Getting Recruited
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IMPORTANT NCAA Recruiting Rules and Guidelines for All Recruits. Freshman and Sophomore year of High School Coaches may: Coaches may NOT: Unofficial Visits if athlete initiates the call. Coaches may not call or write athlete to offer tickets. September 1st of your Junior Year clippings, media guides, schedule cards, and official university academic and admissions publications) July 1st after your Junior Year unlimited phone calls that are initiated by prospects at any time) of your junior year. Any face-to-face meeting between a college coach and you or your parents, during which any of you say more than "hello" is considered a contact. Senior Year These visits can occur no earlier than your first day of classes of your senior year. school transcript before this visit can take place
At a tournament, if a coach does not talk to you, it's not because he is being rude. The NCAA has specific rules about recruiting which limits communication at tournaments. At tournaments, coaches are not allowed to have any personal contact with student-athletes. It is, however, permissible to say "hello" in passing. Anything more than "hello" is considered a contact. A conversation, other than a simple greeting, with a parent or guardian at a tournament site, is considered a contact. A coach may sit down with a parent or guardian at a competition site. This will count towards one of the three in-person off-campus recruiting contacts a coach is allowed. |
IS A RECRUITNG SERVICE FOR YOU? PIAA SAYS BE AWARE!
First and most important: DO NOT PAY FOR RECRUITING SERVICES. There is absolutely nothing, I repeat NOTHING that a recruiting service can do for you that you can not do for yourself.
Recruiting services will tell you they can:
1. Post your profile on their website.
PIAA Says: You can do that yourself on your own or on PIAA website
2. They will give you a free data base of colleges & coaches around the
country to e-mail your profile to. Sound good?
PIAA Says: You can find this information free on the PIAA website,
on the NCAA website, on the NAIA website or go directly
to any college athletic website, click on their
athletic staff directory and get the e-mail (and phone) and e-mail
your profile to all the coaches you like for free.
3. They will edit tape and mail it to 10 schools of your choice.
PIAA Says: Edit your tape at home,school or have one of our local companies (see Video Editing Services link) do it for a minimal cost.
Mailing the tape is a minimal charge and you can mail it to as many
colleges as you like yourself.
4. Their fees of $1000, $1400 or even $2400 is an investment in your future.
PIAA Says: Put the money in an account for college, airfare or a family vacation. These fees are lining the pockets of the recruiting agencies
with your hard earned money.
Be very leary of anyone with any organization who promises they will "represent" you and/or find you an athletic scholarship!
No one can promise you a scholarship except a college coach! No one!
Ask any college coach if they use recruiting agencies and their answers
will be a firm NO!
Freshman & Sophomores
- Concentrate on your grades.
- Speak to college counselor. Let the counselor know you want to play college sports. Plan out your annual class schedule, being sure to take all required NCAA core courses
- Sophomores: Take PSAT
- Do not worry about keeping stats or video during freshman and sophomore school year unless you are starting on the varsity team.
- Start keeping video if you play summer club sports after sophomore year.
Juniors
- Take SAT's early. Do not wait until your senior year. If you do, you will find it was a huge mistake on your part! Take your first SAT in the spring of your junior year. Your goal should be completing all SAT/ACT testing prior to January of your senior year. If you play fall sports, you should consider taking the SAT in January, March and June of your junior year.
- Keep stats! Do not assume anyone else is keeping them for you. It is your responsibility
- Video. This is your responsibility. Your junior season tape will get you noticed and on a coaches radar.
- Girls Basketball: your junior season must be the best. Your competition is from mainland teams with fall seasons, they will have senior tape when you will only have junior tape to show.
- Keep grades up. Do not slack during the season.
- Keep track of any academic or athletic awards, no matter how big or how small
- Start contacting coaches beginning of your junior year by e-mail. Send 50 emails to college coaches at all levels. This will give you more opportunity and will get your name out to the college you want to consider. Do not just send to colleges you are 'comfortable' with - send a few to colleges you just may like the area of the country - you have to spread your wings because you never know who will or will not offer you. If the schools you want to go to do not offer you, you need to have a back up option.
- e-mail should be directed to the recruiting coordinator for Hawaii (call or check the school website).
- Ask if he/she is looking for your position when recruiting from your class
- Ask if you can forward a video. All DVD's should be mailed Priority Mail
- You must follow up! Give the coach two weeks, then call and ask if tape has been received and if he has the chance to view it.
- Coaches may not call you during your junior year (until March, May - Sept depending on sport), however you may call them. Just do not be a pest. E-mail is the best way to update coaches on your accomplishments.
- Remember: Unless you are an elite athlete, the coaches will not come to you. You must find them!
- Outside Scholarship search. Your guidance office and free search engines (see "paying for college" page) are outstanding resources.Work with your college counselor on the applications and adhere to all deadlines. Apply for all you qualify for. Do not assume you will receive a full scholarship. They are given out far less frequently than you might believe.
Seniors
- You should take your final SAT by December of your senior year, unless you have not qualified. If you are not an early qualifier your chances of securing a place on a four year college team is deminished. If you are high on the colleges' recruiting list then you must be qualified by mid February (football) or April for other sports or they may not hold the scholarship for you.
- You may call coaches as often as you wish. They may call you only when NCAA allows. NCAA division 3, NAIA schools and Junior Colleges may call at their discretion.
- Be realistic and look for schools where you can legitimately play. Speak to your high school or club coach before making any calls.
- Send out an additional 50 emails at the end of your junior year!
- Do not go into a senior slump. Your senior grades count towards NCAA and NAIA eligibility.
- Video, video, video! This is your responsibility! Without video you will not get recruited! Senior season video can make or break the recruiting process. Four year colleges should have your football senior season tape by December at the latest. However, ideally you will send video after your very first best game. Other sports should have their video out as soon as they play their best game to date. Junior colleges should have video by February.
- Highlights and your best full game on one DVD and labeled as such.
- DVE should be labeled with name, position, jersey #, address, phone, school and coaches name & number
- Do not send newspaper articles or box scores
- Send a cover letter and a one page resume (see lower page)
- Unofficial copy of your transcripts
- Include a letter of recommendation from your coach if you like
- Do not apply randomly to colleges where you want to play. It is expensive!
- Apply to two "safety" schools, where you will be happy if you do not play sports or will be happy to "walk on"
- If interested in a UC school, adhere to application deadlines, usually late November.
- Adhere to all financial aid deadlines if you are not a full scholarship athlete
- All athletes must fill out the FAFSA early! January - February is the best. Even full scholarship athletes must fill this out. You cannot receive any type of scholarship money from the school without this, even if you do not qualify for FAFSA (Pell Grant) money. You will also not receive Work Study with out filling out the FAFSA.
- Outside scholarship searches - see #8 for juniors and adhere to deadlines.
- Be prepared to answer questions from coaches intelligently (in other words, no grunting or "uh huh"s!) See questions to ask college coaches on lower page.
Notes:
1) College coaches are better able to convince the athletic department and financial aid office to allocate precious scholarship dollars to high school students with good grades. The better student you are, the easier it is for a college coach to make a case for awarding you an athletic scholarship.
2) A solid academic background is impressive to college programs. For colleges that award only partial scholarships, Coaches cannot afford to allot funds to athletes who are not self-disciplined academically and who cannot motivate themselves in the classroom.
3) Club team video is just as good as high school video (except football)
4) GET YOUR PARENTS INVOLVED. BE PRO-ACTIVE
SPORTS RESUME INFORMATION
The following information should be included with video tape sent out to college coaches
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE, ZIP
HOME PHONE, CELL PHONE
e-mail address
High School
Parent(s) name
Parent phone: cell or work
Primary Sport, Position (s) jersey #
Coaches Name and Phone -- both high school and club sports
Club Teams
Mainland and local tournaments, championships, clinics (with dates and locations)
Height & Weight
Include pertinent Info to your sport such as 40 speed, bench, squat, yards per carry, best times, win/loss record, wing span, vertical, average ppg, rankings, etc
Academic Honors
Athletic Honors (ex: all-OIA, 1st Team OIA etc) Individual and team
Clubs, leadership roles
Grade Point Average, Class Rank, SAT and/or ACT scores
Typed out, include photo if desired
(NOT a "cool" posed photo, but a school photo or athletic photo posed or action shot)
QUESTIONS TO ASK COACHES
Important Questions for College Coaches
The decision to attend college is important and can be complicated. Always be prepared with a short list of questions for the college coaches you are speaking with. Coaches want to see that you can hold a conversation!
Athletics
What is your coaching style?
All coaches have different coaching styles and use different techniques for motivation and discipline. It is to your benefit to ask this question to determine whether your learning style and the coach's style would be a good fit.
What are your expectations for the upcoming year?
Obviously, all coaches would like to see their programs succeed each year. By asking this question, you will learn the goals and objectives the coach has set forth to reach the final destination -- a successful season.
What role will I play on your team?
Many coaches will already have an idea of how they would like to utilize certain recruits. You will be able to find out where the coach sees you fitting in on his/her team and why.
What is your practice schedule and your workout program?
It is important to know the physical demands that will be placed on you during your tenure as an athlete. Also, you need to know how much time is spent with this sport so you may manage your study time wisely.
Academics
How strong is my degree program?
There are some institutions that have stronger programs than others. There are also those institutions that specialize in specific degree programs.
Does this major mix well with athletics?
Some majors are more time consuming than others and may require labs or mandatory work outside of class hours. You need to know the demands that will be placed on you within your major, to know if you are spreading yourself to thin through participating in athletics.
How important are academics to you as a coach?
Many coaches have different thoughts regarding athletics. It is important to know that the coach's philosophy on academics will compliment yours.
What percentage of athletes graduates in four years?
This will tell you about a coach's commitment to academics. Also, the team grade point average is a good indicator of academic commitment.
College Life
Does the team have mandated study hall?
You will be informed of any study hall hours that may be required of you during your tenure. Also, this is a good time to ask about the availability of tutors.
What is the average class size?
You will learn what type of attention you will be receiving as a student. Some larger institutions have large classes that tend to be taught by teaching assistants.
How would you describe the residence halls/campus housing and will I be required to line in campus housing as a student-athlete?
Sometimes student-athlete housing is provided and included in the scholarship you are allotted. It is important to know this before enrolling with the institution. Also, coaches and other institutional faculty have a better idea of what the residence halls are like and where they are located on campus.
Financial Aid
What is the length of my scholarship and what type of scholarship is it?
Most institutional scholarships are for only one year. Also, there are some scholarships that cover just tuition (or housing, or books) and others that cover housing, books, tuition, or full-ride scholarships. (for scholarship definitions, please see glossary)
Is there financial aid available for summer school?
Some athletes prefer to simply take the necessary course hours to be eligible to play during the season. This could leave you with several credit hours that you may wish to pick up during the summer. However, you may need financial assistance in the summer, so ask whether or not your financial aid packages cover summer expenses.
What are the different financial aid packages.
It is important to know what your athletic scholarship entails. Also, it is important to know if you can supplement your athletic scholarship with other financial aid packages the institutions offers.
If I get seriously injured and I am unable to participate, what will happen to my scholarship?
Institutions are not obligated to offer scholarships or financial aid past the term of the agreement. It is important to know what the institution's commitment to injured athletes is.
May I be employed while receiving a scholarship? Do you have work study available?
Find out if you can be employed while in season, or out of season. Also, find out if you can be employed during vacations without violating your scholarship.
IMPORTANT LINKS
| www.ncaa.org | |
| www.ncaaclearinghouse.net | |
| www.naia.org | |
| www.national-letter.org | |
| www.collegeboard.org (SAT) |
We are pleased that satisified parents, athletes and coaches endorse PIAA. However, any representations made by parents of PIAA athletes or other interested parties do not reflect the thoughts, opinions or ideas of PIAA. Any representations made by anyone other than Doris Sullivan should be referred back to PIAA immediately.
