find this type of information:

• Team Roster

• Schedule

• Player Profiles

• Team News



39

• Statistics

• Photos

• Media Guide• Coaching Staff

You need to click on the link for the coaching staff and simply do a little

reading. At almost every University and College, one of the assistant

coaches has been given the responsibility of recruiting players, scouting

talent, etc. Once you find an assistant that has been given these

responsibilities, this is the person you want to contact.

If you ignore this advice and contact the head coach anyway, you risk notgetting as much response to your mailings as you could have. At the current

cost of stamps and the time it will take you to compile your contact list, you

don’t want to waste your money or your time.

Obviously, if you are contacting small schools that do not have assistant

coaches, you want to contact the head coach. If you can’t find any

information on the coaching staff, you can still send your letter to the college

athletic department.



40

Step 9



1) You must contact the right college coach

2) One of the assistant coaches is usually given the responsibility ofrecruiting and scouting players

3) Contacting the head coach could cause your letter to never be read or

evaluated


• Go to the website of the teams you want to contact and click on the

coaches information, profile, etc. link.

• Read the coaches bios and determine which assistant coach is the

recruiting coordinator or has the job of scouting players

• Make sure you get the coaches name and mailing address correct



41

Step 10

Know The Two Most Important Keys To

Contacting College Coaches

In the last couple of lessons we have looked at what colleges you should

contact, and which coach you should make contact with. Now that you have

those two items taken care of, it’s time to go to the next step…preparing thematerial you are actually going to send the coach.

As you start preparing these materials, you must keep something you have

learned earlier in this course in mind:

If your contact list of schools has five names or five hundred names on it,

the key is to:

Promote and Market YOU!

The two key components of your promotion and marketing material are:

1) The Cover Letter

2) The Athletic Resume

THE COVER LETTER

The cover letter serves as a way for you to make personal contact withcoaches. This letter serves as your introduction to the coach. This letter

must be well thought out and carefully written. This cover letter must draw

interest from the coach and make him want to learn more about you.

Writing a cover letter is one way to separate yourself from your competition.

Most high school athletes will not initiate contact with a coach. Those that

do, will usually only fill out an online questionnaire on the college’s



42

website. By sending a personal letter, you can easily stand out from the

crowd and your competition.

In Lesson 11, I’ll give you some more details on how to write a great cover

letter. In your free bonus, you’ll find a free sample cover letter you can use

as a template to write your own letter.

YOUR ATHLETIC RESUME

The second critical element of making contact with coaches is your Athletic

Resume. Why do I call it a resume? I call it a resume because it must do the

same job a resume must do when you are applying for a job: It musthighlight accomplishments, and/or show potential, and make the coach want

to learn even more about you. Your cover letter and resume must work hand

in hand to be effective.

The athletic resume will give the coach key statistics, your best

achievements, your height and weight, contact information for you and your

coaches, etc. This document is the key to getting the coach to make contact

with you!

In Lesson 12, I’ll give you more information about Athletic Resumes. In

your free bonus, you’ll find a free sample resume you can use as a template

for your own powerful resume.



43

Step 10



1) Making personal contact with coaches is essential

2) Personal contact is an easy way to separate yourself from yourcompetition

3) Your cover letter introduces you to the coach

4) Your Athletic Resume must make the coach want to learn more about

you


• Make up your mind that you will put in the necessary time it takes to

develop a great cover letter and athletic resume.

• If you don’t have access to a computer, start making a plan on how to

access one to write your cover letter and resume. You can always use

computers at school libraries and public libraries if you don’t have

access to one at home.



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Step 11

Write A Great Cover Letter

In Lesson 10, we looked at the key elements of making contact with college

coaches. In this lesson, we are going to focus on the first key element, the

cover letter.

The cover letter is your very FIRST contact with the coach, so it must bewell written to draw his or her attention. Here are some other key elements

of a great cover letter:

1) It should never be longer than one page.

2) The letter should contain no major errors (spelling, punctuation,

etc.)

3) The letter must draw attention and be very positive.

4) The letter must be truthful and not full of exaggerations.

Why keep such an important document to only one page? If it’s longer than

one page, it might not get read! Coaches are very busy people and they

don’t have a lot of time to spend on any one task. If your letter is longer

than one page, it will probably get set aside to be read at a later time.

However, that later time may not ever come.

Once your letter is complete, I suggest sending it and your Athletic Resume(Step 12) by regular mail. If you want to email your letter, that’s an okay

option also. However, I still believe regular mail is your very best option.

You can even do both regular mail and email.

In your free bonus, I have included a sample cover letter you can use. Feel

free to plug in your information and make the letter fit your situation.



45

Step 11



1) Your cover letter is the vital first contact between you and the coach

2) The cover letter should never be more than one page

3) Your letter must be able to get the coach’s attention

4) Your letter should have no major spelling or punctuation errors


• Go ahead and write your own cover letter

• Make sure you run a spell check on your letter

• Let your parents or someone you trust review your letter and make

suggestions

• If you have a good relationship with your English teacher, have him

or her review the letter for technical accuracy



46

Step 12

Write Your Athletic Resume

Once you have your cover letter, it’s time to write your Athletic Resume.

This resume MUST highlight your best achievements and all the important

information about you that a college coach would want to know.

Your Athletic Resume works just like a resume does in the job application

process. Your resume must do it’s job or you won’t get to the next step inthe process. In business, the next step in the process is a job interview. In

college recruiting, the next step in the process is getting a letter, call, email,

or some type of interest from a college coach.

For the same reason we talked about in Lesson 11, your resume must not be

longer than one page. If it’s any longer, it probably won’t get read.

Here are some other key elements that your resume must contain:

1) The primary position you play (Quarterback, etc.)

2) Your most important skill (90 MPH Fastball, etc.)

3) Your contact information

4) Your coaches contact information

5) Your height, weight, reach

6) Key athletic measurements (40-yard dash times, vertical leap, etc.)

7) Your GPA, your SAT and ACT scores

8) Several statements about your accomplishments



47

In your free bonus, I have put together a sample athletic resume for several

different high school sports. You are free to use these samples to complete

your own resume.



48

Step 12



1) Spend the time to prepare a great athletic resume

2) Your resume must get the coach’s attention

3) Your athletic resume functions just like a job resume. It must SELL

YOU and get you to the next step in the process

4) Never exceed one page with your resume


• Write your athletic resume

• Keep your resume to one page

• Review your resume and make sure it has no major errrors



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Step 13

Mail Your Letters

Now that you have written a great cover letter and athletic resume, it’s time

to start making contact with coaches! How do you do that? You do that by

simply putting your letters in the mail.

Although mailing letters seems like a pretty straightforward process, thereare a few keys that you need to keep in mind when mailing letters to college

coaches.

First, make sure you are mailing to the right coach. In step number nine, we

talked about finding the right coach to contact. This coach is usually an

assistant coach who is in charge of recruiting and/or scouting players. Make

sure your address label includes his/her name. If you mail to the wrong

coach, your letter will most likely get lost in the shuffle.

Second, make sure you have the right address. By the time you write theletter, find the right assistant coach to mail to, and address the envelope, you

have a lot of time invested in this process.

Don’t waste your efforts by mailing to the wrong address. Go back to the

teams web page and get the right mailing address. Sometimes you really

have to be creative to find the right address, but it is always somewhere on

the website. If you can’t find it on their website, go to Google and simply

do a search for their address.

Third, make sure you write the name and mailing address by hand. Don’t

use your computer to generate peel and stick labels. I know it’s a lot faster

and cleaner to use labels, but labels make your letter look like junk mail.

You want the coach to see that someone has taken the time to write his name

and address by hand. If your letter looks like all the other mail he or she got

that day, it will probably just sit on the desk.



50

Fourth, use a label for your return address. It is okay to use a small label for

your return address. This makes it easier for you, and it gives your letter a

cleaner look.



51

Step 13



1) Make sure you mail your letter to the right coach

2) Make sure you use the right address

3) Hand write the envelope mailing address. Don’t use a label


• Prepare your envelopes and get your letters in the mail

• Mare sure your letter does not look like junk mail. Make it personal



52

Step 14

Track Your Communications

Now that you are in the game and mailing letters to coaches, it becomes

extremely important to get organized. You need a system of tracking your

contact with colleges, and especially the coaches who make contact with you

in return.

The greater the number of colleges that you plan to contact, the moreimportant your ability to track your communications become. You don’t

want to risk losing an offer to play the sport you love because you forgot to

respond to a coach, or you stopped sending updates to coaches who have

shown interest in you.

To successfully track all of your contacts, I suggest a two-part system.

Part 1- Track all the colleges you send your cover letter and athletic resume

to.

Part 2- Track all the communications you receive back from coaches.

Maintaining these contact sheets is vital to your chances of getting an offer

to play at the college level. As you will see, when colleges start making

contact with you, it can get overwhelming pretty quickly if you don’t have

an organized way of staying in contact.

In your free bonus, I have developed a College Contact List you are free to

copy and use. Also in your free bonus, I have developed a Coach Follow UpSheet you are free to use.



53

Step 14



1) Make sure you track your communications

2) Keep a list of all the colleges you contact

3) Keep detailed notes of coaches who make contact with you


• Make copies of my College Contact List and my Coach Follow Up

Sheet. Make as many copies as you need.

• Keep all your contact lists and follow up sheets in one binder



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Step 15

Know When To Start Making Contact

With Coaches

One of the most common questions everyone has is:

“When should I start making contact with college coaches?”

My answer to this question is crystal clear:

Early, but not too early!

How is that for a clear answer?

Let me explain my answer a little more. You want to start making contact

with college coaches early in your high school career, but you don’t want tostart too early.

I always suggest that you start making contact with college coaches no

earlier than your freshman season, and no later than the beginning of your

junior season. Coaches like to have plenty of time to evaluate potential

players, so you can’t afford to wait too late. Likewise, coaches plan their

recruiting classes for several years out.

THE RIGHT TIME

For most athletes, the sophomore year is the best time to start making

contact. If you are going to be playing at the varsity level of your sport as a

sophomore, you should definitely start making contact. If you are going to

be playing junior varsity as a sophomore, you may want to wait until the

beginning of your junior season to make contact.

If you wait to make contact your senior season, you have put yourself at a



55

major disadvantage. Here’s why:

1) Coaches will have already given out most of their scholarshipmoney or filled their needs for the following season. They may be

out of offers to make.

2) As a senior, they will only have one year to evaluate you. As I

said earlier, coaches like to have two or three years to monitor your

progress.

Start your contacts early. It gives you the very best chance of playing the

sport you love at the next level.

IT’S NOT TOO LATE

If you are a senior and you are just getting started, don’t get discouraged.

There are still colleges out there who need your services. You will just have

to cast a wider net with your letters to coaches to find one who has a need

for the very next season. If you can play at the next level, someone will

want to sign you.



56

Step 15



1) Make contact with coaches no earlier than your freshman season

2) Begin contact with coaches no later than the beginning of your junior

season

3) If you have waited until your senior season to get started, you will

need to cast a wider net to find a coach who has a spot to fill for next

season


• The beginning of your sophomore season is probably the best time to

start making contact with college coaches

• If you are a sophomore playing at the varsity level, start making

contact now



57

Step 16

Sending Updates To College Coaches

Once you have sent out your athletic resume and cover letter, you should

start getting some response from college coaches. When my son completed

his first mailing, he got around 18 college coaches who responded. He was

quite happy with the response!

Once they start communicating with you, you need to keep the

communication lines open. When they write or call you, they will usually

ask you to take some type of action. They may ask for a video, for you to

fill out a questionnaire and return it, or ask you for photos, etc. I hate to

sound too obvious here, but WHATEVER THEY ASK YOU TO DO, DO IT

RIGHT AWAY!

Once you go through this initial contact, you may not hear from them for a

while, especially if you are a freshman, sophomore, or junior. To make sure

you stay on their radar screen and they don’t forget about you, make sureyou send them updates from time to time.

WHEN TO SEND UPDATES

I suggest sending updates before the season begins, mid-season, and at the

end of your high school season. You can also give them an update on your

summer team status after the summer season ends. Just make sure you stay

in contact.

On these updates, you want to send them key statistics, your outstanding

accomplishments, or any newspaper articles written about you.. Remember,

you have to be your own marketer and promoter…unless you are blessed

with a coach who does this process for you.

KEEP UPDATES BRIEF



58

Keep your updates to one page. Just like with your cover letter and athletic

resume, you want to keep it short and to the point. If your updates get too

long and detailed, they will most likely end up sitting on the desk of thecoach and never getting read.

In your free bonus, I have included an update sample you are free to use.

Just tailor it to your sport and your specific situation.



59

Step 16



1) Send one page updates to coaches

2) Do whatever it takes to keep the communication lines open

3) Updates should include key stats and your accomplishments


• It is up to YOU to keep the communication lines open with college

coaches. Don’t fall off the coaches radar screen.

• Send updates pre-season, mid-season, post-season, and after your

summer season (if your sport has a summer season)



60

Step 17

The Last And Hardest Step…Being

Patient

After reading the title to step 17, you may be asking this question:

Is being patient really a step in the recruiting and scholarship process?

My answer is a DEFINETE YES!

When you market and promote yourself the right way to college coaches,

you will most likely start receiving letters, emails, and even phone calls

fairly soon. Even more likely is that you will start receiving a combination

of all of these types of commuications.

It is truly an exciting time for you and your family. It’s exciting to have

colleges actually showing interest in you to coming to play the sport youlove for them. In fact, it is the fulfillment of a dream for most high school

athletes.

So Why Do You Need Patience

As the months go by, the initial excitement of being recruited can fade and

even begin turning into stress and anxiety.

To actually get an offer to play at the college level, you will need several

colleges showing interest in you. However, none of these colleges are likely

to make an immediate offer to you. These coaches will want to take their

time and evaluate you and other prospects for each position they are trying

to fill.

This means when you are ready to commit and end the recruiting process,

the coaches will most likely not be ready to make a decision quite yet. The

end result is that you end up waiting to see what is going to happen.



61

That is why you must have patience. You will most likely be ready to end

the process over long before it actually comes to an end. In fact, many high

school athletes don’t end up getting an offer until late in their senior year.This is just how the recruitment process works.

Keep Your Goal In Mind

When you get to this point in the process, and the anxiety and stress has set

in, make sure you keep your goal in mind. Take some time to remember

how excited you felt when colleges first started showing interest in you.

To get to the point of actually signing with a college, you will most likely

have to wait much longer than you really want to. Keep the big picture andyour ultimate goal in mind and focus on the end result…the fulfillment of

your dream to play at the college level.

Being patient can truly be the hardest part of the process. Don’t let the

anxiety and stress of wondering where you will play effect your level of

play. This can and does happen quite often. Don’t let it happen to you.



62

Step 17

The Last And Hardest Step: Being

Patient


1) You will most likely be ready to commit to a college long before any

actual offers will be made to you

2) The process can become stressful and full of anxiety before it ends

Many high school athletes are not offered a spot on a team until

late in their senior season.

3) Don’t let the stress and anxiety of the process effect your level of play


• BE PATIENT. Let the process run it course. It takes time.

• Keep your goal in mind. Don’t let the frustration of how long the

journey takes take the joy out of the recruiting process.



63

Summary Of The 17 Steps

If you are still reading at this point, I know you are serious about reaching

your goal of playing in college. The sad truth is that many athletes will say

they are serious about playing in college, but they are not serious enough to

learn what it takes, and do the work it actually takes.

You now know all the steps you need to take to market and promote yourself

to college coaches, there is only one thing left to do…take the action steps

and make it happen.

If you take all of these 17 steps I can’t guarantee you that you will play in

college, no one can guarantee that. What I can guarantee you is that you

have given yourself the absolute best opportunity to reach your goal.

As you get started promoting and marketing yourself, here are three key

ideas I want you to keep in mind:

1- Market Yourself To The Right Level Of Competition: If you want to

play in college, you MUST market yourself at the right level. Everyone

wants to be a Division I athlete, but not athletes are. If Division III or even

junior college is the right level for you, then market yourself at that level.

2- Don’t expect results overnight: The recruitment and scholarship process

takes time. It takes time for coaches to evaluate you and decide if you are a

good fit for their program. Be patient and keep moving toward your goal.

3- Grades are crucial: As covered earlier in this guide, grades can make or

break your opportunity to play at the college level. If you have a higher

GPA than the other athletes you are competing against, you have the clearadvantage.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to help you. I have given you the

knowledge and the exact steps you need to take. The ball is now in YOUR

court!

Make it happen. The rewards are truly worth the effort it takes!



64

These next 20 sections are Bonus Sections. In addition to the 17 steps

already covered, this is additional information you need to know.

Bonus Section 1

The Role Of Your High

School Coach

As I have stated several times previously, YOU have to take the primary role

of being your own promoter and marketer. You can’t count on your coach

or anyone else to do it for you! If you do, you will most likely get

disappointed.

Most high school coaches don’t get actively involved in the recruitment of

their players. There can be many reasons why, but here are the ones that are

most common:

1) Lack of time

2) They don’t understand the recruitment process themselves

3) They assume the player is good enough to get recruited on

his or her own

4) They are not sure if their player is good enough to play at the

the college level…so they don’t promote them

5) Just plain laziness (They Don’t want to put out the effort it

takes)

6) They simply have no interest in helping kids play at the next

level



65

For all these reasons and more, high school coaches don’t usually get

involved in the recruitment process. If you do have a coach who is taking an

active role and making contacts for you, consider yourself lucky. You havea great coach!

ASK YOUR COACH TO AT LEAST DO THIS

Even if your coach does not want to take an active role in your recruitment,

there is still something he or she can do for you. Ask your coach if he or she

is willing to provide a statement about you to give to college coaches. Here

is a great way to ask for this statement:

“Hey coach, I am trying to get a few colleges interested in me playing forthem when I graduate. Are you willing to provide a short written statement

about me as a player, a student, and as a person? I would really appreciate

it if you could”

Even if your coach does not want to get actively involved in your

recruitment process, most coaches will say yes to providing a written

statement about you. Once they say yes, just be persistent in asking them for

it. If you ask enough times, they will eventually provide it.

Once you have a written statement from them, you can include it as an

attachment to your cover letter and athletic resume, or to one of the updates

you send to the coach.

Don’t forget about your summer, AAU, Legion, Classic, or USSSA coaches

also. You can also ask them for a short written statement.



66

Bonus Section 2

Why Grades Are So Important

I shouldn’t have to tell you how important grades are…but I will anyway.

No matter if you play sports at the college level or not, your grades are ultra

important. I’m sure you have heard this news before.

If you have a passion to play at the college level, your grades may determine

if you get the opportunity or not. And no, I’m not exaggerating in an

attempt to scare you. Your grades really do matter in the recruitment

process.

Always keep in mind, coaches recruit multiple players to fill each roster spot

on their team. If they are recruiting you to play shortstop for instance, they

are probably recruiting four or five other shortstops also. Why? They want

the very best student-athlete they can get, so they like having multiple

options.

If you are one of four or five (or sometimes more) athletes being recruited

for a single spot, the competition may be fierce. You want any competitive

advantage you can have at this point. If it comes down to selecting you or

another athlete, your grades could be the difference.

Coaches want athletes who can stay academically eligible to play. They

don’t want to recruit you if it’s a question mark in their mind…especially if

another athlete of your caliber has had much better grades in high school.

Just put yourself in their shoes. Would you want the kid with the 3.4 GPA

or the kid with a 2.1 GPA if they are equal athletes? The answer is obvious.

YOUR GRADES SAY SOMETHING ABOUT YOU

Your grades also say something about your work ethic. If you are working

hard enough to get good grades in the classroom, most likely you will be a

hard worker on the court, field, or diamond.



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If you are being recruited to play at a level where athletic scholarships are

not offered (like NCAA Division III), grades are even more important.

Small private colleges are very expensive, and they can’t offer athleticscholarships. What they can offer is financial and academic aid to help

cover the costs of your tuition. The better your grades, the more aid you will

be eligible for.

Please don’t fall for the myth that if you are good enough to play in college,

that grades don’t matter. Nothing could be further from the truth!



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Bonus Section 3

Using Video In The Recruitment

Process

As you go through the recruitment process, at some point you will most

likely be asked for some video of you in action at some point. Coaches like

video because it allows them to see you in action, without spending the timeor money to travel and see you play.

From your perspective, your video should help promote and market you to

the coach. The video should catch their eye and take their interest in you to

an even higher level. The video should generate enough interest from the

coach that he or she wants to see you play in person.

When sending videotape, don’t make the mistake of sending highlights only.

Try to send actual game footage whenever you can. Sending a highlighttape along with the actual game footage is okay also. You can also ask the

coach who requests the tape what kind of footage he/she prefers to see.

Why do coaches want to see actual game footage and not just a highlight

tape? The answer is simple: A highlight tape can make anyone look good,

because you are only showing your success. Coaches want to see your

highlights, and even how you react when things don’t go your way.

ANOTHER OPTION

Another option is to send the coach some footage of one of your workouts

along with your game footage. A video of one of your workouts should

show your strengths as well as your ability to complete the fundamentals

associated with your particular sport.

The possibilities are limitless. Just be sure to cover the fundamentals of

your particular sport in the workout video.



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TELL THE COACH WHAT HE OR SHE WILL SEE

Make sure when you send your video, you tell the coach what it is on thevideo. Don’t make the coach search the video trying to figure out what

exactly is on the tape. Tell him/her what is on the video and where they can

find it.

Make sure the quality of your video is good. It does not have to be a

Hollywood production, but the quality should be acceptable. If you want

some help with your video, there are companies out there that can help you.

Here are some resources that can help:

• Jimi White Productions (www.jimiwhite.net/recruiting-videos.asp)

• All Star Video Sports (www.allstarvideosports.com/recruitingvideos)

• AE Sports Videos ( www.aesportsvideo.com )

• Active Recruiting (www.activerecruiting.com)

Lastly, remember the purpose of your video: Market and promote you! If

your video does the job it is suppose to, you are one step closer to getting anoffer.



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Bonus Section 4

Registering With The NCAA

Clearinghouse

If you are seriously being considered as a college student-athlete, you need

to register with the NCAA Clearinghouse. The role of the NCAA

Clearinghouse is to validate your transcripts, test scores, and proof of

graduation (once that happens) to ensure you meet the core course

requirements. The clearinghouse also validates that your GPA, SAT, and

ACT scores meet the minimum qualifications for incoming freshman

student-athletes.

To make sure you won’t have any problems with the clearinghouse, you

should start making sure you are working toward your core course

requirements as you begin your high school career. Remember, if you can’t

register with the NCAA Clearinghouse, you can’t be offered a scholarship at

the NCAA Division I or II level.

WHEN TO REGISTER

The very best time to register with the NCAA Clearinghouse is at the end of

your junior year. As a part of registering with the Clearinghouse, you will

be required to complete and sign the student release form. Once you have

completed and signed this form, you will need to send it to the NCAA

Clearinghouse along with a nominal fee.

This form allows each high school you have attended to send your transcript,

test scores, and other academic information to all the colleges that request

your eligibility status.

To get the process started, you can either:

Go to: www.ncaaclearinghouse.net

Or



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Call 1-877-262-1492 (Within the US)

Call 1-877-337-1492 (Outside the US)

You will need your social security number to complete the process.

Once again, make sure you register with the NCAA Clearinghouse by the

end of your junior year. The last thing you want is to have a coach serious

about signing you, only to discover you have not registered with the

Clearinghouse.



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Bonus Section 5

The Role Of Your Parents

Many parents want to take an active role in the recruitment process of their

children. I completely understand, because that is what I did! In fact, this

guide is the result of getting involved in my son’s recruitment to play college

basketball.

I salute parents who care enough about their kid’s dream to get involved and

try to help them secure an opportunity to play at the college level. Some

parents won’t get involved at all, even if their kid has asked them too.

No matter how involved your parents are involved in your recruitment

process, always remember this rule:

College coaches want to hear from you, not your parents!

When you start making contact with coaches, no matter if you choose tosend letters or make phone calls, the coaches want to hear from you as the

student-athlete, not your parents.

Make sure you are the one who signs the letters, sends the emails, or makes

the phone calls. There is nothing wrong with getting your parents to help

you with these tasks, just don’t ask them to do it for you!

WHY COACHES WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

College coaches want to hear from you because they are recruiting you to

play for them as a young adult. Coaches realize that if you are not mature

enough or confident enough to make contact with them, you may not be the

type of person they are looking for.

Coaches want confident student-athletes who are not afraid to be leaders and

represent themselves. If your parents have to make contacts for you, what

does that say about you?



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WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

During the recruitment process, parents will get the opportunity to have

some contact with the coaches. Here are some of the questions parents can

consider asking coaches who are interested in signing their son or daughter:

2) What role will my son/daughter be filling

3) When do you expect him/her to be able to contribute on the

court/field

3) What about help with their academics

4) Financial aid questions

5) Insurance questions

6) Specific terms of the scholarship/offer to play

As you go through this process, having the help of your parents, or at leastone parent is great. They can help you get through this sometimes difficult

and time consuming process. However, you must take the lead in making

contact with coaches and following up with them. Coaches are recruiting

you, not your parents.

I do salute all the parents out there who are trying to help their child through

this process and fulfill their dream of playing at the college level. It is an

experience your family will never forget!



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Bonus Section 6

Getting Multiple Contacts From

Different Coaches

If you have gone through all the steps and you are now having multiple

coaches contact you…you did your marketing and promotion the right way!

Congratulations!

Depending on what type of colleges you targeted and made initial contact

with, you may be getting letters and phone calls from coaches at all levels:

• NCAA Division I

• NCAA Division II

• NCAA Division III

• NAIA

• NCCAA

• NJCAA

My best advice at this point is not to burn any bridges. Just because you are

getting some interest at the Division I level, don’t stop communicating with

the coaches at the lower levels. Why? You never know how the future will

work out. Even though Division I or even Division II coaches are showing

interest, you may not ever get an offer to play at that level.

As we talked about earlier, coaches ALWAYS recruit multiple players for

each position. You could end up being the second choice of severaldifferent coaches, so don’t close any doors until you actually sign a letter of

intent to play somewhere.

KEEP YOUR OPTIONS OPEN

I guess the key point here is to keep all your options open. Even though you

know more about the recruiting process than 95% of your competitors after

reading this guide, the recruitment process is still tricky. Just when you



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think a coach is going to make you an offer, they may stop communicating

with you completely.

My son had several coaches who seemed to be hot on his trail, and then they

just stopped writing, emailing, or calling. To this day, I still don’t

understand why some of them stopped communicating, but that is just how

the recruitment game is played.

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

Don’t make up your mind that you have to play at a certain level of play.

Everyone wants to play Division I sports at a prestigious university, but the

competition for those spots is fierce!

If you are among the best of the best and you have the size, speed, strength

and athleticism required, you may get one of those spots. However, there is

no shame in playing at one of the lower levels.

If playing ball at the next level is your goal, keep all your options open. You

never know where you may end up!



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Bonus Section 7

Getting No Responses From Coaches

What should you do if you have gone through all the right steps and you are

still getting no response from college coaches? Most likely one of three

things has occurred:

1) You did not contact enough colleges

2) You could have done a better job on your cover letter and athletic

resume

3) You didn’t contact coaches at the level of play that was right for your

skills and athleticism

4) So far, coaches have not seen anything from you that makes them feel

you can play at their level

The question then becomes, what do I now? Just give up? No way! It’s

time to really roll up your sleeves and go to work. Expand your college

contact listing, polish up your cover letter and athletic resume, do some

more research online, etc.

The key point is to not give up on your dream! Keep sending the letters or

even making phone calls to see if you can drum up some interest from

coaches. Even if your senior sports season has come and gone, it’s not too

late. Coaches sometimes have spots they don’t fill until the very last minute,so don’t give up.

TWO DIFFERENT OPTIONS

If you are in your senior year and things are winding down, I suggest taking

a couple of new steps.

1) Asking coaches about an opportunity to try out.



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2) Talking to coaches about walking on.

We will look at both of these possibilities a little more in-depth in the next

couple of sections.



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Bonus Section 8

Trying Out For A Team

If you do not receive any offers to play at the college level through your

marketing and promotion efforts, it’s time to look at other options. One of

those options is attempting to tryout for a college team.

Before you start contacting coaches about the opportunity to tryout, here are

a few things you should know.

1) Division I schools are not allowed to invite players to a gym, court or

field solely for the purpose of evaluating talent.

2) Colleges at the Division II and Division III level can’t allow you to

tryout unless you have written permission from your high school

director of athletics.

3) You must have completed your senior season of eligibility before you

can attend a tryout.

Many coaches will conduct one or two tryouts a year. Some of them are

really looking for talent to fill their roster spots, while others are just going

through the motions and allowing other kids the chance to feel like they had

an opportunity. The problem is, you just don’t know how many, if any,

roster spots are available when you go to a tryout.

WHEN TO TRYOUT

Most colleges who have tryouts will post the dates of the tryout on their

website. If they don’t, you will simply have to ask the coach about thei

opportunity for a tryout. Some tryouts are by invitation only, but most are

open to anyone who wants to participate.

Once you are scheduled for a tryout, make sure you get there. Unless there

is an emergency that keeps you from going, you better show up unless you

want to miss your opportunity for good. If you do have a true emergency





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Bonus Section 9

Walking On

If you can’t secure a spot on a college team by an offer or through a tryout,

there is one last option left for you. The one option left is to try and walk on

the team.

First of all, there is no shame in walking on. If your dream is to continue

playing the sport you love at the collegiate level, walking on is a great way

to go after your dream.

If a coach has been communicating with you for a while about an offer to

play for him or her, and then runs out of scholarship spots, ask them about

the possibility of walking on the team. He or she may jump at the chance to

have you at their school and on the team, without giving up one of their

scholarship spots to get you.

The other option for walking on is to simply find out when walk tryouts are

being held at the school you are/will be attending. Once you have the date, I

suggest trying to contact the coach and let him or her know you will be

attempting to walk on the team. Just having the coach know your name and

face could prove very valuable to you when walk on tryouts begin.

When you go to a walk on tryout, keep in mind that coaches will be

watching everything you do. You need to arrive early, work harder than

everyone else, be coachable, show leadership, and be in great shape.

As I stated earlier, there is no shame in walking on. Many athletes who

began their career as a walk on, end up earning a scholarship spot before

they leave college. Some athletes who walk on even end up becoming

starters, star players, or even professional athletes.

The key is: Don’t give up on your dream of playing at the next level!



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Bonus Section 10

The Role Of Summer Camps And

Exposure Camps

There are a couple of other ways that you can get exposure for college

coaches. Two of those opportunities can be found in summer camps andexposure camps. These camps offer you the chance to keep your skills sharp

and compete against some of the best competition around. If you play your

cards right, you may even get some college exposure.

However, I must give you a word or caution, many of these summer camps

and even exposure camps are about one thing:

Getting some of your parents hard earned money!

Unfortunately, many of these camps are nothing more than an opportunityfor coaches to pad their wallets a little bit during the summer months. I’m

not opposed to coaches making a little extra money, but if you are looking

for exposure during the summer, you don’t want to go to an event where you

are just wasting your time.

How can you tell the difference between a legitimate exposure camp and a

camp that will waste your time? You must do your homework! Spend some

time doing research online and talking to high school coaches about these

summer events. If your coach has a good relationship with college coaches,ask their opinion about the camp.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Here are some things to look for when you are considering an exposure

camp:

• How long they have been in existence (the longer the better)



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• Do they have a good reputation with coaches in your area

• Do they rank players on their site for college coaches to view

• Do they send evaluations to college coaches after the camp

• Will they do an individual assessment of you at the end of the camp

• Do they limit the number of attendees, or is everyone invited to attend

who can pay the fee

• Do they have their own website

• Are there testimonies from college coaches on their website validating

their services

COLLEGE CAMPS

Colleges and universities hold their own camps usually once or twice during

the summer. Once again, most of these camps are simply a way for coaches

to make some extra money during the summer. However, if you have a verystrong interest in playing for a school and they have not responded to your

letters, going to their summer camp may be a way to get noticed.

If you decide to use their camp for exposure, make sure you are in good

shape and prepared to do your best. If you are there to get their attention,

you must stand out from the crowd to get noticed!

Before you go to the camp, make sure you know who the coaches are.

Especially the head coach and the assistant coach is in charge ofrecruiting/scouting. You want to know who they are and be ready to

approach them during the camp.

Once at the camp, take the right opportunity to approach the recruiting coach

first and introduce yourself. Tell them briefly about yourself and that you

are interested in playing for them. This is no time to be timid. You must tell

them about yourself and ask them a few questions about their program.



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WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU

While packing for the camp, make sure you pack a few copies of yourathletic resume. If they show any interest in you, be ready to give them a

copy. You can even take some of your tapes with you to the camp.

Exposure camps and summer camps can be great opportunities, or they can

waste your money. Make sure you do your homework BEFORE attending

these camps!





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Bonus Section 12

Hiring A Marketing Service

If you have the money to spend, there are many marketing services that are

available to you. How do these services work? You pay the money, and

they market and promote you to college coaches. It really is that simple.

These services can be as basic as listing your profile on a website for

coaches to view, or as detailed as listing your information, creating video for

you, and even making phone calls on your behalf. It really just depends on

how much you want done for you…or how much money you have to spend.

How successful are these marketing services? It’s really hard to say because

most do not advertise they’re rate of successful placements. I have been told

that most colleges do NOT use these marketing services extensively. Why?

Because these services usually take on any athlete that can pay their fee,

therefore, the quality of athletes they promote is not that high.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

Before you pay the fee for any marketing service, here are a few key points

you will want to remember:

1) The better the marketing service, the more you will pay (not always,

but usually you get what you pay for)

2) Expect to pay in the thousands of dollars for a quality marketing

service

3) The more personalized their promotion of you, the better

4) Ask any potential service for their success rate in print



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5) Ask them if they have references of athletes in your particular sport

who have been placed using their service

6) Ask them for specifics on how they will market you

WHAT METHODS DO THEY USE?

If you find a marketing service that will market you in the same manner that

I have given you in this book, and you don’t have the time or motivation to

really market yourself, hiring a marketing service could be a good

investment. Otherwise, I suggest doing it yourself.

Here is a question to ponder:

Who cares as much about you having the opportunity to play at the next

level as you do?

The answer: NO ONE!

There are some good marketing services out there, but none of them will

care as much about you playing in college as you do. They may do theirvery best for you, but they will never care as much as you do about your

specific goals and dreams.



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Bonus Section 13

Scouting Services

College programs sometimes use scouting services. Most of these scouting

services serve a particular area of the country, but some are nationwide. As

with marketing services, these scouting services will cost you money.

Most of these scouting services find players by running their own camps and

tournaments. These camps are usually called exposure camps as we talked

about in an earlier chapter. Most of these services invite college coaches to

come in, and they send out evaluations to college coaches in their region or

across the country.

Some scouting services have representatives who will come out and see you

play in high school or with your traveling team. They will also meet with

you in your home. These representatives are usually called “scouts”.

Are most of these scouting services worth the money they charge? It’s hard

to say. Some do a very good job, and some just try to take your money.

Before hiring any of these services, always do your homework.

Make sure you only use a scouting service that does not take any and every

athlete. If they only take qualified athletes, they probably have a good

reputation with college coaches. If they take any athlete who can afford to

pay the fee, college coaches will probably ignore their recommendations.

Check the scouting service out online. Use the same methods I suggested

earlier for checking out Marketing Services to screen scouting services.



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Bonus Section 14

Official Visits

If a college or university is serious about recruiting you to play for them,

they will probably invite you for an official visit. What is an official visit?

An official visit is when the college invites you to their campus at their

expense.

In order for you to make an official visit, you will have to provide the

college with a copy of your official high school transcripts and yourSAT/ACT results.

As a student-athlete, you can only make five paid official visits. You can

only make one official visit per college or university. Official visits can’t

begin any earlier than the date of your first day of classes your senior year

for all sports except men’s college basketball. For men’s college basketball,

official visits may occur beginning January 1st of the prospect’s junior year

in high school.

If you get invited for an official visit, give careful consideration to attending

or not. If it’s a school you really have no interest in, then don’t waste one of

your official visits, and the school’s money on going there. Otherwise, use

the official visit as an opportunity to really see if the school is a good fit for

you.

UNOFFICIAL VISITS

Unofficial visits, or unpaid visits, can be made by a high school student-

athlete whenever you want. There are no limits to the number of visits you

can make. NCAA dead periods are the only time student athletes can’t visit

a college or university.

See the NCAA website to check on the current dead period dates.





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10) If I am injured, what happens to my scholarship?

11) Will I be allowed to work part-time?

12) What type of financial aid is available to me?

13) Are tutors provided to help student-athletes during the season?

14) Is there academic help available to student-athletes when traveling?

15) What percentage of your athletes graduate?

16) What is a typical day like here for one of your student-athletes?

17) How strong is my degree program at your school?

18) What is the average class size?

19) How many players are you looking at bringing in next year?

GET ALL THE FACTS

These are just some of the possible questions you can ask while visiting with

potential coaches. There are many others questions you could ask, and you

should take some time and develop your own. The key is…don’t be shy.

Ask the questions you want answered. You need these answers to make theright decision.

Don’t let the coach intimidate you from asking these questions. If a coach

won’t answer your questions, you probably need to look for another school

to play for. It’s your future, so get all the facts!



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Bonus Section 16

Getting Multiple Offers

If you do a good job of marketing and promoting yourself, you just may end

up getting multiple offers to play at the next level. If you end up in this

situation, it’s certainly a good problem to have!

If you end up getting multiple offers, how do you make your final choice on

which school to play for? There is no magical answer to this question. It is

a process that is a little different for everyone. Usually, the choice comes

down to what you feel in your heart. Your gut instincts about which coach,

which college, and which situation seems right for you.

WHAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER

If you are sitting on multiple offers and you can’t seem to make up your

mind, here are some things to consider before making your final choice.

1) Financial costs. School costs can vary tremendously depending on the

size and location of the school.

2) Partial vs. full scholarships offers. Remember, most scholarship

offers are not full rides.

3) Division level. Do you want to play at the higher level and sit for a

couple of years, or play at the lower level and play right away?

4) The coaching staff. What coach or coaches did I have some chemistry

with?

5) The degrees offered by the school. Which schools offer the degree

program(s) I am really interested in?



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6) Academic reputation of the school. Which school offers the most

clout in the job world. In other words, which school’s degree will

help me get a job when I graduate?

7) Location. Do I want to play as close to home as possible? Do I want

to play across the country and really be out on my own?

8) Potential to play as a freshman or sophomore. Which school (based

on their needs) will probably need me to play some meaningful

minutes as a freshman or sophomore.

9) How actively they recruited you. Some schools will recruit you for

years, while others may come in at the very last minute. Is loyalty tothe schools who have been recruiting you for a long time a factor for

you?

ASSIGN A POINT VALUE

You can even assign each of these factors a point value between one and ten

and let the total score help you make a final decision. For most of you, this

will not be necessary. Why? When it comes down to making the finalchoice, it is usually a decision you will make with your heart.

By the time you are ready to sign with someone, your heart is already telling

you where you should go. The main problem comes in when you have two

or three places where your heart says you could feel comfortable at, then you

have some really tough decisions to make.



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Bonus Section 17

Getting A Coach To Make

An Offer

When it comes time in your life to get a job or a promotion, there is one

principle you must follow:

You must put yourself in a situation where your boss or supervisor needs

you as much or more than you need the job or promotion.

When the boss needs you worse than you need him or her, you are in a

position to get the job or the salary you want!

What does all this career talk have to do with getting a spot on a college

team? I mention it because getting an offer to play at the college level works

the very same way.

You must put yourself in a situation where the coach more afraid of losing

you, than is he is of going ahead and signing you. In simpler terms, the

coach should be afraid that if he/she doesn’t go ahead and sign you, he/she

will probably regret it.

Unlike most high school coaches, college coaches must win to keep their

jobs. If they don’t win, they will get fired at some point down the line.

Some colleges and universities are more patient than others, but they all

want to win.

COACHES NEED THE BEST TALENT

How do coaches win? One of the best ways to keep winning is by getting

the best talent. Even great coaches need good talent to win. Each athlete a

coach signs, there is a specific reason why they signed that player. They

thought that by signing that player, it would help their program be more

successful.





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Bonus Section 18

Signing Day

For a high school athlete who truly loves the game they play, there is no

sweeter moment than when they actually sign the letter of intent to play at

the college level. It is the payoff for many years of hard work, going

through countless drills, sacrifice and sweat.

When you get the point of actually signing, here are a few things you want

to keep in mind:

1) Make sure you understand the terms of your scholarship. Unless you

are signing a full ride scholarship, make sure you understand exactly

what you are committing you and your family to.

2) Get with your new coach and determine when the next signing period

is and sign your scholarship offer accordingly. The signing periods

are different each year, so make sure you coordinate your signing with

your new coach. For the NCAA, there is a fall and spring signing

period.

3) When you sign your scholarship offer, you will be signing a National

Letter of Intent or NLI. Unless you are over 21 years of age, your

parents will also need to sign.

4) When you sign a NLI, you are committed to that school for a periodof one year. If you change your mind, you will have to suffer a

penalty. The penalty is usually sitting out for one year.

5) Until your junior season in high school, you will only be able to

verbally commit to a school. You can’t officially sign a NLI until

your junior season.



96

6) Get some publicity, you deserve it! Coordinate your signing with the

local press. You deserve the recognition that comes with playing

sports at the college level!

Signing with a school to play the sport you love is a treasured moment.

Enjoy this moment in your life because it’s a day you will never forget, nomatter how many years go by!



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Bonus Section 19

Foreign And International Student

Athletes

If you are a foreign or international student, you can still fulfill your dream

of playing college sports in the United States. You just have to make sure

you are academically qualified.

The key for you as a foreign student is to take the SAT or ACT. Any of the

other tests which are out there, are not acceptable if you want to play college

sports in the United States.

For more information on the requirements for foreign students, I suggest

getting on the NCAA web page that can give you the full details. Here is the

link:

http://www.ncaapublications.com/Uploads/PDF/2008_International_Standards0c81b59d-

7bfc-4c90-b963-f1f8ce8e1833.pdf

(I know it’s a long link, but it works!)

If you are currently enrolled, or previously enrolled as a full-time student at

a university in a foreign country, you will be considered a transfer student. If

that is your situation, see the NCAA guide for transfer students:

www.ncaa.org/library/general/transfer_guide/2005-06/2005-06_transfer_guide.pdf

NAIA ELIGIBILITY

Some NAIA schools are also now recruiting foreign students. All

international freshman must meet the same requirements as incoming

freshman in the United States. If your GPA and class ranking can’t be

determined, you can then be determined eligible by meeting the NAIA

institution’s admission criteria for international students. Here is the criteria

you must meet:

A minimum score of 18 on the ACT, or 860 on the SAT.



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Bonus Section 20

The Best Method: Combine An Online

And Offline Approach

The very best way to market and promote yourself to college coaches is to

combine an online and offline approach. How do you do that?

Offline: As we have described in detail in this guide, your first contact

should be with a personal letter to college coaches. This letter serves as yourintroduction to the coach, and your athletic resume is attached.

You also use the offline approach to send updates to coaches and

questionnaires back to them if they ask you to. The offline approach is very

effective.

Online: In today’s world, the power of the Internet is all around us.

Capturing some of this power to market and promote yourself to collegecoaches only makes sense!

There are several online services now that can serve as your own personal

demonstration site. You can use them to list your online resume, key

updates about you, and even pictures and video. Some of the best ones I

have found include:

•www.PrepChamps.com

• www.Pinnaclepreps.com

• www.Activerecruiting.net

MAKING THE ONLINE AND OFFLINE COMBINATION WORK

Here is how to combine the offline and online world to make your marketing

and promotion efforts easier and more effective. Send your letters and

resumes to your coaches as I have outlined in this guide. As a part of your



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cover letter, direct the coaches to your web page where you have loaded all

your updates, stats, pictures and video.

This system is very effective because it still gives the personal touch of a

letter directly to the coach, and it also gives them direct access to pictures

and videos of you in action.

This instant access to you in action allows you to get further attention from

the coach while the “iron is still hot” as they say. Hopefully your letter and

resume got their interest, now they can go directly to your web page and see

you in action. It can truly be the best of both worlds!



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Final Summary – Make It Happen

Some people say knowledge is power, but I disagree. The truth is that

knowledge does not have any power, until you put it to use. What good is

knowledge, if it isn’t used? Knowledge is only potential power. Knowledge

put to use is where the true power is.

You now know everything I know about the college recruiting process. You

now have the knowledge. You now have to put your new knowledge to use.

I have seen so many athletes, in so many different sports, who could have

played the sport they loved at the college level, if only they would have

marketed and promoted themselves to college coaches.

These athletes assumed that because no coaches were knocking at their door,

they were not good enough to play at the college level. What a shame!

Not everyone has the ability to play in college. You certainly have to be

among the best of the high school athletes you compete against. However,

there are many athletes that feel because they can’t play at the Division Ilevel, assume they can’t play anywhere. Many Division II, Division III,

NAIA, NCCAA or junior colleges are out there that would have loved to

have taken a look at them.

GET OUT AND TALK TO PEOPLE

Talk to coaches, talk to athletes who already play the sport you love in

college, go to college games at all levels and see how you measure up. One

of the keys of playing at the next level is to make sure you market yourself

to the right colleges. If you are a Division III level athlete based on yoursize and skills, marketing yourself to Division I schools only is only going to

waste your time and make you frustrated.

I coached a kid in AAU basketball who was a terrific player. He was often

the backbone of our team along with my son. Early on he made up his mind

that he was going to play Division I basketball, or not play at all. Guess

what, he got no offers to play at the Division I level. He could have easily



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played Division II or Division III college basketball, but he would not even

consider it. I think he will regret his decision as the years go by.

MAKE IT HAPPEN

It’s an old cliché, but it’s very true, only you can control your future. If you

have the ability to play at the college level, only you can make sure it

happens. Don’t leave it up to your coaches, your parents, or even friends

who already play at that level. You must take control of your marketing and

promotion efforts to college coaches.

Will you play the sport you love at the college level? It is a question that

only you can answer.

I wish you all the best! Keep chasing your dreams!



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Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most common questions concerning recruiting and

scholarships.

Q: Will participating in multiple sports help or hinder me in getting an

athletic scholarship?

A: Honestly, each coach seems to view this question a little differently.

Some coaches like to see that you are a versatile athlete and you are using

other sports to help you build your strength, conditioning, and mentaltoughness. Other coaches like to see their athletes specialize in one sport

and essentially work at getting better all year.

Obviously, if you are an accomplished athlete in more than one sport, it

helps to show your overall athletic ability is higher than most of the high

school athletes you are competing against. The odds of playing more than

one sport at the college level are extremely small.

Q: What are my options if I am academically ineligible to play at a four-

year college?

One of the best options is to attend a junior college and take the opportunity

to work on your grades. After improving your grades, you can then transfer

to a four-year school. If you take this route, it will most likely take you two

years at junior college to get your academics in order so that you can play at

a four-year institution.

Another option, although not used as often, is to go ahead and attend the

four-year school without accepting a scholarship, and work on your gradeswhile you are there in order to attempt to play the next season.

The NCAA also has rules that apply to you if you meet certain academic

requirements but not all of the necessary criteria. The players that fall into

this criteria are known as partial qualifiers. A partial qualifier has satisfied

the core GPA requirements but not passed the ACT/SAT or vice versa.

Partial qualifiers can receive scholarships but not allowed to compete in

games.



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Q: What are the primary differences between Division I, II, III, NAIA and

other athletes?

A: The primary difference in these athletes are their size, strength and

athleticism. Kids who end up playing at the upper levels of their sport, have

great size, strength, and explosive athleticism. As you go down the ranks to

Division II, III, NAIA, NCCAA and others, the athletes get a little smaller

and a have a little less explosiveness. Some lower level players are very

athletic, but they may be lacking in some of the fundamentals or skills of

their sport.

One of the very best shooting guards I have ever seen play basketball endedup playing at the Division II level. Why? Because he was only 5’11” tall.

If he had the same skill set and he was 6’4” or 6’5” tall, he would have

played at a Division I school. No questions asked.

Q: The school I want to play for seems to have a pretty full roster, what

should I do?

A: Never assume anything. Just because the roster appears to be full now,

don’t give up on playing there. Some kids may transfer, some kids mayhave their scholarships taken away, and the coach just may want you bad

enough to put you on his team as a linebacker, even though he already has

many kids already playing that same position. Don’t assume just because

the roster appears to be full, there is no room for you.

Q: Should I sign during the early signing period?

A: This is clearly a choice that is up to you. If a school you want to play for

has offered you a scholarship and you are certain that is where you want to

play, I suggest going ahead and signing during the early signing period.

This can take some of the pressure off of you during your senior season. It

also gives you a scholarship spot even if your senior season is not all that

you hoped it would be.

The only downside is that a better offer may come along if you waited. If

you are not 100% certain of where you want to play in college, don’t sign

during the early signing period and see how many offers you get before

making a final decision.





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A: You will have coaches contacting you both ways. Some will make direct

contact with you, while others will go through your coach. It really comesdown to the preference of the coach who is recruiting you.

Q: What kind of grades do I need to get recruited to play in college?

A: When it comes to grades, the better they are, the better off you are! If

the coach can’t get you into his or her school, he won’t recruit you! If he or

she isn’t sure you can stay academically eligible to play, they may pass you

up and go for the next player on their radar screen. Remember, scholarships

and roster spots are very competitive at all levels of college play. Your

grades can make or break your efforts to play at the next level.

You can go to:

http://www.ncaa.org

http://www.naia.cstv.com/

http://www.thenccaa.org

http://www.njcaa.org

to check on the latest academic qualifications to play at the college level.

Q: I’m a rising senior, is it too late to get started now?

A: No. It’s not too late as a rising senior to get started. It is certainly better

to get started earlier in your high school career, but you can still pursue an

opportunity to play in college even if you are a rising senior. Many schools,

especially smaller schools, don’t sign kids until they are seniors.

Coaches still have roster spots available many times as the season is coming

up. You just could fill a void that the coach has been looking to fill.

Sometimes coaches recruit several players for the same position, and all

their recruits end up signing with other schools. This leaves a void they

must fill quickly.



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Q: Should I send updates to all the schools on my list, or just the ones who

have responded to my letters?

A: Until you sign with a particular school, I suggest staying in contact with

all the schools you are interested in playing for. However, you do want to

make sure you stay in close contact with those who have shown interest in

you. I suggest following up with these schools first, and then sending

updates to all the other schools you still have an interest in. Sometimes

schools will not show interest until late in the process, so don’t give up hope

of playing at a school that is on your list of preferred schools.

Q: My team was very bad last year, should I even bother trying to get an

offer to play in college?

A: Yes. Just because you were on a bad team it does not mean you don’t

have the ability to play at the next level. College coaches realize that

sometimes very good players get stuck on bad teams. When you are on a

bad team, it just means you will probably have to market and promote

yourself a littler harder to get noticed. Athletes who play on state playoff

and championship teams, sometimes get noticed just by being in the right

place at the right time. If your team is bad, you have to really sell yourself

and what you can do.

Q: I graduate next month, and I still want to play at the college level. What

should I do?

The best route is to probably attend a junior college that has your sport and

talk to the coach about playing there. After playing at the junior college

level, you can start promoting yourself to four-year schools. A junior

college coach who will help you in this process is critical because most

colleges just won’t consider junior college transfers unless they can step in

and help the team immediately.

Q: Should I have my coach write a letter of recommendation?

A: Absolutely. If your high school coach is willing to write you a letter of

recommendation, that is a tremendous plus for you. If they volunteer to do

this, take them up on their offer immediately. If they don’t volunteer, just

ask them. Most coaches won’t volunteer, but they will try to help out when



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they are asked. Just don’t expect most coaches to do the marketing and

promotion for you…do it YOURSELF!

Q: I’m only a freshman, is it too early to start the process?

Go ahead and start the process by tracking all you stats, awards, and

achievements as a freshman. However, I would not start sending your cover

letter and resume to college coaches until the late summer/early fall of your

sophomore year. Most coaches (especially smaller schools), will not start

considering you a serious prospect until your sophomore season.

Of course, if you are setting the world on fire as a freshman (such as playing

varsity and being the MVP of your team), I do recommend going ahead andgetting started with your marketing and promotion efforts.

Q: I am a standout in more than one sport, should I pursue a scholarship in

all the sports I play?

A: I have to be honest, it’s really difficult to be a serious college prospect at

multiple sports. However, if you are really that good at more than one sport,

then it can’t hurt to try and get recruited in all those sports. You will just

have to do many more letters to coaches than if you played only one sport.If you have your mind set on playing multiple sports in college, your

chances are probably better at a smaller college (Division II or III).

Q: Will camps and showcases really help me? I have been told they are a

great way to get recruited.

A: When it comes to camps and showcase events…choose wisely!

Unfortunately, many of these events seem to be more about putting money

into the organizers pockets than really helping kids fulfill their dream of

playing at the college level.

Do everything you can to check out the reputation of the event organizer(s)

and find out how many colleges will be represented. Talk to coaches you

respect and find out what they know about the camp or showcase event. Go

online and research the organizers as best you can.

Camps and showcases are not cheap, so you want to make sure the money

you pay is getting you the type of exposure you really want.



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Q: I don’t live in the United States, can I still play sports in American

colleges?

A: Yes. However, living outside the United States is going to make it more

difficult for you to get the attention of college coaches. It’s especially

important for you to market and promote yourself to college coaches, or else

they will most likely never know anything about you.

Q: When can I contact coaches?

A: You are free to contact college coaches at any time. There are no

restrictions on contacts initiated by you as the student-athlete.

Q: How many times can I contact a coach?

A: There are no limits on how many times you may contact a college coach.

It is entirely up to you. Remember, you want to stay in contact but don’t

become a pest by contacting the coach too often.

Q: When can a coach contact me?

A: Up until a prospects junior year in high school, coaches can only send a

general information package about the school to the prospect. Once you

become a high school junior, college coaches can start sending you

recruiting materials about their program.

Q: Can I try out for a Division I scholarship spot?

A: Absolutely not! Try outs are not allowed at the Division I level.

Q: What is the NCAA “dead period” all about?

A: These are periods of time when college coaches are not allowed to make

in person contact with prospects or have official visits. Just go the NCAA

website to check the calendar for the current dead periods.

Q: Can I accept free t-shirts, hats, posters, etc?



A: Absolutely not! Do not accept any free gifts, or you have violated

recruitment rules and you could pay the price by losing some or all of your

eligibility to play.

Q: What is the NCAA evaluation period?

A: This is the period of time when it is permissible for authorized athletics

department personnel to be involved in off campus activities to access

playing abilities and academic qualifications.

Q: What is the difference between an official visit and just visiting a school.

A: If the school invites you and they are paying for your visit there, it isconsidered an official visit. If you are paying for the visit, it is not an

official visit. You are just visiting the school on your own.

Q: How many official visits can I make?

A: During your senior year, you can make up to five official visits at the

expense of the college you are visiting. You can only make one official visit

to each school.

Q: How many visits can I make on my own (at my own expesnse)?

A: If it is at your expense, you can make as many visits as you like!

Documents

How to Get Recruited for Athletic Scholarships