the next level deciding | marketing | recruiting | selecting

deciding making a decision to pursue college athletics

Important Starters 1.Sit down with your student-athlete and understand what their goals are for athletics Play in college Make the varsity team Be a starter Meet new people or try experience a new sport Others?

Important Starters 2.Discover what it takes to REALLY achieve that goal Very few athletes will play in college, even fewer will receive a scholarship, are you willing to research and do what it takes to achieve this goal, and committed to achieve it Set smaller more goals along the way—achieving certain times, becoming a starter, beginning an off-season weight routine, etc. Understand that the classroom is just as important to achieving success in athletics as athletic ability and talent Work with a guidance counselor to ensure you’re college ready Understand the academic requirements of the schools you’re interested in

Athletic Goals Define your goal early—you can always re-evaluate Potential goals include, but are not limited to: Making the varsity team Become a starter Voted all-state Play in college Receive a scholarship Don’t forget to set an academic goal too You must communicate that goal with your coach, school, family, and friends They are essential in helping you achieve your goal and holding you accountable

Playing in College Research what type of institution you are interested in Research what kind of education you want Is an athletic scholarship essential There are numerous options Division 1 NCAA – Can offer athletic scholarships Division 2 NCAA – Can offer athletic scholarships Division 3 NCAA – Cannot offer athletic scholarships NAIA – Can offer athletic scholarships NCCAA – Cannot offer athletic scholarships

marketing being noticed

Get Noticed Be the best Understand opportunities that will help you get noticed Club or travel team opportunities School team Recruiting service ing coaches Film/youtube clips Find a school that fits you (academics, alumni, atmosphere, athletics) Understand that nobody can do this for you, you must do it yourself

Communication In addition to being good, marketing yourself is integral Fill out a recruiting profile for a college/sport you want to play the coach to express your interest in the school and desire to play. Let them know how to contact you/find out more info Make it easy to be evaluated—provide a link to a youtube video Be “recruitable” If you send an , check your often Communicate how you want to be contacted: , text, phone, etc. Communicate how/where they can see you play—are you playing close by? Is there film you’re going to upload soon? Attend camps/clinics offered by the college/other colleges Schedule a visit to campus and a meeting with the coaches Apply

recruiting understanding and navigating the recruiting process

Division 1 NCAA Timeline Depending on what sport you’re playing, many top D1 scholarships have already been allocated to student-athletes by the time they are finished with their junior year in high school You should start reaching out to coaches in your 8 th /9 th grade seasons with highlight film and filling out recruiting profiles (which can be found on many websites) Depending on your sport, many recruits are discovered during summer travel teams While it isn’t impossible to be offered a scholarship in your senior season, it is very unlikely if a student-athlete hasn’t communicated with several coaches and marketed themselves extensively

D1 Regulations Cannot talk with a student-athlete not on their college campus until the athlete is a senior in high school and only AFTER the athletic contest Cannot initiate a phone call until the athlete is a senior in high school— however, if you call them and they are available, they can talk with you—they cannot, however, return your message (basketball is permitted 1 call per month during sophomore year, football has a certain time frame during junior year) s sent to coaches may not be responded to. However, information about camps or a recruiting form are allowed. They can view your highlight film. Student athletes can visit the campus at any age, where they can talk with a coach while on campus, however, they cannot have their expenses paid for them by the college until they are a senior in high school. Athletes looking for NCAA D1 scholarship should register with the NCAA Clearinghouse at Be aware of how many scholarships each sport can award. Outside of Basketball and Football, very few sports award “full ride” scholarships.

D1 Scholarships* SportMen’sWomen’s Baseball/Softball Basketball1315 Track & Field Football850 Golf4.56 Gymnastics6.312 Field Hockey012 Ice Hockey18 Lacrosse Rowing020 SportMen’sWomen’s Skiing6.3 Soccer99.9 Squash97.2 Swimming/D iving 09 Synchronized Swimming 09 Tennis4.56 Volleyball4.58 Water Polo4.58 Wrestling90 *This does not mean that schools have fully funded programs and offer the full amount.

Division 2 NCAA Timeline Depending on what sport you’re playing, many D2 scholarships have already been allocated to student-athletes by the time they are finished with their junior year in high school/early senior year You should start reaching out to coaches in your 9 th /10 th grade seasons with highlight film and filling out recruiting profiles (which can be found on many websites) Depending on your sport, many recruits are discovered during summer travel teams While it isn’t impossible to be offered a scholarship in your senior season, it is very unlikely if a student-athlete hasn’t communicated with several coaches and marketed themselves extensively

D2 Regulations Similar recruiting policies to NCAA D1 Offer fewer scholarships than D1 programs Athletes looking for NCAA D2 scholarship should register with the NCAA Clearinghouse at

D2 Scholarships* SportMen’sWomen’s Baseball/Softball97.2 Badminton010 Basketball10 Bowling05 Track & Field12.69 Football360 Golf Gymnastics5.46 Field Hockey06.3 Ice Hockey Lacrosse SportMen’sWomen’s Rowing020 Skiing6.3 Soccer99.9 Squash97.2 Swimming/Diving09 Synchronized Swimming 05 Tennis4.56 Volleyball4.58 Water Polo4.58 Wrestling90 *This does not mean that schools have fully funded programs and offer the full amount.

Division 3 NCAA Timeline You can begin reaching out to coaches early in high school— athletes typically commit during their junior/senior season Coaches will then dictate the conversation/timeline from there Because there are no athletic scholarships, there is no letter of intent (LOI) and students commit later Depending on your sport, many recruits are discovered during summer travel teams However, all coaches will watch film/highlights if you are proactive Typically, coaches will start recruiting during junior year with some dipping into sophomore year

D3 Regulations Cannot offer athletic scholarships, but typically offer a higher financial aid package to students because of their smaller size—sometimes more than what a D1 scholarship or D2 scholarship award would be Can contact and recruit athletes after taking their first class of high school There are no “letters of intent” because they are not providing you with any athletic scholarship—however, athletes will still “commit” While D3 schools can reach out to you as a freshman, the timeframe of when schools recruit depends on coaches as individuals. Some wait until athletes are in their junior/senior year and are a little closer to their decision. Others want to stay in touch for a longer period of time Tend to have the best athletic/academic balance as these schools have a “academics first” philosophy—which is why the do not offer athletic scholarships. This means that practices are likely to be in a 2-3 hour time frame with some additional lifting requirements and coaches are more understanding with class schedules/labs/etc.

NAIA Colleges Timeline Most sports are committing scholarships during a student-athletes junior or senior season You should start reaching out to coaches in your 9 th /10 th grade seasons with highlight film and filling out recruiting profiles (which can be found on many websites) Depending on your sport, many recruits are discovered during summer travel teams It is very unlikely a student-athlete will be offered a scholarship if they haven’t communicated with several coaches and marketed themselves extensively

NAIA Colleges Basically no rules of contact once a student-athlete becomes a high school student They are allowed one “official” paid visit Register with the NAIA Clearinghouse at clearinghouse.htm

NAIA Scholarships* SportMen’sWomen Baseball/Softball1210 Badminton010 BasketballD1 – 11, D2 – 6 Cross Country55 Track & Field12 Football240 Golf55 Soccer12 Swimming & Diving88 Tennis55 Wrestling80 Volleyball08 *This does not mean that schools have fully funded programs and offer the full amount.

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association does offer full and partial scholarships to student-athletes who are looking to pursue a two-year associates degree or are looking to continue their playing career and transfer to a four-year institution

selecting narrowing down your search and selecting the best school for you

Internal Follow Up Communicate with your coaches and your parents your intent to play collegiate sports early Understand and learn what it takes to compete at the level you are interested in playing Choose your college of choice based on where you want to attend school if you weren’t playing sports Would you stay if you became injured? Is the education you’ll receive beneficial in obtaining a job after graduation? Could you afford this school if you lost your scholarship?

External Follow Up Narrow down your list/what to do during a college visit Visit 3-4 institutions, get a feel for what they offer academically and socially Meet with the coaching staff and decide if you’d like spending time with these coaches, do you like their approach to coaching Meet and spend time with the current team Attend a practice, stay overnight or spend a weekend—do you see yourself hanging out with these people Remember, you are always being watched during a college visit—the visit is just as much for you to decide if you like the college as it is for the coaches to decide if they like you Commit Communicate your decision with those recruiting you Your new coach will want to know Other coaches will want to stop contacting you