Any parents have children in college athletics?

[Tiggeroo]

I have a son who is a highschool runner. His times are good enough for some division I schools and all div. II schools. He gets letters at school from various schools. He hasn't yet contacted the schools where he is interested (he's a jr.) He enjoys track but xc is his fave and that will be in the fall. I want to help him get into the schools he wants to, but it is complicated. There are alot of NCAA rules, and if you accidently violate one you can become inelligable. There are services out there but I don't know if they are worth the money, and I'm not sure if paying somebody violates NCAA rules. His coach is a bit helpful, but not very aggressive. He will provide letters and when allowed phone coaches. Right now he not allowed to discuss it with my ds.
Does anybody have any tips on this. Can you suggest a book. Thanks.

 

[kasar]

I would try to speak to the parents of the seniors on the team this year (hopefully there are other runners who are being recruited by Div. I schools) or when you're at meets you could ask around the other team to see what they are doing. Most parents are as confused as you but once they "get" it, they are happy to pass along what they've learned. You are right to be worried about this, my husband was asked to interview potential students for his old college and he was very limited in what he could say to or about athletes.

Good luck to your son - I'm sure it will all work out for him.

I'm sure you've checked it out, but here's the link to NCAA:

http://www.ncaa.org/

 

[Tiggeroo]

No seniors this year who will be going Div1 or 2. I am going to try to catch up with some of last years grad parents who are div. 1, but I don't really know them. Spring track is a good time to catch up with parents because alot go to those meets when it's nice out. We haven't even registered with the NCAA clearinghouse yet. I want to get some general information that will help us decide on classes for sr. year. When you go to the various team athletic web sites they all say for pot. athletes to e-mail them with questions, but I think that some e-mails could violate NCAA rules too. I know I can't make any phone calls until July, and then Ithink 1 a day, and there is a length limit. And in all this are big black out dates when you can't communicate with any coaches, and even your hs coach can't discuss the matters with you. Argh.

 

[ChibiJones]

It's been a couple of years since I worked for the athletics dept. (I was a secretary for a couple of sports). I don't remember the specifics, but I think the rules for email were different from the rules about phone calls.

Is your DS just worried about what electives to take? I think that would depend more on the general requirements for the schools he's looking at. I know at my school, the athletes still had to pass the minimum entry requirements (for example if they require two years of science & your DS only has one, then he should take a science class). Good grades and SAT scores help too. I know my coaches looked at that information. There was no point in recruiting a kid who would end up on academic probation all the time.

PM me if you have any questions & I'll try to remember.

 

[soccerchick]

Your son's high school guidance counselor should be able to help him. Our school system hosts a few information sessions each year on this very topic. I played college soccer, but way too many years ago to be able to tell you the rules

 

[Tiggeroo]

Nope, unfortunately no help from the guidance counselor. His thought is unless you have a 3.5 you should be in community college. I have no problem with community college and if my son hadn't been working hard bringing up the grades and showing he could do the work, I would be for it too. But here community college would mean no team running for 2 yrs, not a good idea if he wants to compete. I've been to the hs sessions. Just basic how to apply to college info. My other son was on football his first two years. They had a good network of info for the football parents but it was outside of school. Running isn't a big popular sport at the hs and often gets less help.

 

[sharbear]

It makes me crazy when I hear about guidance counselors like that. As if everybody fits into one mold and there is only one path to follow after school.

Is there a good private HS close to you. One that is known for it's college prep and for turning out athlete at the college level. Just call over there and ask to talk to the guidance counselor. Maybe he can give you the advise that you need. I know that our guidance counselor is a really nice guy who thinks that all kids need to go to college (preferably 4 year, away from home). He works with a lot of other counselors and colleges and has a good idea of what is going on. I know that our HS pays for him to attend workshops about college admissions.

Also don't feel bad about calling someone you don't know and ask them what you should be doing (or not doing). I have found most people are very helpful.

 

[soccerchick]

Tiggeroo~ Sorry to hear about your son's guidance counselor...Is there a guidance dept. chair you can talk to? Guidance counselors MUST know the rules about NCAA and the NCAA clearinghouse. I will ask at work on Monday for you. I know our county counselors facilitate NCAA information meetings but often have guest speakers as well. I'll see if I can find out something that might help.

 

[Kitty 34]

I would definetly go to the NCAA website. It has a lot of valuable info on there. I went just the other day for the heck of it. I wish I had had the internet when my DS was a Jr and Sr so I could have read all the info on their website.

Fortunetly my DS was recruited by a D II school and even signed early with a full scholarship in the Fall of his Senior year so we didn't have to worry about college most of that year which was nice. This was for basketball, tho.

Good luck to your DS. My sister's DD was recruited by a D II college for track and started getting called the fall of her Senior year. She was very good at the high jump and hurdling.

I personally wouldn't go thru any services.....just wait for the phone calls or make them yourself.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Thanks guys. I ordered a pamphlet on the ncaa website with an explanation of the rules. I really am sick of the school guidance counselor and other things at our hs. I am not one to complain. But I get no help. I have twin sons, both of whom struggle with organizational skills. After I pushed alot one got tested and diagnosed with adhd. The other likely has the same problem. I ended up paying somebody to help them with their organizational problems who works specifically with adhd students. When they learned how to keep their world more structured they had quite an improvement, however this was with little help from the school. The poor grades came nearly completely from trouble getting homework completed and handed in. So on our own, after the school didn't help, we got the problem dealt with. Now they are pulling the grades up, and even taking ap and honors classes. And we get no help with the college process. I don't know what I'm going to do with the twin son, whose grades have been gradually improving, letters in 3 sports, but not good enough to get notice for the sports. I am guessing this will be a tough year.