Category Archives: College Recruiting

College Recruiting: This Doesn’t Count As Taking Control

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This is something I thought of while watching the season finale of Shark Tank.  On the show there were a couple of guys  who said they want to change the way college recruiting is done and help athletes take control of their college recruiting process.  Well, unfortunately, they have a lot of work to do on their business in order to achieve
that because, from what they described on the show, all they have is an online database that coaches can search.

When I heard that…this is what I wanted to say to them right through the tv…

Adding your name to an online database that coaches can search is NOT “taking control” of your college recruiting process.

There I said it.

Adding your name to an online database is NOT “taking control” of your college recruiting process.  Neither is adding videos to YouTube or going to a recruiting camp.

I’m not saying those things are useless or that you shouldn’t do them, but there’s so much more you can do.  Those things in and of themselves are just a small sliver of what you should be doing if you really want to take control of your college recruiting journey!

“Taking control” involves doing your homework.  It means:

  • Knowing where you have to be academically
  • Knowing what the NCAA requires of you to be eligible
  • Knowing what different program require in the level(s) of play you are interested in (not always the same as what the NCAA requires)
  • Knowing what type of school is a good fit for you
  • Knowing what to ask college coaches
  • Knowing what to ask yourself so you can find the right fit
  • Knowing what you need to get done by when
  • Knowing what you CAN do and when
  • Making sure YOU are in contact with coaches before they are even allowed to get in touch with you
  • Knowing whether or not it’s better for you or your parents to be corresponding with a college coach
  • Having the information college coaches need about you in order to make a decision readily available
  • Getting prepared for college entrance exams
  • Having a strategy!!!
  • …and so much more

Putting your name “out there” in public places and hoping to be found is not going to cut it.  That will not give you the best opportunities possible by the time your college recruiting journey come to an end. Remember – there are no re-dos. Get educated. Get informed. And if you need help, some of the best in the business are ready to walk you through it all at NCSA.

If you’re serious about playing at the college level and have been taking care of business on and off the field, you can have someone from NCSA personally give you a call by filling out the form at HERE.

And yes, for student-athletes who use that link and become part of the NCSA family, NCSA does make donations back to AAF.  However, if you do not wish for them to do that, you can also visit them at their main company link at

http://www.ncsasports.org/

Whatever your choice, you can have a real person talk with you about your options plus get a username and password to set up your own athletic resume web page with no risk and no money required by going HERE and filling out your contact information.

Wishing you the best,

Stacie Mahoe

Avoid This Major College Recruiting Mistake

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One of the biggest mistakes I see families make as they go through the college recruiting process is not starting early enough. Now this doesn’t only have to do with getting in touch with college coaches or registering with the NCAA Eligibility Center on time. Aside from the marketing aspect, there are at least 3 other major reasons to being planning early.

1. Prepping for the SAT/ACT

Many students don’t see the point in taking prep courses until they realize they need a higher SAT or ACT score to get into the college they want to go to. By this time they’re scrambling at the last minute to take classes to learn the valuable test taking strategies that will help them improve their scores. Now imagine if you had start early and begin this test taking preparation in your freshman or sophomore year. By the time you’re junior year rolls around you begin taking her entrance exams, you’ll have had time to get really comfortable with the test taking strategies and the vocabulary words most test prep programs cover. Starting early just gives you more time to really get well prepared vs. trying to cram at the last minute.

Plus, imagine having to take that SAT or ACT as a senior knowing you need a great score and knowing that your chances are running out. That’s a lot of pressure to carry into a test! Why not get it out of the way sooner? You’ll probably perform better if your aren’t at the point where you whole college future is riding on the test you’re about to take. Can it still come down to that even with the planning? Yes. But at least if you start early and take the prep courses and tests earlier, you know exactly where you stand and what you need to do to get where you needs to be by senior year. Plus, if you start early, you’ll probably have a few years vs. just a few months to work on it.

2. The GPA Factor

Grade point averages are a lot like batting averages, shooting percentages, or per game averages. The further you get into the season and the more games you have under your belt, the tougher it is to raise your average, even with an awesome game performance. The same is true for grade point averages. The farther along you are in your high school career, the tougher it’s going to be to raise that GPA even with straight A’s. In the beginning of a softball season a 4-4 game can raise your batting average hundreds of points. Just like a GPA, if you have a perfect semester or two (or even good semesters in the beginning), your GPA will be nice and high. But toward the end of the season a great game may only raise your batting average 20 points or so, if that. By the same token it’s very tough to try to raise a 2.6 GPA to a 3.0 in just a semester or two. I don’t even know if it’s possible. I haven’t worked the numbers, but if it is, it’s certainly very tough! If you start planning early, if you know where you need to be to give yourself the best opportunities at the end of your high school years. Plus, if you keep an eye on your progress and make sure your necessary GPA is always in sight or surpassed, that just makes your life so much easier toward the end.

3. The Physical Factor

Another aspect to take into consideration is the physical factor. You simply aren’t going to go from average to elite in 1 year. For instanc, if a softball players is running a 3.4 second home to first time and she needs to be at 3.0 or better by senior year, wouldn’t it be better to begin working on that from her freshman year and give her a good amount of time to really improve? It’s certainly much more attainable than trying to go from 3.4 in the middle of junior year to 3.0 by the start of senior year. Some things are just about physically impossible. Again, early planning can give you the best chance of being where you need to be when you need to be there. Plus it’ll give you ample time to prepare and work toward those goals. That makes the journey less stressful and more successful. So don’t wait! Start that process of preparing for the future as soon as high school begins! If you need a little help, check out some of the free college resources at http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/freeresources.html.

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If you’re serious about playing softball in college, get help with your own personalized college recruiting plan with NCSA.  It’s college recruiting simplified!

College Recruiting TOD: There Are No Do Overs

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NoDoOverQuick note: TOD stands for “Thought of the Day.”

Still to this day it amazes me how many student-athletes and parents put off learning about or taking steps in the college recruiting process.  I’m not sure if it’s too scary and they just don’t want to think about it or if they’re just unsure of what to do and don’t know where to get help so they wait until they get a kick in the butt at the last minute to get started.  Whatever the case, there’s one thought that I want to share today:

When it comes to college recruiting, there are NO Do Overs!

Once you’re in high school, that’s it, you have ONE chance to go through high school, play your sports, get the grades you’re going to get, take your entrance exams, contact college coaches, etc and hopefully have a successful journey on to the next level.  Not only do you get just one shot at the journey as a whole, but there are so many things during the journey that, once your opportunity comes along, it’s the ONLY one you get!  If you miss it, it’s gone forever. 

Take your freshman year in school as a simple example.  Once that year is over, you don’t go back and get to do it all over again if you didn’t quite get the grades you wanted.  You basically have one shot and that’s it.  If you mess around and don’t get very good grades, you’re stuck trying to play “catch up” for the rest of your high school career trying to make up for the poor choices you made in that first year of high school.

There are no Do Overs for college recruiting.  You will only go through this process as a high school student ONCE.  That’s it!

So don’t wait ’till “later” to take care of your grades.  Don’t wait ’till “later” to improve your athleticism and your skills.  Don’t wait ’till “later” to find out what you need to do during high school to give yourself the best chance at moving on to college.  Don’t wait ’till “later” to get the help you need with college entrance exams or any other part of the process.  “Later” just may come and go and pass you by if you’re not ready.

If you’re already in high school (or if your child is already in high school), the time to start has already passed!  Get going!

If you’ll be in high school soon, it’s never too early to start learning about what to expect in the upcoming years.  It’s much less stressful and complicated if you educate yourself and learn as much as you can BEFORE having to execute your plan.  Trying to learn as you go can be frustrating, overwhelming, and disappointing when you realize you’ve missed something because there’s no going back.

Where to Get Help

The NCAA just released their 2009-2010 Guide for the College-Bound Student Athlete.  It’s free, you can get it HERE.  I highly suggest you download it, read it, and become very familiar with it.

If the whole college recruiting process seems a little scary or overwhelming to you and you’d like some guidance along the way or if you’re just starting and want to make sure you’re on the right path from the beginning, you can get the help you need.  If you’re serious about adding a few more years to your fastpitch softball career while getting an education, NCSA can help you create a plan to help you reach those goals.

What do I mean by “serious?”  Serious student-athletes don’t just “want” to play in college, but  actively work toward that goal by taking care of business ON and OFF the field, by making good choices, and always striving to learn and grow.  If that’s you, you’re exactly the type of student-athlete NCSA can help.   To have someone contact you personally, fill out the form HERE.

Wishing you the best on your college recruiting journey!  Playing is college softball is so much fun ~ I hope you get to experience it.

Fail photo:http://www.flickr.com/photos/phobia/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Thought of the Day: College Recruiting

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It’s a bummer that most parents and student-athletes won’t even know they’re making mistakes in the college recruiting process until it’s too late.

If you’re child is already in high school and you haven’t done much (or anything) and don’t already have a plan in place, you’re headed down that path.

NCSA is a company that helps simplify the recruiting process for you.  Can you do everything yourself?  Yes, you can.  There’s a lot to know and a lot to do.  Whether you get help or not, you must be proactive in this process.  For most it’s not a cake walk.  There will probably be a number of ups and downs.  There’s a lot to do (did I mention that already?).  I know quite a bit about the process and still I know there is tons more to know.  I’ve been through the process myself and signed with a DI school and yet I will get help when my oldest daughter starts her college recruiting journey next year. There’s so much to do!  (in case you didn’t get the point earlier)

People get help with many major decisions in their lives: financial planners for retirement, wedding planners for their big day, academic advisors just to decide which classes to take, etc.  Yet I find that many people are reluctant to have an advisor on their side during the college recruiting process.  Parents, just remember one thing.  This college decision…it’s not a 4-year decision, it’s a 40-year decision.  Your child’s choices in if/where they go to college will likely impact the next 40 years of their lives.  Many people meet their spouse in college.  Others grow roots and end up living where they go to college.  Others make lifetime friendships and bonds that serve them well for years and years beyond college.  And some miss out on opportunities that should be there because they didn’t make the right decisions.  This decision has affects much further down the road than just 4 years. Do you have a plan?  Waiting until the last minute only brings about uncertaintly, stress, and anxiety during a time (end of high school years) that should be filled with wonderful memories.  Don’t wait.  Start now.  And if you need help, I work with NCSA.  I represent them here in Hawaii and speak on their behalf at youth sports events.  They are the ones I will turn to for guidance when my kids get a little older.

Want to educate yourself more? Download the NCAA’s Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete. It’s FREE and I believe they just updated the publication for 2009-2010.  Google it and you should be able to find the download link pretty easily.  Start there!  Then feel free to read the other college recruiting articles I have posted HERE.

College: Yet Another Reason You Should be on Twitter

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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve heard me talk about Twitter.   Even if you haven’t, you’ve probably heard about Twitter through some other source.  Many major news stations, radio stations, newspapers, celebrities, and softball people are ALL on Twitter.

Now you have another reason to jump into the fun – COLLEGE.

Earlier this week, ESPN published an article about how colleges and college coaches are tapping into social networks like Twitter and Facebook for recruiting and exposure.

Some coaches use Twitter as a way to allow fans and potential recruits to see what the program/coach is like.  Others utilize it as a way to “stay in front” of a recruits face (and at the forefront of their minds) without breaking NCAA contact period rules.  According to the article:

“Currently, the NCAA allows coaches to direct-message recruits from Twitter or send them a private message on Facebook.”

If you’re looking to attend college and play sports – this is HUGE!!!

Like me, there are coaches out there who prefer Twitter over Facebook “mostly because of the ease of posting.”   Of course, there are others like my husband who prefer Facebook because there are more pictures and it’s similar to MySpace which he’s already familiar with.  Twitter does have a different sort of layout/format and does take a little while to get used to, but once you do, you’ll love it!

The ESPN article also talks about why Twitter is so super popular:

“It’s the reason why USA Today worked. It’s the reason why people want to see the ticker on ESPN. [People] don’t want large bites. Give me a small bite; make it fast, I’ll see what it is, I’ll laugh and I’ll move on to something else.”

Another important point…

“The one thing I like is that it’s a little bit of an unobstructed view,” Calipari said. “They (fans/recruits) get to know what you are and how you are and how you think without someone telling them who you are, what you are and how you think.”

So you don’t have to take someone’s word for it. You have a way to judge for yourself what a program or coach is like. This is a very important part of choosing the right college for yourself or helping your child do so.

Signing up for Twitter is super easy…

1.  Go to Twitter.com and click on the green Get Started – Join! button at the bottom of the screen.

twittersignuphere
2.  Fill out the fields on the next page and click Create My Account

twittersignup2

3.  Choose the options you want on the following pages (add contacts from e-mail or follow suggested users) and you’re all done!

Once you’re in, here are some softball coaches you can follow…

AuburnSBCoach

coachjaymiller

UFCoachWalton

UACoachMurphy

…and you’ll probably also want to check out the other cool softball people I listed in this post and this post.

Happy Tweeting!

College Recruiting Tip: June 15th

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June 15th this year has come and gone and did you know that if you’re a student-athlete between your junior and senior year, DII coaches can now call you once per week? DII coaches can also now have off campus contact with you or your legal guardians/parents.

This is the kind of interesting and valuable information available in the NCAA’s Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete (and this guide is free, just Google it for the most current version). If you have any inclination that you *might* want to continue your athletic career in college, then you should definitely have a copy of the NCAA’s Guide. Read it front to back and USE the information and the tools they provide for you in that free guide.

If you’re between your junior and senior year right now: Are you getting calls from coaches? If not, you’re behind the game. Believe me, coaches ARE already contacting players they are interested in. But don’t give up yet!

If you are feeling overwhelmed and have no idea where to start…If you need someone to take you by the hand and help you put a plan together and get moving in the right direction, there’s no one else I recommend at this time than NCSA. I love these guys because they are good people who are passionate about what they do and they help student-athletes and their families just like yours every single day. Check them out and fill out the form HERE and they’ll call you to help you with that college recruiting plan.

College Recruiting Tip: Why Start Early

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One of the things I tell parents and players all the time is that you need to start early in the college recruiting process.  This process does NOT start Junior or Senior year.  It’s starts as soon as you get to high school!!!  I talk about 3 major reasons you should start early in my $1 College Recruiting Webinar, but today, I’ll share yet another reason; one that you may not have considered.

The Competition is FIERCE!

I know, you’re probably thinking, “Duh, I already know that.”

I’m not talking about the competition you’re in for a scholarship, I’m talking about the competition coaches are in battling to get the best players and strengthen their program.

Have you ever thought about that side of it before?

One thing you have to realize about this whole thing is that technology has seriously changed the game.  People are connecting like never before.  Information spreads from one end of the country to the other (heck even around the world) in seconds!  The internet has forever changed communication and, as a result, the college recruiting game.

After all, put yourself in a college coaches shoes for a second.   You’re trying to build the best team possible so that you can have successful seasons and keep your job.  However, with the speed at which information travels now days, if you know about  great player, chances are so do at least a dozen other coaches.  Great news travels fast and news about a great player is certainly no exception.  Wouldn’t you, as a coach, want to be on top of the game and get in touch with this player before some other big fish has the chance to snatch her up?  After all, if you sit back and wait, some other team is going to get stacked up with all the best players and you’re team will end up losing to theirs 8 days a week.

Make no mistake, the competition among coaches to get players for their team is probably close to as fierce as the competition to get that spot on a college team.  That’s why college coaches are starting to identify prospects earlier and earlier. Don’t kid yourself by thinking that this doesn’t happen since college coaches aren’t allowed to talk to players until junior year.  Scholarship funds ARE being “allocated” BEFORE student-athletes reach their junior year for many program.  If you wait until then, it may be too late to get the opportunities you were looking for.

Yes, it’s true that not all colleges are that far ahead of the recruiting time line.  Not all college coaches start looking for prospects in the freshman and sophomore classes.  The FTR Episode I did with Bill Vasko, DII Softball Coach explains that a bit further.   However, why eliminate a chunk of your options simply by making the decision to WAIT in this college recruiting process?

Remember, college coaches are starting earlier and earlier to get a jump on their competition.  That means YOU need to be ready sooner than players of the past.  Don’t wait!  If you’re a high school aged softball player, your journey has already started. What have you done so far?

Need help getting started? Check out these awesome college recruiting resources.

1.  Get the NCAA’s Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete (free download).  I won’t post a link here because it changes every year as they put out a new publication every year.  But if you Google “NCAA Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete” you should be able to find it rather quickly.  Get the guide.  Read it cover to cover.  Make sure you understand it and do the things the NCAA suggests.

2.  I have a couple of free college recruiting resources up on our Fastpitch Freebies page.  Check those out as well.

3.  $1 College Recruiting Webinar:  I did a webinar on why it’s so super important to start early.    Got some valuable information in there and it’ll only cost ya a buck.

4.  Online College Recruiting Educational System:  Feel like there’s more you need to know about the college recruiting process?  Learn the ins and outs of college recruiting so that you can create your own blue print for success.

5.  Help from NCSA: The college recruiting process can be overwhelming and frustrating.  If you feel that you need personal assistance through this journey you can get it from people who help families like yours every day.  They are as passionate about what they do as you are about softball.  The only people I recommend for this is NSCA.  As much as I know about this process, I plan in tapping into the wealth of knowledge and expertise they bring to the table when my oldest daughter begins her journey in 2010.