College Feature: Stanford University

School:

• Leland Stanford Junior University
• Location: Palo Alto, CA
• Established 1891
• Private University
• Undergrad Enrollment: 6,988
• Graduate School Enrollment: 12,957
• Mascot: Cardinal
• Interesting Fact: The first student at Stanford University in 1891, when it was established, was former President Herbert Hoover.
• Click Here to Visit Stanford’s Website

Athletics

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 4^th ranked football team in the nation, as the Cardinal will finish off their season in a BCS bowl. They are set to battle 3^rd ranked Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl to be held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 2^nd, 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 1^st 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 5^th 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.

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).

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The Art of Tebowing

Ready or not here he comes. As starting quarterback, yes I said quarterback, for the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow is 4-1. Whether you are a Te-believer or not, the simple fact is that he is winning. It’s not pure skill or some sort of a specific game plan that is helping him win. It could be the help from a higher power. It could be just a benefit from Tebowing. Or it could just be the fact that he is just a winner with a massive amount of will to win.

It’s just right that Tim has his own thing in Tebowing because he has definitely established his own niche in quarterbacking. I’ll say right now that Tebow is no Manning, Brady, or Montana. He doesn’t consistently throw for over 300 yards. He doesn’t throw about 2 TDs every week (in fact he had no passing touchdowns in his 17-13 win over he Jets in Week 11). His style defies nearly all stereotypes of a franchise quarterback, but his style so far has given him the same results as expected of a franchise QB. He came from an option-style offense in Florida and there were, and still are, many who don’t believe he has the tools to be a successful quarterback at the pro level. Without a snap under center, with an awkward throwing motion, with a flock of nonbelievers on his back, this guy has showed that winning doesn’t always have to be pretty as long as your team wins. With his 95-yard game-winning drive over the New York Jets, Tim Tebow showed what he is capable of in leading an offense. On his game-winning drive, Tebow said, “That’s why I wanted to be a quarterback since I was six years old, watching guys like John Elway and Steve Young have game-winning drives”.

So with every success he has from here on, you can still clutch onto that feeling of disbelief you may have, or you can just sit back and see what he is doing for the sport. He shows football players and fans that you don’t always have to fit the mold to be successful. Former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin says that people “put so much on skill and not enough on will”, and this exactly what Tebow has brought to the table. So for all those quarterbacks who aren’t the pro-style quarterbacks who play from under center, there is still hope and Tebow is paving the way.

Take it from the man himself: “just find a way. Keep believing. Because it’s never gonna be good… believe in the people around you and keep fighting, because you’re gonna get knocked down. But it’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get back up. “

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Legendary Head College Football Coach Joe Paterno Fired after 45 years

This week was a tough week for coach Joe Paterno of Penn State University. The 84-year-old coach has been holding a tight grip on the job of head coach for quite some time. Only few times could it be said in his history as coach that “Today was not his day’. Amongst a child-abuse scandal involving a former coach, the university decided to fire its head coach, Paterno, as well as its school president Graham Spanier.

Thousands of students caused a mini-riot at Penn State when news broke that their football leader “JoePa” was fired. These students expressed care for their coach as he cared for the team for over 60 years coaching. They recognize all that he has done by winning two National Championships and setting records for most wins (409) and bowl wins (24) as head coach.

If there is anything to remember Paterno by it must be the impact he had, not only on the football program, but how he impacted Penn State University and how he impacted his student-athletes because after all, they are also students. As of results in 2011, Penn State’s football graduation success rate (GSR) was 84%. This is good for 2^nd best in the Big Ten Conference, trailing only Northwestern. This demonstrates his care for his student-athletes not only as students, but men preparing for the future as his program has produced 47 academic All-Americans.

“You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the true mark of a professional” –Joe Paterno

Whether its preparing his men to be professionals in the business world or professional football players, it seems as though Paterno had them ready for anything. His program is nicknamed “Linebacker U” for its production of NFL Linebackers. One alum from “Linebacker U”, Jacksonville’s Paul Posluszny, had this to say about his former coach, “Besides the football, he’s preparing us to be good men in life.”

Paterno’s motto for his program was “Success With Honor”. He will be remembered for his success on the field and be honored by all those he has made an impact on at Penn State and beyond.

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Choosing the Right Level of College Athletics

STEP # 1 – Talk to Your Coach

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-athletes need 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.

To get started today take advantage of our FREE 30 Day Trial.

For more College Recruiting Tips and specific details on our proven Step-by-Step College Recruiting and Athletic Scholarship system contact one of our college recruiting experts at 858.350.5889 or visit www.sportsforceonline.com

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Three Tips for Dealing with College Recruiting Coordinators

TIP # 1 – Understand Their Circumstances

In order to best deal with recruiting coordinators you must try and understand their frame of mind. A college recruiting coordinator is typically in their late 20s or early 30s. They are working 60 to 100 hours a week trying to manage the recruiting process and develop a successful team simultaneously. They travel 15 – 25 weeks a year and are juggling a lot of moving parts. It is important to realize that some recruiters get sometimes over 100 emails a day while receiving anywhere between 20 to 50 phone calls.

In simple terms, they are often overworked, underpaid, and constantly traveling, leaving them with a limited amount of time and attention span to interact with parents and student -athletes.

TIP # 2 – Keep it Simple

When you send an email, keep it short and to the point. Be sure to provide a clear and compelling subject line (ex. Josh Smith – 2013 – QB – 3.8 GPA – All-League with 20 TD’s). You see how that subject line is like a HEADLINE of the player to grab the attention of the recruiter. We’ve created sample email templates of what college coaches prefer to maximize our families recruiting communication efforts.

If you send them a highlight video make sure it is between three to five minutes in length; make it to the point, easy to identify yourself and quality enough video. Also, remember to always provide them with all of your contact information at the bottom of your email. Their time is precious and they’re looking for efficiency and effectiveness. You need to make it easy for them to recruit you.

TIP # 3 – Keep Them Informed

Lastly, it is really important that you keep the recruiting coordinators informed. You need to tell them when and where you’re going to be playing. For example, if you are playing in an upcoming recruiting tournament or showcase that they’re going to be traveling to, make sure that you let them know what team you’re on, what your schedule is, what position you play and what jersey number you wear. Send them an email with all this information along with a quick update on your athletic and academic status. This will improve your chances of being evaluated by them at the tournament or showcase that they’re traveling to. Most coaches have a list of players they want to see but you can improve your chances of being added to that list of prospects to evaluate.

Another thing for parents to keep in mind is periodically updating them with their son or daughter’s athletic progress. So, let’s say your child was recently named all country or all state. It is a great idea to send an email to the college recruiting coordinator saying, “Hey, you know my son John was named all state and here’s his final season statistics.” After this, provide them with a quick wrap up of some of the highlights from his season.

*For more College Recruiting Tips and specific details on our proven Step-by-Step College Recruiting and Athletic Scholarship system contact one of our college recruiting experts at 858.350.5889 or visit www.sportsforceonline.com

To get started today take advantage of our FREE 30 Day Trial.

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Are You Being Actively Recruited?

Many parents and student-athletes believe that once they receive a letter from a college coach they are being actively recruited. In reality these letters are apart of a large marketing process where college coaches send letters to hundreds and often thousands of other student-athletes and families across the country.

What does being actively recruited really mean?

Typically, being actively recruited means you are receiving PERSONAL emails or letters. It is important to realize the difference between a personal email from a coach and a mass marketed letter to thousands of students. Further, if you receive a call from a college coach after July 1^st of your junior year, you are getting actively recruited. However, if you are a football or basketball player you can receive phone calls in April and May of your junior year. Families and student athletes must realize that just getting letters in the mail does not mean you are being actively recruited.

A SportsForce Story

One of our staff members, Nate Nelson who was the college recruiting coordinator for Stanford and Princeton’s football programs and played football at University of California at Davis (NCAA) fell victim to the actively recruited myth. Nate came out of San Diego and was a very solid football player in the class of 1997. He started getting letters from colleges as a sophomore and junior and thought he was for sure going to get recruited his senior year. Suddenly, his senior football season passed and he was left with nothing. No schools interested, no opportunities, and he had to scramble to find a school that would be a good fit for him.

Nate did receive letters from UCLA and USC his sophomore and junior years but their interest fell off. Bottom line, he wasn’t on their recruiting board. He was NEVER getting actively recruited and was only getting marketed to by college programs. The school that he ended up going to was a Division 1-AA School called UC Davis. It did end up being the exact right fit for him athletically and academically. But, the stress that him and his family had to deal with because he was an unsigned senior is easily preventable.

You don’t want to fall into the same trap that thousands of families do each year during the college recruiting process.

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10 Tips for Shooting a College Recruiting Video Pt. II

Here the final 5 tips for shooting a college recruiting video.

VIDEO TIP #6: DON’T ISOLATE

Often what we hear from college coaches is that their biggest pet peeve is when a parent sends them a game or highlight video that is completely isolated on an individual player. This leaves the coach with no idea of what else is happening on the field and they will not be able to understand the flow of the game.

VIDEO TIP #7: KEEP UNDER 5 MINUTES IDEALLY

Remember you do not have much time. In three to five minutes your highlight video needs to show a coach your son or daughter’s all around ability. Ideally the highlight video needs to capture their capabilities and skill set in the first 30 seconds so that a coach will review the rest of the video and know if they are interested in your son or daughter and likely want to request a full game video.

VIDEO TIP #8: BE QUIET WHEN VIDEO TAPING

Another key thing to keep in mind when recording game video is to be quiet. We often get videos that are submitted to us by parents who are continuously loud and yelling in the background. We recommend that if you are filming you should try to find a relatively quiet location. But in the worst-case scenario, you should always get video from the best visual location and worry about the audio last. Quality video is always priority number one.

VIDEO TIP #9: LEVEL SHOT

In order to record the highest quality video don’t forget your tripod. When setting up your tripod make sure that it is level and you’re getting a good overall frame of what you’re filming. Also, make sure that you have the tripod loose enough where you can pan from left to right and follow the game effectively. Your tripod should also be placed on a flat surface. But, if you happen to be in a stadium where there are stairs or surfaces that are uneven, try to adjust the legs to make sure that you’re able to position the camera at a level angle.

VIDEO TIP #10: SHOW THE GAME

One last key component in filming game video is to try and make sure you zoom as you follow the play. For example, in a basketball game the point guard is bringing the ball up, you want to make sure that the point guard is positioned on the far left or far right of your camera framing so that you’re able to see the rest of the open court in front of the player. In other words, the point guard is in the back side of the frame and you’re leading majority of it toward where the rest of the players are and where the next play’s going to develop.

Having quality video and a recruiting highlight video has become a significant part of the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process. Your goal is to guarantee a recruiting evaluation from target college coaches and maximize your college recruiting and athletic scholarship opportunities while saving time and money by not having to travel to each college to get evaluated.

Looking to maximize your recruiting exposure, you need a professional highlight video.

Contact us to learn more about our custom highlight video packages at 858.350.5889 or visit www.sportsforceonline.com.

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10 Tips for Shooting a College Recruiting Video Pt. I

WHY IS VIDEO HELPFUL FOR COLLEGE RECRUITING?

Video has radically changed how the college recruiting process works today. Many college coaches are now requiring players to send them game or highlight video. College coaches do not have the time, budget, nor recruiting days available based on NCAA limitations to personally evaluate many players. This is why videotaping your son or daughter is a critical part of the recruiting process.

VIDEO TIP #1: GET A TRIPOD:

In terms of how to videotape your son or daughter, if you’re going to do it yourself; get a tripod. You can get an inexpensive tripod at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or almost any electronic store. Make sure you purchase a decent tripod; prices can range anywhere between $30-$50. The better the tripod, the easier videotaping will be. For example, a tripod that has a fluid head costs between $100-$200 but, will make a huge difference in the quality of video recorded.

VIDEO TIP #2: HARD DRIVE CAMERA:

Another key component with recording your own video is to get a video camera where files are shot straight to a chip or hard drive. This will greatly simplify the process because you can now simply shoot video, come home, and directly load it onto your computer where it can be reviewed and burned to disk.

VIDEO TIP #3: IMPORTANCE OF PROPER EDITING

Often it is easy for families to shoot video and get it onto a DVD. Many times the most difficult part is taking that game video or workout and actually editing it. There are many editing programs out there such as Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere. Programs such as these are very expensive and take either a class or a professional to properly utilize them. Here is a link a tutorial video we produced summarizing our video editing process.

SportsForce Recruiting Video Editing Process

If you feel you are incapable of editing your own game video, SportsForce offers a variety of Custom Edited Highlight Video Packages to help maximize your son or daughters recruiting exposure.

VIDEO TIP #4: PROPER VIDEO ANGLES

Another big thing to keep in mind when you’re videotaping your son or daughter is to make sure you are getting the right angles. Visit to our websites athlete’s section www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes and look at some sample videos in your son or daughter’s particular sport. Whether it’s football, baseball, soccer, softball or lacrosse, take note of the different angles. For example, if it’s a field sport like lacrosse, football, or soccer, the goal is to get as elevated as high as you possibly can in the stands. Try to get near the middle of the field, in other words, for football, the 50-yard line and for lacrosse and soccer, the mid-field line. Use the mid point of the field as your center and try to get as high as you can in order to shoot from an elevated angle.

VIDEO TIP #5: GET ELEVATED

If you’re not able to shoot from an elevated angle and are at ground level, make sure that you’re focused tight enough on your son or daughter but wide enough to show the sequence of plays happening else where on the field.

If you have any questions or you would like to learn more about the college recruiting process and our custom highlight video packages contact one of our college recruiting experts at 858.350.5889 or visit www.sportsforceonline.com.

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Avoid the Pitfalls of Senioritis

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.

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Article courtesy of SportsForce, Home for professional College Sports Recruiting Profiles, Highlight Videos, Tips and Tools – www.sportsforceonline.com

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Throwing a Baseball with Team SKLZ

Doug Hix of Youth Fitness Magazine shares some tips for what some think is very easy, but requires skill and attention to detail.

Throwing a baseball appears to be very simple in its nature. Just throw, right? Wrong. Throwing a baseball the right way takes proper mechanics and techniques. Just ask Bud Black. Black, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who recorded 121 wins over his 15-year career, knows a thing or two about the art of throwing a baseball. These days, Black puts his vast knowledge of the game to use as the Manager of the San Diego Padres. During the off-season, we caught up with Black for a few tips on the subject. Below, Black cites the three critical aspects of throwing a baseball.

1.Separating Hands
When you catch a baseball, the first thing to do is remove the ball from the glove, which is called separating the ball from the glove. “Start with your hands on top of the ball or your fingers on top with your thumb underneath, same with your glove arm, thumbs down,” Black says. “So you catch the ball, you separate your hands with thumbs down, fingers on top of the ball and start to make a circle.”

2. Elbow Up
According to Black, the second point of focus is ensuring that one’s elbow is above the shoulder when a throw is made. “A lot of kids who have arm trouble as they move on through baseball do so as a result of not having enough strength during childhood to get their elbow above the shoulder or it’s simply easier to not do so,” Black says. “Throwing the baseball from a low position is simply easier. It takes more work and effort to get the elbow up.”

In this instance, the involvement of a parent or coach to encourage proper mechanics can help lead to future success. “I can watch a kid 5, 6, 7, 8 years old and if they have proper separation mechanics and can get the elbow up, I say, hey they got a chance,” Black says. “If they are athletic, they have a chance to be successful at whatever level they’re competing.”

3. Stride Direction
The third critical aspect of throwing a baseball is proper stride direction. “These days, you see some young shortstops stepping towards the pitching mound and making a throw to first base across the body,” Black says. “There needs to be a stride toward where you’re throwing the ball. Stride to the person you’re playing catch with or stride toward the direction where you want the ball to be thrown.”

Black believes stride direction is an aspect that is easier to fix when kids become older, unlike the first two components. “It is critical to key in on the first two components early in a baseball player’s career,” he says. “Essentially, all three components are critical in my eyes. That is it, you can talk or instruct for hours on those three things. If you get a kid early enough you’re fine. If you have a little bit of athleticism and aptitude, then you got action.”

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