New Recruiting Information Site

We have created a new venture called Tier 2 Recruits which is designed to help families navigate and conquer the college recruiting process. It requires a modest investment of $135 per year, and gives families access to key NCAA links, critical information and suggestions on how to work the recruiting process, a directory of every D-II, D-III, and NAIA school in the United States with links to the Athletic Department email and telephone directory, as well as secure hosting of highlight videos without ads or other visual distractions.

Visit us at http://www.t2-r.com/

Summer Camps - what now?

I know you're wondering if I fell off the face of the earth . . . well, I haven't. Since the last public workshop in May, I was busy as all get up in my spare time making tribute videos for some of my son's classmates for their graduation, and putting all kinds of hours in Jared's tribute video which included interviews with teachers, coaches, and teammates.

So your son/daughter has likely attended showcase or college sports camps over the past six weeks. Great! But what now?

They should write a 'journal' with a recap of each school's camp; what did they like about the campus, about the coaches they met, about the athletic facilities. Did they meet coaches from other schools who were assisting at the camp?

Any coach that spent time with them and that they may have developed a good level of comfort with should be sent a hand-written follow-up thank you note. No email, and God forbid, no text message! I had two coaches tell me that they open and save hand written letters because it's such a dying tradition.

And by the way, if your son is working out in a conditioning program this summer, try and get some video to include in his highlight film. It will show the coaches a strong work ethic.

Finally, you should be evaluating schedules and preparing to take a trip during your bye weekend this Fall, as we as some Saturday day trips to closer in schools.

Second Workshop Set - Tuesday, May 12

With the success of the first Parents' Recruiting Workshop - which drew parents from as far as Aledo - a second Workshop has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 12. Numerous parents contacted me to mention conflicts on the last date with Holy Thursday and the Easter School Break.

This version of the Workshop will also be held at the Marriott Courtyard in Lewisville. It will start at 7:30 pm, and the parents investment is still only $35. For a registration form, send me an email at marauderdad@verizon.net.

Parents' Workshop a hit with attendees

The Parents Workshop held last night was very well received by the parents who came from as far away as Aledo to participate. I realize the timing was bad because of Holy Thursday services and the fact that it was the start of the long Easter weekend and some families were heading out of town.
Therefore, I will be scheduling another Workshop during the month of May - watch this Blog for details.

Introducing Your Student-Athlete to Coaches

Greetings from Waltham, Massachusetts where my wife and son and I are attending Bentley's Open House for Accepted Students and Spring Football scrimmage. Today I'd like to discuss how to properly introduce your student-athlete to college coaches, and there are two basic tools for this purpose.

The first is the Recruit Questionnaire which you will generally find on the school's website. Generally, all football programs have the RQ, other sports vary from school to school. Completing this is the first critical step to letting the coaches know who your son is and what his stats are. Schools that I've visited with have a system that automatically imports this information into their database, producing a master roster of potential recruits. Don't think that just because you received a recruiting 'form letter' from a school that they know alot about your son; likely they just obtained his name and address from his coach, even though the flowery language in the letter might lead you to believe they've been following your S-A's every move! (Harvard Coach Tim Murphy sends out 10,000 letters each year)

It is CRITICAL that you complete this online questionnaire in its entirety! If there is something you feel that can be improved (such as his SAT score or perhaps one of his weightlifting numbers), you can address that change later. The key is to be complete so that your son shows up on their spreadsheet with no gaps in his posting. Some schools still send a hard copy of the questionnaire to be filled out and returned; same rule applies - be complete.

The second tool is your son's Academic & Athletic Resume, or Profile. This is the tool you have to really sell your son beyond just data. It should include a clean, smiling head shot of your son. (make him look likable) Below that should be your son's academic profile - SAT/ACT scores, class rank, membership in any honor societies or awards, etc. (all in bullet points)

Follow this with his athletic profile - game/season stats, leadership status, honors, awards, etc. (bullet points)

After this, like a resume use the remaining space on the page to define the type of person your son is. Include bullet points listing his outside interests that shows a coach and school that he is a well-rounded individual. A few examples:
- class body officer or STUCO member
- membership in other school groups
- member of school's chapter of FCA
- church youth group membership
- any summer Leadership programs or camps attended
- family make-up and rank (oldest of three boys)

On my son's profile, because we live in Texas and were searching out Boston area schools, we listed "- family summer vacation home at Pt. Judith, Rhode Island." This let coaches know he'd spent time every summer in New England and knew the territory. (copies of my son's Profile will be included in the materials distributed at the Parents Recruiting Workshop so you will have a model to follow)

The Profile should be submitted to the coaches along with your son's high school transcript. If you receive a hard copy Recruit Questionnaire, complete it and mail it back along with the Profile and transcript. Don't simply attach the Profile to the questionnaire or send it as a substitute; the coach knows exactly where on his form he can find a player's time in the 40 - he doesn't want to have to peruse another document to find it.

By the way, I've received a few calls from parents who'd forgotten to mail their registration in by yesterday's deadline, and I granted reprieves for them to still register at $35. So if you too forgot, well get it in the mail today with your check for $35.

'Recruiting Consultants' - High Cost, Low Value

I received an email today from a Mr. Adams who asked, "Why are you charging parents $35? Randy Roger Events is free." (sic) Good question, since I am basically a nobody and Randy Rogers is the 'guru' of Texas high school football recruiting.

The answer is simple: You get what you pay for! So this is a good time to address the cottage industry of 'Recruiting Consultants'. These entities range from one-man operations to organizations with multiple staff. Most are headed by former college coaches. Some of them are unable to find employment in their field so they hang out a 'consultant' shingle.

As varied as they are staff-wise, they all have one thing in common: they are trying to get parents to part with their hard-earned money to buy their 'expertise'. Furthermore, the main focus of their endeavors are so-called 'blue chip', 'five star', or 'four star' recruits. (Translation: not my son)

Take Randy Rogers for instance: http://randyrodgersrecruiting.com/ Sure his Blue Chip Recruiting Roundup is free, but the schedule is one hour for weigh-ins and pictures, one hour listening to Randy Rogers, then a 30 minute guest speaker. Trust me, you'll leave that event with more questions than information, but don't despair. For $150, Randy will come to your home for a 90 minute consultation, $225 for the 'Total Access' treatment. His website lists 62 'client' schools, all but four of which are D-I. So unless your son is a blue-chip, you're not likely to get much attention.

Now not to pick on Randy Rogers, I'm sure the man has great insights that are of value to Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine as well as D-I college coaches through his published scouting report. My point is that he and most like him are only interested in the top tier players, yet the majority of high school football players go on to D-II, D-III, and NAIA schools.

I'd also like to share two personal experiences with recruiting consultants. In 2008, our booster club president paid a recruiting consultant to address the football parents. In all my years of listening to speakers, I'd never heard anyone so offensive. His greatest insight was that the best way for a football player to get face time with a college coach was to attend college basketball games, because when football season ended the coaches didn't want to go home to their wives at night so they attended basketball games! He also dizzied the parents talking about NCAA's high school core requirements, and of course offered to evaluate any one's son for a fee. (Your son's guidance counselor will do it for free!) What a waste of $300+ of booster club money.

The second experience is with a company called National College Scouting Association. http://www.ncsasports.org/ You may likely get a call from them as they reach out to high school coaches for rosters and contact information. One of their consultants will set up a conference call with parents and son, and when all is said and done will try to sign you up as a client. They quoted me $2600 and I said 'No, thank you'.

I know of two families who ended up engaging this outfit. One young man ended up signing with a D-II school, and the other with a D-III. What did it cost these families to get their sons signed? A 12 pack each of Amstel Light Beer.

When their high-priced consultants failed to deliver as promised and only 'found' one and three potential schools respectively, I sat at their kitchen table and reviewed a list I'd compiled of D-II and D-III schools and contacts. They developed a target list, put together marketing packets, reached out to the coaches, and got their sons commitments. And I got 24 bottles of Amstel Light, most of which are aging in the refrigerator in the garage, because I gave up beer for Lent! While I'm well-stocked on beer and won't take anymore in trade, $35 is a small investment to learn what you need to know to market your son to college coaches!

So the moral of the story is, buyer beware, and remember - no one can promote your student-athlete like you can!

Parent Recruiting Workshop

The amount of interest and feedback which I've received from parents as a result of my Dallas Morning News OpEd piece and this Blog has been quite positive. I'd like to take the transfer of knowledge about recruiting to the next level.

I am planning a Parent Recruiting Workshop on Thursday, April 9 at 7:00 pm at the Marriott Courtyard in Lewisville. As a contract sales trainer, I've trained hundreds of salespeople, and also trained Marine Recruiters on how to 'sell' the Marine Corps as a career choice, as well as a D-I college football coaching staff on how to sell their school to potential recruits.

This will be an interactive workshop. You will leave with knowledge and tools to market your student-athlete to college coaches. While the principal focus will be on football recruiting, many of the discussion points will be generic in nature.

What this event is not: It is not a ruse to get you to buy books, tapes, videos, or any other media, nor is it a scheme to get you to hire some recruiting consultant. (we'll actually discuss that pitfall in the workshop)

The parent investment to participate is $35. Registration deadline is April 2. To receive a Registration Form, email me at marauderdad@verizon.net