Those are valid topics Mayor. Here are mine.
Parents and coaches need to spend more time getting involved in the recruiting process for their child and players.
To many players out there are NOT getting scholarship offers and there are still more scholarships than players every year!
Why aren't players getting offers for those unused scholarships???
The main reason is because there is a misconception about the recruiting process. A lot of people are still thinking about women's basketball
with the 1999 and later mind set. You know, "If my daughter or player is good the college will find them...."
This is totally NOT the case!!! There are several things that have happened since the new millennium.
1st of all women's basketball has become very competitive. No longer are girl's getting offers because they can make a few layups.
The sport has totally taken off and girls' are working on their games harder than ever. The girls' game is becoming better and better.
There are some girl's teams out there that would rival some boys teams. As the girl's game became more competitive we have seen a rise
in competition for the available scholarships.
2nd it is no longer easy for a recruiter to hand pick some players and make offers.
This means that it will become harder and harder for your child or player to be scouted because college coaches can only see so many players
and with the tough economy and budget cuts, they may NEVER see your child or player at all.
What can you do to educate yourself on the process? How can you make an effort to get more exposure for your child or player?
1st you need to figure out at what level your child or player can perform in the college game. You must be honest about this. This subject may be a reality check!!! Not everyone is going Division 1. It also goes deeper than that, Not everyone is going High Division 1.
You need to know if your child or player will pan out to be a Junior Community College Player, NAIA, D3, D2, D1-Low, D1-Mid Major, D1-High.
If your child or player is already born and UCONN or Tennessee has not called, then chances are they are NOT! Those schools usually know who they want when the child is still in the womb. LOL (Joke) No really, very few can play at that level. Let me rephrase, Very few that make it to that level will earn playing time. Those High D1 schools usually over recruit at every position and then let the cream rise to the top. It's not for everybody. It will workout for some and others will transfer to smaller schools and some will gut it out and just be satisfied to get the free education.
Once you figure out what you think your level of playing potential will be at the college level then you need to start contacting those college coaches.
Don't wait for them to find you. If somebody tells you to wait and see what happens, do the opposite. In this competitive environment you need to be the initiator of the relationship. If you don't know what schools and coaches to contact please use this link
http://www.collegecoachesonline.comThere you can get all the schools by level and sport and full contact information. Remember you, your child and or player can contact the coaches as many times as you want. They just can't contact you. If they get your email or phone call they can reply to the email or answer your call. If you leave a message just remember they can't call you back. You just need to keep calling until they answer.
Keep all communications organized by date and keep notes on every call. Establish a weekly time where you follow up with the college coaches and send game stats updates etc. Ask questions about the schools teams. Review the team rosters online to see if by your graduating year they have a need for a player with your position and skills. Find out what type of offense and defense they run. Remember you are not bugging the coaches. You are making their jobs easier by helping them track a prospect. You are also saving them money from their budget. You will find that this aggressive stance will be well received by the college coaches because recruiting is hard work and their livelihood depends on it.
Use recruiting websites to showcase your child or players GPA and talents. There are some below that I have had very good success with in the past.
www.berecruited.comwww.weplay.comwww.prepchamps.comwww.shecanplay.org (Players Looking For Scholarships Thread)
Some high school coaches really need to step it up BIG TIME. Most of them don't even keep player stats! Take the time to get a FREE
www.MaxPreps.com account and post your roster and players stats online. There are to many high school coaches not working hard to find a home for their players. I get calls from players parents from other schools all the time asking for help. Their coaches are doing NOTHING to assist. I will admit, it is hard work and it takes a lot of time and patients, but in the end the player will benefit and will NEVER forget you. That is your solace. Knowing that you had an active hand in help a young person get an education which intern actually directly effects the future of the world we live in!
Also players need to get on facebook and twitter. This is a HIGHLY REGARDED recruiting tool. It is a fantastic way to make direct contact with college coaches consistently! My own daughter actually used both twitter and facebook to make contact with the coach that eventually made her an offer.
They still communicate to this day thru that method. Facebook and twitter both have a direct message mode that allow a private communication between you and the person you are contacting making it perfectly legal for the college coaches to respond to your inquiry.
If you set up a twitter account and logon to my twitter you can click on my following list then you can follow all the coaches I am linked to. It's that easy.
www.twitter.com/CoachCarson and
www.twitter.com/CoachHively and
www.twitter.com/shecanplay connect with all of the coaches we follow.
This will give you a place to start.
If your school or AAU team does not record the games then invest in a camcorder and record them yourself. The 1st thing a college coach will ask you is for is a copy of the game tape! If you have no footage you have NOTHING. Don't rely on a college to come see your child or player. It may never happen!
Players get recruited all the time from game tape. This is mandatory!
Remember some players won't need to be this aggressive and some will. It just depends on who's recruiting, the players talent and where they may fit within the spectrum of college basketball or any college sport for that matter.
