Third Tip: KEEP YOUR OPTIONS OPEN

This is another huge point for athletes to remember. When athletes begin garnering division I interest, they tend to lose sight of the division II and III schools. Always remember to keep your options open to all schools. If there is an unfortunate injury and you lose your division I and II interest, division III is still a great option. Never tell a coach that you have no interest in playing somewhere. Just explain that your options are open and that you do have division I interest. Coaches will generally respect this and continue to stay in contact until you make your decision. 

Second Tip: MAKE THEM WANT YOU

I feel that some may think this point is obvious, but it is more than just what you do on the field. You can be the best player on the field and be first team all state, but if you aren't doing the right things off the field then all of your athletic achievements will be futile. I am sure most of you have heard this over one hundred times, but you are not just an athlete, you are a STUDENT-ATHLETE. Notice the word student comes before athlete. It is very important that college coaches know that you are strong athletically and academically. What most people do not know is that grades can both open and close doors for recruits. Coaches only have a certain number of waivers to put on a players transcript to clear them through admission. Even if you think you are good enough for a waiver, the college coach may think otherwise. So keep your grades up and great things will happen. Also, off field conduct is HUGE. While it is unrealistic to tell a high school student to not do the various things that high school students do all the time, it is important to remember to be smart. Drugs, alcohol, and tobacco (including chewing tobacco) are detrimental to a student athletes body. Some believe that chewing tobacco instead of smoking will keep you in shape. This fact is false. Chewing tobacco will clog your arteries and you will feel the effects during conditioning. If you keep a clean police record, get good grades, and play kick butt football, then the sky is the limit.

First Tip: PATIENCE

To kick off the tips posted on this blog, I thought it would be a good choice to start with the most important thing to know in this recruiting process. The process takes a long time. For most players, it stretches from January of your Junior year all the way until signing day. It is important that you must have patience. If you are fortunate enough to have school recruiting you, then it will be less nerve wracking. If you are not a player being recruited by colleges, then there are a couple things that you can do. If you are good enough and have good film and good size, then you should market yourself. Make a cover letter and a "wish list" of 30-40 schools that you are interested in being able to play at. Send a copy of your film and cover letter to these 30-40 schools. Your cover letter should be brief. Simply state your address, phone number, accolades, high school, GPA (only if it is good), and any other information that you feel is applicable. The purpose of this is just to get your name on the college recruiting boards. Once your on the board, then you are half way there. After that, you have to impress them at camps over the summer and have a great senior season. If you are not a highly recruited player but dont think that you are good enough as a junior then just work very hard on the offseason and impress the scouts in your senior season. There will be more to come pertaining to summer camps and cover letters. Please check back soon for another post.

Welcome

Hello all. If you are reading this blog, then I assume that you are a recruit, parent of a recruit, coach, or just a person interested in the process! This is the first of many posts that will be posted on this blog to help bring light to the world of recruiting. For some reason, little is known about this process by high school coaches, players, and parents. By subscribing to this blog and reading all of the posts, you will be given knowledge from a recruit who went through the process and then men who do the recruiting, the coaches. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have. Thanks for reading!