I have heard all the reasons why people do not go on campus visits many times over. Although they may have merit, they will certainly compromise your opportunities. Here they are, the-

Top 10 reasons why people do not go on college visits and meet coaches:

# 10   they are too busy with everyday life to make time for it

# 9     they do not think about it until it is too late

# 8     they do not think their child is committed to play college sports 

# 7     they do not think they need to meet coaches

# 6     they think it is too early to think about college

# 5     they do not have any coaches to meet

# 4     they do not think ahead enough to plan for it

# 3     they do not want to miss a day of school nor a day of work

# 2     they are not permitted to miss a practice 

And the # 1 reason why most people do not go on college visits and meet coaches?          

They do not know when or how to go about arranging for them.   

“Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal.” The point is that all 10 of those reasons lend themselves to mere circumstances that could cause you to lose sight of your goal.

“I need to wait until I see a greater commitment from my son. Right now he has too many distractions.”

Of course they have distractions; that is the life of a mid-age teenager. They are busy in school, with all types of activities, interests, and peer pressures. But that should not deter the college search.

The question is- what do you, the parents, want out of college for your son or daughter? If it includes an opportunity to play college sports, then you cannot wait until your child shows you the maturity for such.

College is a life’s opportunity that you are very aware of. For most families absorbed in the daily tasks of life, it is challenging to have to look years in advance. Do not expect your son or daughter to be thinking that far ahead all the time.  But you need to. You are the adult. You are the facilitator. You have the vested interest.

Although I understand that you want to see maturity from your son or daughter before you commit your time and resources to the college cause, waiting for this can only waste valuable time and will generally lead to disappointing results.
——————————————————————————-

To the college coach that is looking to assemble a competitive sports team, the way he or she manages the scholarship budget will affect their opportunities to recruit every year; that is a lot at stake, both for competitive game purposes and for career opportunity.

To the athletic department and its Athletic Director, who is looking to maintain a culture of college sports and provide a quality sporting opportunity for its student-athletes, the way they distribute their budget will determine which sport teams are retained and what resources are allotted for each; that is a lot at stake, both for the college culture and for
the college experience of many trusting student athletes.

There is a lot more to college sports than just wins and loses. Careers, life opportunites, and substantial sums of money are all at play.

Most parents can appreciate the responsibility for a teenager, maybe two of them. Now multiply that by 10. That is exactly what a college coach wakes up to each day. It is naïve to think coaches arrive at their office each morning looking for your email or videotape, or planning to return your call as a priority. Instead, the coach is more worried about whether each existing player is in class or in the gym, alive and well. It is your job to work within the coach’s schedule to get the results you want. And speaking of their schedule, coaches for spring sports are playing now. Their priority is mostly likely on their next opponent.

You may receive coach’s letters. View it as a call for action, by you, not by the coach. To the coach, you are just another recruit, which amounts to not much more than a “definite maybe.”

Here is the dilemma that parents of athletes face: You have spent your share of money and exhausted your share of time. You are now receiving letters. Your natural reaction is to think that you have done all the right things, and perhaps you have. Now it is time for coaches to call. That is what they are supposed to do, so you think. It is best to realize that it will not be on your time that coach’s call, rather it will always be on their time. And their timeline is not necessarily in sync with yours.

You will have to make a fairly significant effort to get a coach to deviate from their normal daily routine in order to accommodate your
interests.

• “I would like you to come out for the team during fall workouts. If you make the team, then I will give you a jersey for the spring.”
• “I will give you a non-scholarship position on the team. You can come work out with us and if you do well, then I will add you to the active roster.”
• “You’re our guy. Fill out an application and financial aid form, and let’s see what we can do for you.”
• “We would like for you to come here. You will red-shirt your freshman year, then we will consider a scholarship for your sophomore year. In the meantime, fill out a financial aid form to see if we can save you some money.”
• “We will give you a roster spot. I need your parents to fill out a financial aid form. We will evaluate that and let you know how much money we can give you.”
• “Our offer to you is $25,000 a year: $7,000 for volleyball and $18,000 for financial aid.”
• “Our offer to you is to give you a roster position along with a $25,000 academic scholarship that you can keep as long as you maintain a 3.25 GPA.”
• “Our offer to you is a $25,000 athletic scholarship. Let’s get your parents to fill out a financial aid form to see if that can cover other costs.”
• “Our offer to you is a full tuition athletic scholarship, which will adjust each year in line with the tuition rate. We expect for you to contribute as a freshman and compete for a starting position during your sophomore year.”

There are no boilerplate scholarship offers. They all have hidden meanings in them. They all have their own agenda attached, the coach’s agenda that is. And they can change with the wind, and for many reasons. It is your job to get at it and understand what it all means. In the end, this is a contract, and as with any other contract everyone involved is looking for the best deal. For your child, playing time, money, personal self-worth, team status and more is at stake. So, listen very closely when a coach says, “I would like to offer…” Your job is figuring out the coach’s real intentions for your child — and whether or not the offer is the best you will get, or just the starting point for negotiations.

The Strategy for Testing Success: Following this guide won’t make a student smarter, but it will maximize their chances for scoring well:

• Register on-line for an SAT collegeboard.com account and become familiar with the website’s resources.
• Purchase a good set of SAT/ ACT preparation guides and booklets asearly as your child’s sophomore year and map out a study plan.
• Your child should take the PSAT test in the fall of his or her junior year.
• Starting in January or February, plan for your child to take an SAT test, then an ACT test in March or April. Schedule another SAT test in May or June during the junior year.
• Your child should take another SAT in October of his or her senior year and an ACT either in the month ahead of or after the SAT. Make sure both tests are taken by November 30th. If necessary, take one more of the
• tests in January to improve a score.

For most students, all of this testing sounds like too many hassles, but it remains the surest way to secure admissions and gain a scholarship.

Establish a routine and set aside weekly study time. If you are trying to motivate your child, remind them the scores appear on your personal profile that is presented to coaches, who often look to scores first when evaluating recruits. Bad scores can end recruiting. It is just that simple.

Test scores represent the best way for a college to compare applicants. It is also the quickest way for a college coach to determine a potential recruits status for college admission. This is the time of the year to be scheduling SAT’s and preparing to do your best. Each additional 100 points scored will either enhance your admissions opportunities or add scholarship dollars to your offer.

The Strategy for Testing Success: Following this guide won’t make a student smarter, but it will maximize their chances for scoring well:

• Register on-line for an SAT collegeboard.com account and become familiar with the website’s resources.
• Purchase a good set of SAT/ ACT preparation guides and booklets asearly as your child’s sophomore year and map out a study plan.
• Your child should take the PSAT test in the fall of his or her junior year.
• Starting in January or February, plan for your child to take an SAT test, then an ACT test in March or April. Schedule another SAT test in May or June during the junior year.
• Your child should take another SAT in October of his or her senior year and an ACT either in the month ahead of or after the SAT. Make sure both tests are taken by November 30th. If necessary, take one more of the
• tests in January to improve a score.

For most students, all of this testing sounds like too many hassles, but it remains the surest way to secure admissions and gain a scholarship.

Establish a routine and set aside weekly study time. If you are trying to motivate your child, remind them the scores appear on your personal profile that is presented to coaches, who often look to scores first when evaluating recruits. Bad scores can end recruiting. It is just that simple.