GOAL: To have the best experience possible – academically ...



College Athletics and Recruiting

What You Need to Know

Presented by

Coach John Spells and Lenora Jeter

February 9, 2011

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➢ As parents we want our student-athlete to have the best experience possible – academically, socially, and athletically.”

➢ “Most will find the recruiting process complex, frustrating, exhausting, and shrouded in mystery. It doesn’t need to be this way for your child. When I compared athletes who had positive outcomes with those less satisfied, the difference was seldom due to the level of talent. More often, success came when kids and parents understood the recruiting process, took the initiative to get the athlete noticed, and identified the schools that were the best fit in all areas—not just athletics.

➢ “The reality is that few high school athletes will play their sport in college. The athlete and parents must realistically assess the athlete’s skills and target their search to find a great fit. Don’t allow your ego to get in the way. Be diligent, realistic and keep an open mind.”

---Laurie A. Richter, author of “Put Me in Coach”

ACADEMICS

“More often, lack of adequate grades, rather than low scores on the SAT or ACT, prevents students from being eligible to play NCAA sports.”

–Howard Everson, The College Board

➢ Strong grades will give your student access to schools that kids who are better athletes but not as strong academically will not have access to. It will also give them access to merit-based scholarships at those schools.

➢ Each school has it own academic standards, which may be far above the minimum needed to participate according to NCAA guidelines.

➢ NCAA guidelines means schools are allowed to consider an athlete, not obliged.

➢ NCAA eligibility requires completion of core courses in high school and college entrance test scores (SAT or ACT).

➢ NCAA publishes a sliding scale of grade and tests scores, which tell the athlete where they fall in terms of meeting eligibility.

➢ Go to and download the most recent guide for the college-bound student-athlete.

ACADEMIC ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

To participate in athletics or receive an athletic scholarship in Division I or Division II you must:

➢ Graduate from high school.

➢ Complete core courses.

➢ Present a minimum required grade point average in the core courses.

➢ Achieve a specific combination of SAT or ACT scores and GPA in core courses.

➢ Supply ACT or SAT scores to the Eligibility Center directly from the testing agencies

➢ Register with the Eligibility Center after the junior year, when a transcript showing six semesters of work can be evaluated.

➢ Submit a final transcript, with proof of graduation.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

The NCAA is committed to ensuring that the student athletes they admit are likely to succeed in the classroom as well as on the team. The NCAA therefore assesses the high school transcript s of the prospective athlete to be certain he/she has taken an adequate number of academic courses.

|Core course requirements, Division I and II |

|Numbers equal years of study |

| |Division I |Division II |

|English |4 |3 |

|Mathematics |3 |2 |

|Natural/physical science |2 |2 |

|Additional English, math or natural/physical science |1 |2 |

|Social Science |2 |2 |

|Additional academic courses (from English, math, science, social studies, nondoctrinal| | |

|religion, foreign language, philosophy) |4 |3 |

|Total |16 |14 |

➢ Get a list of your high school’s NCAA approved courses from your counselor. Your school may have courses that count towards graduation, but don’t count toward NCAA eligibility.

ADDITIONAL CORE INFO, SPECIAL ADMIT, APR

➢ For Division I, only courses completed in grades 9 through 12 prior to graduation may be used to meet the core course requirements. However for Division II, and for students with disabilities playing in either Division I or Division II, core courses taken after high school graduation can be used, provided the courses are completed before full-time enrollment in college.

➢ SEE HANDOUT TO CHART ACADEMIC PROGRESS

➢ Although some schools allow “special admits” (coach can guarantee admission for an athlete who meets some academic criteria known only to the coach and admissions office; more the exception than the rule.). It is not in the best interest of a school to carry a roster full of players that are below the average academic standards of the school. It increases the chances that the athletes will struggle academically.

➢ Once a student-athlete is enrolled at an NCAA institution, he or she is required to make progress toward a degree. The Association has set minimum progress-toward-degree standards for NCAA student-athlete to be eligible for continued participation that include grade-point average minimums and a percentage of courses taken that count toward a declared degree program.

➢ APR (Academic Progress Rate), a metric developed to track the academic achievement of Division I teams each academic term. Each student-athlete earns retention points for staying in school and eligibility points for being academically eligible. Teams that fall below the minimum APR score of 925 face possible sanctions ranging from scholarship reductions to more severe penalties.

➢ Right now, Division II student-athletes must pass 14 core courses, but freshmen entering NCAA institutions beginning in 2013 will have the same core-course requirement as Division I freshmen.

ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL COACHES AND RECRUITING

➢ It isn’t the coach’s responsibility to get an athlete a scholarship. Biggest mistake parents and athletes make is assuming that high school coaches will take care of recruiting or that college coaches will find you.

➢ Most coaches don’t have the time. Many don’t understand the recruiting process themselves.

➢ Coaches can be of great help, great resource, can be there for your athlete to put in a good word, provided some guidance if they wish to do so.

➢ The responsibility lies solely on the athlete and their parent. It’s you and your child’s job/responsibility to get your athlete noticed.

➢ You must be pro-active and don’t wait around for something to happen or you will be setting yourself up for failure.

➢ You may get help from coaches, counselors, and recruiting services, but no one can look after your child’s best interest like you and your child.

➢ Be grateful for any assistance a coach provides, be gracious but don’t depend on it.

EVALUATING THE ATHLETES TALENT LEVEL

Evaluating your athlete’s talent level is critical to determine which college program is the best fit for your athlete.

LOCAL EVALUATION

➢ Club and youth coaches can evaluate talent.

➢ High School and local college coaches.

➢ Get the athlete evaluated through sports camps. Testing combines Nike/Sparqs (baseball, football and soccer).

➢ Some athletes are evaluated early at basketball, baseball softball and volleyball tournaments.

GETTING YOUR ATHLETE EVALUATED EARLY WILL HELP YOU DETERMINE WHICH COLLEGE WOULD BE THE BEST FIT FOR YOUR ATHLETE BASED ON THEIR TALENT LEVEL

Intercollegiate Sports Organizations in America

Govern intercollegiate sports participation in the USA.

NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association)

NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)

NJCAA (NATIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION)

NCAA DIVISIONS

DI-A, DI-AA, DII, DIII

DI-A (FBS)/DI-AA (FCS)

➢ The biggest different between each division is available money and resources.

➢ Most of the big time DI-A programs have a lot more money to work with/

➢ They can travel across country to recruit the best of the elite athletes/

➢ They have the most scholarships.

➢ They build the biggest stadiums.

➢ They can hire the best coaches.

➢ They provide the best training facility and staff.

➢ There are differences between programs like USC, Stanford, UCLA, Michigan, and Miami, compared to programs like San Diego State and

San Jose State (and that TV Money).

➢ Small DI-A program will still recruit aggressively to get the best athlete for their money.

DI-AA (FCS) Programs

A few are….Cal Poly, Sac State, UC Davis, and Weber State, Montana State

➢ They don’t have the money and resources available like a lot of DI-A programs.

➢ However, they will aggressively recruit the best of the elite athletes to get the best for their money.

➢ Smaller stadiums, very good training facilities.

➢ Some of best coaching in the country is on their staff.

➢ Recruiting the best of the best athletes to develop a program to compete at the DI-A level.

➢ Have fewer scholarships.

DII Programs

➢ DII programs have less money and fewer scholarships then DI-AA programs.

➢ DII coaches are very creative in putting together financial aid packages to get the athletes into their program.

➢ They also recruit very aggressively to get elite athletes for their programs and the best for their money.

DIII Programs

➢ DIII programs don’t have much money.

➢ DIII programs don’t offer athletic scholarships. Their scholarships are based solely on academic achievement and financial need.

➢ However, DIII coaches are still recruiting aggressively for the best athletes in the nation who can fit their program needs.

NAIA Programs

➢ They have very little money.

➢ The also have DI-DI-DIII levels.

➢ These coaches are very creative in putting together financial aid packages that will attract the best athlete they can get into their programs.

NJCAA Programs

➢ They have very little money.

➢ There are three or four divisions in the NJCAA.

➢ JC programs offer some scholarships, financial aid and grant packages.

➢ California doesn’t offer athletic scholarships.

TYPES OF SCHOLARSHIPS

Headcount and Equivalency

➢ Headcount, Full-ride

DI-A offers full-ride headcount scholarships (tuition, housing, meals,

books).

➢ Schools such as Stanford, USC, UCLA, and Berkeley offer headcount scholarships for men’s football and basketball.

➢ Equivalency

Coaches have a certain total dollar amount in the “scholarship pot”, but can split it up among athletes in any proportions they want. The partial scholarship pays for a specific portion of the cost to attend their college.

➢ Headcount and Divided Scholarships

DI-AA and DII offer headcount and divided/equivalency scholarships to cover one or more of the following: tuition, housing, meals, and books.

➢ D1 MEN'S HEADCOUNT SPORTS

Football 85, Basketball 13

➢ D1 WOMEN'S HEADCOUNT SPORTS

Basketball 15, Volleyball 12, Gymnastics 12, Tennis 8

➢ D1 MEN'S EQUIVALENCY SPORTS

CC/track 12.6, Skiing 6.3, Lacrosse 12.6, Fencing 4.5, Baseball 11.7, Golf 4.5, Soccer 9.9, Tennis 4.5, Swimming/diving 9.9, Volleyball 4.5, Wrestling 9.9, Water polo 4.5, Gymnastics 6.3, Rifle 3.6

➢ D1 WOMEN'S EQUIVALENCY SPORTS

Rowing 20, Team handball 10, CC/track 18, Water polo 8, Equestrian 15, Skiing 7, Soccer 14, Badminton 6, Swimming/diving 14, Golf 6, Field hockey 12, Archery 5 Lacrosse 12, Bowling 5, Rugby 12, Fencing 5, Softball 12, Sync swimming 5, Squash 12

ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS

➢ Based strictly on academic achievement

➢ Usually requires a GPA of 3.5 and above

Total Scholarship Dollars at Four - Year Colleges Distributed

Athletics 1.7 billion Academic Merit 7.7 billion

➢ Some DI- programs like the Ivy League schools and the Military Academies are offering academic scholarships. I believe some of their recruiting restrictions are lifted because of that reason.

➢ Division I and II scholarships are for one year only and are renewable each year. There are no four-year scholarships. – the NCAA prohibits them. Serious issues may come up with an athlete and the school can choose to not renew a scholarship.

➢ Before accepting an offer evaluate the stability of the program, the coaching situation and the direction the program is moving.

➢ Every school has a maximum number of scholarships allowed. A school doesn’t have to offer all their scholarships. The allotment is less for Division II schools.

Making Contact with the Colleges

➢ Coaches letter

➢ Questionnaires

➢ Tournaments, camps, combines

➢ Unofficial visits to campus

➢ Highlight video

➢ High school and club coaches

FEEDBACK

Athletes and parents understand that it is the athlete’s job to communicate with the coaches. The parents can assist the athlete by being supportive. Remain in the background to help the athlete along with the process and provide guidance. If and when the coaches want to meet or speak with the parents, they will contact you.

CONTACT PERIODS

➢ Prospective Student Athlete

➢ Quiet period

➢ Unofficial visits

➢ Contact period

➢ Dead period

➢ Evaluation period

➢ Verbal commitment

➢ National letter of intent

These are NCAA Rules and regulations that all athletes and parents involved in the recruiting process must become familiar with. The rules differ with each organization, division and team sports.

WALKING ON, RED SHIRTING, GRAYSHIRTING

➢ The term walk-on is used in sports, particularly college athletics, to describe an athlete who becomes part of a team without being actively recruited beforehand or awarded an athletic scholarship. This results in the differentiation between "walk-on" players and "scholarship" players. Walking onto a college team can be a challenge. Walk-ons are required to maintain the same practice and workout schedule as scholarship athletes while also maintaining their schoolwork and paying their own way through college.

➢ Red shirt, the most well known "shirt" color has been around for a long time. Red means “stop” as in “stop from playing”. The NCAA allows a player five years to complete four seasons of eligibility. That fifth year, usually the freshman year, is when the player practices but doesn't play in any games. That is called the Red shirt year. Players still receive their scholarship, still practice, still do everything the other players do—they just don’t play in the games.

➢ There is also the provision for a “medical red shirt” in that if a player is injured early in the season and won't get back on the field soon, he is red-shirted for medical reasons, thus preserving that year of eligibility.

➢ Grayshirt is a term that is applied to the prospect that signs a letter of intent in February, but doesn't report in the fall with his teammates. He delays entry to college until midyear, i.e. January. That NCAA five-year clock doesn't start ticking until the player enrolls as a full time student, so gray-shirting is really a delayed version of red-shirting. They cannot enroll in college as full time student, can’t receive their scholarship, nor practice. It is like getting an extra year of practice, because most of these players don’t see the game field until two years later and they have the advantage of going through an extra spring practice.

Last words of wisdom…..

➢ Be extremely careful about social networking sites. The internet makes it much easier not only for the athlete, but for coaches to learn about each other. Coaches can learn a lot about the character of the athlete from what is posted on these sites. Check your Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace accounts and clean them up!

➢ Be well behaved at school, in the community and at athletic events. Remember….. Someone’s always watching you!

REFERENCES (Books and Websites)

Richter, Laurie A. Put Me In Coach! A parent’s Guide to Winning the Game of College Recruiting. Riverwoods, IL; Right Fit Press, 2009

Hornback, Joe. The Next Level A Prep’s Guide to College Recruiting. San Diego, CA; Aventine Press, 2006

See section on Recruiting which has samples of letters, resumes, etc.

Coach John Spells Lenora Jeter. Counselor

Speed Development Templeton High School

Email: jlsboy@ 1200 Main Street

(805) 674-5424 Templeton, CA 93465

(805) 434-5830

email: ljeter@

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