Coach Mike-
National Scouting Director with CSA PrepStar
Professional collegiate sports scout working with qualified next level student-athletes to find the right college athletic and academic fit.
That’s an actual text response I recently received from a high school athlete. Immediately, I knew that this young man was going to have issues communicating with college coaches. And in recruiting how you communicate is just as important as how you perform on the field.
When you talk with a coach your resume is your athletic and academic accomplishments, but what’s going to put you at the top of the list is how sell yourself during the interview.
Most athletes don’t understand that meeting a college coach is much like a job interview. To state it simply, the coach has a open position in his organization and he’s looking for the best candidate to fill that position. So treat your visit like you would a job interview. Your resume is your athletic and academic accomplishments, but what’s going to put you at the top of the…
Set yourself apart by treating your recruiting visit like you would a job interview
In the coming months many 2017 student athletes will take official college visits to solidify the next steps of their recruiting. It is much like a job interview in many respects. Bosses have reviewed the resume, checked references and decided to scheduled the final interview. So treat your recruiting visit like you would a job interview.
College coaches can now contact 2017 recruits So if you’re not hearing from college coaches contact me immediately (mwoosley@csaprepstar.com) so I can help you get the recruiting exposure you need to get noticed!
Keep in mind that while your resume is your athletic and academic accomplishments, what’s really going to put you at the top of the list is how set yourself apart during the recruiting interview. So, here are four tips that you…
Communication is perhaps the most important aspect of college recruiting. To be more specific, written communication has an essential role in the recruiting process.
Unfortunately, many athletes miss out on great opportunities because they don’t learn how to properly communicate with college coaches, assistant coaches or recruiting coordinators.
So, I want to give you an effective strategy for using email in the recruiting process so that you can avoid the mistake of missed opportunity.
As you begin, it helps to be aware that most college coaches are looking for athletes who actually want to get an education at the school they work for. Truth is, for the majority of colleges outside of the Power 5, educational opportunities draw more prospective student athletes than athletic program.
Academic interest emails display understanding the balance between collegiate academic and athletics.
Next, if you want to be considered as a prospect or recruit at a college you will have to find a way to communicate that information to a college coach, assistant coach or recruiting coordinator. The best way to do that is by email, especially if you’re interested in colleges out-of-state.
The recommendation of many online resources is for athletes to blindly email coaches asking about available scholarships and roster spots. While there is a proper time to ask those questions, it’s helpful to know that an academic interest email is not the email to ask those questions.
So, what should you include in the email?
Obviously, in an academic interest email it is important to display your interest in the academic programs offered.
Why? Because coaches like it when you show them that you’ve done some research on the school as well the team. Another useful tip is to include facts about the program as well as some recent statistics such as graduation rate or placement rate after graduation. Ultimately, coaches want to know the athletes emailing is goal oriented and highly motivated to succeed.
To wrap up, proper communication is important for recruits. To be effective, your communication needs to display your level of interest in the college and that your objective is to find a college that will academically position you for success after your career.
Finally, there are several key pieces of information required in recruiting emails so I will continue providing readers great tips and useful information in future posts.
Recently, in an April meeting NCAA D1 council changed its regulations on the use of text message communication for recruiting. Although this change has been regulated for D1 college only, it will surely impact other divisions of college athletics.
As stated on the NCAA website
The Council deregulated electronic communication with prospective student-athletes who participate in football, cross country, track and field and swimming and diving.
Electronic communication includes
Student athletes will be more accessible than ever once electronic communication is deregulated.
Text Message
Twitter DM
Facebook message
Instagram message
Since the announcement coaches, pundits and media outlets have started debating how this regulation will both hurt and help college coaches and recruits. It also means the NCAA gets off easy because they no longer has to monitor electronic contacts.
The reason I want to bring this new rule to your attention is because
1) it directly impacts your recruiting
2) it is likely to change the way coaches reach out to players
3) it means the student athlete will need to learn how to effectively communicate with college coaches.
Once this rule takes effect, communication with college coaches via social media is going to be different for student athletes. Surely, this will impact the content student-athletes post to social media. Especially when considering college coaches will be permit to interact with athlete at any time.
Be committed,
For the longest time the eye-test ruled collegiate and professional recruiting. Today, recruiting has evolved to also include specific measurements that are used to predict and project athlete potential.
This is why stats, metics and grades are important to your recruiting profile.
Hanging in my office is a well used stopwatch. Its serves as a reminder that today sports are broken down into fractions of a second. Basic math, statistics and advanced data analysis not only separates athletes but also accounts for the difference between wins and losses.
Your goal is to win at the game of recruiting. So use your stats, metrics and grades to separate yourself from the crowd and show the college coaches your talent.
In your Prepstar profile you can update this information as often as you like. Simply click the “Edit” button, enter the data then click “Save”.
If your not sure what to add, feel free to contact me. I’m here to help.
The recruiting profile is much like a resume. A good resume lets the employer know who the candidate is, why she/he is more qualified than other applicants, and what unique skills they have to help the company. Typically, the best candidates have the most impressive resumes. Without question, their experience stands outs in the accomplishments and achievements listed.
Average isn’t impressive.
The recruiting profile represents the accomplishments of prospective student-athletes in the classroom and in athletic competition. Its your chance to be extraordinary, not average.
Surely, candidates with incomplete resumes stand less of a chance compared to prospects with resumes chock-full of impressive information.
So, your recruiting profile can be a great tool to the get attention of the college coach. However, if your profile looks like everyone else’s then you are more likely to get looked over than to get attention.
Be “extra”-ordinary
College coaches are looking for players that have something “extra”-ordinary about them.
Practically every college coach is looking for student-athletes with the right experience, skills and qualifications to convince them that he/she will be able to succeed at the next level.
I encourage you to use your recruiting profile to let coaches know why you are an excellent choice and great fit for the college and athletic program!
So, the best way to do that is to frequently update your recruting profile!
What then should be included in your profile?
Academic accomplishments
Academic transcripts
Future academic interests
Community involvement
Extracurricular clubs / programs
College entry exam scores
Media web-links and newspaper articles
Strength and Speed Metrics
Recent statistics
Experience /accomplishments including playoffs, state championships, tournament championships
Letters of recommendation from coach, counselor, teacher or mentor
Game Video highlights
Position Skills video
Travel team information
Goals and objectives
Contact information including phone, email, social media
Why does your profile need this information?
If you don’t give coaches the information they need, they will just glance over your profile and move on to the next qualified athlete in their search for the right fit. Please do not expect a college coach to track down all of your information. Truthfully, most won’t. Instead, show them why you deserve their attention.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,200 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 37 trips to carry that many people.
Do you know who Marisa Arriaga is? Monday, her amazing hit trick video went viral. After her video went viral, it’s safe to say Marisa Arriaga has gained more popularity than she ever imagined.
College athletic recruiting works a lot like that. With the right kind of exposure a student- athlete goes from a total unknown one day to being known by every college coach the next.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3VE9wSh3Ok&feature=youtu.be]Answer these questions to determine if recruiting exposure is needed?
My student-athlete is one of the best athletes on the team and one of the top players in the league
My student-athlete works harder in and out of the classroom than his/her peers
My student-athlete is totally committed to playing college athletics and earning a scholarship
Parents, if you answered all three questions with a “Yes!” then it’s time to start getting the recruiting recognition that your student-athlete deserves.
So, if you answered yes to all three of these questions you have 3 recruiting options.
Try to figure out a fancy trick, record it and hope it goes viral.
Do nothing at all.
Contact me through the comment sections so I can connect with you to lay out a plan to get your athlete the national recognition they deserve!
Prepstar student-athletes get evaluated by thousands of college coaches everyday!
I guarantee, with Prepstar your student-athlete’s recruiting will go viral.
Recruiting, recognition, results….that’s what your student-athlete deserves!
Let’s go viral today!
Coach Mike
Coach Mike Woosley is a National Scouting Director at CSA-PrepStar. As a professional collegiate sports scout Mike coaches qualified next level student-athletes through the recruiting process to find the right college athletic and academic fit.
Most athletic competitions have time constraints. For example, soccer has two 45 minute halves, basketball four 8 minute quarters, even track and swimming measure placements by time. Baseball and softball limits games by a specified number of innings. Clearly, time management is vital to every game.
Usually the team that did the best job of managing the clock wins the game. Teams that don’t have to rely on a last minute miracle.
Last Minute Miracles
Truth is athletes only have one shot at getting recruited. No one can have a high school do-ver. So athletes in the midst should never rely on a last minute miracle to land a scholarship.
I’m not a miracle worker, but I know how to manage the recruiting clock. Partnering with me will assure success!
Think of it like this. Would you rather hurry and scurry around as the clock winds down hoping to score at the last second or would you prefer to know that victory is eminent and relish the moment of celebration?
5 Tips to Enjoy the Recruiting Process (and avoid hoping for a last minute miracle)
Follow these few tips to be certain that you’ve met your goals and victory belongs to you!
Have a solid recruiting plan. Start working the plan early and stay the course. This is where years of recruiting exposure will pay off.
Keep focused in the classroom and on the field. The classroom is not the place to let your performance slip.
Know communication rules Communicate with as many coaches as possible.
Take official visits to colleges recruiting you. Five official visits are permitted, use them wisely. Make sure you know the academic and athletic expectations for athletes at each school.
The clock is ticking. Time will eventually run out. When this happens I want to be sure your family is celebrating!
Be committed, get committed.
Coach Mike Woosley is a National Scouting Director at CSA-PrepStar. As a professional collegiate sports scout Mike works with qualified next level student-athletes to find the right college athletic and academic fit. Comments and questions are always welcome.
The highlight video is more important to your college recruiting than you think.
The recruiting video is a valuable asset for athletes wanted to get recruited. In most cases the highlight video can make or break an athlete’s recruiting. Since September 1st only 3 weeks away, college hopefuls must have their highlight video ready for this major recruiting period!
Did you know that every PrepStar 360 Athlete gets expert edited highlight videos included in their recruiting program? Because PrepStar has been working with college coaches for 34 years our video experts know the exact specifications college coaches want to see.
However, if you choose to go it alone here’s a few tips to create a good highlight video.
A good highlight video:
is an appropriate length of 3-5 minutes
easily identifies the student athlete
shows athletic talent and all aspect of skills required for the position
Coaches watch highlight videos to save time and money. Truth is, if they don’t like what they see then they won’t invest in the travel expenses to come to watch in person.
Common highlight videos mistakes
music in the background
overuse of additional graphics
videos that are too long
unclear or obstructed footage
A good highlight video that impresses the coach to want to see and know more about you as a student-athlete. A mediocre highlight video does not help your recruiting whatsoever.
Keep these tips in mind and your highlight video should be a help, not a hinderance, to you recruiting.
Good luck.
Coach Mike Woosley is a National Scouting Director at CSA-PrepStar. As a professional collegiate sports scout Mike works with qualified next level student-athletes to find the right college athletic and academic fit. Comments and questions are always welcome.
When you talk with a coach your resume is your athletic and academic accomplishments, but what’s going to put you at the top of the list is how sell yourself during the interview. 
Elite Athletes Recruiting 