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 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 Ron Johnston on Sun, Sep 27, 2009 @ 07:47 PM
You can get a rare peek at D-I football recruiting from an article in Boulder's Daily Camera. CU-Boulder's head coach Dan Hawkins revealed that he's playing this 2009 season with only 78 scholarship players - but not because he chose to. Nine of last year's scholarship players - plus a handful of walk-ons - didn't return this season.
His coaching staff is working hard to recruit up to the full NCAA limit of 85 scholarship players for next season, and Hawkins hopes his program is fully-loaded by February's signing day.
Posted by Ron Johnston on Mon, Sep 21, 2009 @ 05:03 PM
Today's opinion piece on athletic scholarships in the Winston-Salem Journal pointed out that that North Carolina taxpayers are subsidizing tuition of out-of-state athlete students.
How? By categorizing them as in-state students if they're on full-ride athletic scholarships. It's been so since 2005, when state senate leaders slipped this provision into the budget.
Foundations paying for athletic scholarships are pleased to save the extra tuition - saying it increases the number of scholarships they can fund.
Other critics don't like it, calling it a "pilferage of state taxpayers."
What do you think?
See the entire article.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Fri, Aug 28, 2009 @ 05:18 PM
I was talking with the academic liaison at a D1 university two days ago, and the thing he almost jumped out of his seat about was the importance to a college coach of each prospect's grades and SAT scores.
When I agreed wholeheartedly and referred to the NCAA minimum requirements, Ken leaned forward and set me straight. He said that those requirements mean nothing to most schools, because the admission requirements are much higher than the NCAA minimums.
Coaches don't look at whether an athlete meets the minimum standards. He looks at whether the student-athlete can get into his school.
Yes, a coach can get some athletes in, even if the admission requirements are not met, but he can only do it a certain number of times. When he uses up his allotment, that's it.
Now here is the most important statement Ken made to me:
"When a prospect can get into the college or university based on his or her academic record, then it's a free pass for the coach."
That's one big reason why your grades and academic performance are critical. You may be a talented athlete, but passed over because you can't make the grade for that school. Do your best to be a "free pass" for the colleges and universities where you hope to get a scholarship. Your academics can give you an advantage over other prospects with the same or even better athletic ability.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 @ 11:44 AM
The phone rings and it is one of those moments you've been hoping for. It's a college coach! Whether it's your first call or 50th, it still makes you nervous (no matter whether you're the student-athlete or the parent).
What do I say? Am I going to give him or her the wrong answers? Can I ask for a scholarship on the phone? What school is this (I didn't quite hear him at first)? Was that question stupid? What do I call the coach? Mr. Paterno? Coach Paterno? Joe? Sir?
Now, those thoughts are not too far off, right? You keep thinking, "I don't want to blow this call." And that's ok, but don't get too uptight about it. Here are some tips for what to do and say when the coach calls:
- Relax a little. Take a deep breath. This isn't a one-shot opportunity.
- Have your answers prepared in advance. In other words, think through the most likely questions the coach will ask you, and write down some bullet points for your answers.
- Have your questions prepared in advance. This isn't a one-way conversation. Find out as much as you can about the program, school, academics, etc.
- Be yourself.
- Don't be intimidated. That's not easy, especially in the early stages.
- Be direct with the tough issues. It's hard to talk about money and scholarships with the coach, but after several calls and sincere interest on their part, the financial element needs to be addressed.
These are just a few guidelines as you take the phone calls from college coaches. In most cases, you never know when they are going to when they are going to call or who it will be, so be prepared.
The Recruit-Me Kit has a complete section that deals with how to interview a coach, but what we've shared here is good for starters.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Wed, Aug 12, 2009 @ 08:54 PM
As promised, here is the new video on the recruiting timetable.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 @ 04:46 PM
Ken Krause, of DiscussFastpitch.com reports in his blog that "the National Federation, the governing body of high school softball, just voted to increase the pitching from 40' to 43' for varsity players beginning with the 2010-2011 season.
"The rationale is to increase the amount of offense in the game. The feeling is the extra three feet will help batters hit the ball more, which will get the defense more involved (instead of watching pitchers rack up 15 strikeouts per game) and make the game more exciting for the fans.
"All of that is probably true for the better teams. But I wonder what it will do to the lesser teams -- the ones whose pitchers are already struggling. It might also be a problem for those pitchers who bounce between JV and varsity during the season. Any who rely on movement rather than speed may find it difficult to stay on top of their game."
Ken is encouraging your response. What do you think? Is it best for the game or not? Go to his blog and weigh in.
Posted by Ron Johnston on Mon, Feb 09, 2009 @ 05:24 PM
This year, as every year, there was lots of hoopla around National Signing Day - the first day an athlete can sign his or her National Letter of Intent. It fell on February 4 this year for football and five other sports, and there was an amazing amount of hype.
In fact, many colleges even scheduled press conferences to announce who they'd added to next year's roster. With all this press coverage, you'd have thought it was the NFL draft, not high school athletes committing to play at the college level.
One funny, but not-so-funny National Signing Day story. Kevin Hart, a small-town high school football player, called a school assembly/press conference to announce his choice of colleges and athletic scholarships. He showed an Oregon Ducks cap and a Cal Bears cap, and with much drama, finally put on a Cal Bears cap to indicate his choice. The whole school was so proud that one of their own had been recruited to a major D-I college.
Turns out it was all a fraud. He'd not been recruited by ANY college, and had just made it all up. Sad, because, though he may not have been D-I material, he was probably good enough to get legitimately recruited if he'd done the right things to get coaches looking at him and keep them interested. But that's another story; he's cooked his own goose now.
So what exactly is a National Letter of Intent?
It's every prospective student-athlete's dream - a letter they sign committing to play their sport for a year at a specific NCAA institution in exchange for an athletic scholarship and/or financial aid.
By signing, they take themselves off the market and all other coaches must then cease recruiting them. Since 610 of 622 NCAA D-I and D-II institutions participate in the National Letter of Intent, that pretty much covers all the schools that offer athletic scholarships. You can see more details on the National Letter of Intent and National Signing Day dates here.