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Quick facts about The Making of A Student-Athlete
Number of Chapters – 8
Number of Pages – 255, not including the table of contents, index, and author bio pages.
What is the price of the book? - $29.95 for US orders and $31.95 for orders from Canada. If you are from another country please contact us first.
How do we purchase The Making of a Student-Athlete?
By Credit card directly from varsityedge.com or check/money order payable to New England Interactive via the varsityedge.com web site. Your can print an order form from the bottom of the order page. NOTE: Paypal has recently modified their online payment solutions. It is now possible to purchase our book through Paypal without having to own or create your own Paypal account, you can simply do a one-time safe and secure transaction through Paypal using a credit card. If you have a PayPal account, the system will ask/force you to login for security reasons.
How is the book sent? –
Priority Mail Through the US Post Office with delivery confirmation. Usually takes about 2-3 days after book is mailed!
Can you provide a receipt for our organization? -
If you are part of a school or organization and require a receipt/invoice, please let us know.
How do I actually order?
Go to the order page and retrieve an order form. Order Page Or, go to the order page and purchase the book via a credit card.
Do you have discounts for multiple orders or team orders?
Please contact us directly if you would like to order multiple copies for your team or organization.
Do I need this book if I am a talented athlete already getting some recruiting contacts?
Receiving letters and calls from coaches does not guarantee that those coaches will recruit you. One football player received over 180 letters from the same college and never ended up getting one call from the coaching staff and never got recruited by that school! Other schools send letters out to 4,000 athletes a year trying to promote their program in an attempt to recruit 20 athletes a year.
It’s important you take a proactive role in your recruiting process and select schools that will be the best fit for you. If you don’t know how to do that, then how will you make the proper choice? If you are receiving multiple scholarship offers, a scholarship is a scholarship is a scholarship, meaning no one school can offer you any more scholarship money than the other (legally!). With all things being equal and the realization that your education will be paid for no matter what school you select, you need to evaluate some other criteria to make a decision on what school to attend such as, coaching staff, team, social atmosphere of the school, playing opportunity, academic programs, travel. The list can go on. Being good at a sport doesn’t mean you know how to do this, does it? Many students who have purchased our book have been talented athletes who received scholarship money to play in college and credited The Making of a Student-Athlete with helping them in their decision and recruiting process.
Does this book discuss rules, regulations, and eligibility
Yes, in great detail, but it is not meant to replace the NCAA. We outlined the most important rules that apply to you and being recruited - such as official visits, contact rules, eligibility, National Letter of Intent and more.
Is there recruiting information on the NCAA web site
Yes and No. The NCAA web site is limited to basically rules and regulations regarding the athletic recruiting process, but you will not find practical information on the site like how to contact coaches, resume writing, self-promotion, how to evaluate schools athletically or academically, etc.
Does this book have detailed lists of colleges and athletic programs?
No. That information is available on www.ncaa.org with a little effort and through other resources such as College Coaches Online
Why do you consider The Making of a Student-Athlete better than other recruiting books on the market?
- Many recruiting books on the market have outdated recruiting rules and guidelines and outdated information on admissions and financial aid programs. We were making edits the day before we sent our book to the printer to reflect several recent changes in the recruiting landscape and we continue to make edits and print short runs of books in order to ensure our information is as accurate as possible and we just released our fifth edition updated on February 2006. We also update our book purchaser section or our web site to reflect new changes in recruiting not reflected in the book, so book purchasers have the most accurate recruiting information possible.
- Some recruiting books we have seen are 200 pages of names and addresses of schools and 20 pages of information off of NCAA.org.
- Many recruiting books focus on simply trying to land an athletic scholarship. While an athletic scholarship is possible, in reality, only 49% of D1 and D2 student-athletes receive some scholarship money, the rest (over 120,00 college athletes) play for the love of the game. Our book focuses on finding the program that is going to give you the best academic, athletic, and social fit and your goal should be to get the best education you can. There is a good chance you may not receive any athletic scholarship money, but that doesn’t mean your college choice is any less important if you want to be a college athlete! And there is a good chance that you can receive some athletic scholarship money if you have the talent and find coaches and schools that present an opportunity for you and market yourself and your skills to the coach.
- Many recruiting books focus only on student-athletes that need the most help. Lets be honest, just because you are a good athletes and possibly receiving letters and calls from coaches, does not mean you are ready for the recruiting process or know how to make decisions on programs and schools. Our book was written for every student-athlete whether you simply want to play at a small D3 college or are getting athletic scholarship offers from Notre Dame. Your ability to select and succeed at the right school is both difficult and important and we help everyone make the right decisions regardless of your skill level or exposure you have already received. We have also heard from several parents whose son's and daughters have received significant scholarship offers and have praised the book for helping them make school and recruiting decisions along the way. Read Testimonials
- No recruiting books (that we have seen) discuss succeeding at the college level once you actually arrive. While getting in is difficult, balancing academics and athletics at the college level is extremely difficult as a student-athlete and we have an entire chapter dedicated to helping you succeed once you actually arrive at college. This was a very important and personal topic to include.
- The Making of a Student-Athlete explains things in detail. Some of our sections on college applications and selecting schools are more in-depth than books solely about college applications. The rest of our book follows this trend of laying out the pieces and then going into great detail to explain why each item and idea is important to you. We don’t just tell you what questions to ask, we tell you why and how to ask them.
- The Making of a Student-Athlete includes a comprehensive section on personal training for high school athletes, which is seeing a huge jump in participation right now. It’s a good bet that 99% of all high school athletes are using improper technique, lifting too much weight and working muscle groups too often each week. Why? Because they never learn proper techniques and they go to the gym and do what other people are doing. We interviewed BJ Baker, former personal trainer for the Boston Red Sox and Jeff Oliver, current strength and conditioning coordinator for the Holy Cross Crusaders, a Division 1 college in Worcester Massachusetts and wrote a comprehensive section on weight training and conditioning for high school athletes.
What are the individual chapters?
Please visit the Table of Contents link for a complete list of topics in each chapter, but here are some highlights.
Introduction – Starts off with a basic recruiting horror story and then explains where the recruiting process is today, what you will be facing and what we hope to accomplish in the book.
Researching and Visiting Schools – Explains how to research, evaluate, and visit different schools on a non-athletic level which every parent and student needs to learn.
College Applications – Discusses the importance of different parts of your application, how your application is reviewed, recommendations, waitlists & deferrals, early decision and much more.
Financial Aid – Discusses all the tools of financial aid, including federal loans, private loans, Merit aid, institutional aid, 529 programs, non-athletic scholarships and much more.
Other high school and college options – Discusses the roles of Prep school, Post-Graduate schools, Junior College, and NAIA schools for those of you not ready for the NCAA.
Athletic Recruiting – The biggest section in the book and the one you are probably most interested in. Recruiting Tools spans over 100 pages alone and discusses virtually every topic that relates directly to the athletic recruiting process. Such as: recruiting surveys, recruiting videos, contacting coaches, resume writing, official visits, researching programs and coaches, the role of your high school coach, roster reading, rating your athletic ability, Ivy league recruiting, coaches honesty, corresponding with coaches, and much, much more! (Some people call this chapter a book within a book) See the Table of Contents for a complete list of topics.
Life as a College Athlete – Discusses college classes, professors, majors, hazing, how to survive, expectations and more.
Athletic Camps – Discusses the role of athletic camps, their benefits in the recruiting process, how to select the proper camp and more.
Recruiting Rules & Guidelines – Discusses eligibility, contact rules, official visits, redshirting, national letter of intent, drug testing, transferring and more.
Conclusion – A basic summary of what you have read.
Will this book assist me in getting an athletic scholarship?
In order to be awarded an athletic scholarship a few things need to happen. (1) You need to have a fair amount of athletic skill as an athlete and individual skills in your sport. (2) You have to find a program that is a good fit for you and your skills and has scholarship money to offer as not every program can offer scholarships or offers the full amount of scholarships. (3) You have to convince a coach that your skills warrant a scholarship over other players the coach has seen and is trying to recruit. (4) You have to be able to gain acceptance to a school based on your academic record. With that being said, if you have the skills, find the right match, and you use the steps we have outlined in The Making of a Student-Athlete, many of you will be able to receive athletic scholarship money by putting yourself in a good position to be recruited and fill a need on a college team. If you do not match your ability to the level of a particular college team, coaches will not be inclined to offer you any money.
It seems like there are a lot of sections in this book?
Absolutely! And you will find that each individual section is equally important in your recruiting process. You need to know how to research schools, apply to schools, how financial aid can help you, the recruiting rules and regulations you must meet in order to be eligible to play in college, how to promote yourself, how to survive in college as a student-athlete, how to be physically fit, and how athletic camps can aid in your skill development and awareness to college coaches. It is all of these topics combined that will give you the best chance at being recruited and succeeding in college. Chapter 5 on athletic recruiting is by itself 110 pages, which is longer than other books we have come across on recruiting.
Does the Making of a Student-Athlete discuss other options besides NCAA colleges?
Yes, we have a chapter that discusses prep and private schools, post-graduate schools, junior college and NAIA schools, and how any of these options can be a short or long-term alternative for you if you are not ready for the NCAA level or were not heavily recruited out of high school by any NCAA schools
There isn’t a college within 200 miles of our home, will the Making of a Student-Athlete still help me?
Yes, whether you live 200 miles from the nearest college or 2 miles, the approach is basically the same, you need to find schools that match your skills and desires and sell yourself and your skills to college coaches. While it can be harder to get exposure in rural areas, it is possible through showcases, travel teams, recommendations, and video to show a coach what you can do. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to contact coaches on your own and find schools and athletic programs that you think you would enjoy being involved. Coaches cannot recruit you if they do not know who you are.
Can coaches recruit me without actually seeing me play in person?
While it is important for a coach to see you play in person, many student-athletes are recruited by coaches who only saw tangible times and scores of student-athletes, compelling recruiting videos, or recommendations from scouts and other coaches, or recommendations from other college players and coaches. It isn’t easy, but it is certainly possible.
I don’t expect much help from my high school coach. Will this book be pretty straight forward on what I need to do to help myself?
You are not alone and many parents we spoke to expressed much displeasure in the amount of help they expected and received from their high school coach. We included a section on evaluating your high school coach that helps you determine if your coach can and is willing to help you in the process. While many high school coaches are helpful in the recruiting process, many do not want to get involved or do not know how to get involved (or both) in the recruiting process of their fellow players. Coaches are often part-time, work other jobs, teach, have to grade papers, and have families of their own to take care of. They often cannot dedicate the amount of time needed to assist you in your recruiting effort. The process is ultimately your responsibility and we will show you how to overcome the lack of help you may receive from your high school coach.
What has changed in the recruiting and application process in the last few years? Lots!
1 - The NCAA has changed eligibility requirements from 13 to 14 core classes and dropped computer science as an acceptable core course. In 2008, it will jump to 16 core courses.
2 - The NCAA has changed the sliding SAT/ACT/GPA scale that determines eligibility and will probably have to change it again in 2005-06 when the SAT test goes to a total score of 2400.
3 - The NCAA is changing the way they calculate the graduation rate and will begin to penalize athletic programs for poor graduation rates! This will place more emphasis on recruiting athletes that are actually interested in staying at one school and doing some schoolwork.
4 - The Ivy League has raised their academic index scale to reflect the student body more and applied the Academic Index to all Ivy sports.
5 - The PSAT is being changed to reflect new changes in the SAT.
6 - The SAT is being changed. Among the changes are the additions of an essay section, dropping the analogy portion of the verbal section, and adding higher-level math questions that include Algebra 2. The test will be roughly 30 minutes longer and a perfect score will now become 2400. The changes will take effect for the HS class of 2006.
7 - The federal government has changed the financial aid calculation, which is affecting thousands of families who were once eligible for aid and are now not eligible!
8 - New 529 financial savings programs are on the market as well as new independent programs.
9 - The Internet is making each and every school in the country a possible choice for student-athletes from all over the world. Many years ago the recruiting process was a regional process for many coaches. Now coaches are getting inquiries and evaluating student-athletes from thousands of miles away.
10 - The emergence of specialization (focusing on one sport) AAU teams, Olympic development teams, camps, private instruction, and personal training is turning out bigger and better student-athletes who are more driven for athletic scholarships and roster spots on college teams.
11 - The economy is affecting schools and forcing cutbacks in majors and athletic teams at all levels including public and private schools.
12 - More and more institutional financial aid money is being awarded to students who don’t necessarily need the money financially.
13 - Title IX is opening up more programs for women and reducing some programs for men.
14 - The NCAA has recently raised the minimum number of varsity team all D1 Universities have to offer from 14 to 16 teams. This is causing many schools to add new teams overnight for which they need to recruit 15 to 30 students for in one year to get the program going. This offers an immediate opportunity for you to play and contribute to the growth of a new program.
15 - The NCAA has more member schools and participating athletes than ever before. Over 1,000 schools and 360,000 student-athletes.
16 - New sports like bowling, archery, badminton, equestrian, rugby, squash, synchronized swimming, and handball are starting to emerge at the NCAA level and as they grow, you will see more athletic scholarship money for these sports.
Will the Making of a Student-Athlete assist in the recruitment of any sport?
Yes. While there are certain intricacies with some individual sports in the recruiting game, the process is roughly the same for all sports. Research and find schools that you think are a good athletic, academic, and social fit, contact the coaches and build a rapport with them, participate in events that give you exposure to college coaches, sell yourself and your skills. Find a place where you want to go and where you are wanted.
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