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February 2005 – Athlete’s Advisor Newsletter
Resources for College Bound Student Athletes and those that support them!

in this edition...  

New Articles  - lots of good ones this month - including Next Step Magazine partnership
In the News    
Programs on the Come and Go    
What the heck is Grinnell Ball? - Answer nothing Dean Smith invented
Calculate Your Ivy League Academic Index - My AI is better than yours!
Football, American Football and my Dentist's Son...- Success is always around the corner
National Letter of Intent- read between the lines - And hope admissions accepts you
Mail Bag - senior hoopster looks for advice
Summer Playing Plans - where are the college coaches?
Financial Aid, FASFA and Athletes - excellent interview from VarsityEdge.com
Off-season Conditioning in College - chains on the door and garbage bins are not a good sign!|
NCAA Clearinghouse Changes
New Feature of Athletes Advisor
Links
Recommended Services

Don't forget to forward this to a friend!  Did you miss last months newsletter?

Upcoming Appearances by Athlete's Advisor - Come Join Us
-Acton-Boxborough High School, Acton MA
   Monday March 21st, 2005 Time TBA (evening)
   Directions to School

- 2005 MASCA Conference, Hyannis MA
    Monday May 1 at  8:10 AM
    Tuesday May 2 at  1:10 PM

New Articles
The Athlete's Advisor is pleased to announce a partnership with Next Step Magazine, a leading magazine and web site for life after high school.  The Athlete's Advisor will be providing content for NextStep's pending Student Athlete Resource Center and NextStep is powering a section on Athlete's Advisor dedicated to financial aid and admissions resources. The new financial aid articles are:

Get involved and get rewarded
Your volunteering efforts can translate into scholarship money

College Costs
Don’t be surprised by college costs!

Debt can drain you
This experienced bankruptcy judge gives you tips on staying out of debt!

Filling out the FAFSA
This free application is be your ticket to scholarships, grants and loans for college.

In addition, we have added a new feature each month on Athletic/performance Nutrition from Kevin Brochu, CSCS of CATZ SPORTS.  Read Kevin's articles:

To Juice or Not to Juice by Kevin Brochu
Stress and the Young Athlete by Kevin Brochu
Dealing with Sports Injuries: Should you go to the doctor or just “walk it off”? by Kevin Brochu

Coaches Advisor - February 2005 on the CompuSports Network

In The News...
Custom weather...What weather website is the most accurate predictor of precipitation and has the least "false alarms? With the spring sports season starting soon it might pay to find out!  GO

NCAA News...Lewis University (D-II) hit hard with NCAA Sanctions

The Ethics of Football Recruiting and More Discussed in this interesting piece about the power and abuse of power, by coaches in the recruiting process. Read on...

More and more colleges demanding students be covered with health insurance. Read more at Yahoo news

College Programs on the Come and Go...Virginia Wesleyan College is sponsoring men's and women's track and field beginning this year, boosting its total of varsity sports to 19...Macalester College announced December 14 that it is canceling the remainder of its 2004-05 women's basketball schedule...The NCAA Division II Committee on Infractions has placed Lincoln University (Missouri) on probation for four years, limited its football financial aid, recruiting and transfers, and adopted institutional forfeitures of competitions and records in several sports...

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! *Denotes a town I have actually been to!

What the Heck is Grinnell Ball?
Grinnell College is a small, private, liberal arts school in Iowa. They used to lose all the time in basketball. Until their coach, Dave Arsenault, decided to change the "unofficial" rules of how basketball was played.  Now they win more than they lose, take at least 100 shots per game, rotate 15-18 players, full court press and trap all game and do not have one person who plays more than 20 minutes per game. Alas, it does not always work as Grinnell is 4-13 so far this season

D3hoops.com's Mark Simon's recent article lays it all out of you in great detail. recent article . 

It seems that the System, which was recently showcased in an ESPN game is catching on with other teams that are usually short on talent, but long on players, hustle and shooters. Look at the top 5 scoring teams in the country in D-III:
 
Team                        PPG          W/L
  Redlands, CA                        140.1      10-6
  Grinnell, IA                             110.9       4-13
  Westminster, PA                    109.2      13-6
  Puget Sound, WA                   99.3       13-3
 Marietta, OH                             99.1        2-17  

Recruiting note:  I find it hard to believe that you would apply to one of these schools and try to walk-on the team without knowing that they play 100/94/40 - or 100 MPH, 94 feet for all 40 minutes, but in case you don't, always check in with the coach as soon as you arrive on campus. You might have some running to do.

 IVY League - I didn't know AI was an Ivy Man!?... If you have not read the Advisor's comments about the Academic Index in previous newsletters ( 1, 2) then you might think that AI stands for Allen Iverson. It is true that AI the "balla" went to a very good school in Georgetown, but this AI applies only to the Ivy Leagues. 

Advisor found a web site that allows you to calculate your Academic Index. Ivy League minded folks click here!

Football, American Football and my Dentist's Son...
Soccer and Football folks have never really bothered to spend much time with each other. You know...  learn the others sport, hangout and discuss the respective nuances of  their games while breaking bread. But maybe they should.  The Advisor has been spending far too much time  at the offices of Dr Barbara Hauschka, DMD (in all seriousness, she and her colleague Dr Goldberg have been amazing and I would recommend them to anyone in the Boston area).  Turns out Dr. Barbara's youngest son decided to take up football at Middlebury College as a sophomore. In this first year playing football, Hauschka was named second team All-NESCAC as both a kicker and a punter.  A life long soccer player, this athlete has found a home on the football team.

The point of this story is Transferable Skills....soccer players often make valuable additions to college football teams...strong runners have been known to make an immediate impact on a college crew team...hockey players are often tremendous hitters (baseball or softball) because of their eye-hand coordination...even at the college level, an athlete can re-invent themselves in another sport...jumping go hand and hand in basketball and volleyball. Get cut from he basketball team? Go speak with the volleyball coach...don't give up, keep your options open.

National Letter of Intent: Are you in the free and clear when you sign one?
No, you are not guaranteed that scholarship. Many people misunderstand this and the NLI does not have any language about this. First, if you fail to meet the NCAA's minimum standards or Initial Eligibility Requirements then you cannot play and that school.  Remember one thing though, admissions can be an arbitrary game - why one candidate is rejected and another accepted is often not an empirically based decision. So, if a school over-recruits, lands more of the players they wanted than expected, one or two of the lower ranking kids might be shocked when a coach tells them, sorry, admissions did not take you.  Scary thought - especially since all along, coaches are careful about not recruiting kids who can't make the cut.  All of a sudden they find out admission does not think they are worth of admissions?  Not really.  The team is making a business decision - one with a major impact on a young person's life and a major breech of trust. Buyer beware!
Educate yourself about the NLI at www.national-letter.org

A reminder of NLI signing dates:

Mail Bag...

I am a Senior and want to play basketball in college. My coach at school feels I can play at that level. I am a starting point guard for our schools girls basketball team.  Is it too late and what do I need to do at this point to get in to college. I have a 3.5 GPA however I have not done well on the ACT and SATS I have just taken the ACTS again. What options do I have? Thank you for any info you can give me

I get these types of question a lot and unfortunately they are missing a little information so it is hard to give a 100% answer, but we'll give it a shot. The first advice, and this is a little late (but good for Junior and Sophomore parents and students) is to start the process earlier if you can.  Right now, in February, the majority of college coaches have narrowed down their recruiting needs, has already spent their money, already gotten their top prospects to apply early decision, etc. But, there will still be coaches looking for players now and for the rest of the year.  Why is this.

1) Coach did not land the players he/she hope to and are still looking for specific position players if they can.
2) Current player quit the team or flunked out during the season, giving them another slot to fill.
3) Admissions did not admit the players they had hope to get, leaving them with potential holes to fill if they can find qualified players.

The solution is five fold:
1) Get a good video showing highlights and some extended play footage.
2) Create a full academic and athletic resume with all your pertinent contact and biographical information.
3) Ask your coach what level college player he/she feels you would be the most competitive at and to name some schools.
4) Get your coach(s) to write a letter of reference.
5) Start calling the coaches at these schools. Ask your HS coach to call the coaches he knows as well.  Find out what their needs are, if they are still recruiting and if what their recruiting needs will be for next year. This leads into the next statement...
 - Consider Junior College if you have such a late start and feel you might be force into making a hasty decision. Junior Colleges can get you the exposure you need and give proof of your competitive ability. JC coaches usually have great contacts with four year schools and part of their job is to help you move on.  By asking colleges what their needs will be a year from now gives you a head start in knowing who to call once you are ready to start the college search process from Junior College. Make sure all those coaches know where you are playing!
   On my flight this weekend from FL, I watched "All the Right Moves" staring a very young Tom Cruise.  Late in the movie Cruise realizes that all those dreams of college football are slipping away as no one is calling him back with the scholarship offers they had before he was kicked off the team for defying the coach. Finally in desperation, he picks up the phone and starts calling every coach he has ever spoken to and asks for a scholarship.  While you are not desperate, the character played by Cruise did the right thing, he called the coaches.  Be proactive and definitely ask your coach for as much help as possible. 
 

Summer Playing Plans. Where do coaches go?
 Summer is the time for AAU, travel teams, club soccer and lacrosse, showcases and showcase tournaments. Where do college coaches go to find players in the summer? All over the place, but you will usually find a lot of them at...
1) Summer Camps- both their own schools camps plus private camps they work for and those of other colleges they work at (usually not a competing school).
1a) Their Own Camps - the perfect way to evaluate talent, coach them!
2) State Summer Olympics - Bay State Games (MA), Empire State Games (NY), Sunshine State Games (FL), The Games of Texas, etc. 
3) Showcases and Showcase Tournaments - baseball, soccer, softball, and lacrosse, are the major showcase sports and there are dedicated showcases and major tournaments all over the country.
4) State and National Championship Tournaments - in baseball, the annual American Legion National Tournament draws a lot of pro and college scouts. Other sports with a similar format would do the same.
5) Combines: Football is a big sport in this area. The Nike Combines usually happen in the spring and are hosted by large colleges around the country. Rivals.com and Nike run these testing combines and they go a long way on creating "Buzz" around athletes.  The real beneficiaries are the kids nobody knew of from a small school or isolated region who arrives on the scene and blows the comp out of the water. Other combines exist, usually more with a more local focus and we will look for these events to include in future newsletters.

 Financial Aid, EFC and athletic scholarships...the real story.

Dave Galehouse, my co-author in the Making of A Student Athlete just posted an excellent interview with a financial aid office on the the financial aid process for student-athletes and how it relates to college coaches and the recruiting process. Read all about it!

College "Off season" Conditioning - What is the commitment to play college ball like? 

It is hard to find a single coach at any level who is not a fan of a good strength and conditioning program.  At the high school level school based programs vary in size, intensity and sophistication. For example, I have read articles about some Texas high schools that have 14,000 Sq Ft weight room and training facilities and a full time certified strength and conditioning coach to custom design programs.  This is certainly not the norm. There are many colleges that do not have such facilities or employ a full time strength coach. 

The one thing you will find at most colleges is a mandatory off-season conditioning program, the level of which needs to be researched carefully if you are concerned with your off-season involvement.  For those of you who are unaware of what goes on in the off season on many a college campus, the link at the bottom of this section will clue you in.

At the high school level there has been a rapid increase in the number of business offering dedicated strength and conditioning programs and facilities that target the high school and pre-high school market. I have listed some of them in the Mass area at http://www.athletesadvisor.com/facilities/index.htm#strength.

More and more athletes are finding high level athletic conditioning necessary to stay competitive or break through to a higher level of play.  The options of which program is best might be confusing but these tips will help:

Consumer Points when shopping for strength and conditioning programs:
   Strength and conditioning centers and programs focusing on the youth market are becoming more and more popular.  Like in any growing industry, there will be leaders and there will be inferior offerings. As a consumer, make sure you look into the following when considering the options:
 - Staff and staff ratio- The experience of the staff and the staff to athlete ration is important. 
-  The facility does not make the program - results and consumer satisfaction do.  Ask for some references to call.
- Education - As a general rule, we recommend programs run by degreed professionals and certifications held by staff from National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA  the) or American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in particular. Also look for CSCS after a trainers name as that is awarded by the NSCA.
 - Innovative and educational - training does not involve just weight lifting, in fact it very seldom does these days, especially with the way training has shifted to an emphasis on sport specific and functional style training.  A good program will educate an athlete about the process and why what they are doing will improve their athletic performance.
- Pre-testing - prior to training your child, a quality trainer or facility will test them for any lingering injuries or  bio-mechanical dysfunction, correct the problem first, then get on with safe and productive training.

The conditioning of an athlete is extremely important for performance enhancement and injury prevention.  It might pay to replace a portion of time spent playing a sport with a professional strength and conditioning program that will actually help improve skill level more than an extra league or travel team will. Just my opinion, but a lot of folks agree.

Ivan Maisel story on ESPN about the new Winter Conditioning Program at the University of Florida.

Changes to NCAA Clearinghouse. From the NCAA News Online.

* Fee increase. Beginning September 1, the Clearinghouse registration fee will increase to $32 (starting with the class of 2006). The registration fee for the past three years has been $30

* Elimination of voice response unit. The Clearinghouse currently offers callers the opportunity to receive certification information through a toll-free voice response unit (VRU). That change will be effective May 1.

*Prospects who elect to have all communications from the Clearinghouse sent via e-mail will not receive a paper copy of the preliminary or final reports. Rather, they will receive instruction regarding how to access the information via the Internet.

*Also effective March 1, the Clearinghouse will remove computer science courses from all high schools' lists of NCAA-approved core courses, since computer science courses may no longer be used as core courses unless the courses receive mathematics or natural/physical science credit toward high-school graduation.

New and Growing Feature on Athletesadvisor.com - Facility Listings
www.athletesadvisor.com/facilities

This new page is attempting to list out all the quality places young athletes play their sport and train.  Please forward your facility to us and we will list it.  In the first month we have focused on Baseball and Strength and Conditioning Facilities but we plan on adding as many as possible regardless of sport.  Please help us out and send the name of the facility and the web address.
Submit your facility.
 

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!
At First Glance - a sports marketing company that really goes to work for you.
Common Application - Over 255 colleges use the common application.
TrainBoston - athlete performance and conditioning

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