1. Share your recruiting story and status (ex. what was the process like? when did you commit/sign?)
My recruiter was head coach Alex Smith. The process was long because he did not have my film and therefore was not able to make a proper evaluation of me. Once my film was submitted to the coach he became much more interested because I showed that I was committed. I wanted to show them that I was not only interested in their baseball program but in their education program as well. Once they had seen one of my games the coach had asked me if I would like to play for Luther and so I signed on April 14, 2012.
2. What school are you going to, and why did you choose them?
I am attending Luther College in Iowa. I chose Luther because I knew that this school has what it takes to provide me with a successful future academically and athletically.
3. How did SportsForce help in the process?
SportsForce provides you with the means necessary to find coaches and schools of interests, while also providing the coaches with information about yourself.
4. What advice would you give to other players and parents with the recruiting process (ex. start early, get a highlight video)?
Advice that I would give to others is to start playing ball at an early age and to have as much fun with the game as possible. While playing always make highlight videos of yourself to show off your skills and the progress that you make.
5. How excited are you on your future in college?
I am very excited to go to a school that will provide me with a great education as well as be playing the game that I have always loved since I was a child.
Jeff Morgan: Calipari is kind of like the Phil Jackson of NCAA basketball. He always seems to have all-star filled rosters, and success seems a foregone conclusion. However, people forget his success at UMass was largely with unknown players, and not until he got to Memphis did he start getting some of the top recruits in the country. So, is he the best coach in the NCAA…far from it, but the man does get the maximum effort out of his ridiculously talented players.
Dave Vinluan: With him claiming his first National Championship, Calipari is as good if not better than any elite level NCAA coach right now. His coaching style allows for his players to mesh well together. What’s so good about Calipari is his ability to have his players believing in his team first philosophy, and it doesn’t hurt that he is the master of one and done recruiting.
Kyle Williams: Great coach and an even better recruiter. There is no doubt Coach Cal is one of the great coaches in college basketball. While many focus on his recent success with top recruits at Memphis and Kentucky, this is the same coach who led UMass to 5 straight tournament bids including an Elite 8 and a Final Four trip. Calipari’s free-flowing, high-paced offense allows his athletes to get out and run and has been dominant at UMass (193-71), Memphis (252-69), and on the highest stage with Kentucky (102-14 and a recent championship). Coach Cal has been able to sell his free-flowing style to the elite high school prospects that are looking to play the way they want to play and win while doing so.
Did Calipari need this win to solidify his legacy?
Jeff Morgan: He keeps pushing this question aside like it doesn’t matter, but he absolutely needed to win a title in order to solidify his legacy. Now that he got the monkey off his back however, he’s going to have to win multiple championships to be considered in the same class of some of the best college coaches in the country. While this win was important, he still has a long way to go to become a legend on the hardwood.
Dave Vinluan: Yes. Calipari has reached the Final Four and National Championship previously with stacked line ups and lost both in heartbreaking fashion. Not to mention he has produced first round talent ranging from Derrick Rose to John Wall. This championship solidifies his status as one of the best ever.
Kyle Williams: Absolutely. While Calipari has made numerous deep tournament runs with every program he’s been with, no one can deny the power of championship. Amongst the swirling controversy over the one-and-done rule, along with Calipari’s recent exploitation of that rule, this year’s title possessed significant clout for Calipari. Not only does it add a championship to his resume, but it also silences the critics who said his teams stacked with freshman stars didn’t have the experience to win it all.
Does the 1 and done rule help or hurt high school prospects?
Jeff Morgan: I suppose 1 year of college basketball can help refine a high school player’s game, but I think the impact is minimal. Kids going into the NBA with 1 year of college under their belt are hardly as polished as a 4-year college player. This rule was put in place to make sure that kids weren’t drafted before they were ready to play in the NBA. In that sense, the 1 and done rule hasn’t really done much to change that perception. Hell, even Anthony Davis, the consensus #1 pick in the draft is a project. There are no guarantees he’ll be an all-star player in the NBA.
Dave Vinluan: I think it hurts high school prospects that have no interest in pursuing a college education. Coming out of high school most of these athletes are convinced they want to make Basketball a career. Playing one year in college and having an injury filled year or just not performing well would hinder the chances of them getting to the NBA greatly.
Kyle Williams: The one-and-done rule hasn’t so much impacted high school prospects as it has the college game as a whole. In terms of high school prospects, the rule has generally been helpful in that we no longer see high school players, who have no business being in the league, entering the draft. When looking at college basketball, the negative impact of the one-and-done rule can be seen. College teams are put in a difficult recruiting situation where they have to decide whether or not to focus on top recruits who may spurn the program after just a single year of play. If there is a side that pushes hardest to increase the rule to more than one year, that push should come from the NCAA.
Can other programs compete with the recruiting style of Calipari?
Jeff Morgan: If this 1 and done recruiting strategy continues to breed success and championships, it’s going to be extremely hard for other schools to compete from a pure talent standpoint. The allure of a full college experience is starting to lose ground in favor of a quick 1-year path to the NBA. You watch, if Calipari starts reeling off championships, all the major college basketball programs will adjust their recruiting efforts to entice players to come play for them instead, even if it’s only for a year.
Dave Vinluan: Not now, with the majority of the Kentucky roster expected to enter the NBA draft, that’s an open invitation to become a starter for the Wildcats. It’s hard to compete with his style because of what he has done for his players. Taking them far in the tournament and producing first round talent.
Kyle Williams: Some programs may try, but Calipari is clearly in the best spot to capitalize on one-and-done recruiting. The things he has going for him: coaching at a top program, coaching a system that top players want to play in, and a recent championship to stand for it. While the UCLA’s and Duke’s of the world have similar programs in terms of tradition and success, they both have coaches that bring strict, structured, defensive-minded systems to the table. The program that has the best chance to compete is UNC, with some of college basketball best tradition, Roy Williams’ high-paced style, and Jordan’s legacy hanging over the Dean Dome.
Does Calipari win it all again next year?
Jeff Morgan: Who knows. How can you even speculate on Kentucky’s chances next year when their starting 5 players are going to be completely different? Even if Calipari gets 6 more McDonalds All-American’s to fill out his roster, he still has to basically start from scratch with a whole new group of players. Calipari has had loaded rosters in the past and failed to win it all. If he can’t get his players to work together for a common goal, they could easily have an early exit in next year’s tourney. So for now, I’ll take the field over Kentucky.
Dave Vinluan: As long as he’s got the pulse on the next Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, then absolutely yes.
Kyle Williams: That’s tough to say, as there are so many moving parts for Calipari next season that are yet to settle. While it seems to be a lock that Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist jump to the league, we will have to see if see if Doron Lamb and Marquis Teague decide to follow them or stick around for another year. Calipari already has 5 star recruits Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress committed as well as 7-foot center Willie Cauley. Undoubtedly the biggest factor will be the decision of unanimous #1 recruit Shabazz Muhammad, who is still deciding between Kentucky, Duke, and UCLA. If Coach Cal lands Muhammad and keeps a player or two from this year’s squad, I like his chances. If not, I see Calipari’s squad as another one of his highly talented young teams that just doesn’t have quite enough to cut down the nets in 2013.
Stanford participates in D-1 NCAA sports and is one of the well-rounded schools in terms of Excellency in all college sports. Cardinal sports teams have won a total of 116 National Championships and 102 of which are NCAA National Championships, falling behind only UCLA in total. For the past 17 years Stanford has won the D-1 NACDA Director’s Cup for being the college with the most success in collegiate athletics. Stanford athletes have also been very well represented in the Olympics as 47 student-athletes were sent to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Stanford’s mascot went from being the Indians in 1930 to the Cardinals for a long period of time until 1981 when the school felt the need to represent their school color instead of a bird. However, at sport events fans interact with their mascot “The Tree” which is the same redwood tree that is on the school seal (pictured above). The Tree is representative of the redwood trees present in Northern California.
Stanford’s biggest rival is Northern California opponent University of California, Berkeley Bears. Every year the two teams square off in what is called “The Big Game” in which the teams compete for “The Axe”. Stanford won the most recent Big Game at home. This year Stanford has the 4th ranked football team in the nation, as the Cardinal will finish off their season in a BCS bowl. They are set to battle 3rd ranked Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl to be held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 2nd, 2012. Stanford will be rallying behind their tough defense and Heisman Award runner-up, Junior QB Andrew Luck, to carry them over Oklahoma State’s high-powered offense. Luck projects to be the 1st overall draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Academics:
Stanford is one of the better academic schools in all of America as some consider it the Ivy League school of the West Coast. Forbes ranks the school as 5th in the nation. The school is classified as one of the more selective schools as it has one of the lowest acceptance rates of colleges throughout the country. Most recently, Stanford Admissions accepted a total of 7% of its applicants to attend the university. The student to faculty ratio is 6:1, which suggests that classes are smaller than in most universities and that students are able to receive more individual attention from instructors.
Alumni
Significance
Yukio Hatoyama
Former Japanese Prime Minister
Herbert Hoover
Former U.S. President
Jim Plunkett
Former NFL QB
John Elway
Former NFL QB
Mike Mussina
MLB SP
Carlos Quentin
MLB OF
Tiger Woods
PGA Golf
Summer Sanders
Olympic Swimmer
Toby Gerhart
NFL RB
Reese Witherspoon
Actress
Kerri Walsh
Olympic Volleyball
Jennifer Connelly
Actress
Sigourney Weaver
Actress
Top Major Fields:
Social Sciences: 21%
Interdisciplinary Studies: 16%
Engineering: 15%
Stanford Alums have been credited to create what is now called the Silicon Valley of Northern California. Companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, NVIDIA, MIPS Technologies, Google, Yahoo!, Nike, Gap, and Sun Microsystems were all started by Stanford Alumni and most are critical to the Silicon Valley today.
Student Life:
Around 89 percent of students live on Stanford’s campus because First Year students are all required to live on-campus while the entire student body is guaranteed housing for four years. Housing around campus is quite diverse as there are fraternity houses, sorority houses, all-freshman dormitories, four-class housing, theme-based housing, and even gender-neutral housing as of 2008. Stanford’s Greek Life hosts about 13% of its undergrad students. There are 13 sororities on campus and 16 fraternities. About ten of the Greek orgs of Stanford have their own houses and nine of which are university-owned houses on Stanford’s Greek Row.
Stanford University has many campus traditions that are passed down to new students every year. From the “Full Moon on the Quad” where seniors and freshmen gather to exchange kisses, and the Primal Scream heard in the late hours close to midnight as students release their stress in the week leading to Finals week, to the “Birthday Showers” given to students on their birthday when the clock hits midnight and the student is thrown in the shower; Stanford’s many traditions stand strong through the years.
Not too far from Stanford are San Jose (20 miles) and San Francisco (37 miles). The proximity of Stanford to these two towns gives students options when it comes to getting away from campus to enjoy what the Bay Area has to offer. Students can enjoy professional sports in the area by checking out teams such as the San Francisco Giants (MLB), San Francisco 49ers (NFL), San Jose Sharks (NHL), Oakland Raiders (NFL), Oakland Athletics (MLB), and the Golden State Warriors (NBA).
The first thing we recommend is talking to your high school and/or club team coach. Most often, these coaches have been involved in this process for a long time and have coached student-athletes that have been through the recruiting process before. Their experience will give them a good idea of what potential level you could play at in the future.
Parents and student-athletesneed to ask their high school or club team coach what level they should look at for playing beyond high school. Often, the coach will give you an idea of your skill set and abilities athletically and academically. You must use your high school and club team coach as a resource to get an assessment, advice and then a recommendation. Remember, they’ve often already been through this same process with other athletes, and can be a good evaluator of your skill level because they have seen many other teams and players compete.
STEP # 2 – Watch
The next step in picking the right collegiate level of play is watching. Look at colleges from all levels of play (Division 1,2,3, or Junior College) and try to figure out when they’re going to be playing in your local area. If you can, go to a game and watch them in person. Try and scout college freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors to see how they’re playing and what their skill set is like physically. This will give you a good idea of where you fit in best. SportsForce recommends that student-athletes and parents attend a few local games to get an idea of their caliber of play.
If you can’t physically attend a local game you can also watch a number of games over the Internet. Again, it is important that you evaluate the caliber of play for each collegiate level. For example, if you’re watching a Division I football game, you can get a solid idea of how good the quarterback is at USC or how good the running back is at University of Alabama. Once you understand this you can ask yourself if you stack up with that level of size and athletic ability.
STEP # 3 – Research
It is also essential that you visit the websites of your potential colleges and look at their team roster. For example, go to a number of Division 1, 2, and 3 team websites and look at the size and background of their players. What do they look like physically? What kind of academic or athletic awards did they receive in high school? Try to match your physical traits and athletic and academic success with the right collegiate level of play.
As the school year winds down, many students start to get a little tired and start looking pretty hard towards summer. High school seniors are so notorious for this that there is even a word for it: senioritis. Just because you’ve been accepted to a college and cleared for graduation is no reason to let your grades and academic and athletic performance slip. Read on for some tips to help you enjoy your senior year without tarnishing your record.
Avoid the Schedule: Gym, Lunch, Gym, Pottery
Don’t set yourself up for a lackluster semester by not challenging yourself. Sure, badminton can be challenging and so can making a clay pot, but how will these look on your transcript? There’s no reason not to take classes you have been looking forward to all high school in your senior year, just don’t let this be your entire course load. Keep yourself challenged to stay engaged and show colleges that you are a serious student. Consider taking and AP class if you have not already, if you work hard and pass the AP test for a certain subject, you’ve already taken care of some college credits.
Stay Engaged by Doing Things You Love
It’s easy to get bored senior year and try to forget about high school and look at your college years ahead, so find projects that will keep you engaged in your high school life. Working on the school newspaper or yearbook is a great way to do this. These will help you stay up to date and involved in your school. Also, just because you’re graduating doesn’t mean the school paper will stop going out, so being held to deadlines will keep you in the right frame of mind and keep you from slacking off. As a bonus this extracurricular activities are great experience as you build your resume.
Search Out Academic Options
In your final months of school, you may feel like you’ve got high school mastered. So why not take a college course or two early to challenge yourself and stay ahead of the game. Try the local community college for these classes. Many high schools will count this college course credit towards your high school credit and some schools even allow for early dismissal from regular hours to attend college courses. Check with your guidance counselor for your options, you may even be able to knock out a Gen Ed or two. Just make sure your future college will accept these credits, so you don’t end up taking the same class twice.
Stick with Sports, Even if Your Main Season is Over
If practice is the only thing getting you through your day as the school year winds down, then so be it. Just don’t let that fall to the wayside, too. Sports can be a great motivator to go to school, so even if you’re major season isn’t the spring stay involved with any spring sport as an incentive to go to school and stay in school those final days of your college career. Remember, colleges don’t stop looking at you once you’ve been accepted, that final transcript matters, so don’t tarnish it with senior skip days and sliding grades. Enjoy your senior year, just not too much!
Be sure to visit our Education Page for more resources for student-athletes and parents.
To get more advanced recruiting tips, strategies and advice, visit our website and sign up for our complimentary SportsForce College Recruiting Guide and updates below.
FREE sign up for SportsForce College Recruiting Guide:
Article courtesy of SportsForce, Home for professional College Sports Recruiting Profiles, Highlight Videos, Tips and Tools – www.sportsforceonline.com
As the school year winds down, many students start to get a little tired and start looking pretty hard towards summer. High school seniors are so notorious for this that there is even a word for it: senioritis. Just because you’ve been accepted to a college and cleared for graduation is no reason to let your grades and academic and athletic performance slip.Read on for some tips to help you enjoy your senior year without tarnishing your record.
Avoid the Schedule: Gym, Lunch, Gym, Pottery
Don’t set yourself up for a lackluster semester by not challenging yourself. Sure, badminton can be challenging and so can making a clay pot, but how will these look on your transcript? There’s no reason not to take classes you have been looking forward to all high school in your senior year, just don’t let this be your entire course load. Keep yourself challenged to stay engaged and show colleges that you are a serious student. Consider taking and AP class if you have not already, if you work hard and pass the AP test for a certain subject, you’ve already taken care of some college credits.
Stay Engaged by Doing Things You Love
It’s easy to get bored senior year and try to forget about high school and look at your college years ahead, so find projects that will keep you engaged in your high school life.Working on the school newspaper or yearbook is a great way to do this. These will help you stay up to date and involved in your school. Also, just because you’re graduating doesn’t mean the school paper will stop going out, so being held to deadlines will keep you in the right frame of mine and from slacking off. As a bonus this extracurricular activities are great experience as you build your resume.
Search Out Academic Options
In your final months of school, you may feel like you’ve got high school mastered. So why not take a college course or two early to challenge yourself and stay ahead of the game. Try the local community college for these classes. Many high schools will count this college source credit towards your high school credit and some schools even allow for early dismissal from regular hours to attend college courses. Check with your guidance counselor for your options, you may even be able to knock out a Gen Ed or two. Just make sure your future college will accept these credits, so you don’t end up taking the same class twice.
Stick with Sports, Even if You’re Main Season is Over
If practice is the only thing getting you through your day as the school year winds down, then so be it. Just don’t let that fall to the wayside, too. Sports can be a great motivator to go to school, so even if you’re major season isn’t the spring stay involved with any spring sport as an incentive to go to school and stay in school those final days of your college career. Remember, colleges don’t stop looking at you once you’ve been accepted, that final transcript matters, so don’t tarnish it with senior skip days and sliding grades. Enjoy your senior year, just not too much!
Be sure to visit our Education Page for more resources for student-athletes and parents.
To get more advanced recruiting tips, strategies and advice, visit our website and sign up for our complimentary SportsForce College Recruiting Guide and updates below.
FREE sign up for SportsForce College Recruiting Guide:
Article courtesy of SportsForce, Home for professional College Sports Recruiting Profiles, Highlight Videos, Tips and Tools – www.sportsforceonline.com
What most student-athletes, parents and coaches don’t realize is that DI offers less than 20% of the college sports opportunities for most sponsored college sports. The reality is most DII, DIII and NAIA recruiting budgets are small and thus the student-athletes and parents have been even more proactive in the process of getting evaluated and recruited.
3 Quick Tips to handling the DII, DIII and NAIA recruiting process:
RESEARCH: Research which schools offer the academic and athletic fit you are looking for at the DII, DIII and NAIA. There are plenty of great college programs at these levels. Use these two websites to help:
KNOW THEIR LIMITATIONS: Since smaller programs don’t have a large recruiting budget you have to make sure you provide them an opportunity to evaluate you. A highlight video is critical for them to evaluate you as well as potentially attending one of their camps. Also DIII does not offer any athletic scholarship money. However they can put together a great financial package using financial aid and academic scholarship money.
BE PROACTIVE: Create a list of target schools and market yourself to those schools. Be pleasantly persistent and make sure you provide them a completed resume and highlight video so the coaches can easily evaluate your skills. Your goal is to get evaluated and know where you stand with each school you are interested in.
To accelerate your education on the college sports preparation and recruiting process I recommend signing up for our FREESportsForce College Sports Recruiting Guide.
SportsForce premium members have an over 80% college sports success rate with an average of more than $50,000 in college scholarship & financial savings per family.
Article courtesy of SportsForce, Home for professional and affordable College Sports Recruiting Tools, Tips, Online Profiles, Highlight Videos and Premium Services.
Whether you’re partaking in the action or watching from the stands, sports is an ever-present part of the college life. Walk across a major college campus on any given weekend during a semester, and you’ll find oodles of people playing flag football, pickup basketball and softball, and even more gathering to root on their school’s football and basketball teams. Of course, the aforementioned sports are just the most notable associated with college. If you look harder, you’ll find a few interesting ones that you may not have realized were even organized, or in some cases — existed. The 10 following obscure college sports vary in classification and recognition — some are recent inventions and others have obviously been around — but all of them have carved their niches on some level.
Obscure Non-NCAA Sports
Quidditch: Quidditch, the creation of Harry Potter author JK Rowling, is no longer just a goofy game played by overgrown nerds pretending to be wizards and witches. In fact, it has become quite popular on campuses across America, where a growing number of college muggles are partaking in the action. Hundreds of colleges are either forming or have registered with the International Quidditch Association, which governs the sport. If you’re not familiar with quidditch, it’s involves carrying a broom between your legs to simulate flying, yet it also requires physical toughness. To put it in perspective, it’s not really any more ridiculous than wearing tights and chasing around a prolate spheroid-shaped ball.
Underwater Hockey (Octopush): Underwater hockey has a modest yet devoted group of participants. Currently, about 10 college programs compete nationally with the mission of reaching the U.S. National Underwater Hockey Tournament each summer. George Mason is one school that takes the sport seriously, offering an introductory class for players “wishing to take their game to the next level.” Students unfamiliar with the sport who enroll learn that underwater hockey is essentially a combination of ice hockey (duh) and soccer. The object is to see who can push a three-pound lead plastic-covered puck into their opponents’ unmanned goal with a foot-long handheld stick. Of course, since it all takes place underwater, a snorkel, diving mask and swimfins are required gear. A fun sport to play if you know how to hold your breath for extra-long intervals of time.
Roller Derby: Perhaps because of its brutal nature and similarities to wrestling, roller derby isn’t a widely organized sport found on college campuses. There are, however, small leagues throughout the country, including small college towns like State College, Pennsylvania, consisting of college students eager to express their pent-up aggression. The often female-dominated competition features a jammer, the scoring player, who attempts to score points by lapping members of the opposing team, which employs blockers for defense. The action is intense, as offense and defense are played simultaneously, making for a crowd-pleasing show. Toss in a few manufactured (or not) feuds and you can’t help but stay immersed in the drama.
Obscure NCAA-Sanctioned Sports
Squash: No longer just a sport mostly played by the Gordon Gekkos, and Frasier and Niles Cranes of the world, squash just narrowly missed being added to the 2012 Olympic Games and, as of now, is an organized women’s college sport. The NCAA describes it as “a fast growing sport in the USA across all socio-economic strata,” “offering wide opportunities previously not available for female athlete[s].” One time considered the “healthiest sport” by Forbes, squash requires both physical endurance and mental acuity for optimal success. Although it’s not really a spectator sport, you can’t help but marvel at the ability of its most skilled players.
Rifle: Only in an NCAA-sanctioned sport like Rifle can a school like Alaska-Fairbanks claim a national championship. And really, it’s good that smaller schools get a chance to complete at a high level in an athletic competition. In the case of Alaska-Fairbanks, it dominated the NCAA Rifle Championships during the last decade, winning it on eight occasions from 2000 to 2008. Overall, it has won 10 national championships — second only to West Virginia’s 14. Given the widely accepted stereotypes of those two states, their proficiency at the sport shouldn’t come as a surprise. What should come as a surprise, though, is the fact that Army and one of the Texas schools own only one national championship each.
Fencing: Most Americans’ exposure to fencing is limited to seeing it in movies such as The Princess Bride or The Mask of Zorro. But the centuries-old sport has been sanctioned by the NCAA for decades, originating in the Ivy League where schools such as Columbia and NYU built winning traditions. Today, there are more than 100 fencing programs across the country and both club and varsity teams compete. During their meets, three fencers from one school face-off against three fencers from another in five-touch bouts. Each season culminates with the NCAA Fencing team championship, where Penn State has reigned supreme 14 times in the last 21 years.
Equestrian: Equestrian gained classification as an NCAA emerging sport in 1998 and has since strived to earn full NCAA championship status. Twenty-three colleges currently support equestrian at a varsity level and 17 more are needed in order for it to become legitimate. For the time being, the all-female participants compete in the Varsity Equestrian National Championship each year to determine the best in the sport. In 2010, Georgia won the VENC national championship and Hunter Seat team championship for the fifth time respectively, and Texas A&M won the Western championship for the fourth time. Much like with rifle, the schools you’d generally expect to succeed in equestrian do tend to experience the most success. Texas A&M, after all, was founded as an agricultural school.
Bowling: Contrary to popular belief, bowling isn’t entirely played by overweight, beer belly-bearing middle-aged men. You won’t find any John Goodman-types competing in the sport on the NCAA level, probably because it’s limited to women, none of whom look like the typical gals you’d find at your local alley. These mean, lean, pin-blasting machines are conditioned to take home NCAA Bowling Championships. Nebraska in particular has procured the most talented women’s bowlers through the years, winning eight national championships since 1991 — three since women’s bowling became an NCAA-sanctioned sport. The program’s success can be partially attributed to its pipeline of international players, such as Valerie Calberry (Canada), Danielle van der Meer (The Netherlands) and Shalima Zalsha (Indonesia) on 2010 squad. Who knew bowling and Nebraska had such worldwide appeal?
Rowing: Rowing may not be comparable to sports such as football and basketball when it comes to popularity, but the physical strength and stamina exhibited by rowers is worth watching. For example, all races in the NCAA Rowing Championship are 2,000 meters long and, of course, require continuous rowing from competing teams. To carry on through an entire season of the sport, it takes a well-sculpted upper body and disciplined teamwork. Naturally, schools located in coastal states, including Virginia, Stanford, Brown, California and Radcliffe and Washington, have claimed all of the national championships since the event was first held in 1997.
Field Hockey: Field hockey is pretty self-explanatory — it’s hockey, without ice, rollerblades or water, played on a field typically composed of synthetic turf. You could also say it resembles soccer, as both sports, in most cases, feature 11 players on the field from each team during a game. It’s an underrated, low-maintenance, and fun-looking activity that hasn’t caught on unlike other variations of hockey, even though it has been an NCAA-sanctioned sport for women for 30 years. When perusing the college field hockey rankings through the years, the programs you’ll most often find residing at the top include Old Dominion, Maryland, North Carolina and Wake Forest. The Upper South and East Coast is a hotbed for the sport, much like lacrosse.
National Signing Day for college football has come and past now and we hope you enjoyed all of the excitement of it as much as we did. While this day may only be for college football, we feel that National Signing Day is relevant to all college-bound student athletes. This day marks a time when kids are living out their dreams and aspirations of playing at the college level. So whether you have committed to a school by now or not, the significance of this day has inspired us to give you a few helpful tips as you start reaching the end of the recruiting process.
If you have signed:
Congrats! After all the time you have spent enduring the recruiting process, you have finally found the right fit for you! You deserve time to celebrate with family and friends and take it easy, but don’t get off track too much.
Just because you have finished the recruiting process does not mean that you can just sit around and take it easy until the day you leave for college. You need to keep working on those skills, improve your game and keep trying to better yourself. Exercise regularly and play your given sports recreationally to keep you skills at tip-top level.
Also, don’t slack off on academics now just because you are committed to a school. Just because you have signed a letter of intent or are committed to a school does not mean they cannot revoke your scholarships. If you become ineligible to play, whether academically or for another reason, they can and will take away your right to play in college. So make sure to keep up with your school work and make time to study.
If you have not signed yet:
No worries yet; choosing a college that is the right fit for you in both athletics and other realms is a long process. You should never commit to a school until you know for sure that it is the one for you.
At this time, you should definitely have a good grasp on which schools you are seriously considering though. You also should have visited these top schools by now and should be working on a pros-cons list for each one. This will help put into perspective which schools have the essentials that you are looking for. If a school does not have one of your most important aspects you are looking for, you should not settle with that one.
Also, like the advice we just gave to your peers that have already signed, you need to stay on top of your game both athletically and academically. While the recruiting process is long and strenuous, you need to make time for the aspects that let you join this process in the first place. If you don’t keep up both athletically and academically, schools may pull their offers and you could be left with nothing.
Most importantly, for both those who have signed or have not yet, you should take time to enjoy this momentous period of your life. This whole recruiting process is a time you will never experience again. Take the time to reflect on this and make the most out of it.
As you may know from our earlier posts, SportsForce Athlete Eric Sanschagrin committed to Princeton Lacrosse over the summer. Mavericks Lacrosse Goalie Eric and his family put a lot of thought and time into the decision, from researching to visits to just gut feelings. Eric was extremely helpful when we asked him what advice he had for athletes looking to accomplish the same thing he did and be just as successful in their recruiting journey. See what Eric had to say in his own words below.
1. Stay on top of your grades! Also, freshman year shouldn’t be taken lightly! The pace at which many top Division I colleges are moving along with their recruiting processes only continues to speed up and schools are actively recruiting when only freshman and Sophomore grades are available. Don’t limit your options because of laziness freshman year!
2. Start early and be proactive. It’s hard enough for Western (lacrosse) players to get recruited as it is, make sure to you give yourself plenty of time to get noticed by the schools where you truly belong. No one wants to be left with their last choice, or no choice, because they didn’t move along fast enough in the process.
3. Make sure that you organize and prepare everything you need in advance of your Junior year and add to it as you go along. Don’t waste a coach’s time with half-ready emails. For emails this includes: Name, School, Position, Hand, Class (Year), Team Success (Highlights), Personal Awards, Upcoming Events you plan to attend (Team and Recruiting), GPA, Test Scores (ACT,SAT and even PSAT if you haven’t taken the ACT or SAT), Game Film (3 to 5 minutes of highlights and 2 of your best uncut game halves which can come from different games), A link to your SportsForce page, NCAA Clearinghouse ID #, High School Coach’s Phone # and email, Club Coach’s Phone # and email, and provide your phone # and email. Also, list that your transcript is available to be faxed to them if they want it from your school. Put the best parts in the title! Most coaches get hundreds of emails, so put your best foot forward with the title. Example: Eric Sanschagrin-All-American Goalie-Class of 2011-Lefty-La Costa Canyon High School-Attending California Gold. If no representatives from a school that you emailed respond within a few days, keep sending it periodically until they do. I’ll attach the email I used as an example!
4. Don’t be afraid to reach for the sky. Sending out emails to top schools is something everyone should consider, but be realistic. If you aren’t sure where you stand then ask your coaches for help. Even if you aren’t sure, send out a few recruiting emails and test because it can’t hurt.
5. Don’t rush into anything. It takes some time to decide which school best fits you for the next four to five years. Talk it over with your parents and coaches.
6. Have a plan and ask for help. It was nice to have my coaches, SportsForce, and my parents to help guide me through the process. Make a checklist to help manage what you have done and what you want to get done.
Congratulations to La Costa Canyon Mavericks Boys Lacrosse goalie Eric Sanschagrin who committed to Princeton Lacrosse over the summer. We caught up with Eric and asked him a few questions to see how he made his decision and what he is most looking forward to. See what he had to say in his own words below, and check back later this week for his great advice for other athletes in the recruiting process.
What factors made you decide on Princeton?
– My main priority was to attend a top academic school, regardless of how good the lacrosse team was. Yet, like many aspiring lacrosse players, I had my heart set on playing Division I lacrosse. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to travel back east for school if it was just for athletic pursuits. I’d have rather played MCLA Lacrosse at an excellent academic school out west than at a lower level Division I school where I wouldn’t have fit academically. So, I sent out my emails to coaches whose schools fit my requirements. I emailed every coach or staff member listed on each school’s website. Thankfully, I got some responses and I was fortunate enough to hear from Princeton! Luckily, they were going to be at Under Armour All America tryouts in Ohio which I had already planned to attend. They noted that they would make sure to have their coach watch me while I was there. After a few follow up emails, I visited Princeton unofficially in July and absolutely loved the feel of the campus and the town of Princeton. During my visit I met most of the coaching staff and toured the campus and facilities. The coaching staff is made up of truly amazing individuals and I couldn’t be happier to have them as my future coaches. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to commit in July and I wasted no time in saying yes.
Were there any other schools you were seriously considering?
–No other schools made it past the “We’re interested” or “What camps will you be attending?” emails. I decided against doing a giant summer recruiting tour and only attended three camps/tournaments. This limited which coaches could have seen me. So, I was extremely fortunate to have Princeton make it to two of them. I was interested in the University of Pennsylvania, where my former teammate Reid Tudor is now a Freshman, as well as the other Ivy League Schools. Honestly, I probably would have settled back west if I hadn’t found something I truly loved.
What are you most looking forward to most about playing for the Princeton?
– After recently visiting Princeton for my official visit, I finally got to meet the team for the first time. First off, I’m really excited to learn from Tyler Fiorito (future teammate and goalie) We are both left handed goalies and I cannot think of a more qualified current college player to learn from. He will be a senior for the 2012 season when I’m a freshman. It will be nice to learn from a player whose prep lacrosse path was so different from mine. He entered Princeton as the top recruit in his class while my light summer schedule has left me largely unnoticed by most talent scouts and recruit evaluators. Also, I met my recruiting class while on my official visit and I was impressed by how down to earth our “Class of 2015” truly was. Coach Bates dubbed 2015 the “Unheralded Class” because we aren’t all well-hyped recruits and we have a lot to prove. I can’t wait for more time with the team and the chance to attend the University!
1. Share your recruiting story and status (ex. what was the process like? when did you commit/sign?)
Whether you’re partaking in the action or watching from the stands, sports is an ever-present part of the 
