So you must be wondering, where do all these “super underclassmen” come from? One hypothesis is more athletes are focusing on one sport as early as middle school to advance their game, train year around and take advantage of professional instruction.  Another hypothesis says that multi-talented athletes are taking over the superstar roles because of their versatility. What do you think?

The demands for West Point athletes don’t end there, athletes are expected to meet a rigorous academic curriculum as well. West Point believes in the development of the student first, athlete second mentality. A mentality we rarely see in today’s society. West Point demands that their athletes become “men of character” as our society needs leaders. After hearing many of the West Point officers speak about West Point’s traditions, I was inspired myself. Athletes are also treated as beacons for the university and are a huge source of pride. A cool tradition West Point has it that all cadets attend football games. As someone who attends a Big Ten School, I was surprised at how much pride Army takes in its athletics. Despite all the demands of West Point, the school’s tradition, pride, and experiences, like basic training make for a unique experience. More schools should strive to be like West Point, after all it’s supposed to be student-athlete.

TIP # 1 – Be Direct

One of the best ways to deal with this issue is to be direct when you’re talking with college coaches. What this means is being upfront and honest about any recruiting questions, concerns or problems you have about the recruitment process. SportsForce highly recommends that both student-athletes and parents are heavily involved in this process.

TIP # 2 – Ask Questions

Here are three direct ways to ask a college coach about being over-recruited:

“Coach, I was wondering where I am on your recruiting list?” or,

“Can you tell me where I stand your recruiting board?”

“How many players are you recruiting at my position and where I’m on your depth chart?”

Often, if you ask college coaches direct questions, they’re going to give you direct answers. Being upfront and straightforward with them is a good way to ensure a truthful answer. Another question to keep in mind is, “how many athletic-scholarships are available for this recruiting class?” This is a great question to ask especially for sports that are not fully funded like baseball, lacrosse, or softball in which, they have more roster spots than they have scholarships. Parents and student-athletes need to be direct in order to clarify what each college is offering them. Asking these specific questions will allow families to understand where they stand within a college coaches recruiting process.

TIP # 3 – Don’t Be Afraid

It is very common that both parents and student-athletes are too afraid to ask some of these direct questions to college coaches.  The earlier you start the conversation and the more direct, clear, and honest you are with them, the easier you will see where you stand in their recruiting process. Don’t be intimidated when talking to a college coach. If you ask direct questions and find out where you are on their recruiting board, you can avoid being over-recruited.

Our staff of College Recruiting Experts has developed a proven Step-by-Step College Recruiting and Athletic Scholarship system so you can know what to do and when and how to do it.

To get started today take advantage of our FREE 30 Day Trial.

If you have any questions or you would like to learn more about the college recruiting process and our custom highlight video packages contact one of our college recruiting experts at

858.350.5889 or visit http://www.sportsforceonline.com/

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Coach, and I have been the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at State College for the last three and a half years. I saw you play at the Texas Shootout, and you can be a goalkeeper for a lot of teams in this country. Selfishly speaking, I hope potentially for State:-) You are one of the few goalkeepers who plays functional defense, meaning you play high when your team is defending in the middle third. You have great instincts when to come out, you have a quick feet and smooth hands. In short, you would be an impact goalkeeper for us starting your freshman year.

In my first three recruiting classes and for the incoming class this fall, we were able to recruit the first NSCAA High School All-American, the first Regional Team player and numerous players from the Top 20 club programs in the nation, including the # 1 club program at that time.  For this 2011 class we already have three verbal commitments. One player is from the Dallas Texans 93G Red team (she picked us over Penn State), the second player is from the D’Feeters 93 team (we were the only DIII team she looked at) and the third player is from the U17 Bethesda SC Dragons team (again, we were the only DIII team she looked at). All three players come from Top 10 nationally ranked club programs.

Our ultimate goal is to win a National Championship. We are very close to being a Top 20 program in the nation, and we received votes last year already, despite being a very young team. With 7-8 players starting for the last three years who were only freshmen and sophomores and finally a few strong juniors this past fall, we were able to beat and tie nationally ranked programs. This fall our goal is to be a nationally ranked program and to start competing for National Titles (all players this fall will be my recruits). We would love to have you help us with such a quest.

Having listed a few pros (there are many more), I am asking you to consider State as a college choice and to be part of something new and exciting in the quest of winning Conference Championships and even more exciting, a National Championship!

For all the above reasons I would like to start communicating with you about your possible interest in State and our Soccer Program. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to give you a better picture of State, about the potential of gaining a top education and being part of a successful soccer program.  We are a top ranked school academically in the country, and we are very close to matching that rank with soccer!
Sincerely,

Coach

Head Women’s Soccer Coach

State College

What is Over-Signing?

All NCAA college football programs are limited to having 85 scholarship players on their team per year. These 85 players include both returning players and new recruits. When a program signs more players than the allotted 85, this is over-signing.

In order to get back down to the 85 players they are allowed to give scholarships to, college football programs go about it a few ways. First, they usually wait to see which players, if any, become ineligible to play. Student-athletes can become ineligible by not making grades, getting in trouble with the law, etc. Then, programs will usually ask players to ‘gray shirt’ for a year. ‘Gray shirting’ is when you give up your scholarship benefits for a season so a peer can use them. Lastly, programs just start making cuts to reach the 85, which is obviously devastating to those student-athletes.

How to Overcome Over-Signing

While there are many college football programs in the nation that do contribute to the problem of over-signing, there are just as many who try at all costs to avoid this issue. These programs would rather sign a few less players than the allotted 85 so they do not have to make those upsetting cuts later on. This then gives the program freedom to sign a few walk-on players later on.

As a college football recruit, it may be in your best interest to research which programs do and do not over-sign when considering your options. By considering football programs that have a reputation of not over-signing, you may ultimately be saving yourself from heartbreak and hassle later on.

To find out more information about over-signing in college football, visit oversigning.com

Find the time that works best

Figure out the time that your brain is most awake. We all had those friends rushing to get homework done in homeroom before school started, but for some, mornings may be good time to get work done. Just set aside more time than homeroom alone. If you’re always exhausted and feeling a little brain-dead after school and practice, get to bed early and wake up earlier to give yourself some time to finish assignments, study and research before you even head off to school.

Chip away at big assignments

Procrastination seems like something we all develop in our teen years and have a hard time getting over. It never pays off, but many of us push assignments to the last minute. Instead of ignoring an assignment until the night before, work on it in small doses. This will help for more balance, and help to ease the stress of a big assignment. It will also help you to look at things with fresh eyes and do a better job than if you had crammed all your work into the night before.

Set up study dates

Some of us prefer to work alone, but as you know from sports, things can get done more efficiently with the help of your team. This can also be true for school work. Find someone you know you can work well with, who is also a friend and set up times to work on assignments together. This way you will have something to look forward to come study time and also someone to help you out.

Treat school on the same level, if not higher

At SportsForce, we work hard to highlight your athletic achievements by showcasing your video. But as many of you already know, academics is very important in the recruiting process. It is easy to get in the mindset that your sport deserves all the attention because it is what will get you recruited, but colleges look for academic strength too. Don’t put your schoolwork on the backburner. Think of all the time you devote to athletic training and work to put in equal time towards your academics. Seeing a strong athlete and student is a great selling point for college coaches.

Get extra help when needed

This is a tip that can be applied to college and high school. There is absolutely no shame in going to a teacher or tutor for extra help; that’s what they are there for. In classrooms it’s sometime unavoidable that not everyone is on the same page understanding material. If you feel lost, ask your teacher to meet with you to get extra help. You will absolutely benefit and teachers will appreciate the initiative you put in.