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

in this edition...  

New Articles - Campus Tour Tips, Baseball Specific Conditioning, Sports Nutrition Archives, Curveballs and the young pitcher.
 In the News - NCAA changes financial aid rules, Sport Psychology worth millions, Lacrosse beats Water Polo and Softball at the University of Miami.
Facilities- Out of the box ways to pay for that pretty new turf field you want!
Recruiting Services - Was this really worth $1,500? Depends on how you look at it.
Junior Colleges - The Rodney Dangerfield of colleges are getting some R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
NCAA Clearinghouse Alert- Important for Rising Seniors!
Summer Conditioning - Finding a program and a look at a D-I summer program.
Lacrosse and Scholarship Offers - Hardball did not land the best player on the board.
Baseball and roster reading -The local flavor seems appealing
.Links
Recommended Services

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New Articles:


Text Articles:  
NextStep Magazine Resource Center Featured Article:  
Next Step has a great college prep web site and magazine and we are fortunate enough to provide a featured article each month from them.

 This month we have a timely article on tips for taking campus tours.
  
Strength and Conditioning: Baseball conditioning with Dan Huff of Baseballstrength.com

Nutrition: Visit the Sports Nutrition Archives for over 20 articles.

Audio Interviews:

Baseball: Pitching Coach Ted Novio talks about curveballs, young pitchers and the changeup.
Listen to Ted's interview.

In The News...
 

NCAA Changes Financial Aid Rules to Help Student Athletes

Financial aid deregulation - source NCAA News Online 4/25/05

"Council members also approved two key financial aid proposals that enhance student-athlete well-being. One, Proposal No. 02-82, allows football and basketball student-athletes who receive only non-athletically related institutional aid to compete without counting in the institution's financial aid limits. The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has been emphatic in its support of this measure for two years, claiming that recruited student-athletes in football and basketball who do not receive athletically related aid should be treated the same as such student-athletes in other sports (by not counting toward team aid limits).

Opponents of the proposal have worried that it could lead to institutions with higher institutional-aid resources "stockpiling" student-athletes in basketball and football. Others, though, feel the opportunity to provide student-athletes with more flexibility regarding financial aid outweighs whatever unintended consequences might be created.

The Council took three separate votes on the measure -- one for Division I-A, one for Division I-AA and a third for Division I inclusive (for basketball). The measure failed initially in Division I-AA (6-6 deadlock) but was approved upon reconsideration. The overall Division I vote was 26.5 in favor and 20 against.

The Council supported another financial aid proposal (No. 03-23-A) that permits student-athletes in equivalency sports to receive institutional academic-based and need-based aid without it counting toward team limits. That prevents student-athletes who are offered both athletics-based and non-athletically related aid from having to turn down the latter to avoid hurting the team. The Division I SAAC has been a strong proponent of this proposal as well.

Council members also approved Proposal No. 04-21, which increases the maximum grant limitations in women's gymnastics from 12 to 14, in women's volleyball from 12 to 13, in women's soccer from 12 to 14, and in women's cross country and track from 18 to 20."

Sport Psychology - If you didn't think mental skills training made a difference, would a million dollars change your mind?  This pitcher changed his mind-set on the mound it it just might earn him a million or more! Read the Boston Globe Article.

Women's Lacrosse trumps Water Polo and Softball at University of Miami - UM is adding women's lax in 2007 as a varsity sport. Because Lax has 12 scholarships and Water Polo only 8, lax won that battle (Title 9 compliance) and since it was easier to find a field to play on, Softball was sent packing as well.   All you Lax players from MA, PA, MD, NY, VA etc...if you dreamed of going to college with Palm Trees, surf and sand, there is a good chance the Hurricanes will come North looking for their first recruiting class.(Source Athletic Business Magazine, June 2005).

Facilities...Unique ways to pay for a new field. Darren Gill, the marketing manager for Field Turf, the leader in artificial "grass like" fields sent me some cool ways people have funded new turf fields.

1) Rubber Grants- Some states, Nebraska for one, have grants that will pay for the recycled rubber tire material that goes into these fields.

2) Sell sneakers - In Pasco Washington local sales of a Nike designed "Air Pasco" - helped offset the costs of a new facility. Read full story

3) Major Donors - Gill cited a few examples of local alumni who had gone on to significant financial success after high school coming back to donate large sums of money.  You never know until you ask!

Recruiting service gets big press and a nice fee but was it necessary?
A local TV channel ran a  report recently about a local high school baseball player who used a national recruiting service to help market himself to colleges. For $1,500 this company assembled a player profile and mailed it off to several hundreds schools.
As it turns out this player was recruited by a local Division 2 school where he will be attending next year with a very nice aid package of around $28,000.  The report made it sound like the $1,500 was a great investment since he got such a large athletic scholarship.  Well, we all know how news shows shape the facts to fit the story. Lets take a closer look:

1) Division 2 baseball programs have very little scholarship money and there is no way the school gave that much, it was a total financial aid package (the college coach told this to my buddy Dave at Varsityedge.com). The coach stated that he did not want anyone to think that the baseball program could in fact give that size package.

2) The coach also said that the recruiting service had nothing to do with this players recruiting other than that they mailed him the initial profile. The coach never called the agency or had any follow-up whatsoever.  Fine, he took it from there and the player ended up with a nice college package.

What's wrong with that? Nothing really, except for the simple fact that for about $1.00 the player could have sent his own profile and references to the coach and followed up with a phone call.  Net savings: $1,499. 

The school is literally less than 50 miles from where this player lives.  It would be no problem for the coach to see him play, for the player to visit, etc.  

My question is this. If you look around at all the colleges and athletic program around you and contact them yourself, why would you pay $1,500 for someone to mail out your profile  and do very little after that (in this particular case)?  Why do that when you can pay $24.95 for the College Coaches on-line  Database of every college program in the country and use it to print your own labels and send your own emails?

Nothing against anybody involved in this - just trying to point out facts for those "Do-it Your-Selfers" out there. Bottom line is that this kid has a great opportunity at a financial discount. He took one route to that end. There can be others.

Junior Colleges - getting some respect.

Jay Mathews, a well know education columnist from the Washington Post has some interesting comments about the Junior College option.  Being that 46% of all US undergraduate students are Junior College Students, it makes sense that people play closer attention to the Junior College choice.

Read Full Article

Junior College Athletics Web Site

What Happens After Junior College - brief update from Dean College (MA)

Juniors and Seniors - NCAA Clearinghouse Alert...Juniors you need to start (if you have not done so already) to register with the Clearinghouse. Seniors, you need your final transcripts sent to the Clearinghouse before school closes for the summer. Check in with your guidance counselor and get it done.

Web Site:  www.ncaaclearinghouse.net
CORE Courses:   Look-up your classes.
 

Conditioning - Summer  Conditioning - Division I style!

A lot of people think they want a big time college sports experience.  Did you know it is basically a full-time, year round experience?  I like this article, even though it is from 2004, because it is a realistic look at what goes on in the summer for college football players...go to article...to put this in perspective, these players started in August with practice and went all the way to the end of December since they had a bowl game...I guarantee you that winter conditioning started the day these players returned from winter break. Then came spring football. Get the picture?  This is the real deal. Another good look at the summer commitment required at the big time is outlined in Bruce Feldman's Cane Mutiny, a story about the Miami Program.

These summer programs are run by the strength coach, as rules do not allow the actual coaching staff to be there. You'd better believe the strength coach reports each day to the football coach and attendance is kept. (Note: attendance at summer workouts cannot be kept by any staff member of the university, so they have the captains take attendance!)
 

Lacrosse and scholarship offers- notes from the Division I championship...I read an article in the Washington Post about Duke sophomore star Matt Danowski of Farmingdale, LI.  Danowski's father is the lax coach at Hofstra and he ended up going with Duke over his dad's team...Danowski was rated as one of the top players in the country when he was recruited and I found it interesting that given his father's position as a Division I coach and his ranking as the best player at his position, Duke was the only school that did not give him a "take it or leave" scholarship offer.  Duke told Danowski he was their #1 recruit and he had a scholarship waiting when he wanted it. The others gave him the "we have one right now if you commit, other wise we are moving on to another player" song and dance. I can almost guarantee you that had he told a school that he would "leave it"  and then come back in a month and said he changed his mind, that unless all the National Letters of Intent had been signed, the college would have gladly welcomed him back and dropped someone else. That is the way recruiting works at a lot of schools.

If you get a scholarship offer letter, read it carefully, the odds are it will say that the scholarship is conditional based on eligibility and availability. In other words this offer means there is one available now, but it might not be when you decide to give us a verbal offer.  Usually, teams will honor this. But if a school has a chance to ink a blue chipper, most will pull the rug out from other an lesser player if they have to.

Rosters - Baseball :  Local flavor is the theme - out of state or area recruiting is expensive, risky and sometimes just a matter of luck for the typical college or university.

Case in point:  SUNY Cortland (NY) - 2005 Division III National Runner Up.  Cortland State is a state school in NY that has had a good baseball program for a long time. 2005 was their best year ever finishing second nationally. The entire roster is from NY State.  Cortland is located in the middle of the New York, not far from Ithaca and Syracuse. A look at the roster will show you that the coach recruits from all over New York. Long Island, Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, etc.  But Cortland is not the type of school most kids from out of state would be attracted to just for baseball. The tuition is higher for non-residents and there are really no academic programs you can't get in your own state system for about 1/2 the price. This is typical for state schools and a lot of private schools as well.

National Division III champs Wisconsin Whitewater had all in state players and three from Illinois. Again, a state school stays very local. In some areas, small groups of states offer in state tuition to the students from each other's state.  Look into these programs when considering out of state schools and the cost of attending.

Oregon State Roster - These guys won the PAC-10 with almost all native players. Seven come from Washington state, and four come from CA and AZ.  First off, in state players are cheaper, second, there is a lot of talent very close if you want to reach out of state so they don't have far to go. Third, there are not a lot of other programs in the state to compete with at this level.  Unless you are a real difference maker, express a strong interest in attending the school from a long distance away, and or make an effort to travel to a place where the coach can scout you, then the coach would likely stick with a comparable talent close to home or in-state.

What is my point?  I frequently hear people talk about playing for colleges all over the map and if that is a realistic goal, fine, but it is not likely to happen if you sit back. You need to aggressively make yourself know to the coach so that he/she can evaluate you.  Even if a coach hears about you from 1,500 miles away (unlikely) they are leery of spending time and money on someone so far away (exceptions do occur). Now if you came for a visit, went to their camp, etc -then that changes things.  Players go to colleges far away all the time and have great careers, it happens. Sometimes it is just a matter of circumstances and networking that makes it happen, but more often than not, the athlete was proactive and reached out with an email, a phone call, a letter, and the coach took things from there.

Links :
NextStepMagazine - Life after High School, great for students and parents.
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.
Varsityedge.com - co-author of The Making of a A Student Athlete

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. 
Money4college123.com - a great financial aid management tool!
Webball.com - baseball nuts will drool over this site!
Common Application - Over 255 colleges use the common application.
TrainBoston - athlete performance and conditioning - Wellesley, MA
The Ponds - Ice and Turf facilities for youth.
Muscular Sports and Skin Therapy - athlete performance and conditioning Wakefield, MA
Athlete's Edge- athlete performance and conditioning Acton, MA

Note: There will be no July newsletter, I am taking the month off from writing. Go play, get exposure and have some fun.

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