COLLEGE ATHLETIC RECRUITING SEMINAR Facilitated by: Jamy Bechler 18 year college coach Current A.D. at Marion High School February 15, 2015  Marion High School

COLLEGE SPORTS Divisions Consistency No babying Injury/illness Everyone is good Time management No excuses. Personal responsibility. Higher level - Academics, Sports, Social

PROCESS Never too early to start One of the most important decisions Priorities Are you actually being recruited? This is a business to coaches This is personal to you. Eligibility (NAIA, NCAA) Prepare – Exposure – Recruitment – Visits –Decision Commitments

ROLES PARENTS STUDENT-ATHLETES Own your recruitment Set aside your ego Don’t try to live through them Inform yourself Be realistic Rattle off stats or ACT scores? Advice and sounding board but not decision maker Help to setup up guidelines for the process. STUDENT-ATHLETES Own your recruitment Set aside your ego Honesty (self & coaches) Prioritize Listen Improve in all areas Seek out wise council

EXPOSURE & RECRUITABILITY Be a great teammate If you can’t, don’t Do the little things Maximize your ability Be an outstanding student Play great competition Practice game situations at game speeds Dominate during the season. Help your team win. Do what the coach asks. Showcase other skills during travel ball. Highlight video Notice little things Talent doesn’t equal good Add value to team

SCHOLARSHIPS Partial vs. Full Loans Guaranteed? Investment Amount Fine Print Pell Grant Books/Fees Offers Loans Investment FAFSA deal vs. Scholarship Injury 5th year available Different divisions

INFORMATION GATHERING Scholarship Questions Where does coach see themselves in 5 years? Class breakdown Stay the night on-campus Be aware of ‘evasive’ answers What are former players doing now Ask players and assistants, not just head coach Study hall and tutoring Hotel situation on the road Practice times/Scheduling Breaks Other sports or intramurals Pass list Webcasting or live streaming Location/proximity of games Fund-raising for players JV team/Redshirting ‘Run’ players off

???’s COACHES ASK ABOUT RECRUITS How does family members behave at games? How do they treat underclassmen? Do they do things without being told? What kind of red or yellow flags are there? Do they have a sense of entitlement? How do they react when they don’t get their way? Is the family or player ‘high-maintenance’? How tough mentally is the player? How often is the player distracted by things or unfocused? How much potential does the player have?

PARENT & ATHLETE NO-NO’S Athletes disrespecting parents or coaches Parents coaching from the stands (worse if the player pays attention). Bad-mouthing others (parents, coaches, teammates, officials) Dismiss a school’s attention because of the level. Technical fouls or yellow cards. Entitlement “Playing your game” Distracted during timeouts or on the bench Negative or inappropriate social media behavior Not knowing academic information

Please turn in index card with your question(s) on it if you haven’t already done so. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES www.MarionGiantsSports.com “Giants HQ” → “College Recruiting” THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING TODAY’S SEMINAR