OT - Athletic Recruiting/Scholarships?

[SEA333]

HI, I know this is off topic (other than if my DS gets a college scholarship, we will be able to go back to Disney again in this lifetime! LOL), but I have a few questions for anyone who may have experience with athletic recruiting.

My DS just finished his first year of high school football. He has been playing since he was 7 years old, so the sport is not new to him by any means. We, as his parents of course, always thought he had some natural ability in his position, but never really thought (or cared!) that it would take him anywhere past high school.

He played for both his Freshman and Sophomore teams this year, starting on both the OL and DL for the freshman and earned starting defensive end/linebacker (depending on the opponent, they usually matched him against the best player on the other team) on the sophomore team. Both level coaches have approached DH and I about college prospects, saying that it is not too early to get his name out there, and gave us a few websites to review just so we could get familiar with what we might possibly need to do if DS wants to pursue a college scholarship.

Let me stop here and say that we are not the type of parents that put him into a sport to get a scholarship, nor have we ever set our sights on it as a definite, or even a real, possibility. However, seeing him play at a high school level and do as well as he did against highly ranked teams in our state (our HS is not known as a football powerhouse, but DS had a personal best game against one that is ranked #6 in our state, and did very well against the others), DH and I think that this is something to pursue. A Senior OL from DS's school just committed to a Div II State school, which impressed DS and gave him the confidence that even kids in his organization can actually Do This!

I have been looking at some of the websites and there is a LOT of information. None of the ones the coaches gave us include a fee for creating a player profile except the NCAA Eligibility Center ($75), but all the websites caution that this will take a lot of time, perseverance, and money to get "your player noticed". I am not about to give anyone my money if I don't have to, so is this all really necessary?

I understand that 1% of players are offered Div I football scholarships and the likelihood of even getting noticed is slim, etc, etc, etc, so I am not looking for a reality check. This is getting way too real for us right now when I never even thought it would get this far, and I don't know what to do next. DS is definitely taking the lead on this and keeps himself healthy and conditioned. He is in all honors classes and has a 3.5 GPA (one semester into HS).

He has several first-choice and second-choice schools picked out, some are his Div I dream schools and some are smaller Div II and even Div III schools in our state and surrounding states. He would love to play for a Big 10 school, but really most of all just cannot imagine playing three more HS seasons and never putting a helmet and shoulder pads on again. We live about an hour away from one Big 10 school and he already has a "backup plan" of trying out as a walk-on if he doesn't get a scholarship anywhere.

Sorry to write a novel, but I wanted to preempt any question of our motives/realities or DS's dedication to making this happen.

So...any advice as to where to start??!!

 

[Chokky]

HI, I know this is off topic (other than if my DS gets a college scholarship, we will be able to go back to Disney again in this lifetime! LOL), but I have a few questions for anyone who may have experience with athletic recruiting.

My DS just finished his first year of high school football. He has been playing since he was 7 years old, so the sport is not new to him by any means. We, as his parents of course, always thought he had some natural ability in his position, but never really thought (or cared!) that it would take him anywhere past high school.

He played for both his Freshman and Sophomore teams this year, starting on both the OL and DL for the freshman and earned starting defensive end/linebacker (depending on the opponent, they usually matched him against the best player on the other team) on the sophomore team. Both level coaches have approached DH and I about college prospects, saying that it is not too early to get his name out there, and gave us a few websites to review just so we could get familiar with what we might possibly need to do if DS wants to pursue a college scholarship.

Let me stop here and say that we are not the type of parents that put him into a sport to get a scholarship, nor have we ever set our sights on it as a definite, or even a real, possibility. However, seeing him play at a high school level and do as well as he did against highly ranked teams in our state (our HS is not known as a football powerhouse, but DS had a personal best game against one that is ranked #6 in our state, and did very well against the others), DH and I think that this is something to pursue. A Senior OL from DS's school just committed to a Div II State school, which impressed DS and gave him the confidence that even kids in his organization can actually Do This!

I have been looking at some of the websites and there is a LOT of information. None of the ones the coaches gave us include a fee for creating a player profile except the NCAA Eligibility Center ($75), but all the websites caution that this will take a lot of time, perseverance, and money to get "your player noticed". I am not about to give anyone my money if I don't have to, so is this all really necessary?

I understand that 1% of players are offered Div I football scholarships and the likelihood of even getting noticed is slim, etc, etc, etc, so I am not looking for a reality check. This is getting way too real for us right now when I never even thought it would get this far, and I don't know what to do next. DS is definitely taking the lead on this and keeps himself healthy and conditioned. He is in all honors classes and has a 3.5 GPA (one semester into HS).

He has several first-choice and second-choice schools picked out, some are his Div I dream schools and some are smaller Div II and even Div III schools in our state and surrounding states. He would love to play for a Big 10 school, but really most of all just cannot imagine playing three more HS seasons and never putting a helmet and shoulder pads on again. We live about an hour away from one Big 10 school and he already has a "backup plan" of trying out as a walk-on if he doesn't get a scholarship anywhere.

Sorry to write a novel, but I wanted to preempt any question of our motives/realities or DS's dedication to making this happen.

So...any advice as to where to start??!!

We signed the mid level package with NCSA and are very satisfied.
My daughter is a golfer.

She was viewed by lots of coaches and offered a number of scholarships.
Being in Canada most coaches would not get to see her play in person so this site worked well for us.
The site has so much detail and the online live seminars and tutorials are helpful too.

http://ncsasports.org

She will be playing college golf because of this website so she is very happy about that.

 

[DisneyRunner2009]

My DD would like to continue swimming in college. She does not have the times that would get her a D1 scholarship, but could get a little money with a D2 school or just swim for a D3 school. Swimming has been part of her life since age 3 with lessons and swim team at age five. She is interested in kinesiology, because athletics is what she knows. We are having a tough time getting coaches to respond to the emails. I would appreciate insight, as well.

 

[danygirl]

Best advice we ever got was from a friend who coaches D3 baseball. He said pick the school you would be happy at if you couldn't play your sport.

Dd is a swimmer. Good enough for a small D1 school to offer some money. She is at a D 3 school where she got a full academic scholarship and swims. With swimming the best place to start is to talk to your club coach

 

[Allison]

Division III schools don't give athletic scholarships.

 

[idkmyusername]

Don't ignore NAIA schools. They are the size of DII and DIII, but can give out athletic scholarships. They have the same type of clearinghouse as the NCAA and I can't remember if there was a charge.

 

[undertheradar]

There are many ways to get some college money. Your son is a freshman and there are 3 seasons left of hs football for him. Those invitations to camps are very important, as numerous coaches attend those camps. Be prepared for partial scholarships and understand that for D1 athletes, the sport comes first, academics last.

 

[java]

A word of caution, a top athlete here got a full ride to a school. In October, coach was fired and when new one came in, they took her scholarship away. Well actually they just kicked her off the team, she would would still get $ for freshman year. But that was it. No more free ride for 4 years, no more being on the team(she was nationally ranked as #2 in her sport)
Thankfully her other partial scholarship from another school stands and she is transferring, more to be able to participate.

 

[murt22]

If your son wants to go to a school near where you live, make sure he goes to camps at those schools. The coaches notice you more in this situation.
If he is a lineman, it will be his size more than anything that will get him recruited, so realistically look at his potential size. Get someone to videotape him - but that would most likely be when he is a junior (professional highlight tape) Make a resume with stats, speed, height, weight, etc and write letters to coaches, include tape.
All that being said - he would need to figure out at what level he would want to play. DI is a job- and no guarantee he would even play ( my friend's son was huge, heavily recruited, super smart got a full scholarship at a Big 12 school - redshirted one year, graduated in 4 years .....and never played a down!) NAIA is a good option for money and not having to be huge. DII is a great level to play. A lot of guys want to be a part of the team and will walk on - maybe never get money, but get the experience (but still have to do the work!).

To be honest, unless he is a superstud, he will need to put himself out there and often schools are interested in you if you are interested in them.

I had one daughter participate in DI and one in DII and the DII player had a much better experience, though my DI daughter would not have traded her experience for anything.

 

[Couchy]

Don't ignore NAIA schools. They are the size of DII and DIII, but can give out athletic scholarships. They have the same type of clearinghouse as the NCAA and I can't remember if there was a charge.

I am a former NAIA athlete and a current high school coach. Don't ignore NAIA. Often awesome schools with great sports programs. They can offer scholarships and are a often forgotten option

My team beat NCAA D I and top rate NCAA D II schools

 

[SEA333]

There are many ways to get some college money. Your son is a freshman and there are 3 seasons left of hs football for him. Those invitations to camps are very important, as numerous coaches attend those camps. Be prepared for partial scholarships and understand that for D1 athletes, the sport comes first, academics last.

True!! That's what our family doctor said to DS during his last sports physical....the Dr. played DII football in college and decided at one point that becoming a doctor was more important. He completely admitted that he couldn't do both.

 

[beno44]

Original poster... How big is your son??? How big is your high school??

 

[puffkin]

I am most familiar with Field Hockey (my High School was a powerhouse and places tons of D1 and D2 athletes) baseball, and swimming as those are the sports my DS participates in.

Swimming is a different "beast" in that it is a timed sport, so if you are swimming at the big meets the coaches will see you and your times. I would compare football more to baseball and field hockey. My school would go deep into state playoffs every year so the players got a lot of exposure. But if you come from a weaker team, you need to get on the club teams and go to the camps/clinics to get noticed. Depending on your stats and position visibility, you may need to consider a professional "highlight" real in another season or two. You will basically have to "market" your son and build a "portfolio" for him and yes, that will cost money. I would definitely spend his next year hitting those camps/clinics and then at that point if he is still showing a lot of promise start looking into these recruiting websites.

Don't overlook other areas as well to network. My DS trains at a gym in the offseason (designed specifically for student athletes). There are a TON of contacts there between former D1/D2 players and current players and high prospects. Lots of connections. Another thing he could do is volunteer to coach at some youth camps/clinics. Again, there is the potential to make a lot of connections.

The good thing is he has a lot of time yet, so you can start doing your homework now to see what will be his ultimate goal and what you need to do to help him get there. Good luck!

 

[SEA333]

Original poster... How big is your son??? How big is your high school??

He just turned 14 a couple months ago and is 5' 11" and 165. He is down in weight from 185 lb high as a 5'9" 13 year old.

His school has 1500 students. Our "sister school" and cross-town rival has 4000. Our in-conference schools are similar in size to ours, but many of them are state ranked, and DS played club/youth ball with a lot of the kids on those teams growing up.

When he was younger he always played Left Guard on offense and Defensive Tackle or Noseguard depending on the package, but now that he is longer, leaner, and faster, he is playing some defensive end and mostly middle linebacker (although they can move him pretty much anywhere on the line), and either end or still on the interior line on offense. Honestly, so far, although we know that this will cease to be true the older he gets, his decrease in weight hasn't made a difference in line power - he has this incredible strength and skill to push his opponent back on offense and block for as long as the QB needs, and, on defense, to break though the line to disrupt the offensive backfield and get to the ball even while being doubleteamed, which happens pretty much after the first 2-3 plays every game. He had to teach himself how to split a doubleteam early in youth/club football. He has almost always been a captain as well, and has always been the leader and mentor to other players on the line. The sophomore DS beat for his defensive spot on the sophomore team this year was 5'10" and 270 lbs.

Since the season ended, he is now allowed to hit the weight room (Freshmen aren't allowed to until after the season is over), and the school has certified trainers on staff to monitor and help the boys safely work out. DS's goal right now is to gain muscle weight and to continue to increase his speed and agility. We have a semi-personal athletic speed and agility trainer in the area that DS went to last year and in the process dropped 20 lbs and got much quicker and stronger - we may have him do this again. DS has been to college camps twice so far, and will be attending two this coming summer - one for Notre Dame and one for University of Michigan (both his top "dream" schools.) Since we live so close to Northwestern, we may have him switch out the UM camp for NW, but that will be a hard sell. He also attends the Notre Dame coaching clinic with DH every year (DH coaches youth/club football) where there are many college and pro coaches as attendees and guest speakers. DH loves this because the atmosphere of these camps/clinics are very casual and the coaches are very approachable. DS and DH have met a lot of college coaching staff this way and have even exchanged contact info. So, I guess this is all how it starts?

 

[njmom47]

Our ds is a baseball player, has always been one of the biggest and best in our rec league and throughout school (and we were lucky enough not to have hit politics until his Junior year ). We registered him with a couple of sites (yes, we paid money for some, and others we just got the basic aka free membership). You do a bio and upload video (you can do your own video and they will edit, or they will shoot video and edit to your liking). Ds's GPA was not that great, so even if the school was interested in him as an athlete, his grades and SAT scores kept him out. He did find one school (DIII) where the coach loved him and helped him get in. And that is correct...DIII does not give athletic scholarships.

We did a TON of showcases, and he performed well at all of them. The only offer he got from a showcase was from the coach at the school he is currently attending. All in all, ds is playing Club level this year because there is less practice time (Varsity and JV, which his school DOES have practice every day and spend Sundays doing their schoolwork) and he wants to concentrate on his studies and getting used to being a college student, first and foremost. The Varsity coach told him he is more than welcome to try out next year and that he respected his decision.

On the other hand, there are still coaches that are viewing ds's profile, and a few of the schools are pretty far away. I don't know that ds would want to go to school in Kansas or Nebraska....just because it's so far from home but these coaches are not giving up. We knew that ds would have a better chance of getting into a school for his athletic ability than for his grades (he's doing pretty well so far though).

We do know one of ds's fellow players that was recruited at a school about 7 hours away from home, he was promised to start as a Freshman, but it's not a DI school.

It's sooo stressful just trying to get into a college that you like, let alone play a sport as well. Good luck.

 

[tiggerluver12]

My DD is currently a Freshman at a D2 state school here in Texas, playing softball - so this is our experience...

Get your son to as many college camps as possible. He needs to research schools to see where he would possible want to attend, then start e-mailing the coaches so that his name is out there. Send his stats along with any accomplishments (academic and athletic) that he has.

From a softball standpoint, my daughter was recruited from her select (club) team. She was seen at a college look tournament and was asked to visit the coach at the school after he saw her make an outstanding play.

 

[jrmasm]

Every sport works differently. You need to speak to people who had kids played college football. And your son's coaches. I would think they should be your best resource.

 

[KKB]

My son has 5 friends who went to small (1K-1500 students) colleges on sports scholarships. (they are all very smart boys--I know one is NAIA but they put together a scholarship package for him) We live in a town of 250K & their high school has 2K. 4 are in small towns & admit they wouldn't choose that school (or stay there) if it weren't for sports. That being said, their sport gives them a "fraternity" of sorts so they have community & their college is paid for. Additionally at smaller schools allow a better balance of sports & academics. (although I know several people who work in the athletic tutoring office at UNL & academics are a very serious business here)

Additionally, I have a nephew who was being recruited as a pitcher for D2-D4 (? is there 4?) but he visited TCU where our son is & fell in love. As he said to his mother--I won't get a school that good to give me a nod. So he is the starting pitcher for their club baseball team & LOVES it--tho they play almost every weekend all school year!

I tend to agree to choose a school you would go to even if you weren't playing sports. THAT BEING SAID--sports could be a ticket to a college education, and compromises may need to be made.

Our DS14 has a shot a college ball--this will be an interesting process as high school begins.....

 

[jsmith]

One of my son's ran D1 track. He was not recruited as an athlete but in fact when to Clemson University his freshman year on an academic full ride. However coming from Colorado where the social climate is very different he didn't do well in the south and so the summer between his freshman and sophomore years he came home, talked to the Coach at CU and transferred back as a walk-on. Scholarship money came later. There are a few realities you need to be prepared for-the first being that the only sports boys get college full rides for at a D1 school are football and basketball-because of title IX there are way more rides for girls. They need to select a school that has a program they want to study and that they want to working after college-only 1 percent of high school players play in college and less than 1 percent of college players end up in the pros. On of the most important things is that they MUST have an SAT or ACT score at at acceptable level on file with the NCAA clearinghouse by the end of their junior year. One of my sons high school 4x400 teammates was really talented on the track but struggled in the class room-he could not be offered scholarships at the end of his high school career due to ACTs-so he ran two years at a jr college in California hopeing to get them up-still didn't make it-but he now has a very nice career as a music promoter so things work out. College sports take a lot of dedication and commitment. My son was running 80 to 100 miles a week in the off season and he was a middle distance runner not a cross country runner. It was tough keeping up with school work-he now has a Phd in Physics. those are all things the kids need to be prepared for.

 

[debster812]

I agree with everyone who says that make sure you can be happy at the particular school without your sport.

My son plays soccer, and was being pretty heavily recruited by a coach from a school about 8 hours away from home. Personally, I think this school would be a great fit for him socially, academically, and sports related. However, DS 'liked it, did not love it', and finally told the coach last week that he probably would not be attending.

He has 2 schools that are tied for #1 on his, and it would be a long shot if he made the team for either of them, as they are both D1. He is completely OK with that, and is in communication with the coaching staffs and will likely tryout as a walk on, if he attends either of these schools.

We are lucky in that his soccer club walks families through the process, and gives us sort of a road map as to what we should be doing at each stage of the recruitment process. Savvy HS coaches can probably help as well.

Good Luck!