Potentially fatal recruting mistakes

Back in the day, the recruiters would come right to us and ask who we had that could really play and help them win. Now, they don't even come near us until they have been to the office to check GPA's, if the core cirriculum has been met, etc. Any div 1-A school full ride is worth well over a 100,000.00 or more! They just don't pass them out like water! True, most big schools recommend a prep school in order to better the athletes grades whereby he may be elgible in 2 years or so down the road to meet their requirements, but don't count on that road!!!

Any high school coach who doesn't have the time to help his athletes as much as is possible to get recruited, WITHOUT BEING TOTALLY BIASED AND SUPERFLOUS TO DOWN RIGHT LYING TO COLLEGE RECRUITERS is doing his kids a real injustice, IMO. I have had a hand in getting kids scholarships to big schools for a long time, and to lose credibility to a recruiter from a big school is akin to committing Hari-Kerri!!! I once worked under a HC who sent our QB all the way to Kansas from Florida for a visit and listed him at 6'2 190 lbs. When the recruiters met him at the airport they asked him what position did he play and where was the QB. He told them "I'm the QB" to which they quickly replied your not even 5'10 let alone 6'2. He said "no sir I'm not 6'2" who told you that? They said your HC! Then just added, get right back on the plane son, we can't use you! I was heartsick for the kid, who did go to a smaller Div.1-AA school and paid his own way. I worked for another coach who ran a very successful program and did not even hand out letters to the players! It was a big 6-AAAAAA HS and we had so many 10-0 seasons I lost count, really. Consequently, at the end of the season we had drawers full of letters to players. He just threw them out, and I mean these were letters from POWERHOUSE FOOTBALL UNIVERSITIES!!! When the recruting season came, he would give the film to the recruiter, turn him loose in the film room with our 20,000.00 film system and say : His number is such and such, make your own decision! We put more players to big schools than you could shake a stick at, so I sure can't fault him, but it was never my way.

Coach Easton

Coaches,

This is something i have printed out and given to all parents. I take a moment at every speaking engagement or banquet to address. If anyone can add to this, or correct anything, i will appreciate the help.....



I would like to take this time to address concerns regarding college recruiting and NCAA football scholarships.



There are 117 division 1A, 118 division 1AA and 150 division 2 colleges that offer football scholarships. That's a total of 22,779 football scholarships available in the NCAA alone. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND that these scholarships must be spread out over the course of 4 to 5 years. So 22,779 divided by 4.5 is approximately 5,062. In order for your son to receive a football scholarship, he must be one of the top 5,000 players in the country out of the millions that play high school football! On a smaller scale, 5 out of 1,000 football players earn a scholarship!



Student athletes who want to participate in NCAA Division I or II athletics should start the certification process early - by the end of their junior year or early in their senior year in high school. Students may obtain a copy of Making Sure You Are Eligible to Participate in College Sports and a Student Release Form (SRF) free of charge from a high school counselor.

To be certified by the Clearinghouse, students must:



Graduate from high school

Students should apply for certification before graduation, usually after their junior year. The NCAA Clearinghouse will issues a preliminary certification based on information available before graduation, so that the student is informed about any potential reasons that he or she may not be certified. Final certification will be issued only after receipt of a final transcript that includes proof of graduation.



Earn a grade point average of at least 2.00 (on a 4.00 scale)

Students must achieve a grade point average of at least 2.00 in a core curriculum of at least 14 academic courses taken during grades 9 through 12. Only courses that satisfy the NCAA definition of a core course are acceptable. Core courses include:



National Clearing House Sliding Scale



Student-athletes are also required to take the ACT or SAT test. Meeting the criteria is based on a sliding scale. See below:

Division I Core GPA/Test Score Index

Core GPA
SAT Score
ACT Score*

3.550
400
37

3.525
410
38

3.500
420
39

3.475
430
40

3.450
440
41

3.425
450
41

3.400
460
42

3.375
470
42

3.350
480
43

3.325
490
44

3.300
500
44

3.275
510
45

3.250
520
46

3.225
530
46

3.200
540
47

3.175
550
47

3.150
560
48

3.125
570
49

3.100
580
49

3.075
590
50

3.050
600
50

3.025
610
51

3.000
620
52

2.975
630
52

2.950
640
53

2.925
650
53

2.900
660
54

2.875
670
55

2.850
680
56

2.825
690
56

2.800
700
57

2.775
710
58


Division I Core GPA/Test Score Index

Core GPA
SAT Score
ACT Score*

2.750
720
59

2.725
730
59

2.700
730
60

2.675
740
61

2.650
760
62

2.625
770
63

2.600
780
64

2.575
790
65

2.550
800
66

2.525
810
67

2.500
820
68

2.475
830
69

2.450
840
70

2.425
860
70

2.400
860
71

2.375
870
72

2.350
880
73

2.325
890
74

2.300
900
75

2.275
910
76

2.250
920
77

2.225
930
78

2.200
940
79

2.175
950
80

2.150
960
80

2.125
960
81

2.100
970
82

2.075
980
83

2.050
990
84

2.025
1000
85

2.000
1010
86



*ACT Score is a sum of English, Math, Reading and Science scores.








When will I be contacted?

Remember that you cannot be approached by a college or university representative who is associated with the athletic department until on or before July 1 after the completion of your junior year at a secondary institution.



Questions you should ask your recruiter:

If you are considered by the "experts" to be one of the more elite, highly recruited athletes in the country, recruiters and athletic scholarship offers will find their way to you. If you have talent and you are being recruited rather heavily, but you simply need to ask hard questions of the person (s) recruiting you, try these: For example:



1. How many players are you recruiting at my position?

2. If I decide to visit, are you offering me a scholarship?

3. How long do I have to accept or decline your offer?

4. Are you offering the same scholarship to other players?

5. Are you offering me an official campus visit?

6. Where am I on your priority list?

7. If you offer one scholarship to me and others, will it go to the first player who commits?

8. What percentage of all students graduate in four years? What percentage of athletes graduate in four to five years? What percentage of athletes from your team graduate in four to five years?9. If I don't turn pro, what are the placement fates of your graduates in professional schools (i.e., medical school, law school, etc. ...) and professional jobs?

10. Of the athletes who do not turn pro, what are their outcomes after graduation? What post-graduate successes have they experienced?



You are entitled to ask whatever questions you deem necessary in order to understand the recruiting process better and to know exactly where you stand in the process. It is imperative that you and your parents know how to communicate with college recruiters. They are hired to evaluate your athletic ability; you must evaluate their professional ability and integrity.



Recruiting Facts

In order for you to understand the complexity of earning an athletic scholarship, look closely at the following numbers. Remember, numbers tell the truth:



Example: NCAA Football

107 Division I Schools

85 Scholarships allowed per school

= 9,095 total scholarships, nationally

- 6,955 approximate number of returning players nationally

= 2,140 available scholarships for approximately 1 million high school senior

football player.



As you see the process is complex. What can you do to be in the top 5 out of 1,000 - hoping to receive a football scholarship? Here is my advice for someone who wants to be among the elite of high school football players:



1. ACADEMICS FIRST! Consider this. If two players with the same abilities are being recruited and player A has a 3.0 and player B has a 2.0, player A is going to be given the scholarship. Player B would be considered more of a risk. Remember, you are an investment for that college football program. They are not going to take "chances" on athletes when they have other dependable athletes to recruit!



2. MAKE GOOD DECISIONS! Stay out of trouble! No college football program wants to deal with any athletes' "drama" off the field.



3. SURROUND YOURSELF WTH POSITIVE PEOPLE! If you hang with negative people or underachievers, they are going to bring you down. You will underachieve along with them! If you hang with motivated people, they are going to bring you up! Surround yourself with winners!



4. ACHIEVE AT EVERYTHING YOU DO! Winners just don't win some of the time - they win all the time! Winners are just great athletes - they are great students and great people!



5. MAKE FRIENDS AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS! I cannot stress this enough. Make every student, every teacher, every parent, every coach and every administrator your FRIEND. When you are in the school building, you should smile and shake hand with everyone you know! These people WILL help you and WANT to help you!



6. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP! There are people all over this campus that are willing to assist you at any time.



7. THINK ABOUT TEAM - NOT YOURSELF! Don't have the attitude that "you have to get yours (superlatives, honors, stats, etc.) in order to receive a scholarship. Put TEAM first and everything else will take care of itself!



8. TRUST & LISTEN TO YOUR COACHES! Your coaches tell you all the time: "Work harder!", "Be on time!", "Change your attitude!", "Be respectful!", "Pay attention in class!" "Do this! Do that!. Players don't often like to take constructive criticism. Trust me, we are trying to help you! We only ask you to do things that are going to make you excel as an athlete, student and person! Your coaches are HIGHLY DEDICATED to high school athletics and don't make millions for their countless hours of work. They are in this business because they care about young people!



9. GO THE EXTRA MILE! In order to be the best, you have to outwork the rest! Be early to practice! Stay late for films! Be involved in all off-season programs! Get involved in summer camps: skill camps, speed camps, combines, etc.



10. As you begin to accomplish great things, BE MODEST. Let your actions speak louder than your words. If you are successful, there is no need to tell anyone - your actions will speak for you. Remember that along the way, there have been people there for you who were willing to help you and advise you! Thank them often!

Make sure kids and parents understand the difference between a hand written note and a form letter from colleges. Just because kids get form letters they think they are being recruited. Coach CAmpbell