Tag: recruiting contact periods

Extended Dead Period (Again!), Delayed Season, What’s Next?

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

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 to September 31st.  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 summer evaluations have been hamstrung, comparatively, this isn’t much different than in years past because as of August 1, the Dead Period/ Quiet Period starts. 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 UNLESS that student athlete is actually on the college campus for a camp or college visit.

Now, following the Dead Period is the Evaluation period from September 1- November 30. By definition the evaluation period permits college coaches to watch college-bound student-athletes compete. Ideally, this will allow for student-athletes to be evaluated during Fall season sports.  

Next comes early singing period staring in November 13 for sports other than football and December 18-20 for football. Keep in mind that around 5% of athletes from the 2021 recruiting class sign early. Typically, the majority of the recruiting class sign in the Spring. Further, recruits can sign until the August 1 cut off date. 

What does the extensions and delays mean for student-athlete seeking to get recruited? Student-athletes should focus on the things that they can control. Photo by Fitsum Admasu on Unsplash

Give the delays as a result of covid-19 for ACT and SAT tests coupled with cancellations of evaluation related camps it is likely for a significant number of the 2021 recruiting class to sign late.  

What does this mean for student-athlete seeking to get recruited? Student-athletes should focus on the things that they can control. First, the primary focus at this time is to keep preparing for the season. Stay in shape, keep up the workouts and stay hungry. Second, when school begins concentrate on getting the best grades possible. Don’t slack off or miss assignments. Take care of your academics and when the time comes your academics will take care of you. Third, it is important to be patient with the process. These 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 patine. Last, and perhaps most important during the delay, players can, and should, continue reaching out to coaches during all contact periods so that they stay on the radar. 

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NCAA EXTENDS RECRUITING DEAD PERIOD THROUGH AUG. 31

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

By now, it is likely that you are aware that the NCAA has once again extended the recruiting Dead Period. While the dead period does limit in person evaluation there are plenty of ways you can use the dead period to your advantage to get looks from coaches. 

To quickly review from the newsletter last month the Dead Period extension means that college coaches and recruits are not permitted to have 

  • in person evaluations
  • official campus visits
  • in person contact

So, even though coaches may not have in person contact, campus visits or personal evaluations college coaches can communicate with student-athletes and their parents.

Again, these are typical Dead Period restrictions. However, like any other Dead Period the recruiting calendar, the extension does not stop the recruiting process.

Generally, the purpose of the Dead Period is to give college coaches opportunity to digitally scout, research, and yes, recruit student athletes!  However, relating to this extension the talk is that the reason for the recent extension is to allow coaches to focus on transitioning athletes back to camps and to allow time to acclimated. While, this reason may be more applicable to winter and spring sports more than fall, since many college fall sports programs began the transition process in June.

So, if anything this a promising sign that the college season is about to be underway. In turn, if the college season is underway, then the Dead Period will most surely be lifted.

Now here are some ideas that you can use to take advantage of the things athletes and coaches are allowed to do during the dead period.Ideas:

  • Make more game footage highlights
  • Make game recaps
  • Film hitting and fielding video
  • Film workouts video
  • Film training sessions (workouts, agility work, etc)
  • Film agility workouts
  • Attend online prospect days / virtual visits
  • Tag me on your post for social media (@michaelwoosley)

The goal here is to keep you recruiting moving forward by providing content for coaches to review. To do this, you have to be creative, stay focused and use the resources that you have available.

A really great interview and article about ways to use the Dead Period to your advantages is  to take from Sports Illustrated from June 25, 2020 

Watch the interview and read the article here. 

2 Weeks in December

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting
http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/resources/recruiting-calendars

The high school football season for the most part is over. Except for a limited few states the final whistle has blown, gear returned, and final stats recorded. When it seem like its all finished, football recruiting, however, is just getting started.  Especially in these first two weeks in December the contact period resumes. But, only for two weeks. 

During the December contact period it is permissible for authorized athletic department staff member to have in person, off campus contacts with prospective student athletes. 

So, athletes, what can  can you do to improve your recruiting situation during these two weeks? 

  1. Get your highlight reel looking tight. By now you should have a full season highlight reel as well as a midseason highlight reel up on your Hudl page. 
  2. Broaden your reach with coaches you want to contact. Use more than one medium to contact coaches. Don’t just rely on twitter to blast out your Hudl link. Rely on email and text. And, if you’re brave enough, go old school by making a phone call. 
  3. Stay focused! Lots of recruiting happens at this time of year. Keep in mind that the contact period is only open for 2 weeks, then its back to the quiet period until January. So be patient with the process. 

Let me know how recruiting is going for you. Have questions about the recruiting process? Comment below or contact me on twitter or instagram (@michaelwoosley). I’m glad to help. 

Recruiting after September 1 : the contact rules have changed

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

I wanted to share a quick tip about the recent communication period. It is important to know that as of September the recruiting contact period begins. Now that the contact period begins, Junior and Senior college prospects can start receiving a lot more communication from college coaches.

Here are some forms of communication that can take place, however the most common are:

  • Weekly phone calls from college coaches (one per week)
  • Personal correspondence from college coaches via text, phone or email
  • High school campus visit (only one)
  • Verbal Scholarship Offers
  • Invitations for official college campus visits
  • Recruiting materials such as college brochures and letters

Athletes who experience this level of communication can be sure that it is a favorable indicator of interest.

However, athletes not getting any communication should start being proactive immediately. There is an old but true phase, “if you keep doing what you’re doing, you will keep getting what you”re getting. If the results you have are not what you expected then it’s time to make a change.

Student athletes and supportive parents should consider contacting a reputable and credible recruiting resource like PrepStar to to learn how to increase exposure and open recruiting communication with college coaches.

Have questions? Need help?  Contact me to set up a time to talk (get free advise!) or use the comment section below.

Coach Mike oversees the recruiting of talented next-level athletes by helping families develop and implement a recruiting strategy for athletes to get exposure, evaluated and recruited. As former college athlete with over 20 years of coaching experience Mike now mentors families through the academic, athletic and financial aspects of college recruiting.  

Coach Mike – Email: mwoosley@csaprepstar.com   Office: 805-622-STAR

Recruiting contact periods during the high school football season

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

Many high school football teams will take the field towards the latter part of this week to compete in their season opener. Along with the excitement of the lights, crowds and cheers comes the hopes of college recruting. In the previous two article  we looked at the three contact periods that take place within the football season. This article is to outline the dead period and provide some useful tips improving recruiting opportunities throughout the season. 

By definition 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.

Not to be mistaken for the quiet period, the dead period does leave open the doors for communication. However, there is no room for coaches to evaluate players by watching games in person or visiting high school campuses. 

Not to be mistaken for the quiet period, the dead period does leave open the doors for communication.

This rule seems to handcuff athlete exposure. So how can athletes get exposure during the quiet period?  First, athletes should rely of video. They can improve exposure opportunities by keeping game video resources up to date with recent game film. Additionally, athletes can contact coaches by email and social media but should do so not expecting a return reply.  Athletes can also use a credible, reputable recruiting resource to keep them on the radar.  These groups, like PrepStar, act as a go between. For instance, PrepStar provides college coaches with your updated athletic, academic and video highlights throughout your high school career, ensuring you that college coaches always have access to your latest and most updated information.

To conclude this outline of the three contact periods that take place during the high school season I want to wish a success season to all high school football players. Hopefully, the details provided have been helpful and created some new ideas for communicating with college coaches during the season. If you need help, I’m glad to share tips or advice to help you along in the process. Simply, text the word GAMEPLAN to 480-605-4050.  I’m glad to talk with you about your recruiting concerns and give you some helpful suggestions.