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JANUARY 2006 VARISTYEDGE.COM NEWSLETTER - Newsletter Homepage
Articles
I like the opening paragraph. “you are talented enough to play college softball or lacrosse – on a scholarship. Ya, according to who? Read
RECRUITING GOING GLOBAL
Wow, if you didn’t think college athletic recruiting was a global process yet, check out the list of first and second team All-American’s for men’s NAIA soccer. LIST. There is one American player out of 22 All-American’s
ODD’S N ENDS
The New York Time Sunday edition has been running some fantastic stories on athletics and college recruiting. The most recent edition (Sunday Dec. 4th) that I read, talked about the role of athletics at a small private college called Haverford College just outside of Philadelphia. We have talked about athletic participation as a hook for admissions and how it can vary from school to school. One of the interesting topics discussed in the article was the individual needs of a given team as they related to using admission slots for athletes. Not only did the coaches have the ability to place certain recruits they wished to be accepted on a recruiting list but admissions went so far as to look at the needs of individual teams by position when evaluating applicants. If the lacrosse team had no goalie’s and the coach had a goalie on their recruiting list, that goalie probably had a better shot than another athlete in another sport or position because you can’t field a team without a goalie. This is why I am always emphasizing the needs of a given team in the recruiting process when trying to find a fit. Yes, you may qualify athletically and academically for many schools, but if the coach doesn’t have a NEED for your position in a given year, their pursuit of you may not be that high. Also, if the coach is recruiting you but other teams have a greater need for other positions at that particular college, your athletic hook may not be perceived that high in the eyes of admissions and they may place other recruits ahead of your application.
I read a quote from a high school softball player recently that said the following, “D3 was going to be more like high school level, but D1 is going to be a real challenge.” Well, only a small percentage of high school players move on to play in college, so regardless of what level you play at, it is going to be a challenge and D3 softball at most if not all colleges will not be like high school. The players will all be older, more experienced, more dedicated to the game, and more skilled and I could find several D2 and D3 softball programs that could compete with some D1 programs.
That was University of Portland, student body of 3,413, knocking of D1 powerhouse UCLA (student-body of 34,000+) for the NCAA D1 women’s soccer championship.
I read another article that discussed an NAIA school and how difficult it is to compete with other schools. The school has $50,000 dollars allotted for scholarship money for 7 sports. That’s $7,142.85 per sport and then you can divide that seven thousand plus up amongst 10 to 20 players per team.
In September I received an email from my college asking me to donate money because US News & World Report uses alumni donations as a measurement to rank schools. Talk about being honest! While it’s advantageous to me for my former college to be ranked high on reports, it also shows that schools are often more concerned about simply ranking high, and often rankings mean less about the quality of the current programs and more to do with arbitrary things that may or may not impact your college career.
If you live in the Boston area and play high school basketball and have a desire to play at the college level, swing over to a Northeastern game and take a look at point guard Jose Juan Barea. Barea was 8th in the nation in scoring and 5th in assists last year and can simply light it up and will most likely be headed to the NBA next year. Not bad for 5’ 11” point guard playing 1-AA ball at a co-op school.
I was trading recruiting stories with a gentleman I me recently and he told me a funny story about an exchange between a parent and a high school basketball coach who had a great deal of knowledge about college basketball and recruiting. The family had high expectations about their son’s ability that was completely unwarranted and the coach was trying to bring them down to earth. The mother responded by saying, “ok, I guess he will just have to play D3 basketball.” The coaches response, “What, do you think D3 basketball is like the Special Olympics?”
The hits keep coming for New Orleans. Tulane University is dropping two majors from their school, electrical engineering and computer science. No one uses computers anymore? The school will also be cutting several athletic programs as a result of the hurricane. This is off of their website - The number of intercollegiate sports played at Tulane University will be cut in half as part of a broad renewal plan unveiled today for the institution, but the Green Wave will continue in NCAA Division I competition in football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and women’s track and field and cross country. In making the decision, the Board of Administrators suspended seven programs in eight NCAA sports, affecting about 103 student-athletes. Programs suspended are men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s swimming and diving, women’s soccer and men’s track and field and cross country. Tulane will honor athletics scholarships for all eligible student-athletes in suspended programs and assist those who wish to transfer.
Kudos to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. They conveniently scheduled high school football playoff games on the day of the SAT test forcing players to choose between the game and the test. The MIAA responded by saying, “tuff luck, you should have done better on the test a few months ago.”
COACH IMPOSING HIS WILL
This was an email forwarded to me by a parent that is fairly interesting. The school is willing to step up with an official visit, a possible spot o the team, and a push from admissions provided the family is willing to play ball on their end by applying early (which shows their commitment) and waiving their right to apply for financial aid. And who says colleges aren’t businesses?
******* University is still very interested in *******! We have a lot of confidence in her athleticism ---- she can be an impact player in the ******* Softball Program! We are a Div I school that is small enough to keep a healthy balance between athletics/academics! Examples are that my softball graduation rate is 100%, our team GPA is 3.2, and my players have the opportunity to travel abroad!
With that being said, our admissions requirements are exceptionally high! I have met with the softball admissions liasion on behalf of *******. She has a realistic shot of being admitted through the ED I (Nov 15th) window --- providing that your family is NOT applying for financial aid.
Do you feel this is a sacrifice that you are willing to make ---- if she so desired to attend a school of our status? If so, I'll offer ******* an OFFICIAL VISIT so that she can visit *******, meet our players, view a practice, attend classes, talk w/professors, etc.
I wouldn't want to lead ******* on, have her visit & fall in love with *******, and then have finances be the reason she couldn't attend. Please let me know if I should take the recruiting process to the next step.
With respectful consideration.......
GUESSING ABOUT THE RECRUITING PROCESS
Last month I received an email from a parent asking whether or not college scouts attend high school playoff games and whether her son would improve his chances of being recruited if he was on a championship team. I emailed back that while being part of a state championship team probably wouldn’t hurt his chances, there are many other factors in the recruiting process and most likely the game may only attract local college coaches if any. I also mentioned something about college camps and the next email I got from her said “glad you mention camps, my son is going to a few, I hope he gets exposure there, do coaches attend combines?”
One of the constant problems I run into is parents who guess what they should be doing and rely on “hope” rather than taking control of the recruiting process and doing the necessary steps to put yourself in a position to be recruited, but to ultimately put yourself in a position to recruit. High school students who are not athletes do not wait for schools to mail them applications or wait for schools to call them and they don’t wonder what they should do. They research schools where they think they will be a good fit. You have the same responsibilities but you have the added challenge of researching the athletic aspect of schools. It’s not an easy process and is only made harder by false assumptions and guessing. After two emails, I encouraged her to possibly purchase The Making of a Student-Athlete because this isn’t a process you can go into guessing or go into unprepared. It simply isn’t worth it. Never heard back from her again and as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water….
NCAA RULES
Whether I had the NCAA contact rules wrong or the NCAA changed them again, I need to give you some updates. Basketball (Division 1 only) – I originally understood the new rules changes to be one phone call in March of Junior year, then no calls again until June 21 and only 3 phone calls in July. The current 2005-2006 telephone contact rule for Division 1 basketball are as follows – Basketball Specific: D1 men’s coaches may make one telephone call per month on or after June 15 of a prospect's sophomore year in HS through July 31 following the prospect's junior year in high school. Then coaches may make two telephone calls per week beginning August 1 prior to the prospect's senior year in high school. D1 women coaches may make one telephone call per month in April, May, and June 1-20. One call between June 21st and June 30th after junior year. 3 Calls in July after junior year.
When a legally binding NLI document isn’t really legally binding.
By now many of you are familiar with the National Letter of Intent. For those of you who aren’t here is the 30-second version. The National Letter of Intent is a legally binding document that a student-athlete signs with a University. It is used at all NCAA D1 schools and many NCAA D2 schools. It signifies the awarding of athletic scholarship money (full or partial scholarship money) for one year and one year only. You can only sign one NLI with one NCAA school and if you choose not to attend that school after you sign, you have to sit out a really long time if the school doesn’t release you which they don’t have to do. If the coach leaves the school after you sign, you still have to attend that school as you sign with a school and not a coach. Signing an NLI does not guarantee admission to a particular university. Unfortunately, if you sign an NLI and the school doesn’t really want you to come, they can pressure you into not coming. That happened to several athletes committed to a college in Texas recently as the school basically told them that they should look for another university to play at and that the school would be happy to release them from their NLI.
I am not a big fan of this as I think it sends a bad message to future recruits. But it’s also a good life lesson where things are not guaranteed and much of what you do and receive will be based on what you offer and your performance.
NEWS ON INDIVIDUAL COLLEGES
Trinity College (D3) in Connecticut just wrapped up a 30 game winning streak, the longest in the Nation. They are a monster of a D3 program at a fantastic academic University. Their head coach recently resigned in December.
UNC Ashville (D1) is launching a new degree program in health and wellness that will operate out of a new 35 million dollar complex. Attached will be a new venue for basketball and volleyball teams as well.
Post University a D2 school in Connecticut, is adding women's tennis as its 12th varsity sport. The coach of the new team will be Ken Nolan, who also coaches the men's team. Play will begin in fall 2006.
The NCAA has placed the Georgia Institute of Technology (D1) on two years of probation after the school improperly certified academically ineligible student-athletes to compete. The school lost several scholarships for football and men’s and women’s track for the next two years.
THE CHOICES WE MAKE IN LIFE
Nothing to do with recruiting. From George F. Will, Newsweek Magazine December 19th 2005 – 2005’s Kind of Progress.
Asked to switch from guitar to bass, which he could not afford to buy, Eric Griffiths quit the rock group Quarry Men in 1958 and joined the British Merchant Navy. On a radio on a ship in the Persian Gulf in 1963 he heard “Please Please Me,” the first hit by the Quarry Men, by then called the Beatles!
D3 Athletics
Do you want to play D3 athletics? Ohio Northern, one of the most competitive D3 football programs in the country has 79 players listed on its 2005 roster. Only 6 players are listed as coming from outside the state of Ohio on the varsity roster. Ohio Northern also has a freshman roster that consists of no less than 100 players! Their football website homepage in August read like this. - The No. 5-ranked Ohio Northern football team began preseason practice for the 2005 season on Sunday beneath overcast skies. One hundred eighty six players, including 107 freshman, were expected to report to camp on Aug. 13. So much for strolling on a D3 team. We always encourage families to do their due diligence and investigate each program individually. Yes, many D3 teams are weaker than D1 teams, but there are many impressive D3 programs throughout the country that you simply will not be able to play for unless you have some extremely strong athletic skills and a lot of patience
Stats relative to competition
The leading rusher (both touchdowns per year, touchdowns per career, and yards) in Massachusetts football history does not have a Division 1A scholarship offer. Remember, it isn’t simply the stats you put up, but the stats you put up relative to the competition you face in your region of the country. A top coach can look at that player and say, ok you are pretty good in your region but what happens when you have to face an entire line of 300+ pound players, 4 linebackers that are 250 and ripped and 3 safety’s that all run 4.5 40’s that will be more than willing to take your head off when you come down the middle of the field. Remember, you are competing against players from all over the world for the few spots that are available on college rosters. To give you the other side of the coin a parent called me from Florida and says their son plays for one of the top high school programs in the country and that 19 players have received D1 scholarship offers on the team. He said the players are so good that a few have never played one down of varsity football in 4 years on the team and they too had D1 scholarship offers.
I don’t recall who sent this to me, but I received this photo of Arlington National Cemetery around Christmas time.
These wreaths -- some 5,000 -- are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He's done this since 1992. A wonderful guy. Also, most years, groups of Maine school kids combine an educational trip to DC with this event to help out. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that Harrington is in one the poorest parts of the state.
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