Any parent that takes their children’s sports seriously dreams of their child getting the opportunity to play at the college level on some sort of a scholarship ((National Signing Day Honors Four Students Ready to Play …. https://www.libertychristian.com/news-detail?pk=881054&fromId=178165)). In today’s hyper-competitive world of youth sports, I have found that the recruiting journey does not start during their junior year in high school, but actually in 3rd or 4th grade. Sound crazy. Yes, I agree that it is, but it has been my experience that the training needs to begin that early. There is so much scholarship money available for collegiate sports. Most people have heard about the Division 1 scholarship, but I was amazed at the amount of funds available at Division 2, NAIA, and Junior College programs. I would like to share with you the lessons that I have learned through the recruiting process for my oldest daughter.
1. Academics can be a game changer.
Coaches love recruiting kids that have excelled in high school academics. There is a particular reason why. Many college programs are provided a specific number of scholarships for their sports. For example, let’s say that a Division 2 basketball program is given ten scholarships for their program, but the coach needs to carry 15 to 20 players. The coach can divide the scholarships to the players by giving a 25% athletic scholarship to one athlete or a 75% scholarship to another. What is essential to know is that these athletic scholarships can be combined with academic scholarships. This can result in giving the athlete the “full-ride” scholarship package. Many parents and athletes dream of receiving a free education. There is no doubt that the path to an athletic scholarship begins in the classroom.
An athlete’s strength academically can be the deciding factor on whether or not they receive the offer from a school. Let’s say that a coach needs to recruit a post-player for the 2021 class and has it narrowed down to 3 athletes. Two of the athletes have a 3.0 GPA, and the third has a 3.95 GPA. All other factors being somewhat equal, the coach will lean to the better student since they can secure more academic scholarship money for that athlete. This means that they can save more of their athletic scholarship funds for a kid that they want to bring in that may not have the grades to receive academic funds.
Of course, all parents want their children to succeed academically ((Do you think my parent’s expectations of … – Yahoo Answers. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20190308011935AAneTrt)). I believe that it is vital to emphasize to your child that as soon as high school starts, the game has begun and that colleges are keeping score. I would ask you to pull up a college website and get an idea of the amount of money that can be provided under an academic scholarship. One other thing that I learned is that colleges are placing less emphasis on the SAT or ACT standardized test. Many schools that I looked at with my daughter did not require those tests any longer. This should be factored into the college search.
2. Online Presence and Email Strategy
In the summer before my daughter’s junior year in high school, we decided to be proactive when it came to capturing the attention of college coaches. We decided to send an email to every division one, division two, and NAIA school. At that time, we had a volleyball profile up on a website called CaptainU. This was a lot of work, but the CaptionU site made it easier because they provided email addresses of the coaches within the college programs. We did get several coaches looking at her profile and many requests to complete questionnaires, but no serious interest.
In November of her junior year, we switched to an online program that was recommended by her club called Sports Recruits. We contacted them to help us put together a highlight video of both her high school and club events. We then sent out the emails again to all of the division one, division two, and NAIA schools. This time the response was crazy. We started getting numerous emails and phone calls. Coaches contacted us and let us know that they will be attending the tournaments that she was playing in. I believe that highlight reel made all the difference in the world. It was worth every penny of the cost to prepare it ((THE 10 BEST Outdoor Activities in Virginia – Tripadvisor. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g28967-Activities-c61-Virginia.html)).
Many college coaches would say that they do not review the emails that are sent out, but I firmly believe that some do review them. I think that they may selectively open the ones from specific prominent club programs. I made a point to make sure that the name of my daughter’s club was in the subject line of all the emails that I sent ((Don’t Miss It! – Review of USS Arizona Memorial, Honolulu …. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60982-d104386-r130247775-USS_Arizona_Memorial-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html)).
My daughter received an offer from Presbyterian College in South Carolina after they came to watch her team play in the Mideast Qualifier in March of her junior year. After the offer, we asked them what made them come watch Hailey play that day. They said it was all because of the email that she sent to them in November ((Generate More Referrals and Repeat Business. – ReminderMedia. https://remindermedia.com/)). I always wonder where she would have ended up had we not sent all the emails to all those schools.
3. Campus Visits
I believe that your child must visit a large number of colleges to be able to reach a point where they can make a decision. We visited 11 colleges: Carroll University, Trinity International, Trinity Christian, Mount Mercy University, Presbyterian College, UW-LaCrosse, Bemidji University, University of Illinois-Springfield, Lindenwood University, UW-Parkside, and Lewis University. During these visits, we were able to get an in-depth tour of the campus, meet with an academic adviser, and meet with the coach and team. We were also able to get a feel for the city surrounding the college. These visits were vital to getting a comfort level with college and their volleyball program. I urge you to spend the time and money to see as many as you can ((Takeaways From Rewatching Jarrett Stidham’s Patriots …. https://nesn.com/2020/03/takeaways-from-rewatching-jarrett-stidhams-patriots-preseason-snaps/)). Your child needs to be able to picture themselves going to that school and playing athletics within that program ((Special Needs – West Valley Living. https://azwestvalleyliving.com/special-needs)).
4. Club Program
Your child’s club program has a significant impact on providing exposure for your child. A program that is well respected regionally and nationally will naturally draw college coaches to see the club’s teams play. I believe that there are two main reasons for this. The first is that a well-respected club brings the areas top players. Many of these players are already on the college coaches’ radar. A college coach could come to watch one of your child’s teammates play but then notice your child instead. I also believe that a club builds a reputation for producing a particular type of player. Once colleges take note of the players that the club develops, they come back year after year to get that same type of player.
My daughter had attended a try out for our area’s top club when she was in 4th grade. She received an offer, but we declined it. We decided to go with a club closer to home and one that was less expensive. What a mistake! We tried to get her to go back to that club after realizing our error, but she did not receive another offer from them until her sophomore year in high school. I often wonder what she could have become if she received the training from this club from a young age. The point is that once she did get into that club, she got increasingly better each year. There is no doubt in my mind that her club played a huge role in getting her a scholarship ((Definition There is no doubt in my mind | Gymglish. https://www.gymglish.com/en/gymglish/english-translation/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind)).
5. Offers
The offer should be the good part. Right? In my experience, the offer created a tremendous amount of stress for my daughter and I. My daughter received 4 Division 2 offers and one Division 1 offer. Two of the offers that she received had three-week deadlines for us to provide them with an answer. At this point, we still had not visited all of the colleges yet. My daughter got on the phone to the coaches trying to beg for an additional couple of weeks. She felt that the coaches thought she must not have a significant interest in their schools if she could not provide an answer by the deadline. It was very stressful.
When you receive the offer, the real fun part is to determine how much you are going to have to pay per year for school. In my daughter’s case, she was a solid student, so she received around 50% in academic scholarship money at each institution. The athletic portion varied greatly between a private college versus a public university. The private colleges clearly could provide more funds, but the public university started with a lower price tag. With all of the Division 2 offers, we would have been looking at paying between $6000 to $12000 per year for school. I believe that this is an outstanding deal.
My daughter and I had just finished our visit to the University of Illinois-Springfield, and we were driving back home ((Easy DIY Wooden Peg Doll Holy Family Nativity Scene …. https://rhythmsofplay.com/easy-diy-wooden-peg-doll-holy-family-nativity-scene/)). During the car ride, she received a phone call from the Presbyterian head coach. She was calling to see if we decided if we were going to come and visit the college. During the call, she shared with my daughter that she was going to offer her a full scholarship to come and play for her team. She got off the phone, and we went wild. It had to be one of the best moments that I ever had with my child ((It had to be one of the best experiences of my life …. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150807-d657050-r29423940-Selvatica-Cancun_Yucatan_Peninsula.html)). She was so happy. For me, it was the affirmation of the dream that I had for since she was a little girl. She was going to have the opportunity to compete at the Division 1 level. The only question is whether or not she will like the school.
6. The Decision
I must admit that I was not happy about my daughter looking at a school fourteen hours away. I was not able to get the time off of work to take her down there, so I had to send my wife. They flew down to Clinton, South Carolina, during a beautiful stretch of weather in May. As soon as she stepped foot on the campus, she knew this was the place for her ((9 to 5 Star Rachel Dennison Uses Her Married Name, but She …. https://people.com/archive/9-to-5-star-rachel-dennison-uses-her-married-name-but-shes-a-parton-bloomin-all-over-vol-17-no-14/)). The college was small and picturesque. The school was solid academically, and the coach was warm and friendly. It was just the reaction that I was hoping that she would have. There was no doubt in her mind. This was the school for her.
Once the decision had been made, it is now my daughter’s responsibility to contact the other coaches directly to let them know that she is not accepting their offers. As you can imagine, she had strong trepidation in having to make those phone calls. I must say most of the coaches handled the calls with class. For those colleges that were still interested but have not provided an offer, she sent an email to each one of them.
Conclusion
When the decision gets made, it feels like you are at the end of the process. I had to remind my daughter that it is still just beginning. The scholarship offer is provided for one year and must be renewed every year. She has to maintain a 3.0 GPA to retain the scholarship ((Work Study and maintaining GPA? | Yahoo Answers. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080417134027AAUXZ3I)). Then, of course, you have the fun and pressure of competing for playing time at the division 1 level. This story is just beginning. Please stay tuned.
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