Parents & Recruiting

[zippy]

If your the parent of a HS kid who you think could possibly get a scholarship, DON'T sit in the passenger seat and expect recruiters to find him/her on their own. You have to market your son/daughter to get them noticed.

Here is a free site you can use that may help. P.S. Don't get set on only Div I, there are alot of Div II, III tickets available too.

free recruiting site (http://www.athletesadvance.net)

[CatsDen]

Attend the football camps given by local colleges and universities, not to mention the Nike camps. Another piece of advice, market yourself our your son. Do not wait for someone else to do the legwork of contacting colleges on your behalf. There are several online recruiting sources (futureathletes.com, fortunefootball.org, osn.com, and nationalrecruiting.org for example), but the best way I have found is to simply dig through the university's website. You can check their rosters, find the coach's name (and who is responsible for recruiting in your area) his email address and a mailing address. You will sometimes find online prospect questionnaires to complete. I have found that the online recruiting sites have not generated any interest, but letters of interest, emails, and prospect questionnaires have been successful. From that, my son has received several letters and film requests, along with phone calls. He will be very busy this month with visits and calls thanks to a little legwork done right at home. Good luck!

[Z motion 10 out on 2]

I agree with CatsDen. The parents have to get busy selling their son so to speak. Visit the websites and send out letters of interest in the program. Don't be afraid to call the coaches yourself. Start this during the junior year. Call the coaches and find out if you can make an unofficial visit. We made several of those last year and those schools seem to be the most interested in my son. Send out tape! The high school coaches can put together a highlight film for you. But you have to stay on them. CatsDen, what schools are you looking at? You may want to PM me.

[Ozzy]

If the parents are having to sell athletes to college recruiters, the coaches aren't doing their jobs. It is the coaches job to do as much as possible for the athletes. Now if were talking academic scholarships, that's a different story. Also, those recruiting services aren't highly recognized by college coaches. They would much rather sit down with a coach and review film than with someone who is being paid to promote a kid, who knows absolutely nothing about him. Don't get caught up with all of the recruiting services. They are there for 1 reason: to make money.

[Phil C]

Recruting services are out to make money of course but at the same time if they get a reputation of sending poor recruits to college they won't be in business long. Just be sure to get one that if they don't produce they don't get paid. Remember spending a few thousand dollars to get a $40,000 scholarship ain't bad. I agree with sending to email of colleges to let them know you are interested. This is not only good for football but all sports. And the junior year is the best. Also a personal investment in a camcorder to do your own recording of your son or daughter might be worth the cost too. Of course you sacrifice the whole game sometimes because I had a friend that recorded her daughter's softball games and about all she recorded was the middle where the pitcher was. Her daughter was the pitcher (she got a softball scholarship too).

[BrahmaMom]

Having been involved in the process, I want to share a few thoughts. A high school coach's job is to coach high school football. Sure, when recruiters stop by, he'll do what he can. If you are the parent of a child who wants to play college sports, it is YOUR job to work with them to make it happen. High school coaches will be more than happy to provide an honest opinion of your child's talent (this can be painful). We sent tapes to 35+ schools after we had sophomore and junior seasons professionally videoed (he was hurt his senior season). We paid for all the video work, tapes, mailing and did the secretarial work involved. We e-mailed, called, faxed, and updated film and surgical and rehab reports on a regular basis to keep our son's name in the recruiter's mind. We are blessed that he is on scholarship doing what he loves and getting a wonderful education. But it didn't just happen, it was a full time job for about a year. Good luck. Personally, if I had it to do over again, I'd throw some $$ towards a recruiting service or two and see what comes up. It is an investment, pure and simple. And our high school coach, bless him, early on told us not to take it personally--schools may or may not be looking for the position and size/speed of our son. Best early advice I had! Be aggeressive and thick-skinned: when those recruiters say "Call me" they mean it and other athletes are calling them! And those letters don't mean a thing, neither do the phone calls, it is when the money is offered that it becomes reality. And the money doesn't flow! Again, good luck!

[BHS#1]

My son is a freshman is that to early to start?

[BrahmaMom]

Freshman year is a great time to start. Have him go to camps at colleges he might be interested in. This next summer he'll only be able to go to two or three becasue they usually overlap. Go NOW to some university sites and they'll have football camp info on or at least you can e-mail the football office to put you on a mailing list, keep checking the sites to see if their camp dates are posted and register for the ones he wants as soon as possible. Once he is eligible to go to the mini camps, have him do a lot of those for two summers. Have him go to the ones he likes for two years, he'll get to know the coaching staff and build a relationship. He is from Burnet, which will help him immediately. As for you, enjoy every minute of his high school career--it'll be over in the blink of an eye and you'll be watching him play his last game before you know it. Good luck and God bless.

[BHS#1]

Thanks for the help. What about grades I nag him all the time about his grades they aren't but there not A's either. Maybe if he hears this from someone who been there he will listen.

[CatsDen]

BHS, the qualifications for DI and DII schools are not that high, but that is only for NCAA qualifications. You can find the NCAA standards at the NCAA Clearinghouse site (Guide for College-Bound Student Athletes, I think is what it is called). You can qualify for athletics with just a 2.0 GPA, but your SAT scores will have to be higher. Don't forget that he will have to register with the Clearinghouse to be eligible for athletic scholarships. Some schools will have different academic standards. Lehigh University (for example)asks for Letters of Recommendations from the coach, a teacher, and school counselor. They also consider community involvement and student groups. They have some fairly high standards for academics, too. My best advice is to be brutally honest with your son, but not to lecture. There's a thin line between lecturing and explaining the "way it is". Hopefully he can see the requirements for himself and realize that football alone will not get the ride he's looking for. Just as you look for the total package when considering which college to attend, they are doing the same when deciding who will get the offers.

[CatsDen]

BHS, another thing you should consider are Core Classes count! Theater and Athletics and several other classes are not even included with GPA averages. Definitely take the time meet with his school counselor to discuss what schedule would best help him meet his goal. I wish my son had taken an extra Math or Science class (his strongest subjects) to help his Core GPA. What I know now, I'm sad to say I did not know long before, will help if my other sons decide to follow in their Big Brother's footsteps.

[BHS#1]

Thank so much this advice has really been an eye opener.

[BHS#1]

Thank so much this advice has really been an eye opener.

[BrahmaMom]

Excellent recommendations, CatsDen. Grades aren't as high for athletes, core courses are essential. And, being brutally honest, if he doesn't get an offer, he will have to walk on and those guys have to qualify academically as a regular admission. So grades are always important. No matter what the high school counselor says, get that NCAA Clearinghouse paperwork in by the middle of his junior year. Don't wait for them to send it home, go get it from the counselor in November. Heck, get in next year so you can see how they credit the classes and hold on to it till his junior year.

[LH Panther Mom]

Wow, we went thru this exact same thing last year. My son really wanted to play football, but the degree he is pursuing required D1 school. Depending on what what your son wants to do when he's a grown-up, grades may be crucial to even getting admitted to college. That is what he should think about first. Any more, many of the degrees at the bigger schools, do not have basics. While he's still in h.s., he really needs to make sure he takes more than the basics...extra maths, any honors classes he can if he qualifies, etc. It truly makes a huge difference. If he's not set on a specialized degree, which would almost require D1 education, I would still recommend the extras - they will help prepare him. Good luck to him! And definitely promote him - it never hurts and could help.

BTW...if anyone cares, my son had offers to try out for walk-on status at both UT & A&M this past fall. (I will say I'm a little ticked that Mike Leach didn't even acknowledge us.) Because of his difficulties registering (last of the last of the last), he decided he needed to concentrate more on classes first and possibly try in the spring.

[BrahmaMom]

Panther Mom: Leach was one of the only Texas coaches that didn't recruit my son. You can't take it personally. You had a good point about degrees and basic classes. That first semester can be tough in college, your son did a smart thing!

[dawgdad]

Find out what your son is interested in doing with his life as soon as you can, then research the schools that offer the best education in his fields of interest. Take your son to these schools for football camps when they first start playing football. The coaches at these schools remember anyone with potential and they are fun for the kids,you may also find out that your kid is not suited or doesn't really want to expend the time and workout necessary to develop a good athlete out of himself. I have heard that some high school coaches at certain schools in our district (and I am sure others) feel that it is not their responsibility or just do not care to recruit their athletes to college coaches. I don't understand this attitude in a coach, unless he only wants to stay a coach at the high school level his whole life! Just as any successful businessman or manager does, a coach cannot move to another level unless he promotes and develops those underneath him. (ie:the student athlete). We parents in Burnet have been fortunate to have a coaching staff that not only takes pride in it's athletes and their accomplishments, they go out of their way to help with the recruiting process of their athletes. They are potentially the most important link that you have to the college ranks- most of them have friends,ex-coaches,players,etc. at the college level who they know. I personally have weekly conversations and have gotten to know my son's coaches over the years and they have been invaluable in helping with game tapes,communicating with recruiters,coaches,etc. When recruiters do call at the school or mail you letters, respond to them,even if you only print and mail a form letter to all of them. Let them know you are interested!!! This applies to all schools,even if you don't think they are the one that your kid wants to go to !! A free ride to college is a free ride !!!!

[dawgdad]

Find out what your son is interested in doing with his life as soon as you can, then research the schools that offer the best education in his fields of interest. Take your son to these schools for football camps when they first start playing football. The coaches at these schools remember anyone with potential and they are fun for the kids,you may also find out that your kid is not suited or doesn't really want to expend the time and workout necessary to develop a good athlete out of himself. I have heard that some high school coaches at certain schools in our district (and I am sure others) feel that it is not their responsibility or just do not care to recruit their athletes to college coaches. I don't understand this attitude in a coach, unless he only wants to stay a coach at the high school level his whole life! Just as any successful businessman or manager does, a coach cannot move to another level unless he promotes and develops those underneath him. (ie:the student athlete). We parents in Burnet have been fortunate to have a coaching staff that not only takes pride in it's athletes and their accomplishments, they go out of their way to help with the recruiting process of their athletes. They are potentially the most important link that you have to the college ranks- most of them have friends,ex-coaches,players,etc. at the college level who they know. I personally have weekly conversations and have gotten to know my son's coaches over the years and they have been invaluable in helping with game tapes,communicating with recruiters,coaches,etc. When recruiters do call at the school or mail you letters, respond to them,even if you only print and mail a form letter to all of them. Let them know you are interested!!! This applies to all schools,even if you don't think they are the one that your kid wants to go to !! A free ride to college is a free ride !!!!

[BrahmaMom]

More good advice, dawgdad. Your son has to match up with the coaching staff wherever he ends up. And never turn anyone down, you never know what will happen. My son had many big D1 schools looking at him then he tore his ACL his first game of his senior year. Leave all your options open! Great insights on this thread, folks!

[dawgdad]

My son just got back from his 2nd official visit- this one to Arizona,looks like all that extra effort with camps,mailing letters,phone calls,etc.these last two years is going to pay off.

[Z motion 10 out on 2]

dawgdad:
My son just got back from his 2nd official visit- this one to Arizona,looks like all that extra effort with camps,mailing letters,phone calls,etc.these last two years is going to pay off.How did the visit go?

[dawgdad]

Z motion 10 out on 2:

dawgdad:
My son just got back from his 2nd official visit- this one to Arizona,looks like all that extra effort with camps,mailing letters,phone calls,etc.these last two years is going to pay off.How did the visit go?The first one was SMU- he was impressed and said it felt like home there. Great staff there, too. I think with the right players, which seems that they are finally getting Coach Bennet can start winning some football games there. They sure are committed to it and it is only their second year- they supposedly started the youngest team in Div1 last year. He also liked Arizona a lot,Bob Stoops has a very young staff there and they are fired up. My son liked that place a lot,too. Gonna' be a hard decision for him-glad it is not me who makes the final decision!!!

[Z motion 10 out on 2]

Nice to have several to pick from. That Arizona seems interesting! But that is a long way from home. Good luck in selecting the right place.

[dawgdad]

dawgdad:

Z motion 10 out on 2:

dawgdad:
My son just got back from his 2nd official visit- this one to Arizona,looks like all that extra effort with camps,mailing letters,phone calls,etc.these last two years is going to pay off.How did the visit go?The first one was SMU- he was impressed and said it felt like home there. Great staff there, too. I think with the right players, which seems that they are finally getting Coach Bennet can start winning some football games there. They sure are committed to it and it is only their second year- they supposedly started the youngest team in Div1 last year. He also liked Arizona a lot,Bob Stoops has a very young staff there and they are fired up. My son liked that place a lot,too. Gonna' be a hard decision for him-glad it is not me who makes the final decision!!!

[dawgdad]

OOps!!!-- meant Mike Stoops- same family, though11 !
dawgdad:

dawgdad:

Z motion 10 out on 2:

dawgdad:
My son just got back from his 2nd official visit- this one to Arizona,looks like all that extra effort with camps,mailing letters,phone calls,etc.these last two years is going to pay off.How did the visit go?The first one was SMU- he was impressed and said it felt like home there. Great staff there, too. I think with the right players, which seems that they are finally getting Coach Bennet can start winning some football games there. They sure are committed to it and it is only their second year- they supposedly started the youngest team in Div1 last year. He also liked Arizona a lot,Bob Stoops has a very young staff there and they are fired up. My son liked that place a lot,too. Gonna' be a hard decision for him-glad it is not me who makes the final decision!!!

[LH Panther Mom]

BrahmaMom:
Panther Mom: Leach was one of the only Texas coaches that didn't recruit my son. You can't take it personally. You had a good point about degrees and basic classes. That first semester can be tough in college, your son did a smart thing!Trust me - we didn't take it personally; even though I'm a big TT fan, I'm not sure I would've been able to stand him being so far away.

[BrahmaMom]

Nice to have 'em close to home!

[dawgdad]

How far away is far away? That's pretty close- the education is the most important thing, they gotta leave the house sometime. It's gonna be tough not being able to go to games,but there is always TV and hopefully game films he can send.

[BrahmaMom]

Dawgdad: Far away is defined in Momspeak by taking longer than 4 hours to get to your baby in the event of illness or--ugh--injury! That would include time to get to an airport, flight time, transfers, time to get a rental car and get to said baby! Any longer than that with a kid unconscious, in surgery, in a life-threatening situation is NOT acceptable to moms. My son looked hard at K State (this is a nightmare of a trip, we left the house at 5:30 am to catch an early direct flight to Kansas City and drive two hours to get to Manhattan, got there at 1:30 pm) and Nebraska(not as bad a commute)and Vanderbilt(easy commute, at 4 hour limit). I gulped big and said "whatever makes you happy, Honey" and I meant it. But I thank God every day that he tore his ACL and ended up an hour (if I drive fast in an emergency) from home getting the best education possible at Rice and playing football for one of the most ethical coaches in the business. I loved the Tech campus, but it takes almost as much time to get there from here as Manhattan, KS. Too far is defined as a child in a crisis and you can only listen to the tears over the phone. We would have supported any decision and lived with it, I am grateful I didn't have to live with too far away. In the recruiting process, make sure to point out to kids the commute time, expenses, and hassles involved, and have them experience it first hand. Once my son went to Lubbock and K State, he thought three times about the trip.

[dawgdad]

Well, looks like we'll be doing the long distance thing- my son just committed to Arizona. 900 miles away,would have liked to see him closer to home ( he had offers in Texas,too.), but it is his choice and we have to trust in the powers that be that all will be well. Everyone has to grow up sometime- we'll still be here for him. I was already in the Army before I was his age.

[BrahmaMom]

dawgdad: You fly out of San Antonio and fly directly there, via Southwest, don't you? This will probably keep you close to the 4 hour limit. It's the flights and connections that matter when you start talking out of state. Best of luck to your son. They do all have to grow up sometime. We have extenuating circumstances in our family that I think entered into my son's choice to stay close to home, too. The travel distance goes both ways, and I think he knew how tough it'd be to try to get home in an emergency. Let me know your son's number when he gets one and I'll become an Arizona fan. I cheer for Gunn at TCU, have a friend @ UHouston, love my Owls, have a "son" who walked on @ UT plus a cheerleader there, we now have Schneider @ A&M, and cheer for the coaching staff of K State. Also know the kicker for Florida State that did so terrible recently. You get to know these kids and follow them. Long live high school football!

[LH Panther Mom]

Congrats to your son, dawgdad! And you're right, BrahmaMom, it's a mom thing. Besides, mine first & foremost, was determined to get into UT, which was his first choice. A&M was second & TT third. He was more interested in an education - if he had an opportunity to play football, that was just the icing on the cake. What can I say...he's a pretty smart kid. He takes after his mom. :D

[BrahmaMom]

LH Panther Mom, don'tcha love it when they do something smart and you can claim 'em AND take the credit! This is such an exciting time of year, when kids are finalizing college plans. The world is their oyster--oh, to be young again! Best of luck to yours, too. The greatest feeling in the world (for a mom)is to have your child being successful and happy doing it--THAT's why we have the critters, I think!

[dawgdad]

I really do know the comfort of having a child close to home,my daughter goes to Baylor and it has been nice to go and see her whenever she needed us. My son's decisision was based partly on the incoming new coaching staff there and he is interested in pursuing a career in coaching and felt that this would be a good environment for this field.Mike Stoops and his staff are very young and they plan on turning around that football program, kind of like the one in Burnet. We had one more visit set up for Notre Dame this weekend and would have liked him to go see them ( their graduation rate for student athletes is no.2 in the country), but he doesn't like the thought of all that cold weather. Looks like it's time to subscribe to ESPN !!!! Will let you know what his no. is when he gets a jersey. There seem to be a lot of athletes from Texas there,as John Mackovic was fired this year and recruited heavily in Texas. One of them is Kris Heavner (q'back) from Johnson City. At least he'll feel at home.

[Z motion 10 out on 2]

BrahmaMom:
LH Panther Mom, don'tcha love it when they do something smart and you can claim 'em AND take the credit! This is such an exciting time of year, when kids are finalizing college plans. The world is their oyster--oh, to be young again! Best of luck to yours, too. The greatest feeling in the world (for a mom)is to have your child being successful and happy doing it--THAT's why we have the critters, I think!The last month has been as stressful on me and the family as any that I can remember. We have no idea what university our son is going to attend, we have made some great recruting trips I will say that and a couple more to go, but I wish the recruiting thing would hurry up and end. I have not been sleeping well just worrying about my son's plans. Who is offering what and how far away it is and comparing this university to that one, wondering if our first choice is going to make an offer, etc. So I can't wait until this part is behind us.

[BrahmaMom]

When we were going through all that recruiting, people would ask me if it wasn't making me crazy, my answer was, "It's not up to me and I have no control. I turned it over to God to lead my son where he needs to be at the beginning of the recruiting process." I felt very comfortable with that position and felt that is what happened for us. Feel free to borrow the philosophy, you'll sleep at night. Sweet dreams!

[Z motion 10 out on 2]

Thanks, I have made my petetion known to him.

[BrahmaMom]

Then lay it at His feet and walk away. Once you can really do that, it makes it soooo much easier. And I was dealing with a recruit who went through ACL surgery and rehab during it all, too. Good luck and God bless.

[dawgdad]

Thank goodness an athlete can make only 5 official visits. My son decided after the 2nd,seems that most athletes don't take 5 anyway, he said he was ready for it to be over with and made a decision based on what he wanted. Don't wait too long, 3 of our offers disappeared as the process went along- all 3 were prime candidates and it was upsetting to set up visits and then have the recruiting coach call up and say that they no longer needed an athlete at that position,etc,etc.

[BrahmaMom]

Yep, it's tough to expose our children to such a rough business. And that's what Coach Weddell told us last year @ A&M--it's all business. After we've spent years teaching our children to be fair and honest! Glad your son made his decision, I hope he feels better, too.

[dawgdad]

Had to get off this post for a while- the recruiting coach from Arizona flew in just to see that all was OK with us as parents,that all questions were answered. Makes you feel a lot better that just maybe your kid will be in good hands while he is in his next stage of growing up.I really think that they are as excited to have gotten a commitment out of my son as he is to go to their school. We celebrated with one of my wife's chicken fried dinners!!! GO WILDCATS !!! (my new favorite team !!)

[BrahmaMom]

Congrats, dawgdad. Yes, it is a good feeling to know that somebody is going to be helping out at the next stage and they care. I have called our recruiter throughout and he has always been responsive. The recruiter kinda takes over parenting for you. Very reassuring. Go Wildcats!

[dawgdad]

BrahmaMom- all the recruiting coaches assured us that if we needed to contact my son that they would be there for us. It reassured us somewhat to know that they understood that need. Just hope that it continues thruout the first few years. Hopefully by then he will grow up enough to keep in touch on his own.

[BrahmaMom]

dawgdad, they all promise, but you know which ones you feel will follow up on the promise. Our recruiter's cell phone # is still in my cell phone and I'm NOT afraid to use it! It's a great feeling, not included in the scholarship, you just know when you've got it. So glad for y'all that Arizona will be there for ALL of you. I have a 22 year old that still doesn't call often enough and give the important info, nice to have an adult to call for a long time!

[Old Tiger]

very useful site

[CatsDen]

dawgdad:
Thank goodness an athlete can make only 5 official visits. My son decided after the 2nd,seems that most athletes don't take 5 anyway, he said he was ready for it to be over with and made a decision based on what he wanted. Don't wait too long, 3 of our offers disappeared as the process went along- all 3 were prime candidates and it was upsetting to set up visits and then have the recruiting coach call up and say that they no longer needed an athlete at that position,etc,etc.2 DI schools did the same thing with my son. Out of nowhere we get the letter that they had a player committed at his position and they would no longer have athletic scholarships available at his position.

[dawgdad]

The thought is that whatever happens in your son or daughter's future is because someone greater than you is keeping an eye on them, too. We are only there to guide them and it makes you proud when you see the result of your efforts. It was all too short is the only regret, now it is on to adulthood.

[BrahmaMom]

dawgdad: I have to say that your son is lucky to have you as a dad--sounds like words of wisdom. How right you are, that it is all too short, just the blink of an eye.

[dawgdad]

BrahmaMom= Thanks for the encouragement.

[PPHSfan]

Alright enough already. You two are making my tummy hurt. IF yall don't quit I am going to put both of you in the corner for public display of sappiness. :p