ihs76

MJP, thanks for consolidating much of the information that is floating around on the site in terms of the entire process. It's helpful to have it all laid out in sequence.

Our experience has been somewhat compacted in that, at least at the DIII level, DS's sport is lower key. One coach asked for a commitment based just on DS's stats during the initial visit after previous brief e-mail exchanges. I think it helped that DS's academics were competitive at the schools.

vballmom

MJP2558 your posts were very helpful, thank you for taking the time to write them.

My son is a high school senior and is just beginning the process of contacting D3 coaches in his sport. He realizes he's well behind the power curve but is pressing forward because he knows that even if he can't make the team as a walk-on his freshman year, he can work hard and try again as a sophomore. I've been trying to sort out how involved I should be in the process. So far I've only called one coach myself after there was no response to my son's email and we needed to nail down a meeting time. I found out too late that my son misspelled a school name - twice! - in an email to another coach.

My son has had zero response when he's filled out online recruiting forms. Has anyone found them to be worth the time to fill out?

MJP2558

ish76, My son is being recruited for lacrosse, visablity and chances of being recruited go up exponentially if you can make and play for a successful (high level) well known club team. This takes alot of time, money, and commitment. My son (his choice) was away most of the summer attending tournaments and showcases with his team. My son decided that the D1 commitment was not for him , and most of the D2 schools were not a good match for academics. The recruiting process can be very rewarding experience for everyone involved if handled correctly. It takes alot of time, effort, and organization.

EMM1

Don't know anything about volleyball specifically, but I have a few suggestions:
suggestions:

1. Can S get reliable, unbiased advice about whether it is plausible for him to be recruitable? If so, such advice is indispensable.

2. A coach can't tell anything from a recruiting form. I suspect that S needs tape--not just highlight tape, but game tape.

3. Coaches probably get lots of email. It would probably be more effective for S--not you--to call the coaches at the schools in which he has interest, talk in general about his situation, and then follow with the tape (I guess they are probably disks now).

4. Are there exposure camps in volleyball? If so, they are indispensable for players who do not have big reps. Again, he needs to let coaches know where he will be.

Good luck!

sherpa

We found them to be a complete waste of time. Got a couple of computer generated auto-responses with no human follow-up, and one email directly from a coach offering support and asking son if his application had been submitted yet, despite son indicating on recruiting form that he was still a junior.
Same thing with fencing. Some college coaches seem too lazy to look at the national points standings or check out the talent at the national tournaments. I suppose it's easier to just ask the coaches at the top 2 or 3 clubs who their hot prospects for the year are.

vballmom

Sorry if I was misleading with my screen name. Volleyball is my sport. It is just one of my son's sports, along with soccer, tennis, baseball, ping pong...he'll play anything with a round ball. But the particular sport he's passionate about, and wants to play in college, is golf.

I think the index and handicap in golf tell the story. Right now he's borderline at best, which I'm basing on the scores posted at various schools. His high school coach has been encouraging but doesn't have a lot of specific insight into what it takes to play golf in college. Son needs to start talking to college coaches to find out whether his dream is feasible.

My son has videos of his swing, but so far no one has asked to see any. He's going to be meeting one coach at the team's home course next week, presumably so the coach can evaluate his swing.

Son is incredibly shy and the idea of a phone call is painful to him. So far he's emailed several coaches and has 4 face-to-face meetings set up on our mini college tour that's scheduled for next week.

MJP2558

vballmom, I take it that your child plays volleyball by your screen name.

Part 1 of the recruiting process: Junior Year: Getting your name out there....

Every athlete needs to start making out the recruiting questionnares on the specific college team websites that they have interest in. That is how coaches find out that you who you and that you have interest in their program. After review of your athletic stats and academic level if they are interested you will be put on thier recruiting list. If you peak their interest you will recieve a return generic email or form letter from the coach. You will automatically also be put onto the schools admissions mailing list so at the appropriate time you can recieve general college brochures ect..

You should answer that generic response and send a follow-up letter to the coach thanking him for the interest in the program and school. Also include where you attend highschool, a general (I mean general to peak further interest) background on your sports accomplishments, level and division of your high school, Junior year acomplishments and awards ect...in sports and academics, also outline what you are specifically looking for in a college and sports program. You should also attache a a more detailed or in depth athletic resume detailing your 40 yard dash, bench press, position, ect... ect...include your high school and club team coaches name and contact information. Include what tournaments, show cases, and camps you have attended, and will attend during the off season or summer. After receipt of this information if they are still interested they will respond with a more formal email or letter which explains what there program is about, accomplishments, recent season record ect...

You need to respond again, thank them for the follow-up letter and for reviewing your background information, that you have received and reviewed the information sent to you and you are very interested in the school and there program. Aske them specifically if they will be traveling to any of the show cases, tournaments, or camos you will be attending ect....

If they are still ineterested you will get a hand written letter and maybe a phone call (if you are already known to them and they had prior interest). They are going to confirm that they will be at some of your events, they will then ask for game tape or a highlight tape. You need to have these, spend time making one, they should contain your junior season, the game tape should show you playing a high caliber opponent, the highlight tape should show your complete game (not just scoring goals and assists) coaches want athletes that have well rounded athletic ability, seldom do you play the position you were recruited for. After they see the game tape and if they like what they see, that will actually commit to being at some of your events to see you play (they are talking with alot of recruits, they come to see them play to). Coaches travel extensively and typically attend same high caliber tournaments, show cases, and camps.

If they attend a event and like what they see, you will start getting follow-up letters and emails confirming thier real interest, thats where the initial unofficial visits start.....see my prior email.

Hope this helps, as you can see part one takes alot of effort, got to get back to work.....

EMM1

I suspect most of my suggestions are not relevant to golf. Its probably more like swimming (my other kids' sport) where the time is the time.

S1 was really shy at first too--I'll never forget the first phone call he got when he just sort of looked at the phone. But he got better. The point is, the coach is not recruiting you (unless you have a good sand game), so he wants to talk to S. In addition, I suspect that overzealous parents are the bane of coaches' existence during recruiting time.

vballmom

MJP2558 I should have identified the sport from the start, but I didn't realize that my comments would start taking this thread into a new direction from that of the OP's

Just to clarify, my son is a high school senior, good grades, decent test scores, uncertain about what he wants academically in a college, but absolutely committed to playing golf one way or another throughout college. If he can't walk on to a team his freshman year, he'll work on his own and with a teaching pro to improve his chances as a sophomore walk-on.

I've heard this too and really want to find a good balance of involvement. This is all new territory for me, and I'm learning as much as I can from parents such as the ones on this board in order to navigate it and be a good advocate for my son.

OldbatesieDoc

MJP thanks for outlining the process, I wish I had read it BEFORE my son's "unofficial"(DIII) overnight visits.

We had 6 overnights and have heard back from 5 coaches, number 6 told us at the visit that our S wasn't competitive enough for a "slot" and he also told us he had another boy who'd committed ED to that position already, so I guess he didn't need 2. We've also gotten notes, and e-mails from the coaches and team members, and mailings from the admissions offices. All sounds good according to your outline. The impression we got from all the coaches was that our S had to make the next step, in terms of contacting them and telling them he'll apply to their school ED. He's got 2 first choices...Neither school gives merit aid, and he's concerned about the finances. We will qualify for some aid, but a few thousand a year makes a big difference for us. Any way to get a clue on the aid package prior?

Also, do you think bad SAT2s could sink him at this point? We don't have scores yet, and his ACT is competitive with all the student profiles, and he has a 4.0 GPA. Just something else causing sleeplessness on my part...

ihs76

vballmom: OP doesn't care where the thread goes as long as there is good exchange of information

Son wrote the e-mails, but I looked over each one to make sure they said what they needed to say (and no typos). He did fill out the recruiting forms initially but also wrote an e-mail to the coaches telling them we had done so. He also had an academic resume with his GPA/scores etc and an athletic resume with relevant information that he attached to the e-mail. We had a DVD made by his uncle at a tournament and gave that to the coaches when we visited. Don't know if they looked at it, but at least they would have some idea of his skill level.

EMM1

OBD:

Either the coach will use one of his slots for your son, or he will not. If the coach wants to designate your son as one of his recruited, and has any pull at all in admissions, it sounds like your son is a mortal lock (I'm assuming the 4.0 is unweighted). If the coach does not want to use one of his slots, then your son will be in the regular admissions pool and will be subject to all the uncertainties that any student might face.

The only way to find out if the coach is willing to support your son's application is to ask bluntly and directly. At the point when he is ready to make a decision, I would suggest having your son approach the coach at each school in which he has some interest and say something like "I intend to make a decision about applying ED somewhere within a week. If I commit to you at that point, will you support my application in the admissions process?" Only a flat yes should be considered a positive answer; any other answer would suggest at the very least that your son is not at the top of the coach's list. Even if the answer is "yes", it might become "no" if your son delays. So don't say no to anyone until your son has come to a decision and has a firm commitment from the coach.

On the financial aid issue:

In theory, DIII athletes are in the same financial aid boat as everyone else. I know for a fact that some schools cheat and give additional money to recruited athletes. My impression is that most of the highly selective schools follow the rules; however, I have reason to believe that that at least one of those schools cheats as well. But once you have your Profile and FAFSA done, the coach may be able to get an advance read on financial aid.

Hope this has been helpful. Good luck.

OldbatesieDoc

Very helpful, thanks.We'll be more direct on his top 2 as he tries to make his decision.

MJP2558

I have had a wealth of experience with the recruiting process and it is very similar if not the same with any sport. In the end if you child is truly classified as a top recruit it is because the coach has seen them perform at a very high level in their particular sport. The recruiting process is also confirms the athletic recruits maturity level and that they can handle what is expected from them when playing at the college level. Some of these include stress from travel, missing classes, required study halls, workouts, dealing and playing with injury. They also look for time management and organization skills which are critical to stay academically qualified during the season. Parent and student athletes need to really understand what is required and expected before they start contacting coaches and the processA less stressful alternative are college club sports, they can be very competitive and fun.

riverrunner

vballmom, in response to your comment about how involved to be in the recruiting process- we've heard a number of opinions on this thread.

IMO,
Parents should:
1. Help the student organize materials to do with applications and recruiting: set up files, make a spreadsheet/decision matrix with dates and other relevant info

2. Help with the decision. If the kid is spinning in circles, sometimes a clear-headed adult can make sense of things and eliminate some choices, simplifying things.

3. Clearly state which schools are financially possible for the family budget.



The student should:

1. Be in charge of all communications, written or phone, but the parent should help by proofing written things, and may also want to rehearse responses to some of the tougher phone questions: "Is college X your first choice?" "What other colleges are you looking at?" Kid needs to learn how to be honest but not to show all cards until it's time.

For many high school athletes, talking with adult coaches is intimidating. With practice, most become pretty good at it! Give them a chance. I sat in on the first couple of coach meetings, and didn't like the dynamic of the coach directing too much attention toward me, so from then on I didn't go to the meetings, but showed up at the end to see if there was anything the coach wanted to talk with me about, or if I had thought of anything that might not have been covered. I never went on an official visit senior year. I'm speaking of junior year unofficials.

2. Student should make the final decision and communicate it to the coach of choice, and then to the coaches not chosen, once the student has been admitted/received likely letter.

Overly involved parents are a red flag to coaches. They worry about the kid's ability to function without them. Two years ago when we were trying to figure out likely letters, I did, finally, have a very serious conversation with her eventual coach to make sure I understood exactly what was on the table. Other than that, I didn't speak with coaches.