How frequently should you contact a college coach? When reaching out to coaches, how much is too much?

This video gives you some useful tips on how often should you contact a college coach. 

PrepStar Coaching: The Ultimate Tool To Find the Right College Fit

 A Difference Working with Coach Mike- Morgan’s experience

Unlike conventional recruiting platforms Prepstar knows the athletes we work with. The PrepStar 360 team provides 1-1 relationship opportunities between athletes and our scouts. Athletes like Morgan benefit from the personal approach while they are going through the ever-changing path that is college recruiting. 

PrepStar 360A new and improved recruiting platform

“At PrepStar 360 we know the specific needs of our athletes and the college recruiters, so we have developed a new recruiting platform based upon that insight. We truly feel it is a better recruiting tool than what is currently out there on the market.”– Mike Woosley, national scouting director of PrepStar “Our service goes beyond traditional recruiting. Our site and comprehensive program helps find the right colleges, academics for each individual athlete. That is what we mean by PrepStar 360.

PrepStar is different from other recruiting platforms

For athletes like Morgan, PrepStar’s 360° approach provides an athlete from beginning to end of their college recruiting journey and the system is unprecedented. Its team of fully-trained college scouts conduct one-on-one recruiting assessment, video visits and progress evaluations that far exceed the recruiting services of conventional recruiting sites. Coach Mike, National Director at PrepStar explains, “The PrepStar 360° approach was created with an athlete’s needs, and not a 3 year experience, or a 4 year experience. Our personalized recruiting approach provides a supportive and unique recruiting experience to help athletes discover their perfect college fit. 

The PrepStar Difference

Powered by technology and decades of interaction we take pride in being the only national, high school recruiting program of its kind. In today’s world athletes and coaches communicate digitally in every possible way. PrepStar 360 is designed to be more intuitive than any of its competitors. Here’s why: How do you get coaches to find you? PrepStar will give you your best chance of being seen, recruited and getting a college scholarship. We connect you with the best coaches, most passionate parents and a community of support. Because we’re a scouting and recruiting company we understand the importance of your college future.

PrepStar Coaching

“We like to challenge ourselves to find the most efficient, efficient recruiting solution for our athletes.” Bethany Juarez, social media liaison at PrepStar Southwest. Now the group does more than just share information with recruits and the schools. In addition to creating the platforms and compiling information. PrepStar 360 is also making it available for college recruiters. The clients for PrepStar 360 cover nearly every major college sport. Since their platform is so unique, they make the communications with the colleges available to the schools as well. “The schools are able to communicate with us on the college recruiting platforms directly.”

Conclusion

This article outlines how PrepStar 360 changed the life as a softball prospect like Morgan and how it can for other athletes too. While there are many powerful tools out there, not all of them are the right fit for everyone. Our scouts are waiting to talk to you. Reach out today and let’s take your athletic future to the next level. Coach Mike Woosley is the national scouting director for PrepStar. He has helped place a large number of college scholarship offers. To contact Coach Mike call 480-605-4050 or email: mwoosley@csaprepstar.com

Official visits and Unofficial visits quick comparison

The difference between the two is who pays the bill 

In an official visit the school pays for transportation to the visit and activities while on campus. Conversely, in an unofficial the you pay to get to the visit and for most activities while on campus.

In total, athletes are allotted 5 official visits by the NCAA. However, athletes may take only 1 official visit to a college. On the other hand, there is no limit on unofficial visits (why? because you pay your way to the visit 😀)

Quick Tips-other things you need to know

Often college coaches give scholarship offers are given during official visits

Student athletes can start taking unofficial visits freshman year. Official visits for most sports, however, are allocated for Junior and Senior year (and NCAA ID is also needed).

Lastly, the rules for Official vs Unofficial visits do vary for a few sports and also by division D1-D2, D3, NAIA so it is important to learn those rules.

How do you prepare for official & unofficial visits?

Well , helping you prepare for the recruiting process including unofficial and official visits is part of our comprehensive coaching program at PrepStar.  So, If you’d like to learn more or are interested in what it takes to have me as your personal recruiting coach, comment below or dm on one of my social media outlets (Twitter & Instagram: @michaelwoosley) .

How to Take Control of the Recruitment Process if You’re a Parent or a Student Athlete

The 4 week coaching program with Coach Mike Woosley will help guide your student-athlete through the recruiting process and improve their chances of getting recruited by top colleges.

What is the 4 week accelerated coaching program?

It consists of weekly video coaching with Coach Mike Woosley from his office in sunny Chandler, Arizona. You will have the chance to ask questions about the recruiting process, video, social media and learning the NCAA guidelines, all while getting coaching straight from a premier coach. Coach Mike is a former college athlete, coach and also a parent of student-athletes. He has guided and coached a wide variety of high school and junior high athletes throughout his coaching career. He currently works with some of the most elite athletes in the nation, including high school and college athletes.

Who should attend the 4 week accelerated coaching program?

Any athlete at the high school level that is seeking to improve their recruiting ability The first week of the program is designed to help parents and student-athletes overcome their preconceived ideas of how recruiting works and why it is a “long shot” for student-athletes to get recruited. Questions to ask during this week: Why is it so difficult for student-athletes to get recruited?

What’s included in the 4 week accelerated coaching program?

Each week is focused on a specific topic and goal. Each week is packed with actionable tips and practical tools that will help your student-athlete gain control of the recruiting process. Most student-athletes and their parents want to get recruited but they don’t know how. You’re not alone. The sports recruiting process is extremely confusing for players and parents. Many students feel like there’s no way to get a coach’s attention in such a busy and distracting recruiting calendar. With Coach Mike, it’s different. He’s a certified coach and knowledgeable recruiter with multiple years of experience helping student-athletes achieve their athletic, academic and life goals. He’ll show you how to take charge of the recruiting process and overcome all the challenges of being a collegiate athlete.

How does the 4 week accelerated coaching program work?

Weekly coaching sessions will guide you through the essentials of the recruiting journey, working with parents or student-athletes in weekly Zoom sessions in a 4 week rotation: outline an effective recruiting strategy, receive answers to the recruiting questions that you have, see how to boost social media to get on a college coach’s radar and learn what your student athlete needs to improve their current standing. Check out Coach Woosley’s high school coaching client list. Athletes can learn more about Coach Woosley’s coaching and student-athlete on his website or on his YouTube channel.

Why is it important to take control of the recruitment process?

Most student-athletes have a narrow view of what the recruiting process should look like. While many parents are eager to provide the “student athlete perspective” in the process, most parents don’t have the experience or knowledge to carry out this process successfully. Each year, more than 400,000 high school athletes are recruited through various levels of college sports. Colleges are losing out on thousands of players every year because parents and student-athletes don’t have the right coaching, the right educational experience and the right mindset when it comes to recruiting. How much is a college scholarship worth? What does the life of a college athlete look like? How can student- athletes be recruited by the best teams?

Conclusion

The Internet and social media have changed everything in college recruiting. It used to be that only a small group of people had information about athletes. Now, it’s not that way. Today, college recruiters are finding out more about student-athletes than ever before. Therefore, you have two choices: either try to navigate the recruiting process yourself and hope someone finds you if you get lost. Or get the guidance and direction you need to reach recruiting success.

Clearly, recruiting for the class of 2021 has taken on a much different timeline than years past.  As most student athletes are aware, the NCAA has extended the Dead Period for all sports to April 15, 2021.  So what’s next? Lately, I’ve been getting questions about this so here are a few helpful pieces of information. 

While it is true that evaluation opportunities have been hamstrung, recruiting keeps moving forward.. At this time, college coaches may not have face to face contact with athletes or their parents. It also means that college coaches cannot watch players compete. 

Typically, the majority of the recruiting class sign in the Spring. Furthermore, recruits can sign until the August 1, 2021.
 

Give these delays as a result of covid-19 it is likely that the majority of the 2021 recruiting class to sign late.  

This situation is much like a bad call by a referee. It may be terrible, it may affect your team, but the call is what it is. As a competitor the only thing to do is shake it off and refocus executing the game-plan.  

Most importantly, student-athletes should focus on the things that they can control. First, the primary focus at this time is to keep working hard. Stay in shape, keep up the workouts and stay hungry. Second, when school begins concentrate on getting the best grades possible. Studies are showing that distance learning resulting in lower student grades. So, don’t slack off or miss assignments. Third, it is important to be patient with the process. Contact periods are designed to slow down the process so that coaches have adequate time to scout prospects. Now that covid-19 has impacted the process it is even more important to be patient. Last, and perhaps most important during the delay, players can, and should, continue reaching out to coaches during all contact periods to remain on the radar. 

Article: 
Recruiting dead period in all sports extended by DI Council
Pandemic prompts extension until April 15
November 18, 2020 6:20pmMichelle Brutlag Hosick
 http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/recruiting-dead-period-all-sports-extended-di-council

Only compare the progress you made today, to what you were able to accomplish yesterday. 

As high school juniors and seniors soon roll into the prime of their recruiting season many student-athletes (and parents) have been known to let their minds run wild with worry. This worry is detrimental, so detrimental that keeps students athletes from really enjoying the  recruiting process.  Instead of the recruiting season being exciting and enjoyed,  why is it often discouraging and debilitating for some?  If we’ve learned one thing about recruiting from the season that Covid infected it is that a lot of recruiting remains yet to be done.

Unfortunately it’s easy to catch the  “comparison syndrome”.  When contracted it leaves behind it a terrible wake of distraction and disappointment.   Athletes know they’ve caught the comparison syndrome when they learn about a teammate, or some dude on social media, getting an offer. Instead of being happy for them, that athlete gets jealous, thinking to themselves, ‘I’m better than him! Where are my offers!?’

Parents, too, are most likely to be infected when they look on social media to discover that another athlete got an offer. The symptoms of the syndrome are also noticeable by the instantaneous response, “my kid is better than that kid!”

Here’s a public service announcement, comparison syndrome is the single most dangerous threat to your recruiting process!  Get sucked in by and and it will surely take you down a rabbit hole that will surely derail your recruiting. 

Sure, most student-athletes are competitive and want to get recruited. Student-athletes work hard in classroom and in competition because they want offers. So its  natural to desire to one-up the competition.  

But, when the symptoms of comparison syndrome start to surface, preemptive measures are necessary. Immediately, ask yourself a few questions to help  provide some perspective. 

Questions like:

Do I want to go to that school? 

Do I like that team? 

Is that school recruiting players at my position? 

Does that school fit my playing style? 

Do I like that coach or coaching staff? 

Would I want to play for a coach like that?

Does the coaching staff recruit players like me?

Does the team have players similar in size, speed, and strength like me on the roster?

Would I even want to go to college in that state? 

Would I be happy on a camps that size? 

Do I like the weather in that state? Do I really want to to practice or play in the snow, rain or severe heat?

Would I want  to play in that division or conference? 

Would I get playing time at that school? 

Do they have already have upperclassmen on the roster in my position? 

Do I have the grades to get in to that college? 

Would the coach offer me the scholarship money I need to pay for college? (College isn’t free and most scholarship do not cover 100% of tuition)

Would I pass admissions with my college entry exam scores? 

Take time to think through these questions. If you answer them honestly, you will sure avoid comparison syndrome. 

As you can see there are so many variables in recruiting that must be considered. There are also questions that need to be answered. Some unfortunately won’t be answered. 

The key is to focus on the things you can control. Things like your effort, academics, and attitude.

Again, not getting an offer doesn’t mean that an athletes is not a good player, it only means for one reason or another that school isn’t the right fit.

So, with this in mind, keep a clear head and a positive attitude. Ignore the social media posts, and the opinion of the talking heads/pundits. Focus on being better today than what you were yesterday.

There’s no playbook for parents of student-athletes.

Which is why I wrote the 12 Step Checklist: For the student-athlete to get on the radar of college coaches and get recruited.

My goal with the 12 Step Checklist: How to market your student-athlete to college coaches to get on their radar and get recruited. was to give you a blueprint that would teach parents and athletes the REAL key information that needs to be included when trying to get the attention of colleges coaches.

Basically, I wanted to create an easy, step by step, guide for parents to help their student-athletes to get noticed.

Now more than ever student-athletes need these tips to help them get the recruiting recognition they deserve.

To get the 12 Step Checklist: For the student-athlete to get on the radar of college coaches and get recruited. checklist email me at mwoosley@csaparpestar.com or DM me on Twitter or IG @michaelwoosley

In mid-June, I recorded an Interview with Jody Jones, retired military (Army air traffic control & air space manager) parent of four student athletes, and just a tremendously supportive parent. He graciously took the time to share with me his perspective.

Admittedly, he was with a competitor before coming to PrepStar team and he shares some of the struggles and lessons learned from that experience.

Intro

3:20 The process- how did you know it was time to get started?
4:08 Not knowing the recruiting process
6:20- Leveraging camps with exposure
6:40 DJ’s offers
7’:10 Using social media
7:30 Narrowing down the offers / making the decisions.
11:10 His experience explained
11:56 Parent involvement
12:36 How he found PrepStar
12:58 Started with a competitor first, lesson learned
13:23 One of million, no, I want to be one of a few
13:51 Different feel when I talked to Coach Mike
14:31 Coach Mike making a call and getting DJ an official visit
17:00 The advantage of starting early
17:38 Early exposure to put your athlete on the radar
17:56 Start as soon as possible
18:37 No criticism for using an outlet like PrepStar, but did with the competitor
19:15 Investing in your kids
19:35 Prepstar is a win-win situation
20:10 Supporting your kids, then the rest is up to them
22:30 Process is overwhelming for athletes…
22:55 The benefit of having supportive people around you
25:40 Verbal commitment is not signing…
26:30 Deciding to graduate early
28:30 Overall experience with PrepStar
29:02 Coach Mike and the PrepStar tam responded…it makes a difference
29:30 The importance of an interactive recruiting program
30:20 It feels like family

A few years ago I wrote a blog outlining four reasons why choosing a Junior College (JUCO) program was worth considering. When I wrote that, no one had any premonition of Covid-19. Nor would anyone be taken seriously if they said entire sports seasons would be shut down. But it did happen. Now, athletes seeking to get recruited have to deal with unprecedented recruiting adversity as a result, and JUCO may be a viable option.  

Probably the most influential reason to consider Junior College is because  junior colleges are very cost effective. In comparison, the average cost of JUCO is considerably less than the tuition at state or private colleges. According to research most Junior college tuition is less than $5,000 per year. Though there is often a stigma connected with junior colleges the financial and athletic awards made possible have started to do away with this notion because many quality student-athletes are choosing JUCO as a reasonable college route. 

Next to cost, competition is a reason to mull over, especially for student athletes. For many the opportunity to participate in game competition right away is appealing. Without question actual in-game experience is way more more valuable than practice experience. In many examples, athletes with JUCO experience can offer high level colleges the experience and maturity necessary to step in and compete at a high level. The professional level is littered with student-athletes who found success coming-out of junior colleges including Aaron Rogers, Cam Newton and Warren Moon.

Another plausible reason is that some athletes need time to mature emotionally and physically. In some cases, the transition to college can be a difficult adjustment. Under these circumstances, JUCOs provide the space for an athlete to acclimate to the academic, athletic, and personal demands of the college experience. In some cases, junior colleges provide the  opportunity to improve grades required for entry into 4 year institutions. Furthermore, many athletes are late bloomers and a little more time to develop physically is required. It is common for some incoming JUCO athletes to grow several inches or bulk up after high school graduation. JUCOs then can offer time for physical development that some 4 year schools will permit. 

Finally, there are a number of Junior colleges competing at the DI and DII level that choose to offer athletic scholarships. Athletic scholarships coupled with lower tuition fees becomes a reasonably affordable option. 

The United States there are 525 schools in 24 different regions with athletic programs. Junior College athletics is governed independently by the National Junior College Athletic Association and  in DI, DII and DIII levels providing tremendous opportunities for student athletes.