Our partner Matt Hunt from College Hunt helps students successfully navigate the college selection process. In his latest blog post he explains the new NCAA academic requirements for Division 1, 2, and 3.
Planning on, or dreaming to one day participate in NCAA Athletics? Before you step onto the field or court you must first complete the required academics to be eligible for participation. Beginning in August 2016 the NCAA is increasing the minimum academic requirements student-athletes must meet to participate in Division 1 and 2 athletics. While these changes may seem minor, it’s important to remember all students planning on playing Division 1 or 2 athletics must meet these requirements or they will be academically ineligible.
Before we dive into the specific academic requirements we should first understand the purpose of the NCAA Eligibility Center. Think of them as the checks and balances for coaches as well as colleges/universities on whether or not the student has met the established requirements. Keep in mind, they are separate from admissions; a student still applies to individual schools during senior year. A common misconception from students is they believe if they’ve met the NCAA Eligibility requirements they are good to go, but in reality, they have only met the standard to play.
What is a Core Course? The NCAA Eligibility Center requires students earn a specific number of Core Courses by a certain point in high school as part of meeting eligibility. Now, there are some differences in the amount and timeline per level (D1, 2, & 3), but the definition of a Core Course remains the same. A Core Course is one that counts towards graduation in the core curriculum: English, Math, Natural or Physical Science, Social Science and World Language or Comparative Religion. Students must earn at least a D or higher in these courses. I know what you’re thinking, the NCAA allows D’s? Correct, but remember four-year colleges and universities do not.
The NCAA Eligibility Center has clearly defined specific academic requirements for Division 1, 2, and 3. Here is a breakdown of those requirements for each Division….
Division 1: minimum 2.3 GPA, increase on the SAT & ACT sliding scale, 10 of the 16 core courses must be met before the start of senior year.
Division 2: minimum 2.0 GPA, combined 820 on SAT or sum 68 on ACT, & 16 core courses completed.
Division 3: the college or university, not NCAA Eligibility Center, determines eligibility for admission, financial aid, practice and competition.
What happens if a student fails to meet the academic eligibility requirements? It will first depend on which division they’re being recruited by and how they’ve missed the requirement. The results may range from delayed opportunity to play, having to sit for an extended time or worse- being ruled academically ineligible.
Remember, the number one focus should be earning successful grades throughout high school to meet the requirements to play and more importantly too give yourself the opportunity to earn admissions into the college or university you’re desiring to attend.
For more information about the college selection process check out his blog!
With this year’s summer club seasons complete and fall tryouts proceeding through late August and September, we thought this was the perfect time to take a look at NCAA DI recruiting schedules for college lacrosse and see where they fit in our fall recruiting plan. Additionally, we’ve provided the NCAA definitions of each recruiting period on the calendar. You can find all the information below, straight from the NCAA, at the following links:
NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Recruiting Calendar:
https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/June2016_DIMensLacrosseCalendar_20160613.pdf
NCAA Recruiting Calendar FAQs:
http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/resources/recruiting-calendars?division=d1
Contact Periods
A contact period is a period of time when it is permissible for authorized athletics department staff members to make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations.
During a contact period a college coach may have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, watch student-athletes compete and visit their high schools, and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents.
Contact Defined: A contact is any face-to-face encounter between a prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete’s relatives, guardian(s) or individual of a comparable relationship and an institutional athletics department staff member or athletics representative during which any dialogue occurs in excess of an exchange of a greeting. Any such face-to-face encounter that is prearranged (e.g., positions himself/herself in a location where contact is possible) or that takes place on the grounds of the prospective student-athlete’s educational institution or at the site of organized competition or practice involving the prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete’s high school, preparatory school, two-year college or all-star team shall be considered a contact, regardless of the conversation that occurs. Any communication (e.g., face-to-face, telephone call or electronic transmission) with a prospective student-athlete at the site of organized competition involving the prospective student-athlete by athletics personnel who are attending the competition or who are aware of the competition also shall be considered a contact.
Evaluation Periods
An evaluation period is a period of time when it is permissible for authorized athletics department staff members to be involved in off-campus activities designed to assess the academic qualifications and playing ability of prospective student-athletes. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts shall be made with the prospective student-athlete during an evaluation period.
During an evaluation period a college coach may watch college-bound student-athletes compete, visit their high schools, and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. However, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents off the college’s campus during an evaluation period.
Evaluation Defined: An evaluation is any off-campus activity designed to assess the academic qualifications or athletics ability of a prospective student-athlete, including any visit to a prospective student-athlete’s educational institution (during which no contact occurs) or the observation of a prospective student-athlete participating in any practice or competition at any site.
Quiet Periods
A quiet period is a period of time when it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the institution’s campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period.
During a quiet period, a college coach may only have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents on the college’s campus. A coach may not watch student-athletes compete (unless a competition occurs on the college’s campus) or visit their high schools. Coaches may write or telephone college-bound student-athletes or their parents during this time.
Dead Periods
A dead period is a period of time when it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off the institution’s campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to the institution’s campus. It remains permissible, however, for an institutional staff member to write or telephone a prospective student-athlete during a dead period.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE
Institutional staff members may receive telephone calls placed by a prospective student-athlete at the prospective student-athlete’s own expense at any time, including before July 1 following the prospective student-athlete’s junior year in high school.
So please use this information to plan your fall/winter recruiting cycle. Form your plan early, then just play hard, have fun, and good luck!
Now that many of the club teams and tournaments are winding down until October, it’s important to capitalize on your summer experience. While many parents elect to purchase professional videos from the various events, the quality of the video is only one component of what makes an effective and attention-grabbing highlight reel.
In this installment of our College Game Plan Education series, we’ll provide some basic tips for creating and editing your game film to make the best impression on potential college lacrosse recruiters.
What you want to show
The goal with any highlight reel is to give college coaches an idea of how you can play the game and the special talents you believe set you apart. Whether it’s 1-on-1 defense, shooting, open-field speed, or FOGO skills, you want the reel to have a definite theme. Don’t get us wrong, you absolutely need to show more than one skill set, but you want your highlights to be a representation of your strongest attributes, allowing coaches to evaluate how you play and where you might fit in their program.
What you don’t want to show
Lacrosse is a flow sport, meaning that the action never really stops. Unlike football or baseball, where a “play” has a beginning and an end, lacrosse can thrust a player from offense to a loose ball to defense in a very short time. This makes editing clips very important. Factors like the quality of your competition, your demonstrated lacrosse IQ, and how you interact with your team may not jump out to a young player, but college coaches can take a lot from the fringes of your video. Typical examples of no-nos would be dodging through several defenders to score a goal despite open teammates, taunting the opposition, performing a solo celebration that is only about you, or passing up a good shot to go for a BTB or other “fancy” shot. If you drop the ball three times on your way to the goal or miss a pass before picking it up to score, the clip should only include the ground ball and the shot. And just as an FYI, coaches usually aren’t terribly impressed that you are good enough to try an advanced move in a game…if it didn’t work, don’t include it.
Sequencing your clips
The first 45 seconds of your video will likely dictate whether a coach watches the whole thing, so don’t bury your best clips or try to crescendo at the end. After you show your personal information, take the three most impressive examples of how you play and lead with them.
After these initial clips, start to mix in the other aspects of your game to show you have more than one dimension. Continue to pepper in the clips that support your general video theme, whether you’re presenting yourself as a scorer, feeder, ground ball specialist, or defender. Again, the best of these clips should be toward the front as well. For the remainder of the 3-4 minute highlight reel, simply mix in the various clips you have, but with the understanding that sometimes less is more, so don’t add extra clips to get to a certain video length if they don’t truly show your skill level or what you can do.
Guidelines for your highlight reel:
Most college coaches will request a video before they take the time to talk to you, so it’s very important to make sure you’re truly aware of what you’re presenting. Ask your coach to look at it and provide feedback before sending it out to college programs, make any suggested edits, and good luck!!
Our partner Matt Hunt from College Hunt helps students successfully navigate the college selection process. In his latest blog post he explains, what steps students need to take throughout high school in order to compete for an admission in the Ivy League.
“Give yourself the opportunity to compete!” The Ivy League consists of eight of the most competitive admissions and desired campuses in the country. Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, U Penn, and Yale are the schools that make up the Ivy League. Each year they receive thousands of applications for not nearly the equivalent of spots.
How does a student give themselves an opportunity to compete for admissions? There is a process to follow, first, it’s important to look at some admissions numbers, and truly understand how extremely competitive it is. Here is a snapshot of admissions applications at three Ivy schools last year, Brown had 28,742 applications and 2,627 accepted= 9.14%, Princeton had 26,641 applications and 1,983 accepted= 7.44%, and Yale had 27,283 and 2,109 accepted. As you can see the competition is steep.
Competition is not a bad thing, and if you’ve decided to apply to one or two of the Ivy Leagues schools great, just understand the best of the best apply every fall and in reality, it’s become a global competition.
Now that we understand the level of competition, what can a student do throughout high school to give themselves the opportunity to apply?
The Ivy Leagues schools use what is called a “holistic” approach when reviewing individual applications. A holistic approach is one that allows the admissions officers to dig deep into the application by reading letters of recommendations, multiple essays and short answer questions, and extracurricular activities.
“What separates you from other applicants?” Is a question that plays a major role throughout the holistic admission process and final decision? Did you participate in an internship that matches with your future major and career goals? Have you shown extraordinary initiative or creative thinking in seeking out or designing an opportunity for yourself? Have you displayed the strength of character in overcoming adversity?
Many of the Ivy League school applications will require an essay and often more than one. This is a tremendous opportunity to express more about yourself, your future goals, a particular strength, or area of growth. Do your research- adding specific information about a major or program reflects well.
The Ivy League schools provide students an outstanding educational opportunity. Once a student understands and accepts the level of competition they should move forward with completing the application and wait for the final decision.
For more information about the college selection process check out his blog!
What does it look like when a professional and those with less experience try to secure college offers, earn significant scholarships and play their sport in college?
Let’s highlight some of the key differences in the two approaches.
Professional Approach
- Meets with certified counselor to ensure high school courses are in line with NCAA core course eligibility.
- Analyzes best classes to take in order to maximize GPA while maintaining an appropriate strength of subject content. This is based on the academic requirements of their college target list.
- Analyzes and determines the best test to take (either SAT or ACT) based on individual strengths and focuses on studying for one test. Uses professional help/guidance in studying for tests.
- Receives proper athletic evaluation. Creates and executes a customized game plan to begin the recruiting process. Targets appropriate colleges that match student-athletes academic, athletic, geographic and financial desires and abilities. As a result, enjoy shorter recruiting cycles. Begins in the freshman or sophomore year.
- Develops ongoing and strong personal relationships with multiple college coaches. Makes it easy for college coaches to communicate and interact with them. Understands when a college coach is genuinely interested in them, or if the coach has no interest in making them an offer.
- Executes their game plan and secures multiple offers from best-fit schools.
Inexperienced Approach
- Does not understand core course NCAA eligibility requirements. Does not regularly meet with certified counselor to properly track high school course load.
- Only takes mandatory courses or classes of interest with no link to specific target college academic requirements.
- Studies for, and takes both the ACT and SAT tests. Then determines what might be the best test to take again. Does not use prep testing services.
- Sits back and waits for college coaches to contact them. Hopes to be discovered by college coaches at a camp/tournament/showcase. Rely on outside factors such as club or high school coaches to help them be recruited. Receives and acts on poor advice from well-intentioned people. Gets serious about recruiting late in the junior or senior year.
- Wastes time trying to communicate with coaches that have no desire in recruiting them
- Wastes a lot of money and time on attending multiple camps/tournaments with no idea if these are the appropriate ones to participate in.
- May secure an offer from a school they are not strongly interested in, or may not secure any offers at all
Managing the recruiting process like a professional is not easy. Most know that they will experience this event only one time and making mistakes are costly. It’s competitive and hard work. It requires focus, sacrifice, determination and the appropriate resources. The professional is prepared and committed to achieving their goals over the long haul.
Inexperienced people typically do not take control of the recruiting process. They usually fall short of achieving their college recruiting goals. They lack a well-conceived game plan and find it difficult to execute basic strategies. They typically repeat activities that are ineffective and unsuccessful. Inexperienced families and student-athletes do try their best. Even though they sometimes may achieve incremental gains, much of their success is left entirely to chance.
Of the 8 million students playing their sport in high school, approximately 94% or 7.5 million never go on to compete in their sport in college. The competition is too fierce, the roster spots and scholarships are too limited, the process is too complex, the college recruiting budgets are too small and the stakes are too high to manage this process without the necessary tools, guidance and professional support.
You don’t have to go it alone. As the nation’s premier college recruiting advisory group, SportsForce provides families with a highly trained team of college recruiting advisors who have either played or coached their sport at the college level. Our entire team of professionals dedicates their passion, time and attention to properly evaluating, educating and successfully guiding qualified student-athletes and their families through the college planning and recruiting process. We can help you too.
For a personal college recruiting evaluation and honest estimate of your potential to compete at the next level, contact us at:
Phone: 1.888.9787084
Email: scouting@sportsforceonline.com
To greatly improve your chances of competing at the collegiate level, it’s critical to understand the importance of building and sustaining personal relationships with college coaches. This is sometimes the essential separator between two equal recruiting candidates.
Because player statistics and videos don’t tell the whole story about a student-athlete if a coach is interested in recruiting you, voice to voice contact or in-person meetings are ultimately necessary. During these moments, it’s absolutely critical to make a good impression. Always be prepared for the encounter whether over the phone or in person. The most effective way to accomplish this task is to:
1. Take time to learn about the school, the coaches, and the sports program. Go online and read about the coaching staff backgrounds along with the programs’ successes and challenges. Learn about the conference they compete in and the other teams they play against. Understand the current roster of players and where you might fit in based on your specific position, measurables or stats. Learn about the school academically and be prepared to share with the coach why it is a top fit school/program for you. Keep notes next to the phone to help remember key things you want to discuss with the coach. Keep a journal of personal notes about your calls for future decision-making purposes.
2. Ask intentional questions. Before a call or meeting, write out a list of questions that you want to learn about the school and the coach. College coaches always appreciate well thought out and intelligent questions. Some things to uncover in these conversations may include the programs’ graduation rates, team GPA, team goals, in-season and off-season training schedules/expectations, team bonding events and how the coach sees you fitting in the program.
3. Be memorable – write a hand written note. After a conversation or meeting with a coach, write a hand written note thanking him or her for their time. At the very least, send a thank you email within 24-48 hours.
4. Introduce yourself at camps. Don’t be intimidated or afraid to walk up to each coach and introduce yourself. Let them know your name, high school, grad year, position and that you’re excited to be there. To make this first introduction even easier, send the coaches in attendance a letter prior to the camp, along with your game video so they have a better chance of remembering you.
5. Stay connected. At the end of a call or meeting, ask the coach if it would be okay to email and update each other every 1-2 months. Also, ask what social media platform they prefer and keep in touch that way as well. Monitoring the success of a college program and or congratulating the coach shows you have a strong interest in their school/program.
Maintaining consistent touchpoints and building personal relationships with college coaches will typically produce very positive recruiting results. Results that will help you to determine your best-fit school, best coaching staff, best athletic/academic programs, best offer and the best future career opportunities.
Over the last five years, SportsForce has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
