Posted by Jon Fugler on Sun, Feb 28, 2010 @ 07:15 PM
I just received an email with this question: "Do you think it's too early for us to be contacting the coaches, because he is a junior?
I went into a panic! I quickly wrote back to this father, "NOW IS THE PRIME YEAR. Do not wait any longer."
Please, please, please don't start the process too late. There is something you can do every year in high school.
We're just six days away from the groundbreaking Recruiting and Scholarship Camp Online. You'll be part of history when you enroll. Check out the details and I hope to see you there on Saturday.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Tue, Feb 16, 2010 @ 11:01 PM
If I had a dollar for every time we get asked about how to get on a college coach's radar, I'd be rich! The issue keeps coming up, and we address it over and over again.
We just posted a video clip where Ron Johnston share his thoughts on the subject. Be sure to take a look.
And, check out my new video tip on how two
important steps you need to take in the recruiting process. We shot it at our kitchen table, where our sons took phone calls and answered letters from college coaches a decade ago.
A reminder-- the Recruiting and Scholarship Camp is less than three weeks away. It's March 6, so see the details and sign up.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Tue, Feb 09, 2010 @ 04:28 PM
For the first time, athletes and parents can get all the information
they need on athletic scholarships in a live, online video setting. On March 6, we will be leading a 4-hour Recruiting and Scholarship Camp, sharing everything we've taught athletes and parents in the past 7 years.
Nobody has ever done this before!
This is a 4-hour LIVE, interactive VIDEOCAST event with our scholarship coaches, Jon Fugler and Ron Johnston. Attending this FOUR-HOUR CAMP -- from the comfort of your own home -- will supercharge your efforts to get the attention of coaches and win an athletic scholarship.
What you learn in the Camp will give you rails to run on, the certainty of a proven plan to recruitment, and the confidence that you are doing exactly the right things to get recruited.
At the RECRUITING AND SCHOLARSHIP CAMP, we will give you all the information and training you'll need to carry out your own recruiting efforts completely and successfully. You will learn WHAT to do, WHEN to do it, HOW to do it, and WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE when it's done right.
You'll be equipped to run your own scholarship campaign like a PRO.
See all the details and get signed up to join hundreds of families for this special event.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Mon, Feb 08, 2010 @ 10:05 PM
Who is this Drew Brees guy anyway? What is the Super Bowl MVP made of, besides an incredible arm and amazing accuracy? I did some surfing and, in the process, found a great locker room interview with Drew, shot earlier this season and just released last month.
I was impressed. He's a family man, has a strong faith, is transparent about his ups and downs, is generous to the community, and so much more. You have to see this 10-minute video on YouTube.
We talk about athletic ability when is comes to scholarships. But character counts. Drew's got a lot of character to go with his talent. He's a guy student-athletes should model themselves after.
Enjoy the video.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Sat, Feb 06, 2010 @ 08:12 PM
I was so happy when I read this article in my local paper today. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo just signed a football player to a scholarship, and this player didn't begin playing in high school until his sophomore year.
All the talk about being serious about your sport for years and years doesn't always lead to a scholarship. And, picking up a sport late may still result in a scholarship. Athletes develop at different times, so keep your dream in sight.
Read the article in full.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Thu, Feb 04, 2010 @ 10:40 AM
Once again, National Signing Day hit like a hurricane yesterday. Here are some of the sites worth visiting that give you the lay of the land for football:
Huffington Post Blog
ESPNU 150 (Top 150 Football)
Sporting News
Posted by Jon Fugler on Mon, Feb 01, 2010 @ 08:07 PM
This could be the biggest thing we've ever done for families at Recruit-Me. For the past eight years, we've been developing the best tools on earth for families who want to pursue an athletic scholarship on their own. We've taken the guesswork out of the process, and more and more student-athletes are getting scholarships.
Now we will be teaching everything live in a half-day recruiting and scholarship camp. We'll tell you everything you know in this live online videocast that you can attend right from your home. It is a groundbreaking event, and will also include Q&A with attendees.
Check back, because in a couple days we will be giving you all the details and taking sign-ups.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Tue, Jan 19, 2010 @ 01:34 PM
It's a competitive world out there for athletic scholarships, but don't lose heart. In this day of instant gratification, the scholarship pursuit does not fit that way of thinking. It can take months, even years, before you get to the finish line, depending on your year in high school.
Bear in mind that while you are keeping your pursuit going, there are thousands of athletes that are dropping off every day. They just don't have the endurance to stay with it. From that angle, your competition is decreasing. On the other end of the spectrum, though, are student-athletes who are just starting the process.
Here's an encouraging story from Christian "Bubba" Luna, who just signed to play football with the University of Hawaii. His hometown paper in Southern California, the Valley News, wrote a feature on him:
"I always dreamed of getting a scholarship and it came through," he said in a recent interview. "All the hard work paid off."
Receiving a scholarship was a godsend, said the teen's parents. His mother, Lourdes, works as a mortgage loan processor. Her husband, Ray, works as a sales representative for Behr paints. Bubba, who got his nickname as a child, is the second oldest of the couple's five children. Ray is known in the family as "big Bubba."
"When that (scholarship) call came through, it felt like a big relief," Lourdes Luna recalled. "I'm in the lending business, and things aren't too hot right now."
Read the entire articleand see how Bubba stayed with it and worked hard to get the scholarship.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Tue, Jan 05, 2010 @ 01:21 PM
Sand volleyball, equestrian and rugby have taken center stage as emerging sports for women at the D1 and D2 levels. (Rugby at D3, as well).
"The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics is charged with identifying and managing progress of emerging sports for women," stated the NCAA in a news release yesterday. "An emerging sport is a women's sport recognized by the NCAA that is intended to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women, more sport-sponsorship options for institutions and help that sport achieve NCAA championship status.
"NCAA bylaws require that emerging sports must reach 40 varsity programs to gain NCAA championship status. Once a sport is added to the list, it has 10 years to show steady progress toward the goal of reaching championship status to remain on the list."
Learn more about current NCAA Emerging Sports for Women in these videos:
Equestrian
Rugby
Sand Volleyball
Posted by Jon Fugler on Sat, Dec 26, 2009 @ 01:21 PM
The free report The First Five Things You Need to Know About Athletic Scholarships is a great starter for people new to this, and a good refresher for those who have been at it a while.
We've pulled one of those five things for you to digest:
#3: The Importance of the Right Fit
There's no shortage of school choices when it comes to seeking the place you want to compete. In fact, the whole process can be overwhelming.
How many players do you hear about that transfer after one or two years because the program wasn't what they had expected? It happens all the time, and one of the reasons is that your emotions can rule your decision, rather than thinking objectively.
I remember one high school athlete who achieved his lifelong dream, and that was to get an athletic scholarship at a particular well-known, top school in the nation. He transferred out after a year, because there was a cancer on that team that he had been blinded from seeing when he was looking at the program.
Although you are looking for a good athletic scholarship, don't let it rule your decision, if at all possible. There are a lot of other factors when choosing a college and athletic program. The decision you make is one you'll have to live with for a long time.
So how can you end up where at the school that is the right fit for you?
We've come up with a tool that we call the "Report Card." You better believe that coaches are keeping a "report card" on you, so why not keep a report card on them? That way, if you've got a list of 20-25 schools that you're considering, you can narrow down the choice as you go along.
What is this "report card?" Simply put, you're grading each school on various categories. In the report card that we've developed at Recruit-Me, you have an organized approach to grading each of the schools you're looking at. As a result, the final choice will be a lot easier to make.
There are so many things to look at when you're choosing a place to compete. Believe me, it does not really come down to how much of a scholarship they are offering you. For instance, a school that costs $20,000 (tuition and room and board) could offer you a $10,000 scholarship, but a school that costs $12,000 would likely be a better financial choice if they offered you a tuition-only scholarship.
We highly advise high school athletes to keep their options open as long as they can. Get to know the coaches and programs through phone calls and talking with players on the team, visit schools high on your list, and don't get wrapped up in the "recruiting glitz" that might not represent reality at that school. The longer you look, usually the more objective you will be.
So put together your "report card" and compare schools and programs that way. The Recruit-Me Kit has a refined report card, so be sure to look at it and use it.
The most important thing is to find the best school and program for you. Find the best fit.