the next leveldeciding | marketing | recruiting | selecting

decidingmaking a decision to pursue college athletics

Important Starters

1. Sit down with your student-athlete and understand what their goals are for athletics• Play in college• Make the varsity team• Be a starter• Meet new people or try experience a new sport• Others?

Important Starters

2. Discover what it takes to REALLY achieve that goal• Very few athletes will play in college, even fewer will receive

a scholarship, are you willing to research and do what it takes to achieve this goal, and committed to achieve it

• Set smaller more goals along the way—achieving certain times, becoming a starter, beginning an off-season weight routine, etc.

• Understand that the classroom is just as important to achieving success in athletics as athletic ability and talent• Work with a guidance counselor to ensure you’re college ready• Understand the academic requirements of the schools you’re

interested in

Athletic Goals

• Define your goal early—you can always re-evaluate• Potential goals include, but are not limited to:• Making the varsity team• Become a starter• Voted all-state• Play in college• Receive a scholarship• Don’t forget to set an academic goal too

• You must communicate that goal with your coach, school, family, and friends• They are essential in helping you achieve your goal and

holding you accountable

Playing in College

• Research what type of institution you are interested in• Research what kind of education you want• Is an athletic scholarship essential• There are numerous options• Division 1 NCAA – Can offer athletic scholarships• Division 2 NCAA – Can offer athletic scholarships• Division 3 NCAA – Cannot offer athletic scholarships• NAIA – Can offer athletic scholarships• NCCAA – Cannot offer athletic scholarships

marketingbeing noticed

Get Noticed

• Be the best• Understand opportunities that will help you get noticed• Club or travel team opportunities• School team• Recruiting service• e-mailing coaches• Film/youtube clips

• Find a school that fits you (academics, alumni, atmosphere, athletics)

• Understand that nobody can do this for you, you must do it yourself

Communication

• In addition to being good, marketing yourself is integral • Fill out a recruiting profile for a college/sport you want to play• e-mail the coach to express your interest in the school and desire

to play. Let them know how to contact you/find out more info• Make it easy to be evaluated—provide a link to a youtube video• Be “recruitable”• If you send an e-mail, check your email often (fname.lname@

gmail.com)• Communicate how you want to be contacted: e-mail, text, phone, etc.• Communicate how/where they can see you play—are you playing

close by? Is there film you’re going to upload soon?• Attend camps/clinics offered by the college/other colleges• Schedule a visit to campus and a meeting with the coaches• Apply

recruitingunderstanding and navigating the recruiting process

Division 1 NCAA

• Timeline• Depending on what sport you’re playing, many top D1 scholarships

have already been allocated to student-athletes by the time they are finished with their junior year in high school

• You should start reaching out to coaches in your 8th/9th grade seasons with highlight film and filling out recruiting profiles (which can be found on many websites)

• Depending on your sport, many recruits are discovered during summer travel teams

• While it isn’t impossible to be offered a scholarship in your senior season, it is very unlikely if a student-athlete hasn’t communicated with several coaches and marketed themselves extensively

D1 Regulations

• Cannot talk with a student-athlete not on their college campus until the athlete is a senior in high school and only AFTER the athletic contest

• Cannot initiate a phone call until the athlete is a senior in high school—however, if you call them and they are available, they can talk with you—they cannot, however, return your message (basketball is permitted 1 call per month during sophomore year, football has a certain time frame during junior year)

• E-mails sent to coaches may not be responded to. However, information about camps or a recruiting form are allowed. They can view your highlight film.

• Student athletes can visit the campus at any age, where they can talk with a coach while on campus, however, they cannot have their expenses paid for them by the college until they are a senior in high school.

• Athletes looking for NCAA D1 scholarship should register with the NCAA Clearinghouse at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net

• Be aware of how many scholarships each sport can award. Outside of Basketball and Football, very few sports award “full ride” scholarships.

D1 Scholarships*

Sport Men’s Women’s

Baseball/Softball 11.7 12

Basketball 13 15

Track & Field 12.6 18

Football 85 0

Golf 4.5 6

Gymnastics 6.3 12

Field Hockey 0 12

Ice Hockey 18 18

Lacrosse 12.6 12

Rowing 0 20

Sport Men’s Women’s

Skiing 6.3 6.3

Soccer 9 9.9

Squash 9 7.2

Swimming/Diving

0 9

Synchronized Swimming

0 9

Tennis 4.5 6

Volleyball 4.5 8

Water Polo 4.5 8

Wrestling 9 0

*This does not mean that schools have fully funded programs and offer the full amount.

Division 2 NCAA

• Timeline• Depending on what sport you’re playing, many D2 scholarships

have already been allocated to student-athletes by the time they are finished with their junior year in high school/early senior year

• You should start reaching out to coaches in your 9th/10th grade seasons with highlight film and filling out recruiting profiles (which can be found on many websites)

• Depending on your sport, many recruits are discovered during summer travel teams

• While it isn’t impossible to be offered a scholarship in your senior season, it is very unlikely if a student-athlete hasn’t communicated with several coaches and marketed themselves extensively

D2 Regulations

• Similar recruiting policies to NCAA D1• Offer fewer scholarships than D1 programs• Athletes looking for NCAA D2 scholarship should

register with the NCAA Clearinghouse at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net

D2 Scholarships*

Sport Men’s Women’s

Baseball/Softball 9 7.2

Badminton 0 10

Basketball 10 10

Bowling 0 5

Track & Field 12.69 12.69

Football 36 0

Golf 3.6 5.4

Gymnastics 5.4 6

Field Hockey 0 6.3

Ice Hockey 13.5 18

Lacrosse 10.8 9.9

Sport Men’s Women’s

Rowing 0 20

Skiing 6.3 6.3

Soccer 9 9.9

Squash 9 7.2

Swimming/Diving 0 9

Synchronized Swimming

0 5

Tennis 4.5 6

Volleyball 4.5 8

Water Polo 4.5 8

Wrestling 9 0

*This does not mean that schools have fully funded programs and offer the full amount.

Division 3 NCAA

• Timeline• You can begin reaching out to coaches early in high school—

athletes typically commit during their junior/senior season• Coaches will then dictate the conversation/timeline from there

• Because there are no athletic scholarships, there is no letter of intent (LOI) and students commit later

• Depending on your sport, many recruits are discovered during summer travel teams• However, all coaches will watch film/highlights if you are proactive

• Typically, coaches will start recruiting during junior year with some dipping into sophomore year

D3 Regulations

• Cannot offer athletic scholarships, but typically offer a higher financial aid package to students because of their smaller size—sometimes more than what a D1 scholarship or D2 scholarship award would be

• Can contact and recruit athletes after taking their first class of high school• There are no “letters of intent” because they are not providing you with

any athletic scholarship—however, athletes will still “commit”• While D3 schools can reach out to you as a freshman, the timeframe of

when schools recruit depends on coaches as individuals. Some wait until athletes are in their junior/senior year and are a little closer to their decision. Others want to stay in touch for a longer period of time

• Tend to have the best athletic/academic balance as these schools have a “academics first” philosophy—which is why the do not offer athletic scholarships. This means that practices are likely to be in a 2-3 hour time frame with some additional lifting requirements and coaches are more understanding with class schedules/labs/etc.

NAIA Colleges

• Timeline• Most sports are committing scholarships during a student-athletes

junior or senior season• You should start reaching out to coaches in your 9th/10th grade

seasons with highlight film and filling out recruiting profiles (which can be found on many websites)

• Depending on your sport, many recruits are discovered during summer travel teams

• It is very unlikely a student-athlete will be offered a scholarship if they haven’t communicated with several coaches and marketed themselves extensively

NAIA Colleges

• Basically no rules of contact once a student-athlete becomes a high school student

• They are allowed one “official” paid visit• Register with the NAIA Clearinghouse at

http://www.athleticscholarships.net/naia-clearinghouse.htm

NAIA Scholarships*

Sport Men’s Women

Baseball/Softball 12 10

Badminton 0 10

Basketball D1 – 11, D2 – 6 D1 – 11, D2 – 6

Cross Country 5 5

Track & Field 12 12

Football 24 0

Golf 5 5

Soccer 12 12

Swimming & Diving 8 8

Tennis 5 5

Wrestling 8 0

Volleyball 0 8

*This does not mean that schools have fully funded programs and offer the full amount.

NJCAA

• The National Junior College Athletic Association does offer full and partial scholarships to student-athletes who are looking to pursue a two-year associates degree or are looking to continue their playing career and transfer to a four-year institution

selectingnarrowing down your search and selecting the best school for you

Internal Follow Up

• Communicate with your coaches and your parents your intent to play collegiate sports early

• Understand and learn what it takes to compete at the level you are interested in playing

• Choose your college of choice based on where you want to attend school if you weren’t playing sports• Would you stay if you became injured? • Is the education you’ll receive beneficial in obtaining a job after

graduation?• Could you afford this school if you lost your scholarship?

External Follow Up

• Narrow down your list/what to do during a college visit• Visit 3-4 institutions, get a feel for what they offer academically and socially• Meet with the coaching staff and decide if you’d like spending time with

these coaches, do you like their approach to coaching• Meet and spend time with the current team• Attend a practice, stay overnight or spend a weekend—do you see yourself

hanging out with these people

• Remember, you are always being watched during a college visit—the visit is just as much for you to decide if you like the college as it is for the coaches to decide if they like you

• Commit• Communicate your decision with those recruiting you• Your new coach will want to know • Other coaches will want to stop contacting you