Common questions about The Making of a Student-Athlete Athletic Recruiting Guide

Does The Making of a Student-Athlete 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, phone and text message contact rules, eligibility, National Letter of Intent and more.

Is there recruiting information on the NCAA web site?
Yes and no. The NCAA website is limited to basically rules and regulations regarding the athletic recruiting process, but they do not publish practical information on their site about how to succeed in the college athletic recruiting process and what steps you need to take in order to be more successful.

Will The Making of a Student-Athlete assist in receiving 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.

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 2,000 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, camps, travel teams, recommendations, and video to show a coach what skills you have. 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 you do not contact them!

Can college coaches recruit me without actually seeing me 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 (such as in sports like golf, track and field or swimming), 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 possible. It’s also possible to be recruited based on the recommendations of former players on your team who have gone on to play in college and are now providing their college coach advice on other players from their town.

I don’t expect much help from my high school coach. Will this book help us overcome that?
You are not alone and many parents we speak 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 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.

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.

Do I need this book if I am a talented athlete already getting some recruiting contacts or scholarship offers?
Receiving letters and calls from coaches does not guarantee that college 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? There are many factors to consider: coaching staff, team needs, social atmosphere of the school, playing opportunity, academic programs, travel schedule. The list can go on. Many families who have purchased our book have had talented athletes who received scholarship money to play in college and credited The Making of a Student-Athlete with helping them in their decision making and recruiting process.

How do we purchase The Making of a Student-Athlete?
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