As most are aware, February 1st was National Signing Day. This is an important date because
it marks the beginning of the end of the recruiting cycle for high school Seniors and the beginning of the recruiting cycle
for Juniors and sometimes Sophomores.
While
I was never recruited out of high school, I studied the process and system as part of my job at Velocity Sports Performance
and went through it with several of my Velocity students and of course with my own son, Seth prior to his signing on with
Drake. While there are many variables involved there are a few constants to keep in mind.
Be honest with yourself. It's okay to dream big, but be realistic. There are 3x as many guys playing
football at smaller schools than in just the big D1 conferences. Evaluate yourself objectively, know where you are, where
you want to go, where your talent level will allow you to go and what it will take to get there. There are hard and fast standards
for college athletics, evaluate your grades, your athletic ability, your skills and know where you stand, don't guess, don't
assume.
A dream without a direction
and a plan is just a wish. Write down your goals by starting with your final destination, then work your way back. Focus on
what you can control every day and you will maximize your opportunity. Check your goals daily and be wise enough to adjust
course along the way as needed
There
are hard and fast rules as applies to calendar deadlines, academic eligibility, contacts with recruiters, letters of intent
and other details involved in the recruiting process. Learn them and be proactive as to understanding and following the rules.
Market yourself. It is your life, your dream, don't
sit back and wait for coaches or parents to do things for you or recruiters to drop in with a golden offer. Man up, step up,
do the work. There are no rules on how many times you can contact a school or how young you can be to make contact; get on
the computer, get contact info and email or call every school you can, let them know you want to play football for them and
get on their mailing list. Know your stats and get some film to send to those who request it.
You have nothing until you have actually signed a NLOI. All recruiters are salesmen and are primarily
interested in building their program and keeping their jobs which means finding the best athlete they can. They will usually
have several players in mind and promise all of them the moon, but only be able to pick a couple. Promises and verbal commitments
from the school are worthless unless or until they actually give you something to sign. Once you have signed they cannot back
out, but you can, so don't pass up a solid commitment from your 4th or 5th choice for wishful thinking.
This is business, ask if they are making an offer and how many others are ahead of you then do what you need to do to secure
your future.
Whether or not you
are blessed to receive several offers, make a list of your family's priorities (distance from home, possible playing time,
academics, quality of campus life) and narrow down your choices according to what is best for you, nothing else. This can
be a very emotional time and having objective standards that you have set ahead of time will help you make the right choice.
Below is
a summary of where your attention should be focused according to grade. Keep in mind if you are a Senior or Junior and haven't
done everything perfect up til now, don't be discouraged, just focus on what you can control, work hard and take care of business.
5th-8th
graders - There has been a lot in the press about high school recruiting recently, but there is little said about
a parent's right to control their child's education...including where they play their high school athletics. When I moved
back here from New Hampshire, we chose to move to the Jenks district specifically because of the football program. After seeing
the number of talented athletes in the 8th grade football program we transferred to Holland Hall specifically so
Seth would have a better chance to actually play high school football, not just practice and watch the games. Seth was actually
able to play 5 years of HS football and start for 4 years at Holland Hall. That experience (and excellent coaching) made the
difference in his playing at the next level. In my opinion, every parent has a God-given right to direct their child's education,
but you also have to follow the rules.
In
Oklahoma, once you start high school you have 4 years of athletic eligibility for every school in the state except Tulsa Holland
Hall and OKC Casady which are in the Southwest Prep Conference and do allow extended eligibility under certain circumstances.
Once you start 9th grade you get 4 years only and there are specific and punitive transfer rules to try and control
the unethical side of recruiting high school athletes. There are different rules for transferring within a school system (like
Tulsa for example) than between school systems (Owasso to Claremore or Holland Hall to Victory for example).
Best practice is to anticipate and research potential moves
during the Jr. High years before any of the eligibility rules kick in. If you are considering moving to a different school
for whatever reason, do not necessarily put all of your faith in a coach or booster; make sure you understand the rules so
you are in control and will not lose any of your precious eligibility and end up harming instead of helping.
Freshmen - Begin to understand the recruiting
rules, deadlines and requirements to get into college, but focus primarily on your own development.
-Study, study, study.
Get the best grades you can, the higher your GPA and ACT score, the more options you will have. If you are struggling, don't
wish you would do better, get professional help from a place like Huntington Learning Center and make it happen.
-Train,
train, train. The bigger, faster and stronger you are going into your school's Varsity program, the more likely you are to
play. If you can't play for your high school, you will not play in college. Do everything your team asks you to do first,
but then do as much extra work as you can squeeze in to maximize your opportunity. Eat right, choose your friends carefully
and wisely, get involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes and go to church.
Sophomores - Same as above, but if you got some playing time as a Sophomore, you
can begin to fill out on-line recruiting forms and let coaches know you are interested in their program. This will get you
on their mailing list and many of the schools will invite Sophomores to come to summer camps for upper upperclassmen. Remember
they do this primarily to make money and pretty much invite everyone, but it is still a great experience. While there are
occasional stories of offers being made at camps, they are very rare so don't get your hopes up. So plan out possible summer
camp trips based on your priorities, schedule and budget not on wishful thinking. Rule of thumb: check out the schools you
like, get some experience training with and against your peers, but don't make more of it than it is.
Juniors - Same as above, but this Spring and Summer
is a little more important to you because time is running out. This next year will determine a great deal about your future
and there is much to be done. If you have been invited by schools for a recruiting visit, you should begin to plan and schedule
these trips according to your priorities. At the same time, unless you have signed on the dotted line, you need to create
a list of every school you would even be remotely interested in attending and contact them all. Between scheduling your training,
campus visits, camps, combines and working on your applications, getting DVD of game films and making sure academics are handled,
you have a lot to do and a very short window of time to do it in. Be diligent, plan your work every day and work your plan.
If you outwork everyone else, you will maximize your chances of being in your perfect college situation.
Seniors - If you have already signed, go back over
all of your eligibility requirements and make sure all your ducks are in a row and take care of the college application process,
enrollment details, summer football requirements and enjoy your last few months of high school. If you haven't yet signed,
you need to decide if you want to try and walk-on to a bigger school or go play at a smaller one. Some guys have always dreamed
of playing big school ball and are content to be a small part of the big show with the hope of playing later; others just
want to play and would rather be on the field at a smaller school - everyone is different. The walk-on and small school recruiting
season just started, so keep after all the coaches you have been in touch with and any others you might be interested in and
be persistent. This is where good grades can make a big difference in your options, because academic scholarships can open
doors at the many expensive private schools across the country.
There are a couple of very valuable resources I would invite you to use:
For objective, professional talent evaluation I recommend
former OU recruiter Jerry Pettibone. I have spent a lot of time picking Coach Pettibone's brain about the recruiting process
and he now has a service based on giving you a realistic opinion on your talent level and helping you get into the best possible
school for your talent level. If you contact him, tell him you talked to Coach Dan in Tulsa.
For everything you ever want to know about becoming a student-athlete I recommend Dave Galehouse
and VarsityEdge.com. Although he is not football specific, he has put together tremendous resources for students and parents.
Dave has a book for sale, but also provides enormous amounts of info for free on his website. The above is just a summary,
Varsity Edge provides all of the details.
Go here to get more info on Coach Pettibone's Evaluation Service.
Go here for odds of getting an athletic scholarship
Go here for Spring Recruiting Plans
Go here for details on NCAA Rules and Regulations
Go here for info on financial aid
Go here for various recruiting articles on VarsityEdge
Go here to get info on speed and combine training
Thanks for attending the Paul Smith Football Academy and good luck fulfilling your football
dreams!
Coach Dan
