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

in this edition...                 

New Advisor Articles- In the News -Programs on the Go - Parent Q and A - NCAA D-I, D-II, and D-III -Links - Conference Review NESCAC - The Boarding School Option- Train for Speed -- Links - Recommended Services

New Articles
Life at the Division III Level - homecoming weekend spawns a few observations
Frozen Ropes Plymouth Facility Review - baseball and softball players!
Sleep and Performance - new word, Chronobiology - hello parents of overscheduled kids!
Increasing Lean Body Mass - excerpt from The Path to  Athletic Power, Human Kinetics
Coaches Advisor - October Edition - Produced for CompusSports Media.
The Low Down on Scholarships - written for Next Step Magazine

In The News...

College Athletics would be a let down if you played at some of these schools: An interesting look at the facilities boom in high school sports and the economy behind it.
9 in 10 college students tailgate safely...I think the problems come after the game!
Div-III striving to tell its own story - a tough sell to sports fans.
Division I football Grad Rates at All-time high  57% is pretty good when compared to all-mans average and considering how the NCAA has measured this statistic.
Early Action II - the less used cousin of Early Action I, is it right for you?

Programs on the Come and Go:
Quinnipiac University (CT): building a 157,000-square-foot facility housing a basketball and hockey arena, offices, locker rooms, club and premium seating, conference and meeting rooms, storage and weight-training facilities. The center, expected to open in January 2007.
Pennsylvania State University has launched a five-year, $100 million fund-raising effort for intercollegiate athletics. The campaign will give priority to securing support for five key initiatives: endowed scholarships, coaches' endowments, improved facilities, the Morgan Academic Support Center and sports medicine.
The University of North Florida announced that it will reclassify to Division I from Division II.
City College of New York has retired its "Benny" the Beaver mascot after 70 years and introduced what school representatives are calling a "more hip, wily and attitude-spouting symbol" for the school's athletics programs. A more ferocious, tenacious image of the Beaver was introduced to students September 2.  (I share this with you in good humor!)
 

Parent Q and A Update from Billerica (MA)
I recently spoke to 18 parents at Billerica Public Library abut the recruiting process. We had some good questions. Let me share.

Q. If you look at a college roster and see that at your son/daughter's position there are several underclassmen, will a coach still recruit you? 
A: It depends on how good you are and how good they are.  Usually, in a good program the talent is solid and the coach would not stock up on mediocre talent. If they have 2-3 underclass goalies, and have urgent recruiting needs in other areas, it might be tough.  On the other hand, if the team is young and does not have an urgent area to cover, AND  the coach rates you higher than the current players, there is no reason to not recruit you.  Again, in a good program, those players are usually tough to beat out in the first year. It all depends. To summarize, the roster is a factor, but let the coach tell you what his/her recruiting needs are before you decide to think for them. You never know who is flunking, transferring, leaving the team, etc.

Q: Can college coaches take away your scholarship?
A: In your first year, after you have signed a National Letter of Intent, no. But in a few sports, Ice Hockey for example, your performance, or the recruitment of a top talent can create a scenario where a coach tells you your scholarship is being reduced for next year, (sometimes significantly) take it or leave it.  Deep programs can get away with this more than lesser programs.  Those coaches know that their success will attract players more than the fear of losing scholarship money will deter them from coming.  I have also heard stories about this is softball and baseball.  Not a whole lot, but it might happen more than I know of at this time.

Q: I have a 9th grade goalie who is showing promise. His Junior Hockey team wants his full commitment, which means  not playing high school. What would you do?
This is one of those questions that you can't answer correctly, instead you ask the family what is important to them. When you look at college rosters, few players came directly from a high school program.  Being on a Junior team gives you coaching, exposure and playing experience against top competition every game and in every practice.  If you want to "go for it" in hockey and are not a phenom who can just step on the ice and excel, then a  year round commitment might be the answer and that often means Jr. Hockey. Of course Jr. teams want your money and they want to win, winning  begets new players who beget more money to fund the program and so on. 
   If you are good enough, the Jr.  teams will allow you to play high school and then jump on board the team when the HS season is over, especially if you can put the puck in the net or stop the puck!  Like money and beauty in this country, extreme talent can often be the means to getting what you need!
   There as so many "BUT IFS" to this question that there is no single way to answer it. Depends on so many factors, some out of your control, some not.  I always think it is best to leave doors open if you can, but at the same time - if you dream is to be a great hockey player, you do have to make some sacrifices in pursuit of that dream.
For more discussion on this topic visit - The Multi Sport Dilemma.

NCAA Division I, II and III - How do they differ?
Many players and parents are often blinded by the marquee of Division I. Call it obsession with recouping your investment in time and money, striving for the best of the best, or just ignorance, but too many people take the all or nothing D-I approach in the recruiting process when they would have been happier and more successful at a lower division program.
     A few basics about the Divisions:

1) Each level has Great, Average, and Bad Programs - a lot of Division III teams can beat some Division II and I teams. It happens every year in a lot of sports (football not being one of them).  In general, the best of each division would beat everyone below them, quite easily actually. But don't judge a program's quality by the NCAA classification. Dig deeper!
The sport and area of the country often influence the competitive level of the program.  Baseball in the south and softball in the west and mid-west are loaded with Division II programs that can hold their own with most D-I teams.
  Parity is becoming more common at all levels, mostly due more to an increase in talent and athletic ability on these teams. Kenyon College has won 25 consecutive NCAA men's Division III swimming championships.  They have some great swimmers, a few who could compete at Division I power programs. The difference between Kenyon and Division I power Stanford is big, especially in terms of depth. But Kenyon has some swimmers who could score for Stanford. 

2) Scholarships - not all Division I or II programs have a lot of scholarship money to offer. Often, students find better grant and aid packages at Division III schools than they do athletic aid at D-I and D-II schools.

3) Playing time and player development - you only get better by competing and playing. Sitting on the bench is the worst thing you can do.  If you are good enough to be scouted by a professional team, it matters not where you went to college - although you do have to keep proving yourself  more than the D-I athlete. 

4) Facilities - while most big time 1-A programs have spectacular facilities, competitive programs at all divisions have and continue to build A+ training facilities.  Sure the weight room might be 4,000 sq ft instead of 12,000 - but they are well furnished, and more than ample for each school's needs.

5) Number of teams - surprisingly to some, many of the large sports powerhouses have relatively few sports . Division III schools usually have 12-16 teams per gender. Harvard University of the Ivy League fields over 40 men's and women's teams.  Division III stresses sport participation over revenue production in many cases.

Officially, what is the difference between each NCAA classification?

Division I - scholarship programs, minimum academic standards, stadium, scholarship and attendance requirements for some sports, 5 official visits allowed, National Letter of Intent is in place for scholarship.
Division II - scholarship programs (less available compared to D-I), minimum academic standards, 5 official visits allowed, National Letter of Intent is in place for scholarships.
Division III - no scholarships, each school sets academic standards, no official visits,

Visit the NCAA Web site for more information.

NESCAC Conference: A close look at financial side one of the most academically selective and athletically outstanding Division III conferences in the country. The New England Small College Athletic Conference. 

Name: New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
League Web Site: www.nescac.com
Classification: NCAA Division III - no athletic scholarships
Member Schools:
Amherst | Bates | Bowdoin | Colby | Connecticut College | Hamilton | Middlebury | Trinity | Tufts | Wesleyan | Williams

Summary:  Some would consider the NESCAC a "Little Ivy" League in that the member schools are consistently ranked as some of the top private liberal arts schools in the country by US News and World Report.  Williams and Amherst are usually in the top 3 of that report and most members are in the Top 25.
    All schools are very selective and have high admissions criteria. The upside is that all are well endowed (Williams has a 1.2 Billion endowment!) and a high percentage of applicants qualify for and receive generous financial aid packages (see above), often times better than what might be received as scholarship money at a D-I or D-II school.
    
Athletics:  NESCAC schools stress participation opportunities and usually field 12-15 teams or more per gender.  Compared to the 5-6 at big time D-I programs and you can see the emphasis.  All teams do get a set number of "preferred admissions" spots (like most schools), but these are very limited and you still need to be a very good student.
   Dominant is one way to describe NESCAC schools lately, both men and women. Middlebury just won the national championship in Men's and Women's ice hockey. Williams College Men's basketball was '03 National Champion and the '04 runner-up. Bowdoin College Women's hoops was the '04 runner up.  Trinity Baseball went to the D-3 World Series, Amherst ladies lax won the 2003 NCAA title by beating conference foe Middlebury.  And there were many more highlights.

General:  All schools are small, rarely over 2,000 students and Tufts is the only "University" in the league. Typically the campuses are beautiful, sprawling, classic expanses with well cared for grounds and historic campus structures.  Hamilton College (NY) has 1,200 acres for it's roughly 1,800 students, and Middlebury (VT) has a 225 acres main campus plus 4,000 acres of surrounding woodlands.
     The professional alumni network is very strong, especially in the New England and Northeast areas. Boston, New York, Philly, Hartford and DC are all very well represented with alumni from these schools as is Chicago. Students choosing to attend graduate school are usually successful in getting into one of their top choices.
 
Recruiting Tip: 
   NESCAC coaches are not allowed to recruit off campus, so most of what they do is by phone, email, and mail, plus attending camps and showcases. They are not allowed any in-home visits. 
     Contact coaches first with a letter of via the on-line SA form via the Sports home page at the school and  give an accurate report of your grades, class rank and SAT/ACT test scores to date. This will determine if they can recruit you or not. You will usually be encouraged to apply early by the coach. 

Boarding Schools - Just for kicks I put together a sample of boarding school options located in just one state (MA) with a link to the school's athletic web site, location and number of sports they offer. All are expensive, but, a lot of them offer very attractive aid packages, especially if you are an excellent athlete with need or a minority applicant.  There are numerous reasons to go to a boarding school or to do a post grad year. We talk about them in depth in The Making of A Student Athlete.  If you are considering this option, treat it just like a college search.

Source: Boardingschoolreview.com

Want college coaches to fall in love with you?  Get Faster!
TrainBoston, a high level athletic conditioning, performance and rehabilitation center in Wellesley MA, offers numerous training programs for all people, but if you are a scholarship or college minded student athlete, this is as good a place as any to tune your body for competition.
  Brendan O'Neil is a TrainBoston trainer and former college soccer player at Saint Anslem's College(NH).  The Advisor spoke with Brendan at length about training for speed and more importantly, preparing to train for speed.
 
Q: Is training for speed as simple as running a lot of sprints that match the normal sprint you do in your sport?
A: That is a small part of it, yes, but at TrainBoston, we take a more comprehensive approach to speed training.  We evaluate all TrainBoston athletes in bio mechanics and functional mechanics to look for deficiencies and flaws before training.  Once identified, we work on those weaknesses before going into more intense sprint training and sprint progressions.

Q: What do you mean by bio mechanics and functional mechanics?
A: There is an optimal form for running, just like there is an ideal form for shooting a ball.  A lot of kids look fast, but they are just moving their body parts a million miles and hour in all the wrong directions.  Both upper and lower body drills are used to teach proper sprinting form. This alone leads to increases in speed before we actually train for speed.
    Functional mechanics is really about functional strength, especially in the foot, ankle, knee and hips.  Kids today have terrible flexibility in the hip flexors and hamstrings, two very important speed muscle groups.  We work on those limiting factors in a series of exercises that start out relatively simple. Also, the bodies Core, or midsection and lower back muscles are vital to speed and controlling speed in a competitive atmosphere.

Q: What do you mean 'controlling speed"?
A: In soccer, you might be an incredibly fast player but you can't slow down when you arrive to defend a man on the ball and you end up running into them, kicking wildly and being penalized.  If the offense moves  the ball as you persue  it is your core strength that enables you to change direction, settle and react. Without it you are wild.

Q: How much faster do your athlete's get when they train at TrainBoston?
A: The summer session is when we usually do pre and post testing and I can say that we have had athletes improve 1 second, which is huge. Now not everyone will have those results, especially if you come to us as a fast athlete. But in our program you will get faster, decrease the chance of injury, have more speed stamina, and improve things like change of direction speed and acceleration. All of those are key in competition.

Q: All things being equal, does speed in soccer make you a more desirable recruit to college coaches?
A: Yes, and if you combine it with size, even better. A 6 ft player who runs a 4.5 40 is going to be a head turner. Even if you are not tactically the best player, a coach will figure he or she can coach you and utilize that speed. Unfortunately I think a  lot of great tactical players with average speed get overlooked.

For more information about TrainBoston programs call 781-263-9993  Thanks Brendan, I am sure we will be hearing from you soon.. 

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.

Next Month -Comprehensive Recruiting Dictionary. another conference analysis, more training tips from Train Boston.,

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