eliteathletesrecruiting

Early signing day for football could speed up the recruiting process for some and slow it dow for others

Posted on June 16, 2015June 16, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Talk of allowing December early signing date for National Letters of Intent for FBS and FCS schools. By the end of the month this matter should be settled following an upcoming vote. ESPN broke the story Monday about the CCA experimenting with new recruiting regulations.

Currently, there no early signing date for collegiate football program. However, most other collegiate sports except soccer and mens’ water polo have early signing date the second week of November. This new regulation can take effect as early as 2016 with a review coming after two year of experimenting with the new rule.

NLI signing dates could undergo a monumental change following an upcoming vote of FBS and FCS representatives.

So, how will an early signing date affect Senior football players hoping to get to the next level?

First, it means for some players recruiting will speed up while for others it will slow down. Secondly, collegiate hopefuls will have to rethink they way they approach the college recruiting process both athletically and academically.

Here’s a general breakdown of what to anticipate.

Undoubtably, recruiting will speed up for prospects that are high on the recruiting boards. These athletes will be identified much earlier and recruited with more intensity. We can count of this because college coaches will need to be more aggressive with blue-chip players to make sure another school doesn’t steal them away.

As a result, this intense focus will cause recruiting to slow down for prospects that aren’t primary targets for the December declaration day. These prospects will likely experience a lag in communication with college coaches. Make no mistake, college coaches will benefit from the additional time permitted by the early signing date to pick and choose the most ideal player, or players, to fill the remaining roster spots. But for the rest, this process might become tedious and perhaps stressful.

So where do we go from here? Simple. Recruiting exposure needs to start earlier and athletes will have to be on top of their core courses and ACT/SAT tests to make sure they are early academic qualifiers.

Most certainly, athletes must be on the coach’s recruiting radar by the Sophomore year to get a pen and paper placed before them in December. Furthermore, athletes will need more aggressive with their strategy to get seen, scouted and recruited. Clearly, the advantage goes to players able to play at the varsity level as underclassmen, who take the initiative to get quality recruiting exposure and perform well in the classroom.

In the end, while the vote has yet to be cast, it is expected to pass. So athletes better start preparing for it.

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.

Twitter: @michaelwoosley

Tips on how to communicate with college coaches

Posted on June 13, 2015June 13, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

“Who dis?”

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.

interview-question-ruins-300x200 — 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 list is how sell yourself during the interview.

You want to leave a positive impression. So here are four tips that you need to know.

1) Use proper English. Coaches take their job seriously, they also look for serious players. Demonstrate that you are articulate and intelligent (if you don’t know what those works mean get a thesaurus!)

2) Dress for success. Leave the warm-ups at home. Dress nicely and wear a tie. Don’t worry about standing out. After all, that’s what you are there for.

3) Separate yourself from the pack. Sheep run in a flock so they don’t get eaten, lions roam alone to hunt down their prey! When everyone else is goofing off, keep in mind that your there for one reason; to get noticed and get a scholarship!

4) Be confident when you respond to questions. Rehearse your responses to questions that a coach may ask. Teams practice so that they are prepared for whatever may come during game-time. Anticipate questions that revolve around your strengths, weaknesses, concept of team, individual goals, work ethic, and responsibility.

Remember, the objective is to leave the interview confident that you left a good impression. Certainly, don’t put yourself in a position where you walk away wishing you would have said or did something differently.

Good luck on your upcoming interview.

Coach Mike

Twitter: @michaelwoosley

The value of sports camps for recruiting?

Posted on June 9, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Almost every conversation I have with athletes and parents the question of camps comes up. Admittedly, sports camps have especially gained a lot of attention as a staple for recruiting. It seems like every college, at all levels, has some sort of athletic camp. But do camps really help with recruiting?

So what is the role of sports camps in college athletic recruiting? Are they worth it? Do they really help with recruiting?

First, camps are great for younger athletes. During camp younger players can learn new skills which can help them in the future. Young athletes can use camp to demonstrate talent level above their peers.

Conversely, older, more experienced players spend most of their time at camp honing the skills they already have. Be warned, recruiting can suffer if player skills are not up to par.

Second, camps are good for team building. Ever see Remember the Titans? hqdefault copy Team camps build the necessary bond of trust and camaraderie between teammates that is needed to succeed. There is also an added benefit when several members of a team has the opportunity to see firsthand how they measure up against talented athletes from competing schools.

So what about the role of camps in recruiting?

The best piece of advice is that camps need to add value to your recruiting. Consider, what will you gain from attending this camp beyond a T-shirt and sunburn? Before you pay fill out the application form its wise to ask yourself this question.

Secondly, athletes should be selective with camps choices. Exposure is the key benefit with camp selection. Target a camps for the benefits it can add to the quality exposure of your overall recruiting campaign.

Lastly, before the check is written, consider the return on investment. The idea is to let the camp to add significant credibility to your recruiting, not make you look like an underperforming athlete or worse, desperate for attention.

In summary, it is important to consider the value of a sports. Good investments add value, and sports camps should add value to your overall recruiting campaign.

Share your opinions. What do are your though about attending sports camps for recruiting purposes?

Finally, follow me on Twitter and locate me on Periscope to watch my upcoming broadcast on the value of sports camps for college recruiting.

How to gauge your college recruiting

Posted on May 30, 2015May 30, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

For many athletes the school year is finally over. The first thing most student-athletes want to do is to relax and take a break. But if you’re an athlete with the goal of playing ball at the next level coasting is not the best thing to do.

Actually, the last thing you want to do is take a break. So instead of taking your foot off the gas and coasting you need to rev up the engine and cover some serious ground. Remember, you only have a small four year window to get seen, scouted, and recruited.

Taking time off can put you behind in recruiting. Plus, athletes can get in a funk where one day off turns into to two, then four then, a week or even a month. Take caution not to fall behind. College coaches recruit athletes year around so you should also stay focused on your recruiting year around.

So, how do you know that your recruiting is on the right track? Follow these tips as a guideline to gauge where you are with your recruiting.

Freshmen- Day 1 of Freshman year, the very first day you step on high school campus, college coaches can begin to communicate with athletes. Get any early start before the school year begins because recruiting really starts the day you graduate 8th grade.

Sophomores that are starting to show up on the recruiting radar of college coaches should be getting letters, emails and camp invites. This is a pivotal year for most prospective athletes and the best time to get noticed.

Juniors can tell that they are on pace recruiting by receiving emails, texts, camp invites or have spoken with several coaches. This is also a great time to take the Act and SAT tests.

Seniors should have heard from colleges the summer before their senior year. Ideally, seniors want to be in a position where they are narrowing down interested colleges instead of hoping that a college coach will show an interest at the last moment.

Follow these tips and you’ll be heading towards the home stretch.

One other piece of advice. If you find that your recruiting isn’t going according to plan, you should get some help to get you up to speed. I’m willing to help. Just contact me via twitter or the email below for a free recruiting evaluation.

Good luck!

Coach Mike

Twitter: @michaelwoosley

The Courtship of College Recruiting

Posted on April 4, 2015April 6, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

This summer my wife and I will mark our 18th year of beginning together (married for 16 years). Believe it or not, however, when I first met my wife she did not immediately start dating me. It’s hard to imagine, I know, but we went through several months of courtship before we committed to dating exclusively. Dating and recruiting are a lot alike. There is always a period of time that it takes for a coach and player to get to know one another before making a formal commitment to spend the next 4 years together.

During the recruiting process the relationship developed between a player and coach leads to great commitment.

So, how does dating relate to recruiting? I’ve outline three steps to communication to grow a solid player/coach recruiting relationship. During that time lots of communication should happen to grow the relationship. Take note, because there are several similarities in process of getting to know the person you’re going to be committed to for the next 4 years.

The first step is to get to know one another. Whether its text, email, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or SnapChat athletes and coaches need to communicate with one another. Don’t be timid! Healthy relationships grow out of quality conversations. Its okay to be forward, often a coach expresses his/her interests first starting the recruiting communication process by contacting an athlete, viewing their profile or sending an athlete (or family) written correspondence.

The second step is to ask questions. You should ask questions to get the information you are looking for. Keep in mind that you are interviewing a coach, just as much as the coach is interviewing you. Your decision to accept a scholarship offer is contingent on the answers to your questions. Also, keep in mind, coaches solidify relationships by making scholarship offers to players they are comfortable with and confident in.

The third step is to schedule a meeting. Eventually the time will come to decide whether or not to take the relationship to the next level. Real dates happen face to face, not via technology, so its necessary that a time to meet is scheduled. This can be a campus visit, camp, or meeting at your school/home. Point is the communication you’ve had with the coach will determine the chemistry (or lack of) at the face to face meeting.

Lastly, always keep in mind that every relationship takes time. So my advice to you is to give yourself plenty of time to start and grow that relationship. This is a vital because we are well aware that relationships that happen in a hurry often end in a hurry. If you want the relationship between you and your coach to last, you need to invest the time necessary to assure that it will last.

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How to Enjoy the Recruiting Experience Your Senior Year

Posted on March 13, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Tips for 2016 soon-to-be-seniors to enjoy the recruiting process.

Elite Athletes Recruiting

Almost every athletic competition has 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 winning team at the end of the game is the team that managed the clock best. In contrast, the team that does not always relies on last second miracles to pull out the victory.

Last Minute Miracles

Athletes in the midst of their senior year should not rely on last minute miracles to land a scholarship. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe that miracles happen, but I’d much rather be confident that everything has been done to assure that victory is certain. Think of it like this. Would you rather hurry and scurry around as the clock winds down hoping…

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Milestone or Millstone? Weighing the debate of paying student athletes

Posted on March 2, 2015March 3, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Is it right to compensate college athletes? Though this question remains a matter of debate, starting in 2015, some conferences will allow scholarship money to cover incidental cost such transportation and personal expenses. What is yet to be determineD is whether or not these changes will be a milestone or millstone for the future of college athletes.

According to the “the cost-of-attendance arrangement,” which is supposed to make up for the near $2500 discrepancy between cost of scholarship value and that of cost of scholarship value based off cost of attendance.” As of August 1, 2015, “an athlete will now be able to get what amounts to a stipend based on the school’s estimate of a typical student’s transportation and personal expense costs” (USA Today, January 2015).

A recent vote by BIG 12, ACC, BIG10, PAC12 and SEC conferences voted to:

borrow against future earnings to purchase so-called loss-of-value insurance – policies that can help athletes if an injury while playing college sports results in an athlete getting less money from a professional contract than they might have otherwise gotten.
Approve legislation that will prevent schools and coaches from choosing not to renew an athlete’s scholarship for athletic reasons. Under the system that has been in place, most athletic scholarships are subject to annual renewal.
Approve a resolution under which they pledge to, within the next two years, approve rules changes that would regulate time demands on athletes “to ensure an appropriate balance between athletics participation and the academic obligations and opportunities presented to students generally.”
Address issues related to athletes’ access to career-related insurance and interaction with agents.

Much has yet to be discussed. And even more has yet to be discovered. In the era of mega-milion juggernaut of college sports, the struggles of college athletes are well documented. But, is a stipend actually payment for the athlete’s play? Is it really shared compensation for the millions upon millions of dollars colleges bring in every year? Or is this an effort from the power conferences to appease the players people comes to see (and spend plenty of money they do) while continuing to pad the pockets of the institution? The answer has yet to be weighed. But one thing is for certain. The situation for college athletes has gotten better and I’ll consider that progress. In any situation, especially one of this nature, progress is always good.

New Rule Changes Supports HS Football Players’ Safety

Posted on February 20, 2015February 20, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Player safety has been a recent hot- button issue at all levels of organized football and the NFHS wasted no time by making some significant rule changes for 2015. A recent study found that high school football players, are twice as likely than college football players to suffer a head trauma (i.e. concussions). Though high-school football is the most popular boys sport, injuries as a whole are a threat to the game and in some locations have led to an exodus where some football programs are now unable to field a team.

This past January the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee modified three previous rules to address player safety. Additionally, two rule changes provide further clarification to already established rules and one new rule in regards to series of down has been added.

Here’s a summary of the six rules modified for the 2015-2016 season.

Rule 9-4-3g. No player or non-player shall make any contact with an opponent, including a defenseless player who is not in the vicinity of the ball, which is deemed unnecessary or excessive and which incites roughness.
Rule 2-20. Spearing is now defined as “an act by any player who initiates contact against an opponent at the shoulders or below with the crown (top portion) of his helmet.
Rule 6-1-4 is a new rule. It was added to state that the timing of the foul for not having at least four players on each side of the kicker on a free kick now occurs when the ball is kicked.
Rule 9-4. Beginning next season, an automatic first down will not be awarded for a 5-yard incidental face-mask penalty against the passer.
Rule 10-2-5. New language clarifies that the distance penalty for unsportsmanlike, non-player or dead-ball personal fouls committed by teams can offset. Equal numbers of 15-yard penalties by both teams will cancel and remaining penalties may be enforced.
Rule 5-1-1b is also a new rule. It states that the referee shall have authority to correct the number of the next down prior to a new series of downs being awarded.

Last year 1,093,234 student-athletes participated in 11-man football at the high school level. Hopefully, these new rules will assure the safety of current players and fill more football rosters for the future.

Find the full article here .

4 Building blocks of recruiting

Posted on February 13, 2015February 13, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

When I went to school a school day consisted of 7 class periods. Today, many schools use block scheduling reducing the 7 class period down to 4 class blocks. Block classes allow for classes to longer periods of time. Often, block classes don’t meet every day, so as a student its important to know your class schedule. To borrow an example from school, go to the wrong class the teacher is sure to bust you. Likewise, break the recruiting rules during the recruiting period and the NCAA is going to bust you.

As a Director of Scouting and Recruiting part of my responsibilities to you is to make you aware of the key recruiting information to get you seen, scouted and signed. Like block scheduling there are 4 recruiting periods that you need to know. Each period has a specifically scheduled purpose and it is very important that student-athletes and parents know the specific guidelines of each period. Recruiting built on these blocks of knowledge is sure to be solid.

4 RECRUITING PERIODS

Evaluation period

During an evaluation period a college coach may watch college-bound student-athletes compete, visit their high schools, and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. However, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents off the college’s campus during an evaluation period. KEY: coaches can evaluate you (watch you play), but can’t talk with you.

Quiet period

A college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write or telephone college-bound student-athletes or their parents during this time. KEY: Usually happens around NLI Signing day and during the NCAA coaches conventions. No evaluations allowed, no face to face communication permitted, only written and phone communication is permissible.

Dead period

During a dead period a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period. KEY: No evaluations allowed, communication is ok, but not face to face.

Contact Period

A college coach may have in-person contact with an prospective student-athletes and/or his or her parents on or off the college’s campus. The coach may also watch prospective student-athletes play or visit their high school. Athletes and parents may visit a college campus and the coach may write and telephone prospective student athletes during this period.” KEY; this is the most open recruiting period of all. Only frequency of verbal communication or campus visits are restricted. For many juniors and senior athletes this is also time where scholarship are offered, agreements are drawn up and athletes make commitments to colleges

If you have any questions about recruiting contact periods get in touch with me by phone, text or email. We’ll arrange a time to talk it through.

~Coach Mike

Athletic scholarship offer…what you can do to create that contact moment

Posted on February 4, 2015September 1, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Every athlete aspiring to play at the college level dreams of the moment they meet the head coach and get offered an athletic scholarship. But when can this moment happen? The NCAA has specific guidelines regarding recruiting. We’ve all heard of recruiting violations occurring resulting in sanctions on both the athlete and college program. To answer the question, this moment most often happens during the recruiting contact period.

College recruiting regulations can be hard to figure out without someone to help direct you through the process. That’s a big part of my responsibility to you. Sometimes it helps to define and break down these rules so they are easier to understand. One rule is the contact period rule.

By definition provided by the NCAA Guide for College-Bound Student Athletes, a for prospective collegiate student-athletes contact period is the time frame where, “a college coach may have in-person contact with an prospective student-athletes and/or his or her parents on or off the college’s campus. The coach may also watch prospective student-athletes play or visit their high school. Athletes and parents may visit a college campus and the coach may write and telephone prospective student athletes during this period.”*

Breakdown of the rule

So what does that mean? Here’s the breakdown in simple terms.

Basically, the contact period is the only recruiting period where a college coach can both evaluate and communicate with a player.
- This is important to know because other recruiting periods have greater contact restrictions.
Prospective Student Athletes (PSA’s) and college coaches can talk to one another on or off campus.
- Specifically Junior and Seniors
Coaches can evaluate players by watching games or practices.
- This includes underclassmen as well. Its a great opportunity to catch a coaches eye!
Contact with PSA can be made through phone, letter, email, text, and social media.
- Underclassmen will only receive school info as noted in my previous blog.
PSA’s can take unofficial and official college visits during the contact period
- Mostly, upperclassmen take advantage of the allotted visits.

A few other important notes. Contact periods are the least restricted of of the four recruiting periods. For many juniors and senior athletes this is also time where scholarship are offered, agreements are drawn up and athletes make commitments to colleges. So, this goes to show how important it is to start the recruiting process no later than Sophomore year!

Here are a sports in the midst of, or upcoming, contact periods.

Softball – January 2 through July 31, 2015
Baseball– March 1 through July 31, 2015
Football – November 30, 2014, through March 9, 2015
Basketball– November 14, 2014 through March 31, 2015

Finally, student-athletes and parents do your part to create that contact moment happen by making sure your Prepstar profile is up to date. Be sure that all contact numbers, email addresses and home addresses are current. Highlight film or skills videos should also be loaded on the site…remember multiple films can be uploaded on the Prepstar profile page. Finally, do not neglect academic information. Be sure that your most recent GPA, test scores (ACT, SAT) recorded and PDF copies of important documents are included in your academic section. Contact me immediately if you need help!

All this is to insure that the coaches evaluating your son/daughter have all the necessary information to make that contact moment a reality.