College recruitment has been an ongoing issue since college sports have been around. Regulating the practices on how colleges attract top student-athlete prospects has been the job of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. The NCAA has been known to go overboard with its textbook regulations, but now some have considered them to gone even crazier. Victor Broccoli in his paper entitled “Policing the Digital Wild West: N.C.A.A. Recruiting Regulations in the Age of Facebook and Twitter” argues the limitations the NCAA faces in regards to its regulations. In a particular incident, listed in the paper, a student of North Carolina State made a Facebook group arguing basketball prospect John Wall to come to North Carolina State. The NCAA charged North Carolina State for violating the rules of college recruitment. Is this a legitimate argument? I say no.

The fact that an individual student can represent a college is not valid. A single students desire to have a great athlete come to their college should not be considered a violation of the NCAA recruiting rules. For example if a few years ago I made a group on Facebook promoting Blake Griffin to come to my college and not to Oklahoma, should my school been charged of violating the rules? That’s absurd!…I don’t think so. Recruiting, as defined by the NCAA bylaws, is “any solicitation of prospective student-athletes or their parents by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institution’s athletics interests for the purpose of securing a prospective student-athlete’s enrollment and ultimate participation in the institution’s intercollegiate athletics program.”

Do you think the NCAA really needs to try to baby sit everything that happens? Feel free to comment and voice your opinion.

Navigating the recruiting journey can be a challenge in many ways, not the least of which seems to be learning a new language  of signing days, quiet periods and national letters of intent. On top of that you have to know when all of these things are happening! At SportsForce we know firsthand just how difficult the process can be and how much of a learning curve is involved. So to help you out we’ve defined some words  and phrases you may have come across or will soon.

Quiet period– During this set period of time, coaches cannot have any in person conversations with the student athlete of parents off of the college campus. At this time coaches can’t watch the student athlete play or practice but student athletes may talk to the coach on the phone or write them.

Dead period- During this set period of time, coaches cannot have an in person conversation with the student athlete or parents at any time. The coach can write and call during this period of time.

Contact period- During this set period of time, coaches can have in person conversations, write or have a call with the student athlete and parents at any time, on or off the college campus. This includes watching the student athlete play. The student athlete and parents can also visit the college at this time

National Signing Day- The first official day that a high school senior can sign a binding Letter of Intent. While there is a “Signing Day” for all NCAA sports, National Signing Day commonly refers to the first day a Letter of Intent can be signed for college football.

Official visit- A prospective student athlete visit to a college that is paid for by the college. There are NCAA rules and regulations for what and how much can be paid for.

Unofficial visit- Any visit to a college by the student athlete and parents that is paid for by the student athlete or parents.

For more information about current NCAA rules and dates visit the Eligibility Center

Junior year can be the most important year in the recruiting process (but seniors, have no fear!). It can be a year of lists as well, from deciding what tests you want to take and when to narrowing down that list of colleges. As you begin your junior year, know that like any other year, it can fly by and be your summer before senior year in no time. Take the fall of this year to plan and take action.

Prepare for Testing

Junior year is when you should be planning for and taking your SAT or ACT tests for the first time. Check with your school guidance counselors to find when these tests, including the PSAT will be offered in your area or even neighboring schools and find a date that works for you. Consider taking an SAT prep course or meeting with a tutor after school if you’re feeling nervous about the tests. Also research into your current college list for what schools you are considering accept which tests. Keep in mind that you can take the SAT and ACT more than once and plan for time to allow yourself to take it more than once and improve your score.

Manage Your College List

At this point, you should be managing your list of colleges you are might want to attend and deciding which schools you are truly interested in and want to visit. Work with your parents and guidance counselors to narrow down schools by overall college experience, academics, sports programs and anything else that may be important to you. Reach out to current students at these schools from your home town for their opinions and experiences. You want to narrow down your list so that you’re only making visits this fall to schools you are seriously considering.

Reach out to Coaches

Now is the time for you to start reaching out to coaches. SportsForce recommends simply dropping an email with a little bit of information about you, stats and your highlight video. Promise to update coaches at the end of your season or with any more new video. This a great way to lay the ground work for when coaches can get back to you based on NCAA regulations for your junior year.

Focus on Your Sport

As much needs to be accomplished with recruiting during your junior year, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But most importantly, if you’re involved with a fall sport, don’t let your season suffer. As important as it is to reach out to coaches and take college visits, your performance should be able to speak for itself when the time for official recruiting comes.

Best of luck this season!

The reality is most of us won’t be recruited by the college sport powerhouses like Duke and USC. But that doesn’t mean you should give up on your aspirations of playing sports in college and beyond. There are many reasons why the NCAA Division II and III schools, as well as the NAIA schools, could end up being the perfect fit for you.

These Schools Get More Exposure Than You Think

These divisions may not get the same amount of spotlight as the Division I schools, but they definitely still grab the attention of the all the media outlets. Games from all these divisions are covered by sources like ESPN and CBS College Sports. These divisions also get some big name sponsors like Russell Athletic and US Bank. The coverage from such media outlets is a great way professional scouts are exposed to athletes in these divisions.

You Could be the Next Scottie Pippen

That’s right; THE Scottie Pippen did not play basketball for a Duke-caliber college program. Pippen actually was a walk-on recruit at a school in the NAIA division, the University of Central Arkansas. He wasn’t offered any scholarships and even contemplated whether he wanted to continue playing ball at the college level, but with the hard-work and dedication he put into his sport, he ended up becoming a two-time All-American college player and was the number 5 pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. And now, of course, Pippen is known for being a six-time NBA world champion and just recently being inducted into the basketball hall of fame.

The Fun Continues

The main reason we all play sports: to have fun. So why should you stop just because you didn’t get recruited by some Division I powerhouse? Most athletes who play for NAIA or Division II and III schools play solely to keep having a good time. Playing for a school in one of these divisions could prove to be one of the best experiences of your life. As long as you are still having fun with something, you should continue pursuing it as long as you can.

Recently, it seems like anytime you turn on the television or internet you hear that another college student-athlete is in trouble for violating some sort of NCAA rule. These violations can result in consequences that not only greatly affect the player, but can also do serious harm to the team as a whole. For this reason, it is important to know what is expected of student-athletes when they reach the college-level playing field.

Two scandals that are currently in the college sports realm are those of Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green and former USC running back Reggie Bush. Both of these incidents have gained a vast amount of media coverage, but while both of these athletes violated NCAA rules, they have very different consequences.

A.J. Green and the selling of his own jersey

At first glance, this violation seems pretty harmless. A.J. Green, who is considered one of the top receivers in college football, sold the jersey he wore in the Independence Bowl last year to an agent for $1,000. After investigating into this, the NCAA suspended Green for four games. Green was not suspended, seemingly, for trying to make a profit. Rather, he was suspended for his communication with the agent, which is a major violation.

Reggie Bush and the receiving of benefits

Rewind back to 2005: Reggie Bush was an all-star running back for one of the nation’s elite football programs and ended up winning the Heisman Trophy for his talents. Now in present day, Bush has forfeited his award and his former school is dealing with an immense amount of consequences for his actions.

After a four-year long NCAA investigation, it was found that Bush had received money, gifts and benefits from agents. Bush forfeited his Heisman Trophy after talks that the Heisman Trust would eventually take it away from him anyway. But Bush is not the only one having to deal with the consequences of his actions; USC was hit hard with numerous sanctions, including a four year probation, a two year ban from bowl games, and a loss of 30 scholarships over a three year span.

What to learn from these incidents

These two incidents are just two of many current investigations being made by the NCAA for rule violations. The newly appointed NCAA president, Mark Emmert, has come out saying that he is going to continue being tough on rule-breakers so future student-athletes will not make the same mistakes.

It’s so crucial for aspiring college players to pay close attention to the violations and subsequent consequences of these current scandals. Upon reaching the college playing field, student-athletes are held to a much higher standard and are under so much more scrutiny. Anything done that violates NCAA rules will eventually be caught, and it’s never too late to pay the price for such actions. For this reason, student-athletes need to be aware of NCAA rules so they don’t make the same mistakes when they reach the college level.

Are you looking to feel more confident as you look to prepare for college sports and the recruiting process? At SportsForce we hear many different questions, opinions and stories from student-athletes, parents and coaches all the time.

Here are some of the most common college sports recruiting questions our staff receives:

When do college coaches start recruiting?

What are college coaches looking for?

How can we maximize exposure to college recruiters?

What do we need to do and when do we need to do it?

What about the SAT, ACT, financial aid, NCAA Eligibility Center, etc…

Here are two simple and proven ACTION STEPS you can use today to begin taking control of your sports career and college sports goals.

Step 1: Student-athlete assessment

ACTION ITEMS:

1. Ask yourself “What type of college experience am I looking for?”

Attention student-athletes:

You need to reflect on what type of experience you are looking for. Write your thoughts down in a casual format (bullet points are fine) and be able to verbalize what type of college experience you are looking for.

Attention parents:

We recommend parents asking this question and letting your son or daughter answer this question with no undue pressure. See if your student-athlete can describe the type of experience they are looking for.

GOAL = To get a clear idea of what college experience you want as a student-athlete.

2. What are your key college decision factors?

Create a list of all of the key decision factors and give 1 to 5 points for each decision factor (5 being an extremely important decision factor).  We recommend doing this on a spreadsheet and then ranking the potential colleges you are interested in by using this system to create an overall point total for each school.

Potential decision factors including: Academics (Majors offered, career development, alumni), Athletics (level of competition, W/L record, tradition), Social environment, Size of school, Public vs. Private, Cost, Location, Coaching Staff, Intuition (gut feeling, emotional connection)

GOAL = To have a proven ranking and college decision making system to know what potential colleges you are really interested in.

To accelerate your education on the college sports preparation and recruiting process I recommend signing up for our FREE SportsForce College Sports Recruiting Guide.

* FREE Sign up click HERE

To get access to more advanced college recruiting tips, strategies and advice visit our website and RESOURCES section.

The SportsForce team, which is comprised of former college and professional athletes and coaches, is relentlessly committed to providing an ongoing education to help you best navigate your journey as a student-athlete, parent or coach.

Article courtesy of SportsForce, Home for professional and affordable College Sports Recruiting Tools, Tips, Online Profiles, Highlight Videos and Premium Services.

www.sportsforceonline.com

info@sportsforceonline.com

858.350.5889

Part II: Questions 4-6

4. Does My Senior Year Really Matter?

Yes, yes and yes! While many student-athletes have “committed” to schools, there are plenty of scholarships up for grabs. Often athletes that have committed to colleges play their way OUT of a scholarship. Even if your dream school is done recruiting for the upcoming season, keep recruiting them. If there are changes in their signing class, you may have a chance to slide in. Senior film will make or break a scholarship offer.

5. What happens in September and how important is that month for recruiting?

September 1^st is the first day that a college can officially call a senior prospect on the phone. If you get a call at midnight on the first, then that school REALLY wants you! However don’t take it personally if you do not hear from a school immediately. Coaches all have different philosophies when it comes to the September phone call. However if September comes and goes and you have not heard from the recruiter, then it is time to drop that school because you are not part of their future plans. Don’t be shy on these calls. Write down questions that you may have for the coach. Ask him every question you can.

September also marks the beginning of official visits. Schools will begin setting weekend trips for the fall and winter. If the coach is not offering you an official visit, then he doesn’t love you as much as you thought.

6. How do I handle the pressure?

I remember standing on various sidelines watching prospects play in games. I watched how they played when the ball came in their direction, as well when they were not involved in the outcome. I studied how they spoke to teammates and coaches alike. However, nothing is more impressive than production and winning. Do not let a recruiter’s presence change they way you play or act. Recruiters can tell when an athlete is “pressing” to make a play. These coaches liked the way you played enough to come and watch in person. There is no pressure in that situation,  just another face in the crowd. Continue doing what got you this far. Work hard, play fast and ALWAYS show good sportsmanship.

One of the most important steps towards becoming a student-athlete at the college level is confirming your athletic eligibility with the NCAA. The process can be somewhat confusing, but the NCAA is taking steps to make it as pain free as possible.

The NCAA Eligibility center is unveiling a new website that hopes to make the eligibility registration process as easier. The site aims to aid coaches in accessing important information on student-athletes in order to help them with the amateurism certification process and academic registration. The site also hopes to offer a more interactive and inviting atmosphere for student-athletes and their parents.

The site will be launching on June 29^th, 2009 and be accessible for student-athletes hoping to register and certify their amateur status for the 2010 season. The new site is www.NCAAstudent.org.