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December  2004 – Athlete’s Advisor Newsletter :
Resources for College Bound Student Athletes and those that support them

in this edition...                 

- New Articles
- Programs on the come and go - a few more
- Success in the recruiting process - it's working!
 - College Coach Interview: Amazing Cross Country Coach
 - Lacrosse: Growing Quickly
- Opinion on Sport Specialization - college coach speaks out
- Scholarship Scams - from NextStep Magazine
- Can class rank hurt your Ivy League athletic chances? - yup!
- League Profile: The Patriot League
- List of top colleges this fall - what school were the best in their class this fall?
 -High School Coaches Helper: Easy-recruiter.com
-  Links
 - Recommended Services


 

New Articles
Nancy Clark Nutrition: Holiday Junk Food Eating
Conversation with Connor Brooks - Red Sox minor league pitcher

Programs on the Come and Go:
St Leo University (FL, D-II) is adding men's LACROSSE and women's SWIMMING  effective 2005-06...Mankato State (MN) is adding women's BOWLING...Millersville State (PA, D-II) is building  new athletic complex with an artificial turf field, new track and baseball field...New Jersey City University launched its new Web site -- www.njcugothicknights.com  ...LaGrange College (GA) is adding FOOTBALL (2006) and will be the first and only D-III program in the state...Becker College (MA, D-III) is adding Football in 2005 and has plans to expand into more sports and build numerous athletic facilities

Success in the recruiting process: It Does Happen!
I admit it, once in a while I like to toot my own horn, but this just makes it easier. Families having success in their recruiting process and thanking us for the books help.  Here is one that came in recently:

Hi Dave and Ray -

 First of all I would like to thank you for the candid wonderful book you  wrote  for all the Student Athletes. We would not have had the knowledge  necessary to  make the final decision without it. It has been like a bible for us these  last  few months.

I told you I would follow up and let you know the results of  Michaels choice. You can go to:

http://lssulakers.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/111104aaa.html

 We found the perfect fit. Not the one we thought it would be. Michael will be  the Big Fish in the Little Pond but I really believe it fits him well and he  gets a 5 year, $70,000 scholarship and a verbal commitment from the  university  that he will keep it even if he gets injured.

The coach told us that they give 5 years because they feel the demands on the SA  are so great that it takes 5 years to graduate. Again I would like to  thank  you very much. I will be recommending your book to anyone in our position that will listen.

 Thanks
 Mike Kanoza

Mike and Michael, best of luck to you - we think you made a great decision.

Click here for more testimonials

Sales for both Baseball: Playing Outside the Lines and The Making of a Student Athlete. have recently come from: the following cities...welcome to the family!

Coach Interview: Wartburg College Track and Cross Country Coach
(There are lesson in here for you non runners as well!)

I almost fell out of my chair when Wartburg College (currently 12th in the Directors Cup Rankings) Coach Steve Johnson told me he puts 5,000 miles a year on his car recruiting- going to meets, visiting schools, doing in home visits!  Not what I expected from a small college, non-revenue sport coach. But then again, anyone who coached both the NCAA Champion Men's and Women's individual champion in the same year most likely does not run a your typical program. I caught up with the busy coach to pick his brain a little for you.

Johnson has been the coach at Wartburg for 16 seasons and won 15 Iowa conference titles with dual men's and women's titles in '94, '98, '01, '02 and '04.  This year he coached the first ever men's and women's individual NCAA Division III champion from the same school in Missy Buttry and Josh Moen.  How does he do it? 

"I only recruit in about a 3 state area, as Wartburg is a regional school, very well known and respected in this part of country, but not a school that attracts or recruits too far away for students in general.  So, I know the area well, know a lot of coaches, know which meets to go to, etc.  But I like to see an athlete run, sometimes they just have a look Iike, can't always say why, they just do. For example, when I saw Missy run in high school, there was just something about her! I had this feeling that she could be a special runner. (as the first ever 3 time NCAA champion, he was right!)"

"I have to look for kids who have grades, as Wartburg is selective, running potential and  the desire to be something great.  The big schools will go after the 9:10 two mile kids who can step in and score for them right away.  I need to find the 9:40-9:50 two mile kid who has the desire to become a 9:10 or better two miler. In fact, when the 9:40-9:50 kids go to the big schools, I don't know if they develop as well as the could at a smaller school where they are training with similar athletes.  When you run 9:40 and everyone else is a 9:10, how much focus is really going to be placed on your development? Not sure for certain, but I know that with us, you are the focus of our attention. Moen was that way when he came here."

"I can tell a lot by asking a few questions - and this is often how I decide if I want a particular athlete on our team. I might ask, "What do you hope to get out of running?" or "what do you hope to achieve in college running?"  If they say, "Make friends, have a good experience, etc" it leaves me to doubt if they will put in the kind of work that the best have to put in. Really I do nothing other than post workouts and talk to my kids. They do the work, it really is amazing how hard they work."

"Now, if I ask that question and they say something like 'I want to be All-American or The NCAA Champion, or the best in the conference,' then I know I want them with us."

To his credit, Johnson accepts little credit for the success of his team. But some credit is due a coach who has developed runners who have reached their potential, or are at least heading in that direction. He tries to maintain a fun environment and allow as many athletes as possible to be part of the team. In fact he had 18 freshmen runners this year, 17 of whom qualified for academic merit scholarship awards.

Lacrosse - growing quickly, where is it all headed.

Tournaments Listed on LaxPower.com.  This game is growing nationwide, especially as Northeast transplants start to establish the game in the rest of the country.  The NCAA is already considering a recruiting calendar for lacrosse, a sure sign that the game is growing and the coaches are looking for some structure to the recruiting scene.

Why so popular?  Well as one coach said to me -"What would an 8 year old rather do?  Stand in the outfield waiting for a ball to come his way, or carry a stick, chase a ball and run into people?"

As the game gets more popular, more athletes will play year round, making it harder and harder to make college rosters, which in turn increase the importance of ClubTeams - who will usually ask for   a year round commitment (or close to it).  Camps, clinics, showcase tournaments and year round training centers will flourish (at least in New England to start).

Much like any sport, college coaches want to see you play in person against the best competition.  In The Making of a Student Athlete we chronicled the summer of a girl who played Lacrosse and wanted to play in college. She went to two major college camps, played in 5 major showcase tournaments (all over the country) and was in a local league to top it all off.  I am surprised she did not turn into a lacrosse stick. But when you compare it to what some soccer, baseball, hockey and basketball players are doing, it does not seem extreme?  Some would say, this is just the way things are. If you can't afford it, too bad, life is not fair. 

I don't really like the answer myself.  Families should not be made to think that they can't achieve their goals because they do not have $6,000 to spend on summer sports. 

What are your thoughts on this topic?
 

More on the sport specialization front...a college coach's opinion
On this topic, I was discussing the recent proliferation of indoor baseball training centers in Eastern MA/Great Boston with a friend who coaches college baseball. I asked him what he thought of them, are they changing the quality of play, is there a market for them?  Interesting observation on his part:

I would agree with you that they are NOT producing more great players than ever.  I think the great ones are reaching their potential earlier and are becoming better, but I think that the mediocre ones are merely reaching their ceilings and not raising them too much.  My question to you would be...do you think that these centers are taking away from the opportunity for these kids to become BETTER athletes?  Are they feeling the pressure to spend all year playing baseball rather than becoming a more well-rounded
athlete?  I've thought a lot about that and I often wonder if there are many more parents willing to pay an extraordinary amount of $ for these private lessons, because they feel that with the rising prices of college these days, it is worth the risk to drop a couple thousand bucks into their kids at a young age, with the hopes of them possibly earning an athletic scholarship.  Anyways...to answer your question...yes, I do believe that
there is enough business out there, BUT...I often question the motives behind these kids signing up for all of the lessons.  Perhaps its more the parents than the kids.  I've spoken to a number of kids as of late, who tell me that their parents won't let them play football, or hockey or basketball, because they want them to "concentrate" on baseball.  For some that's great...but for most that's taking away from them becoming a COMPLETE
ATHLETE!!!

Watch Out for Scholarship Scams - From NextStep Magazine
Janis Timian offers some good tips on watching your back when looking for money to pay for college.  Things to beware of!
1) Beware of any scholarship that requires and application fee. This is typically the first sign of a scam.
2) Beware if the scholarship service implies it will submit applications or essay for you. Applying students have to submit their own apps and write their own essays.
3) A promise that states that a service can  get you aid that you could not get on your own. You can do a lot of searching on your won (see links at bottom of newsletter).
4) Watch out for phrases like these:
 "Guaranteed or your money back."
  "You can't get this information anywhere else."
  "We'll do all the work"
  "You've been selected by a national foundation to receive a scholarship." (if you never applied for it!)
5) A legitimate scholarship never asks "May I have your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship?"

NOTE: Every dollars helps in this process, but be aware of who you send your personal information to,  and do not give out your parents financial information unless they have approved who you are sending it and why!
 

Does your school use class rankings?  It might hurt your Ivy League acceptance chances!
The Ivy League incorporates a system to control the academic quality and quantity of student athletes that are recruited each year.  This system is called the Academic Index and every student at the school, not just athletes, is assigned one based on a formula that uses class rank, GPA, and SAT or ACT. 

Each Ivy League school generates an average academic index score for the entire student body and uses that score as the center point for recruiting.  The statistical variable known as a standard deviation is used as a guide for how much off the school mean a coach can recruit a PSA.

For example,  suppose that the mean AI is 200, and the standard deviation is 13. A given  team may be able to recruit 1 or 2 players who are up to 1.5 standard deviations below the average (AI of 181-187, 3-5 players who are up to 1 standard deviation away from the norm (AI of 188-199), 2-4 players who are at the norm (200-212) and 1-2 who are above the norm AI (213+).  Confused? Wait it gets more complex.

Talent factors into this equation as well.  To be in that group which is 1.5 standard deviations away from the norm, you need to be a tremendous talent – an impact player, a player that is being offered by scholarship schools.  A coach might recruit you if you are in that second group of 3-5 players, but not in the first group of 1-2 (because you are not a good enough player in his/her mind).  Maybe you only need 1 or 2 AI points to move up a group.  A 10 point increase on the SAT will get you one point on the AI, this could mean the difference between getting a Likely Letter (basically a promise that you are accepted before you even apply) and not getting in! 

What a lot of people don’t realize is that students with high GPA’s in high schools which do not use class rank, typically outscore peers with the same GPA but whose high school uses class rank (because of how the AI formula works).  Ivy League coaches, who must recruit in a complex world of Academic Indexes correlated with athletic ability, usually sleep a bit easier when they know a prospect’s school does not use class rank.

Basically, attending a school that does not use class rank can bump you up about 10 AI points across the board.  This difference does not just help those who fall outside of the 1.5 standard deviation level, but it also helps those who are within that range, but are not considered talented enough to be recruited by the school unless they are in the 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th group.  It helps everyone.

What am I saying?  At this date in time, if you are Ivy League minded, it pays to attend a school that does not use class rank.  You can do whatever you want with that information; I am just trying to inform you.

The Patriot League:  A group of small, mostly private selective schools from PA, NY, MA, and MD that play NCAA Division I athletics and Division I-AA football. Known for great academics, this league also produces some great athletic teams in numerous sports, including wrestling, football, hockey and lacrosse to name a few.
   The Patriot League, which was founded on the principles of admitting athletes who are academically representative of their class. The League's full-member institutions, individually and collectively, consistently rank among the top Division I programs in the NCAA Graduation Rates Report (www.patriotleague.com)
   The league sponsors 23 sports, 11 men's and 12 women's.
 

More Lists, More Lists - For those of you wondering  which college is the right one for you perhaps you should start looking at lists of teams which did well this year in the sport you play. I have put a few out here for you: Field Hockey, Football, and Women's Soccer, but all the sports and teams can be found online at the NCAA Championship Web Site

Field Hockey - Who was hot this year in Division I, II and III

Football - Everyone knows who the big dogs are in D-I, what about D-II and D-III.  Playoff Finaists are in red.
 

Women's Division III Soccer

Interesting Site For High School Coaches:  www.easy-recruiter.com  This is really a cool site for high school coaches to organize the recruiting efforts for their juniors and seniors. It allows a coach to log into into the site and enter a complete profile and dossier on a player. They can then print the report or even better, select schools to email the data to. For example if you have 2 players who might be a good fit at a certain college, you send the college those two players.

I was at a high school football game with two college coaches and both of them were complain about how often high school coaches do not return phone calls. With this, you don't have to call, you just shoot an email. 

I wrote a big article on this for Coaches Advisor December Edition for CompusSports

Links -
Choosing a College Savings Plan - summarizes and compares State 529 Plans, 529 Prepaid Plans, Independent 529 Plans, Coverdell  Education Savings Accounts, and more
Independent529plan.org - a complete site dedicated to the Ind. 529 plan - private schools
NCAA.com now links to www.ncaasports.com
NCAA.org  is their official business site - rules, publications, etc. Let's hope they make that site a little user friendly as well.
Campus Dirt - where college students tell you how they really feel! Need to register but it is free.
NextStepMagazine - Life after High School, great for students and parents.


Recommended Services and Tools
College Coaches On-line - Directory of all college coaches, 20,000 plus NCAA and NAIA. a must have to start your proactive college search. 
Collegiate Choice Walking Tours - an inexpensive way to see a campus!
estudentloan.com - the Lending Tree of student loans- comparison tool.
webball.com - baseball nuts will drool over this site!
Common Application - Over 255 colleges use the common application.
TrainBoston - athlete performance and conditioning

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