February 12, 2012 Leave a Comment

Decide Upon Your Goal and Launch It

You play high school sports, you join travel teams, you attend showcases and camps, you have a personal trainer, and you love sports. But what’s your goal? College sports? ”Decide upon your goal and launch it”- UCLA Legendary Coach John Wooden.

So you’ve decided, your goal is to play college sports. Beginning your push towards securing a college roster spot, and perhaps a scholarship, is like the kick-off to a football game, the first pitch to a baseball game, the tip-off to a basketball game, the face-off to a hockey game. Every game has to have a beginning. The recruiting game is no exception.

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Filed Under: Strategy
February 9, 2012 Leave a Comment

College Recruiting, and the 3 A’s to maximizing your scholarship

Do you want to pay the most you can for college? Of course not, but most will. Why? Because most families don’t know how to maximize their scholarship award.

While we specialize in athletic-based awards, the one scholarship award that athletes control best is the academic-based merit award.

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Filed Under: Grades and Study
February 7, 2012 Leave a Comment

Understand an Often Overlooked Detail in College Scholarship Offers

Last week was a very big week for college football recruits. It was the National Signing Week. Signing week is an intense week, for both the recruits and the coaches. It is a short one-week window of opportunity for a college to commit athletic-based scholarship money to their recruits and for the recruits to “sign” representing their commitment to the college. And a commitment it is. The National Letter of Intent is a very legal and binding contract between the college and the athlete.

A couple of notes pertaining to the National Letter of Intent. It comes with a one-year term, not four years. It represents only the athletic portion of a scholarship award. Once signed, an athlete would need to be “released” by the school if they were to change their mind. Getting a release is anything but automatic, so be sure to understand the obligation and commitment to the college as you “sign” for your athletic scholarship.

Filed Under: Strategy
February 6, 2012 Leave a Comment

Are SAT scores really important to college recruiting?

How important are SAT”s? To college applicants, they are very important for admissions. But to the  colleges, how important are they? This New York Times has a great article about what some colleges are doing to improve their college  ranking. Since this article  was released, other schools have been found guilty of misrepresenting  their scores as well. We will watch how it all shakes out in the coming  months.

Filed Under: Grades and Study
February 6, 2012 Leave a Comment

Football Fans…

It was quite a week in the world of football. Most everyone is aware the NY Giants won the SuperBowl in a thrilling match-up with the New England Patriots. The game featured two of the best NFL coaches along with two of the premier NFL quarterbacks and was a rematch of the 2008 SuperBowl. The game came down to the wire and the Giants prevailed, as they did in 2008. Both games were won with a late 4th quarter drive resulting in a Giants touchdown and a come-from-behind victory.

But two months ago, it did not appear that the Giants would make the playoffs. They were a mere 6-6 and not much of a contender. Then, they strung together some key wins and made the playoffs, to then knock off Atlanta, Green Bay (15-1 record),  San Francisco (14-3 record), then the Patriots (15-3 record). It was an amazing run and just proves that anything can happen when you combine passion and desire. Kudos to the Giants.

On the college front, last week was a very big week for college football recruits. It was the National Signing Week. Signing week is an intense week, for both the recruits and the coaches. It is a short one-week window of opportunity for a college to commit athletic-based scholarship money to their recruits and for the recruits to “sign” representing their commitment to the college. And a commitment it is. The National Letter of Intent is a very legal and binding contract between the college and the athlete.

A couple of notes pertaining to the National Letter of Intent. It comes with a one-year term, not four years. It represents only the athletic portion of a scholarship award. Once signed, an athlete would need to be “released” by the school if they were to change their mind. Getting a release is anything but automatic, so be sure to understand the obligation and commitment to the college as you “sign” for your athletic scholarship.

 

 

Filed Under: Recruiting News
January 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

Using Your GPA to Unlock a College Roster Spot

In college recruiting, the first goal is to identify the colleges where you have a realistic shot. Today in our six-part series, we consider the first of the key components: academics.

What makes up your academic record? Your GPA, along with your SAT/ ACT Board scores, make up the first level of your academic record, but it doesn’t stop there.

For each school you eventually apply to, there will be hundreds of student’s with comparable GPA’s and SAT’s.

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Filed Under: Grades and Study, Recruiting
January 13, 2012 1 Comment

Kickstart College Recruiting—The First Step Toward Landing a College Roster Spot

Beginning your push towards securing a college roster spot, and perhaps a scholarship, is like the kick-off to a football game, the first pitch to a baseball game, the tip-off to a basketball game or the face-off to a hockey game. Every game has to have a beginning. The recruiting game is no exception.

In college recruiting, the first play is to identify the colleges where you have a realistic shot at not only being accepted academically but also to have a real opportunity to play your sport. And, never forget the ultimate goal is to earn a meaningful college degree. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Recruiting, Strategy
January 5, 2012 Leave a Comment

Three Things to Bring to the Table…

A must read article, The 3 Things to Bring to the Table spells out the essence of what separates high school
prospects from becoming serious college recruits. Apply what Dr Brady says regarding job interviews to that of meeting college coaches. It represents the Value component in our acronym VLTO=BE RECRUITED. It will separate you from your competition, guaranteed!

When meeting either a college coach or a college admissions counselor, it is imperative to bring these three things to the table- Desire, Problem Solver, Positive Spirit. Your recruiting experience will be enhanced substantially by your mastery of this concept.

Filed Under: Recruiting
January 5, 2012 Leave a Comment

Welcome 2012, it’s Showtime…

“The strength of the group is the strength of the leaders.” -  Vince Lombardi

Mom and Dad, it’s showtime. When it comes to playing college sports and the recruiting game, either you’re playing or you’re not. You know your kids don’t want to sit on the bench, how about you? Here is how you play the game.

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Filed Under: Recruiting, Strategy
December 19, 2011 1 Comment

Small Colleges. Big Play

Big name colleges dominate NCAA DI college football, but not so in most other sports. You don’t have to go to Florida State, Ohio State, USC, LSU, Oklahoma or other major colleges to have your opportunity to play on the big stage of college sports. In most college sports, small colleges provide big college opportunities. Here’s a great story from The Wall Street Journal.

 

Filed Under: Recruiting News
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