College Recruiting X's and O's

The corona virus has brought Intercollegiate Athletics to a standstill canceling Winter and Spring Sports Championships as well as recruiting.  The NCAA has suspended both on and off campus recruiting, which means no unofficial or official visits, and no college ID Camps, Clinics, showcases for at least the next month. Now is NOT the time to panic!  Utilize the down time to relax, re-focus, and re-organize your recruiting efforts. There are thousands of high school student-athletes who are navigating through the college recruiting process whose journey just came to an abrupt stop.   That does not mean you should stop, there are things you can do to stay on your path to play college sports. RELAX - We are in unchartered territory, everybody is learning as we go on how to deal with this crisis, college coaches included.  You need to be calm and realize everything will be ok. RE-FOCUS -  There isn't much you can do about what is happening right now...

Many high school student-athletes are convinced that Division I is the best and only option when it comes to playing in college.  So, when they finally get to to the recruiting process their main focus is playing Division I and not finding the school that fits their academic, athletic, and personal needs.  This is what we call the DI Blinders. I have heard "I have to play Division I" more times than I would like to admit. We need more student-athletes to "Take the Blinders Off." I believe this is the biggest pitfall kids make navigating through the college recruiting process.  There is nothing wrong with keeping an open mind early on in the recruiting process.  Student-Athletes should not overlook any opportunities that are presented to them, whether it is DI, DII, or DIII.  The experience alone visiting schools and meeting with college coaches will provide enormous value as the recruiting process continues.   As you look at what each opportunity...

Do you want to continue your academic and athletic career in college? Do you think you have what it takes to be a college student-athlete? Playing in college goes well beyond your athletic abilities. Do you rest on your talents or are you willing to put in the time, effort, and energy to be the best you possibly can? Would you consider yourself lazy? Do you prioritize your academics? What kind of character do you have? Being recruited is about being a well-rounded individual. Taking the words from Shaquille O’Neal who borrowed them from Aristotle,  “Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.” Leaving athletic abilities and skills aside, what are the habits of a highly recruitable student-athlete? Stephen Covey, the world renown author developed the  7 Habits of Highly Effective People , I have created my own 7 Habits of Highly Recruitable Student-Athletes: Habit #1: Identify Goals We also call this habit “Discovering Your Why.” T...

Are you a recruitable student-athlete? Do you know  what it takes to be a recruitable student-athlete ? Every college coach seeks different qualities or attributes in their recruits whether it be athletic, academic, or a specific psychological attribute. These characteristics vary from coach to coach depending on the sport, the school, the division, or the conference they compete in. In most cases, college coaches look at these four areas of a prospective student-athlete. Academics Athletics Attitude Character Each coach will value each area differently. Are you interested in an Ivy League education? Those coaches may look at your academic profile before anything else. As you continue with the recruiting process, a coach will evaluate all four of these areas. As a prospective student-athlete, the more boxes you check, the better opportunities you will have to be a recruited student-athlete.  Academics What is your GPA? How difficult are the classes you're ...