IN THIS ISSUE....

Athlete’s Wanted Tips Pg. 3

Ask Coach Taylor Pg. 4

Upcoming Events Pg. 5

NEWSLETTER

VOL. 1 ISSUE 4

IMPROVE YOUR RECRUITING VISION:

CHARLIE ADAMS RECRUITING CORNER

47 seconds on the clock. You’re down six, facing 4th and 5 on your opponent’s 40.

You huddle up, get the count, and the center snaps the ball. Your QB takes a five-step drop, and he locks onto the star of your offense, a six-foot-six TE. He watches him off the line, he watches the break in his route and start off down the field. His eyes stay right on him.

Meanwhile, your scrappy little five-eight slot receiver ran a little curl just past the first down marker. Nothing flashy, but the guy is wide open because the defense pulled a safety to cover the tight end.

But your quarterback isn’t looking at his slot receiver. He guns it downfield to the big TE in double coverage – and gets picked off. The game is over.

What was going on? Why didn’t he hit the open man?

Because he didn’t have vision.

Out there in the recruiting world, athletes (in football and every other sport) make the same mistake every day. They get locked onto one target and miss the rest of what’s out there. In football, this can cost you a game. In recruiting, it can mean missing out on a life-changing opportunity.

When I write, my goal is to share insights from the thousands and thousands of interviews I have done on recruiting since 1983. From time to time, I will share top quotes from recent events that can help you to have success in recruiting and finding the right fit for your daughter or son. Anything I can do to help in the development of Athleaders is a major goal of mine.

Here are Eleven Powerful Quotes from interviews I have done within the last two years alone. They were done everywhere from Combines to the offices of College Coaches, to Club Events, to High School Events, and on and on:

“I watch how players are in the dugout.

One time I was recruiting a really good player with good grades, but when she came in the dugout, she sat down and screamed, ‘Mom!!! Red Gatorade – NOW!!!’ I took her off my List right then and left.” – College Softball Coach“We really like the good players that express a sincere interest in our program. We are happy to look at them. We don’t want anyone to slip by.” – College Soccer Coach

“Everyone wants to be successful, but few are willing to pay the price. Not every athlete is willing to run that extra 100 in the heat, or get off Facebook or off the phone with their girlfriend and get to studying. You have to do

Cont. on pg 3...

Continued on next page...

“95% of kids have never seen a college volleyball game. They have no idea of self-evaluation. They don’t know the level of college they are capable of playing.” – D2 College Volleyball Coach

“We look for that player that loves tennis, that isn’t doing it because he feels he ‘has to’ or because he has been doing it his whole life. While we like to learn about players in the 9th grade, you never know if they will stop putting in the work, fall in love, or just not develop.” – College Tennis Coach

“There are two things I really look for. One is your work ratio. Do you work hard all the time? The other is how you interact with your team, how you react to questionable calls. Your character is just as important as your ability in my opinion.” – College Soccer Coach

“What families don’t understand is many times an athlete can get a better scholarship package at a D3 school even though they don’t offer athletic scholarships. Some kids get just $3,000 with a D1 athletic scholarship. What’s that in the scheme of things?” – Director of Club Lacrosse program

“Some parents get concerned about their kids being on club teams that aren’t good. To me, that’s not as much of an issue as playing, getting good instruction, and playing the game. I do think the club season is too long, but volleyball players do need to be working to get better. The analogy I use is our admissions department wants students to always be working on getting better academically. Same with us. Athletes should continue to get better. A myth in volleyball recruiting is that you have to play for one of the clubs that competes for a national title. However, if you want to be recruited nationally, you need to play on a club team that plays more than a regional schedule. If you want to play college in your region, then a regional team would work.” – D1 College Volleyball Coach

From time to time in the future, I will share more insights from the many College Coaches and Athletes that I interview, as well as from parents, AD’s and Club Directors. I hope these are helpful to you. As always, I appreciate your feedback. I can be reached via the email below. Charlie Adams is an award-winning sports broadcaster and international motivational speaker.

the little things right all the time, and most importantly you have to take care of your business in the classroom. You have to give your best effort. An old coach of mine told me: you are either getting better every day, or getting worse.” – former SEC All Conference Football player

“While ratings are very important, it is not always the bottom line with our program. We look for that player that has that insatiable desire to keep getting better.” – College Tennis Coach

“A myth our families have is that it is okay to wait until senior year to do anything about recruiting, and that the high school coach can do it all or has all the answers. They also do not understand the levels of college sports. We have one volleyball girl going D1, and two juniors being recruited D1 in basketball. We have 540 athletes in a school of 1650. Three are D1 out of 540 athletes in the whole school. I think about 20 will sign at different levels. Other things where they make mistakes: they don’t take the ACT or SAT until senior year, which they should do sooner, and they don’t get in the NCAA Eligibility Center or the NAIA one. Some of our coaches understand that, and we are trying to do more to educate our coaches, but it is not their job.” – High School Athletic Director

“One time I watched a good prospect who checked out with grades and ability. I waited in the stands until well after the game. When he came out his parents were there waiting to greet him. He brushed past them like he was too cool for him. I took him off our List. He always wondered why we didn’t recruit him more. Well, one of the Ten Commandments is to Honor your Parents. Kids need to realize we are watching a lot more than how athletic they are.” – College Basketball Coach

2

“Everyone wants to be successful, but few are willing to pay the price. Not every athlete is willing to run that extra 100 in the heat, or get off Facebook ...

and get to studying.”

ATHLETE’S WANTED TIPS

find out more at athleteswanted.org

• “Withoutconcrete,actionablegoals,studentswillnotmakeaconnectionbetweentheactivitiesinwhichtheyparticipateandtheachievementofthegoal.”

• Inathleticsasinlife,youhavetosetSMART(Specific,Measurable,Attainable,Recorded,Time-Bonded)goalsandthenfollowthemtogetahead.It’ssomeworktoday,butitwillgetyouwhereyouwanttogotomorrow.

• “ThoughmostoftheopportunitiesareatDivisionII,III,NAIA,andjuniorcollegelevels,thetruebenefitsofsportsremainthesameregardlessofwhethertheathleteisplayingataDivisionIorDivisionIIIlevel.”

• It’snotaboutwhereyouplay.It’saboutgettinganeducation,becomingaleader,andchangingyourlife.Thecolorsyouwearwon’tchangethat.

• “Onceawardedascholarship,astudent-athletemustmaintainthescholarship.Threecriteriadictatewhetherthestudent-athletewillmaintainthescholarship:-Performingwellfortheteam-AdheringtotheNCAAorNAIArulesandregulations-MaintainingtherequiredGPA”

So how do you avoid tunnel vision? Here are 5 tips:

1. Know Your Best FitWhere is the best school for you? Each division level has their own guidelines for athletic ability, size, and academics. Make sure you’re qualified for the schools you reaching out to. Also be aware of what you want in a school, whether it’s big or small, urban or rural, target schools that you want to go to and are qualified to go to.

2. Keep PerspectiveIt’s easy to get caught up in the “Division I or nothing” trap. But Division I can be like that big tight end – you lock your eyes on it, and miss out on other, better opportunities that aren’t so obvious. Over 80% of all college opportunities in the United States are outside of Division I. There’s lots of scholarships, plenty of great teammates to compete alongside, and great academics. A college education will change your life, whether it’s Division I or not.

3. Find Great Academic OpportunitiesSome of the best academic institutions in the world are Division III schools, including: University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both ranked by US News in the top 5 universities in the country; New York University, one of the nation’s top business schools; Carnegie Mellon University, among the best in the world for engineering and computer science; Johns Hopkins University, internationally renowned for medicine and biology, and Williams College, the nation’s top liberal arts school.

4. Cast a Wide NetEven if there’s one school you are really interested in, don’t just apply there. Recruiting is highly competitive and well prepared recruits often contact coaches at more than a hundred schools. Just like a passer in football “goes through his reads,” you should have a first option, a second, and a third, all the way down the line. Don’t limit yourself. If you get into your top choice – great! If you don’t, you have other options, and you can still play college sports and get money towards your education.

5. Take Advantage of “Mismatches” on the Recruiting FieldA lot Division III and NAIA coaches don’t have the resources to start reaching out early, so if you get a jump on the process and contact them, you can find yourself with a wide-open path to a scholarship. Build that relationship early and keep on it, and you may find yourself far out in front of your competition.

Keep your vision, and you will find great opportunities. Don’t stare down that “one sure thing” and close yourself off from a world of possibilities. Get educated, stay flexible, change your life.

Improve your Recruiting Vision Cont.

3

ATHLEADERS OF THE MONTHKORY YOUNG Baseball2014PrincipalsHonorRoll

DreamJob?ProfessionalBaseballPlayer

DEVON DWYER Football2012PrincipalHonorRoll

BestAdviceEverReceived?Shootforagoalanddon’t’stopuntilyouachieveit

SAMANTHA INCAPRERASoccer2013Volunteer

MyMotto:Youcan’tdosomethingyouhaveneverdonebeforeifyoudon’ttrysomethingyou’veneverdonebefore.

Dear Coach Taylor – I was a starter at a Division I school, I started the first game but got injured and had to sit out the year. Unfortunately, I had some trouble adjusting to college and during that year, my GPA dipped below 2.0. I want to keep playing and I am considering playing at an NAIA school – is this an option?

Wherever you’re going, you will need a 2.0 GPA before you can play again.

Your transfer application will also need to be accepted.

Assuming that, and assuming you are a qualifier (check with the eligibility center), if you transfer to a Division I or Division II school, you will have to sit out one academic year in residence. After that year, if you have

increased your GPA to above a 2.0, you may have an opportunity to play.If you transfer to a Division III school, you will also have to sit out one academic year in residence. After that, assuming you get a 2.0 GPA, whether you are allowed to play will be up to the individual school. Division III schools set their own standards for athletic eligibility.

If you transfer to an NAIA school, you will have to wait 16 weeks to participate in your sport, and if you get your GPA up in that time, you may be eligible to play. All of these are just general rules. Some individual schools may have their own specific requirements. Hope this helps, and good luck!

ASK COACH TAYLOR

RECRUITING MAILBAG

4

Do you have recruiting questions? Tweet @NCSA to have your questions answered and possibly featured in the NCSA Newsletter. #NCSASPORTS

SOCIAL CORNER

3/5 - 7:00 PM Logan High School Auditorium Paul Putnam Logan, UT 3/5 - 7:00 PM Bradshaw Christian School Julian Jenkins Sacramento, CA

3/7 - 7:00 PM Alta High School Auditorium Paul Putnam Sandy, UT

3/12 - 7:00 PM Skyview High School Auditorium Paul Putnam Smithfield, UT 3/12 - 6:30 PM American Canyon HS Theater Julian Jenkins Canyon, CA

3/15 - 7:00 PM Mission High School Gymnasium Julian Jenkins San Francisco, CA

3/19- 7:00 PM Granger High School Gymnasium Paul Putnam Valley City, UT

Join in on our Twitter Contest! Simply follow @athleteswanted & retweet the Recruiting Tip of the Day after @athleteswanted tweets it. Each RT is an entry to win an iTUNES $100 gift card!

If you attended a Nike SPARQ Combine or are attending one in the future make sure to find your Dream School pictures and interviews here: www.dreamncsasports.com#DreamNCSA

5

Tell Us Your Dream School! Upcoming Nike Sparq Combine Dates and Locations...

March 3 Houston, TX Woodforest Bank Stadium/Turf

March 4 Mobile, AL Lipscomb Park Stadium/Turf

March 10 Charlotte, NC Panthers Practice Facility/Turf

March 11 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Stadium/Turf

March 17 Massillon, OH Massillon Indoor Facility/Turf

March 24 Dallas, TX Cowboys Stadium/Turf

March 31 Long Beach, CA Veteran’s Stadium/Turf

April 7 Chicago, IL Lake Barrington Fieldhouse/Turf

Join us every month for news, athletic recruiting trends, upcoming events, and more! CLICK HERE to subscribe to our weekly newsletter or to learn more about NCSA.