Hello!
The following article is Part 2 (of two) written by guest writer Don Dyer, VP Recruiting, CSA Prepstar, Westlake Village, CA.
It is the goal of SportsHopes to publish an article monthly that will “highlight” information – to parents and guardians, student-athletes, high school superintendents, principals, athletic directors, coaches, teachers, local businesses, city halls and service organizations – that will help high school student-athletes who want to go to college and who want to play sports in college Get There.
Thank you, Don, for supporting this effort and the Hayward (CA) Area Athletic League (HAAL) nine high schools:
Arroyo, Castro Valley, Hayward, Mt. Eden, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Tennyson, Bishop O’Dowd Catholic and Moreau Catholic.
In upcoming months articles by local and national experts will be highlighted that discuss sports-related careers, modern-day speed training, sports-related injuries and physical therapy, financial aid options, the NCAA and more. If you are an expert in a high school to college student-athlete related field and are interested in writing an article for our community SportsHopes would like to hear from you.
Raising the bar for high school student-athletics and creating opportunities for high school student-athletes takes community.
Sincerely –
Jennifer Oliver
Founder
SportsHopes
About the author of this article –
Don Dyer was a two time All-American in the hammer throw while in college. He attended Newark High School in the South Eastern Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area, graduating in 1972, and attended California State University, Hayward, graduating in 1976. In 1977 he obtained his Secondary Teaching Credential, but was unable to land a teaching and coaching job straight out of college. Due to his competitive nature he entered the world of sales and went on to become vice president of sales and a corporate officer for Blue Cross of California/WellPoint Health Network, the largest health carrier in the nation. These are wonderful successes for an athlete with a major in Kinesiology and Physical Education.
Now full time with Collegiate Sports of America (www.csaprepstar.com) Don wishes to instill that same successful drive in all of the athletes he works with. “Knowledge is power,” says Don. Some will say he was lucky, but per Don, “Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness and without a college education life would have taken me in a different direction.”
Part Two – Plan Early for College Athletic Scholarship Opportunities – by Don Dyer
WELCOME –
In Part One I left out an important element in the recruiting process. Schools that are interested in an athlete will ask for game film highlights. While it is always recommended to get this done by someone who understands how to do it, you can do it yourself if you follow some simple rules. Keep the video camera steady and focused. Pull the shot back enough to include all players on the field or court so a viewer can see how the athlete moves during play. Keep the athlete in the middle of the shot and recognizable. Highlights should show the growth and development of a player from sophomore year to junior year (and senior year if needed). A DVD or tape 3-5 minutes long is enough. The highlights can be given to college recruiters and coaches along with your contact information, stats, school transcript and SAT/ACT test scores.
If you need help check with other parents, high school photo and video clubs or classes and professional exposure/recruit organizations.
DIFFERENT DIVISIONS AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL –
In our last e-mail we talked about the athletic accomplishments that can help when seeking out an Athletic Scholarship. Now we will discuss the different Divisions that offer opportunities to play at the next level and a general idea of what your athlete should be concentrating on depending on the year in high school they are presently.
KNOW YOUR COLLEGE DIVISIONS AND BE REALISTIC –
The divisions that are available can be confusing but are simple to understand. The thing to remember Academically, with a few exceptions, is you can receive the same level of education or better at the lower divisions as with the upper divisions. The thing that is different is the magnitude of competition and budgets is greater at Division I schools. Most scholarships are partial awards, with only football and basketball at the Division I level being the only FULL RIDES. This accounts for about 5% of all scholarships given.
NCAA –
Under the guidance and rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association – ncaa.org
Division I –
These are the school that play on Saturdays such as Oklahoma, USC, Florida, Cal and so on. Though there are always exceptions to the rule, most of these athletes are high profile receiving all CIF recognition or better. Remember, only football and basketball are the full ride opportunities. Most are 25%, 33%, or 50% awards. However, there can be some academic awards given that can close the financial gaps. REMEMBER GRADES ARE IMPORTANT.
Division II –
These are in most cases your smaller colleges, usually state universities, with a few exceptions. Most athletes fit in this category. DO NOT DISREGARD THE OPPORTUNITIES AT THESE OR ANY OTHER SCHOOLS THAT FOLLOW. These are partial awards athletically but can also provide academic awards to athletes who have excelled in the classroom while in high school. So a 25% (or 33% or more) award can be given for athletic ability and another 25% (or 33% or more) award can be given for GPA and/or performance in the college entrance exams. Every school will be different and it is up to those schools to determine their criteria.
Division III –
These are usually your private type of colleges. These schools cannot give athletic scholarships, but can give academic awards based on GPA and college entrance scores on your SAT or ACT. GRADES ARE IMPORTANT.
NAIA –
An organization separated from the NCAA, the NAIA – National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics – also maintains a Division I and Division II system. These schools offer a great opportunity for a four year college education and participation in athletics. They can also blend athletic and academic awards.
NJCAA –
The National Junior College Athletic Association promotes and supervises a national program of sports and activities for accredited junior colleges and two-year institutions. For athletes that are late developers or financially challenged this is an excellent opportunity to keep the dream of play at a four year college alive.*
*One story that comes to mind is that of Aaron Rogers. Aaron was an excellent athlete at a northern California high school and was in our Exposure Program. Aaron had the misfortune of getting injured his senior year. Division I schools were not willing to take their chances on him so he could only secure partial scholarship offers. He took the advice of attending Butte Junior College in northern California for one year to show four year colleges that he was fully rehabilitated and could play. Cal Berkeley picked him up the next year and he realized his full ride. If his name sounds familiar turn on the TV and you will see that he is the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.
Now playing in the NFL is a very aggressive goal. We promote getting an education first as in most cases moving into the working world after college is where you will be. Side note – For some athletes rehabilitated from injury a possible option to junior college may be to “walk on” to a four year college. This works best when the student-athlete knows exactly where they want to go, meets entrance requirements and possesses the necessary athletic ability.
FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORES –
Athletes in this category need to focus on the important aspects of sports, GRADES and improving their athletic skills. Yes, grades are a major component when looking for college athletic money. While we consider a 2.5 overall Core GPA the cut off, a 3.0 plus is better. Try to excel in the subject you are strong in, and ask for help in those subjects were there are challenges. Meet with your high school counselors and focus on Core Class requirements. Athletically playing Varsity is good, but just be at the top of your game if at Freshman or Junior Varsity level. If on the Varsity team and playing less than 50% of the time, see if you can play at the lower level to get more playing time. Practicing with the big athletes can enhance your playing ability, but there is a lot to be said about playing in the game. Start letting the colleges know what you can bring to the table.
JUNIORS –
This is the year that recruiting activity picks up considerably. Make sure you talk with your high school counselor about your Core Class requirements. Continue to work on Grades. You should at least be starting on the Varsity level by this time. Keep working hard in the class room as well as in the sport. Focus on the College Entrance exams. Taking the PSAT is recommended in the Fall of your Junior year to get a feel for the test. Take the actual test no later than May or June at the end of your Junior year. You can take the test two more times and it will not count against you, and you can use any increase in test score for each section of the test taken. You also need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center ($60 currently). Continue letting colleges know what you can bring to the table.
You should also be calling the schools that have shown interest in you. They are restricted on how they can connect with you, but you can call them all you want. We occasionally read about an athlete who has committed to a college in their Junior year. This is in most cases because of the athlete connecting with the school.
SENIORS –
Try and have your best season ever. Do not relax in the classroom, and continue to focus. If reading this for the first time and you have not taken the College Entrance Exams you need to schedule for the next one immediately. If you do not take the exams, the only option you will have is a two year Community or Junior College and you must obtain your AA degree before moving on. Any impact you have in your sport as a Senior will be more of a showing for Division II or Division III schools if you have not promoted yourself as suggested. An exceptional showing may place you in the running for a Division I if an opening should present itself. Keep promoting yourself through May of your Senior year as the activity really picks up the last half of your Senior year after all of the Division I schools make their selections official.
PLEASE NOTE –
The above ideas for Freshman through Senior are only a rule of thumb. Just like anything in life there are always exceptions to the rule.
GETTING THE EXPOSURE –
HOW DO I GET THE EXPOSURE TO ALL THE COLLEGES –
If you follow the advice given earlier, you are about 80% percent there. I say this because if you do not have the Grades, Core Class Requirements or the College Entrance Exams done you are dead in the water so to speak.
But the other 20% of this equation is EXPOSURE.
Now you can do this yourself but most do not know where to start. To some looking up e-mail and physical addresses of colleges is a chore in itself, not to mention the expense and time of professionally printing up and mailing information to the schools not once but a recommended four times in one year.
Many families get lulled to sleep by believing that if their student-athlete goes to two or three or four (or more) Combines per year, or plays Travel Ball or Club or Summer Leagues, that the scholarships will fall into their laps. THIS IS NOT A KNOCK ON THESE PROGRAMS that are excellent sources for extra playing time and coaching to develop the skills to take it to the next level, however, with a few exceptions, most all of them offer very little exposure to the colleges.
When I was in college I was enrolled in Logic 101 for my undergraduate requirement elective. At the time I wondered how that information would apply to my life after college. Little did I know there were a lot of applications. Here is one of those practical uses I will offer to you. Keep in mind that gaining experience is not the same as gaining recognition and exposure.
Which is better for Exposure?
1) Playing summer basketball and having maybe six colleges look at your athlete each year they play?
Or
2) Getting your athlete’s information out every 30 days to over 1600 colleges that participate in basketball?
1) Playing volleyball outside of your high school program and maybe getting 12 colleges to look at your athlete?
Or
2) Getting your athlete’s accomplishments out every 30 days to over 1200 colleges?
1) Going to football combines (which college coaches are restricted in attending)
Or
2) Getting your athlete’s academic and athletic accomplishments out every 30 days to over 800 colleges?
Now once again this is not an attack on all these programs that work with these athletes, but what makes more sense in terms of where your resources (money) are used to seek out those opportunities? Balance is a good choice of word here. If you scribe to the thought that we need as many offers to get the best possible opportunity, then what is a solution?
WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD –
Over the course of this article and the prior October article I have had the honor of talking with a few of you (and working with a few of you) about the future of your young athletes. A combination of exposure efforts can often best serve the athlete with parents, guardians (and coaches) compiling stats, creating video highlights, registering on college websites under an athletic department’s “Recruit / Prospect” page for a given sport, following up with stats and video in the mail, but also by considering the use of a professional exposure/recruit service.
In Marketing 101, we learn that if we have a product we wish to promote we have to promote the product several times to a target audience in order to reach full effect and create awareness of what we are bringing to the table.
Your product is your Student Athlete and your target audience is College Coaches. If you send notice to a college coach once or twice you may get a lucky break, but colleges receive thousands of pieces of mail every day, and it is recommended that you send notice four to five times a year.
How will college coaches find your student-athlete?
There are a number of exposure/recruit services available in the U.S. to assist in connecting high school (and junior college and two-year institution) student-athletes to four year colleges.
Below are links to colleges in the CSA Prepstar database that I am involved in:
Football: 800 plus Schools
http://www.csaprepstar.com/matcher/search2.php?sport=9&divisioncount=6®ioncount=9&printable=1
Men’s Basketball: 1700 plus Schools
http://www.csaprepstar.com/matcher/search2.php?sport=3&divisioncount=6®ioncount=9&printable=1
Women’s Basketball: 1700 plus Schools
http://www.csaprepstar.com/matcher/search2.php?sport=27&divisioncount=6®ioncount=9&printable=1
Baseball: 1400 plus Schools
http://www.csaprepstar.com/matcher/search2.php?sport=2&divisioncount=6®ioncount=9&printable=1
Softball:
http://www.csaprepstar.com/matcher/search2.php?sport=44&divisioncount=6®ioncount=9&printable=1
All sports contested at the Collegiate Level can be viewed on the following link:
http://www.csaprepstar.com/matcher/index2.php
It’s Your Money – At forty-two cents a stamp the cost of mailing one notice to a college coach can easily end up being eighty cents to one dollar per piece by the time you buy the envelope and stationary, not to mention create and print a letter, stats resume and colored picture. So, a mailing to 800 colleges can run about $800 cost. If you send out the mailing four times a year for best impact that adds up to $3,200.
CONSIDER A PROFESSIONAL EXPOSURE / RECRUIT SERVICE –
Okay, so here is where I get to mention my company, as I get asked all the time, “What can you offer and what does it cost?”
For over 27 years Collegiate Sports of America has been helping high school, junior college and community college athletes understand the recruiting process. The company was founded by Jeff Duva, an All-American quarterback for the University of Hawaii in 1981. For athletes that qualify we offer participation in our College Exposure Program.
The CSA Exposure Program –
1) Develop a professional on-line resume to highlight your athlete’s Academic and Athletic accomplishments, list all achievements and include comments from the athlete’s coach: http://csaprepstar.com/profiles/players/?username=2775405&password=spacht
2) Post the resume on-line in the Collegiate Sports of America Clearinghouse. CSA has over 2,000 colleges and 24,000 college coaches registered, and they can access our website 24/7 to search for Athletes they need to fill their rosters: www.csaprepstar.com
3) Pro-actively send the resume by email (every 30 days) to all colleges that participate in the athlete’s given sport.
Cost –
$59 per month for Seniors
$49 per month for Juniors
$39 per month for Sophomores
($75 set-up fee waived for families connected to CSA Prepstar via this article.)
Example: A Sophomore starting the program at $39, will only pay $39 per month even through their Junior and Senior years.
It is recommended to run the program through May of the athlete’s Senior year, but there is no required long-term contract. The program can be discontinued with 30 days notice.
For a specific College Scholarship Evaluation you can call Don at 805-413-4499 or e-mail him at ddyer@csaprestar.com.
The information is free: http://www.csaprepstar.com/profiles/video/csa-promo-final.html and you can also register on-line at http://www.csaprepstar.com/athletes/registration.phtml
If you wish to be removed from future SportsHopes publishings please email: goodbye@sportshopes.org
If you wish to receive future SportsHopes publishings please email: welcome@sportshopes.org
Please support your local high school student athletes, athletic programs and pathways to college for student-athletes.
SportsHopes goals: Apply for and obtain 501(c)3 status; Provide a safe and well-lit place where student-athletes can register online for NCAA, register online for ACT/SAT testing, register online for college athlete Prospect/Recruit portals and register online for college applications; Obtain sponsors and fund-raise in order to assist student-athletes in need with the expenses associated with these registrations; Provide approved mentor volunteers to assist student-athletes with research, counseling, support and Get There.
Recent Comments