college athletes – Elite Athletes Recruiting

Six Details to Include in a Short Email to College Coaches

Posted on August 5, 2015August 5, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Athletes that get recruited know that at some point it is necessary to email a college coach. This brief communication is crucial to your recruiting because needs to be short but detailed enough to give the coach enough information to put you on the recruiting radar. So, if writing isn’t your strong-suit or your unsure of what to include this blog will help.

For serious recruitings drafting a recruiting email takes serious effort — For serious recruits drafting a recruiting email takes serious effort

The format I’m sharing with you is great for the initial email to college coaches. However, if a coach contacts you this email will work, but you need to add one extra detail. That detail is to ALWAYS thank the coach for contacting you. Do this in the introduction of the email. Also its a good idea to include how the coach contacted you. For example, “Thank you for taking the time to contact me… write me…..email me..send me a postcard…”

Now, on to the 6 important details. Here’s what should be included.

1. Introduce yourself

Name, City, State,

2. Give them some specifics about you

graduation year, sport, position, academic interest
I attended the [camp/combine] on [date]

3. Tell them something about their program and/or college (some brief research will help )

Ex. “Your school has both a great [sport] team but also a top-notch [subject] program”

4. Request information about the college’s athletic and academic programs be sent to your home

Ex. “I would like to know more about your athletic program and the academic programs offered at [name of the school]”

5. Include address and phone number in your signature.

Name, address, phone

6. Help them connect with you on social media

hyperlink your Twitter handle or Facebook profile info at the bottom of your signature.

Again, remember to keep this email short. Its not necessary to be long winded. Truthfully, no more than two paragraphs is necessary.

One other tip. As your recruiting gets more serious a longer email will be necessary. I’ll show you what to include for that email in another blog.

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.

How to make a positive impression during a recruiting interview

Posted on July 16, 2015December 7, 2016 by eliteathletesrecruiting

4 Things to Know for a Recruiting Interview

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 need to know to leave a positive impression during a recruiting interview.

Use proper English grammar. Coaches take their job seriously, so it makes sense that they also look to find serious players. Demonstrate that you are articulate and intelligent by using good grammar.
Dress for success. Leave the warm-ups at home. Dress nicely and wear a tie. Don’t worry about standing out. That’s what you are there for, after all!
Separate yourself from the pack. When everyone else is goofing off, keep in mind that the reason you are there is get noticed and get a scholarship!
Answer questions confidently. Rehearse your responses to questions that a coach may ask. Anticipate questions that revolve around your strengths, weaknesses, concept of team, individual goals, work ethic, and responsibility.

Remember, the objective of the recruiting interview is impress the coach so you move up the recruiting board and ultimately increase your chanced to get scholarships. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to a successful recruiting interview.

Good luck on your upcoming interview!

Coach Mike Woosley

Simple interesting tips to get helpful recruiting attention

Posted on July 2, 2015July 2, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Getting attention is necessary for recruiting. The simple reason for this is because coaches can’t recruit players they don’t know about. Here’s a quick tip on how you can use what’s interesting about you to get attention that will help your recruiting.

There is a right way and a wrong way to grab attention.

Simple interesting notice gets attention

Almost immediately, with just a few words and a simple “ding” ESPN managed to get my attention, spike my curiosity and persuade me to watch the video. And, as any good natured sports fan would do, I picked up my phone to to check it out.

Truthfully, I’m not sure why I watched it. However, those few short sentences caused me to be interested enough to click the play button. I wasn’t thinking about Colin Cowherd, Jim Harbaugh or M*ch*gan football at the time. (Although, I grew up in Ohio and my allegiance has always been with the Buckeyes so maybe my loathing for that team up north might of had something to do with it.)

Being interesting gets attention

I learned a few things from this experience that I believe can help you with your recruiting. First, its important to be interesting enough to get attention. Second, its important to keep that attention. Third, once you get attention its important that you deliver the goods. Hype is good only if you can back it up.

Try it out, but ask a few questions first

Here’s a good tip. You’ll get the attention you want if what you give interesting information. So when your polishing your Prepstar profile, making a highlight video, sending an email or text, posting on social media or visiting a college campus consider this question ‘What’s interesting about me that makes coaches want to give me their attention?’

To wrap up, everyone has something about them that makes them interesting that makes them worthy of attention. Its a terrible trap to think that you don’t. Try making a list of interesting things about you, or ask a close friend to name some interesting things about you. Then, you’ll be well on your way to sharing interesting information about yourself to help you get the right kind of recruiting attention.

Find these tips helpful? Experience successful result using them? If so, let me know in the comment or message me on Twitter.

How social media can help your recruiting

Posted on June 26, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Social media can help with self-promotion

Social media can be a great tool for self promotion for your recruiting. I use it everyday to promote players, share ideas, tips and motivational coaches quotes. On several occasions college coaches have connected with me via social media to ask about my PrepStar athletes.

Social media can also help you connect with coaches, player and key people at prospective colleges. Here’s why.

Many college coaches use social media as another recruiting tool. For them, its a good way to find out what kind of person you are just by viewing your social media pages, posts and interactions.

Two Reasons to Use Social Media

So, if you don’t have a social media account I recommend that you get one soon. Here are two good reasons a why.

First, social media is a great way to start and keep a recruiting relationship going. But what about the email? Emails definitely have a place in recruiting. However, connecting with a coach via social media can open the door of opportunity to send the email to tell the coach more about you. Also, social media is a good way to stay in touch after you’ve gotten to know one another.

Second, NCAA guidelines are a bit vague on the contacting athletes through social media. Texts and emails on the other hand are more regulated and count as a recruiting contact. Use loophole to your advantage advantage.

Lets Review Some Basics

Now, if you want to use social media like Twitter and Facebook to your advantage let’s cover a few basics. Follow these tips and you’re sure to help you use social media to your advantage.

Connect with coaches follow teams to learn about program
Follow college players to collect information, get to know them and learn about the program.
Make your posts interesting. If you put a link, give your follower a reason to want to click the link and find out more about you.
Be wise with the content you post. Don’t post profanity, vulgar or offensive material. And if its on your page delete remove it now! You want to post content that presents you in a positive way.
Its not smart to post injuries, failures and absolutely no whining/complaining about a coach or teammates!
Are you crying? There’s no crying in baseball!

Okay, now that you’ve decided to use social media to your advantage use the social media search menu and started connecting. Also, if you haven’t already, make sure to connect with me on Twitter @michaelwoosley.

Next week, I’ll share some tips on how to get the most out of your social media communications.

Good luck!

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 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.

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 .

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.

Signing Day Is About More Than Signatures

Posted on January 24, 2015January 24, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

February is a month of important dates. Most dates on the calendar people know; Super Bowl (Feb 1), Valentines’ Day (Feb 14), Presidents Day (Feb 16). But, for most senior student athletes there is one very important day in February … Signing Day!

Signing Day is also known in the athletic world as the day athletes sign their National Letter of Intent. It is the day when verbal commitments between college coaches and student-athletes become solidified thanks to a well executed recruiting strategy. (Tip- verbal are not binding until you sign on the dotted lines. College coaches and student-athletes are notorious for verbally committing to more than one college or student-athlete..thus the hats:)

Here’s a quick review of the NLI Signing Day

What is a National Letter of Intent?
A National Letter of Intent is signed by a college-bound student-athlete when the student-athlete agrees to attend a Division I or II college or university for one academic year. Division 3 and Junior Colleges (JUCO) do not have formal signing days (yet). The NLI is a binding agreement between Participating institutions agree to provide financial aid for one academic year to the student-athlete as long as the student-athlete is enrolled in classes and academically eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules.

Off Limits
When a student athlete signs his or her National Letter of Intent ends the recruiting process and competing schools are prohibited from recruiting that student-athlete.

Change Your Mind

Once a student-athlete signs a National Letter of Intent she or he may request a release from his or her contract with the school. If a student-athlete signs a National Letter of Intent with one school but enrolls in a different college or university, she or he will lose one full year of eligibility. To be athletically eligible the student-athlete must complete a full academic year at their new school before being allowed to compete.

Different Signing Days for Different Sports

Signing day varies by sport. The reason for this is because some spring sports like baseball, softball and track do not conclude until after February 4. Signing day for different sports is April 15. I posted the chart to reference.

Screen Shot 2015-01-23 at 6.48.08 PM — Chart provided by the National Letter of Intent homepage

Good luck to all the senior student-athletes signing to play college ball next year at the college or university of their choice.

Some Instruction Required. Making sense of the contact period for hopeful college softball players

Posted on January 2, 2015January 2, 2015 by eliteathletesrecruiting

Breakdown of recruiting contact period.

takaratomy-qsteer-2 — College recruiting regulations can be hard to figure out without someone to help direct you through the process. Sometimes rules need to be defined and broken down so they are easier to understand. One rule is the contact period rule.

Have you ever tried to figure out how to put together something without instructions? This Christmas my son got a remote control car from Santa (;0 ) but it didn’t work right out of the box. Some assembly was required. Disappointed, I looked in the box no instructions were to be found. To say the least, it was a bit frustrating. Where do the batteries go? What were the extra wheels for? And why weren’t the remote commands and combinations noted? Without the instructions to direct us my son and I had to figure it out on our own.

High schools softball players, do you know that today, January 2 begins the college recruiting contact period? Are you aware of the guidelines that college coaches must follow as they try to recruit you? If you’re as confused about recruiting as I was trying to put that child’s toy together, then this blog is for you! Here’s a breakdown of what the contact period is, what coaches can do and who can be evaluated during this time.

College Recruiting Contact Period

By definition provided by the NCAA Guide for College-Bound Student Athlete, a for D1 prospective 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.*

College recruiting regulations can be hard to figure out without someone to help direct you through the process. Sometimes rules need to be defined and broken down so they are easier to understand. One rule is the contact period rule.

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.
PSA’s and 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.

Lastly, if all of this is as confusing to you as instructions printed in Korean feel free to reach out to me by leaving a question in the comment section or finding me on twitter @michaelwoosley.

Coach Mike Woosley is a National Scouting Coordinator 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.