Tag: recruiting help

Recruiting myths about the quiet period 

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

Recruiting becomes hot as August begins, just as summer begins to cool down. However, before it starts to boil, there is a brief pause in recruiting. That pause is known as the Quiet Period.

There are many myths and misconceptions about the Quiet Period, so this article will clear up five of them. 

Photo by Lucas Andrade at Unsplash

Myth #1: That quiet period means absolute silence. Most parents and athletes think that this mean coaches can’t talk to prospective student athletes. True, NCAA communication rules are restricted during the quiet period. But in the end, colleges coaches are permitted to communicate with prospective student athletes during the quiet period.

Myth #2: Athletes can’t contact coaches. Not true. According to the NCAA recruiting guidelines, prospective student athletes can contact college coaches beginning on the first day of freshman year. Additionally, student-athletes are permitted to contact coaches at any time during the recruiting process.

Myth #3: College Coaches don’t recruit during the quiet period. False, coaches recruit year round. Just look at all the offers posted on social media! So, since college coaches continue to recruit during the quiet period athletes need both communication and recruiting exposure year around

Myth #4: On campus invites during the Quiet Period are money grabs. Not necessarily. Some invites are in fact money grabs so it’s up to the athlete and parents to learn the difference. The NCAA rules state contact with prospective student athletes is permissible on the college campus. So, how else can coaches get athletes on campus but to invite them to a prospect camp? 

Myth #5: College coaches can’t make offers during the quiet period. Again, the quiet period does not mean dead silence. Instead, the quiet period regulates communication between college coaches and prospective student athletes. During the quiet period coaches can and do make scholarship offers. 

The origin of these myths and misconceptions is from athletes and parents being unfamiliar with the recruiting process. Information is pieced together from bits and pieces heard from other players and parents. It’s similar to trying to put together a jumbled puzzle, but missing several key pieces. It doesn’t matter how much effort you put in, the end result will be an incomplete picture. Don’t rely on rumors and hearsay from other parents. Become educated about the recruiting process or find someone who is. 

what student athletes can do to improve their recruiting situation during the quiet period

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What is the quiet period? What does it mean for recruiting?

According to the NCAA, during a 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 and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period.

So, with prospective student athletes, college coaches are not permitted to have; in person evaluations, official campus visits or in person contacts. But, student athletes should be aware that written and telephone communication is permissible during the quiet period. 


Photo by Chris Chow on Unsplash

However, like any other Quiet Period throughout the recruiting calendar, the recruiting process does not stop. Consider the quiet period a time-out from the evaluation process.  

So, student-athletes, what can you do to improve your recruiting situation right now?  

First, get your highlight reel looking sharp. By now you should have a highlights from summer camps, showcases as well as previous seasons, plus some training video. Use this footage to make short highlight and skills videos that can be added to your recruiting profile and viewed by college coaches. 

Next, assess recruiting goals with realistic expectations. If you’ve had your mind set on certain school but have not been contacted by a college coach don’t expect contact anytime soon. Instead, do an honest comparison of your level of play to the quality of athletes being recruited. This will help you determine a good college fit and will also point you to college coaches that you should be contacting. 

Then, expand your methods of contacting college coaches. Don’t just rely on twitter to blast out your video links or show clips of getting one hit during a game. Instead, use multiple points of contact including email, text, and, if you’re brave enough, go old school, by actually making a phone call to a college coach.

Overall, during the quiet period it is important for the student-athlete to stay focused!  The quiet period does not mean that recruiting comes to a dead stop. Lots of recruiting is still to come. 

Is recruiting is going the way you hoped it would? Have questions about the recruiting process? Comment below or DM me. I’m glad to help.

Stay informed: Don’t miss out on recruiting opportunities

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

Because, many athletes and parents lack understanding of the contact rules and regulations many athletes are put at a disadvantage and ultimately miss out on recruiting opportunities. Serious athletes and their parents need to stay informed.

For example, did you know that during the December contact period it is permissible for an authorized athletic department staff member to have in person, off campus contacts with prospective student athletes. Who is included in the scope of authorized athletic department staff member? 

Other misconceptions derive from not knowing what communication is permitted and what is prohibited during the regulated NCAA contact periods. These contacts, along with evaluations, are not only restricted but must also be counted by the coach as a contact, otherwise , it can lead to a recruiting violation.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Here is a quick summary of the recruiting periods.  

A contact occurs any time a college coach says more than hello during a face-to-face contact with a college-bound student-athlete or his or her parents off the college’s campus.

During the contact period a college coach may have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, watch student-athletes compete and visit their high schools, and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents.

During the 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.

During the 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.

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.

So, athletes, what can you do to improve your recruiting situation right now?  

  1. Get your highlight reel looking tight. By now you should have a highlights from previous seasons on your Hudl page, plus some training video available online. 
  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, actually making a phone call to a college coach.
  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. 

Is recruiting is going  the way you hoped it would? Have questions about the recruiting process? Comment below or DM me. I’m glad to help. 

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. 

Breaking down recruiting video.

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

Yes, thats right. Its almost over. Soon the quarantine will be lifted and in turn athletes can return to competition. So the question for student-athletes will be, what did you do during the quarantine to help move your recruiting forward?

Hopefully, time has been invested in recruiting video. Video is crucial to the recruiting process, because most coaches recruit digitally first before seeing an athlete in person. Right now, with the stay at home policies in place, coaches have relied on video to recruit digitally.

So, what kind of recruiting video is most beneficial? And, what footage should the video feature?

Actually, the answer varies by sport. For example, game video is paramount for high school football prospects. However, sports like baseball, softball, and soccer require that skills video also accompanies game footage. Keep in mind, the purpose of the recruiting video, no matter the sport, is to demonstrate position specific athletic skills.  

It may be a matter of debate, it makes little difference if the video is professionally recorded or self-recorded.

Though it may be a matter of debate, it makes little difference if the video is professionally recorded or self-recorded. In most situations, quality cellphone video works well. I’ve recored skills video with a video camera, iPad and iPhone with good success. What matters most is the quality of athletic content not necessarily the quality of content. College coaches must be able to clearly identify the player and clearly view all the required skills.  Last year, I was talking with several scouts at a major tournament here in Phoenix, when the Oregon scout got up, took out his cell phone, walked over to the fence and began recording a players at-bat. Right there, I thought, ‘well if it’s good enough for Oregon then it’s good enough for others.’

Lastly, it should be obvious that having no video will surely stifle the recruiting process. Athletes trying to get recruited without video will find it almost impossible to gain interest. In fact, limited exposure will surely put the student-athlete at a tremendous recruiting disadvantage.

Here are 5 quick tips from a previous article I wrote about recruiting video

  1. Always make sure the video is appropriately timed (4-5 minutes)
  2. Next, make sure that your best plays are in the first 30 to 60 seconds.
  3. Then make sure to highlight position specific skills.
  4. Most importantly, highlight videos should feature you, not other players.
  5. Lastly, keep questionable plays out of your video.

Because highlight videos carry a lot of significance in your recruiting I’m glad to review your highlight videos before you send them to a coach or post them online.  You want some outside help with your recruiting video. If so, schedule a FREE recruiting video consultation where I will take a look at your highlight or skills video to provide you helpful tips and feedback. Schedule your free recruiting video review here.

Tis the Recruiting Season

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

Now that Thanksgiving is over we can safely say that the holidays are officially here. In just two weeks time Christmas will be hear then soon after a New Year will be upon us.  For student-athletes hoping to get recruited December is a major season for recruiting .

My hope is for student-athletes to have a happy and merry recruiting season. So, I put together a short list for the student-athletes who are serious about getting recruited during the holiday season.

Here are a few items that should be on your list.

  1. Make sure to have quality highlight or skills video
  2. Update all stats or metrics to the most recent measurements.
  3. Purge social media of inappropriate posts. When in doubt, just delete it.
  4. Get on the phone. Call, text or email coaches at colleges
  5. Plan campus visits to colleges high on your radar
  6. Schedule then study for the ACT/SAT college entry exams.

Have questions? Need help? Get a FREE recruiting consultation on any of the items on this list by just clicking here or leave a comment below.

Coach Mike

What to know about official and unofficial college recruiting visits

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

Since this is the time of year for athletes to visit college campuses I thought it good to share a few helpful tips about official visits and unofficial visit. In most recruiting situations the official visit often follow one or more unofficial visits. Frequently, college coaches reserve official visits to make offers, but it is not uncommon to get a verbal offer outside of an official visit. 

By definition, an official visit is any visit to a college campus by a college-bound prospective student-athlete and his or her parents that is paid for by the college. This includes transportation, lodging, entertainment, food and as many as 3 tickets to a game. Conversely, campus visits paid for by the parents of the student-athlete is deemed and unofficial visit.

In total, student-athletes are permitted up to 5 official visits for D1 and D2 schools. However, only 1 official visit per school is allowed.
Photo by Travis Essinger on Unsplash

Traditionally, official visits have been reserved for Seniors only. However, since April 2018 new recruiting regulations have been implemented for sports such as baseball and softball, allowing  Junior and Senior student-athletes to take official visits after September 1st. In contrast, in many other sports, such as football, only Senior student-athletes are permitted to take official visits.

In total, student-athletes are permitted up to 5 official visits for D1 and D2 schools. However, only 1 official visit per school is allowed. Parents and athletes should know that D3 and NAIA schools have no limit on official visits a student-athlete can take. Additionally, D3 and NAIA regulations are similar to those outlining the recruiting process of D1 and D2 schools where the prospective student-athlete is allowed 1 official visit per school.

Lastly, always keep this in mind that recruiting is a process. Many student-athletes and parents let their minds run wild with negative assumptions, especially when an official visit is not offered right away.  To reiterate, recruiting is a process and every coach has his or her method, budget and preference for recruiting. So, with this in mind I recommend to keep a clear head and a positive attitude. Try to relax, stay calm, and enjoy the process.

Finally, I would love to hear from athletes attending official or unofficial visits. Athletes can also tag me on twitter when posting about visits (@michaelwoosley). Also, if you need help preparing for a visit, I’m glad to schedule some time to help with preparations. Just send me an email at mwoosley@csaprepstar.com. 

Starting the recruiting process

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

Is your inbox full of invites to camps, showcases, combines and other “recruiting events”? Have you become frustrated by the promise of exposure only to pay a bunch of money then see your kid get minimal reps and very little exposure? 


Frustrating isn’t it? Most athletes and parents are. 


So, when is the best time to start the recruiting process? Thats the topic for today. 


Did you know that most prospects are identified before end of the sophomore year? (Thats the current class of 2022!)   However,  many parents are told by high school and club to wait. That’s not good advice. Here’s why.

 1. Waiting significantly reduces the amount of time for college coaches can properly evaluate players. 


2. College coaches can only recruit players they know about. (So if they don’t know about a you they can’t recruit you!)

3. For many sports, student-athletes can take official visits, recieve phone calls and even get offers starting September 1 Junior year. 


Bottomline, there isn’t as much recruiting time as you think. Thats why its best to start as early as possible.  Read my article, Checkpoints along the recruiting journey for year by year outline. 


It is certain, families that start the process early always have better recruiting results!  Why? Staring early allows time to work through the process. Plus, the extra time allows your family to be more strategic about recruiting events and will save thousands of dollars along the way!

If you want to know how to get started, text “Gameplan” to (480) 605-4050 free recruiting assessment to outline the recruiting process for you.  

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

Contact periods for football college coaches and prospective student athletes.

Posted on by eliteathletesrecruiting

To pick up where we left off last week lets pick up where we left off. During the football season, the NCAA mandates 3 different contact periods for college coaches and prospective student athletes. The first of the two periods work in tandem. Beginning August 1, the Dead Period/ Quite Period is underway. 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.

During the high school season, there is another contact period squeezed in September 1 through November 30, 2019

Now, during the season, there is another contact period squeezed in. The exception arrives between the days of September 1 through November 30, 2019. This is the evaluation period. By definition the evaluation period permits college coaches to 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. 

So, even though coaches can see athletes compete the coaches is not permitted to communicate with the student athlete or their parents. Additionally, coaches are permitted a certain number of evaluation dates depending on the sport.  For example, football coaches are allotted 42 evaluation dates. During those dates, coaches can visit a player once at his or her high school. 

What does this mean for student-athlete seeking to get recruited? First, the primary focus for the athlete should be playing ball. It should go without saying that athletes who are distracted and don’t perform on the field won’t get recruited so limit the distractions and just go play ball.  Second, its important to be patient with the process. The contact periods are designed to slow down the process so that coaches have adequate time to scout prospects. Thirdly, players can, and should, continue reading out to coaches during all contact periods so that they stay on the radar.

Lastly, if your not sure about the ins and outs of the contact period I’m glad to send you free contact period outlines for your sport.. Simply, text “GAMEPLAN” to 480-605-4050 and I’ll send you the sport specific contact period outlines.