Scholarship Available for 2007 Golf Prospect

Are you a talented female golfer who is still looking for an opportunity at the college level? Here is one of the alerts we got from the college coaches this week:

Eastern Kentucky University
InquirySport: Golf
Gender: Female
AthleteDivision(s): '1'
Athletic Requirements: 4 or lower handicap
Minimum SAT: 900 Minimum
ACT: 21

Comments: Have a full scholarship to award for the fall of 2007. Need a tournament experienced player who knows how to compete. Must be registered with NCAA Clearinghouse and have ACT/SAT score that make her eligible for fall.

If you're interested in getting information on this opportunity and have an updated profile on record with CSA Prepstar, contact your Area Scout immediately or e-mail me at dtudor@csaprepstar.com.

How Early Do Colleges Start Recruiting?

College coaches interact with the CSA Prepstar staff on a regular basis, looking for athletic prospects and letting us know what they need. Here's an e-mail we received from a D1 volleyball coach recently:

Thanks for the continued updates but we are done recruiting for 2008 and
looking at 2009 and 2010.

Please send any prospects you have for the class of ’09.

GO COLONIALS!

Sincerely,

Jojit Coronel, Head Women's Volleyball Coach

The George Washington University

The point of me sharing this letter? Simple. It's critical to get recruited by as soon as possible. After your senior season is completed is probably going to be too late. Your sophomore and junior years are ideal. The summer before your senior season is fine, too, but time is of the essence. If you're sitting there reading this and thinking "my senior season will show everyone who I am and why I deserve to play at the college level", think again. After your senior season, as I just said, is too late.

Contact coaches immediately. E-mail them, call them, send them your video. Getting yourself in front of as many coaches as possible is critical to your chances of playing at the college level.

The e-mail we got from Coach Coronel is just one example of the type of communication that is getting more and more typical. Coaches want to find athletes as early as possible. Do you have the attention of college coaches that you're hoping to be hearing from?

Is It Smart to Commit Early?

There has been a quiet shift in the recruiting landscape over the past two years.

Have you noticed it?

For decades, and certainly up until just a few years ago, athletes and coaches played by a cordial set of rules. Those rules had coaches present their best pitch to their prospects, the prospects would weigh the best options, and announce their decisions at the end of the recruiting cycle.

Then the shift happened. Coaches from all sports, at all levels, kept trying to beat the other guy by a step. And then another step. And another, and another. Before long, the shift had happened. Athletes were committing at the start of their senior year. And then it moved to giving their verbal commitments the summer before their senior year. Now, its not uncommon for a prospect to give their verbal commitment to a coach in their junior year...or even earlier. One D1 program is raising eyebrows by making

a verbal offer to a 14-year old basketball prospect!

Forget the ethical debate of "how young is too young" to start recruiting for college sports. Instead, focus on the underlying reality that I think every athlete should embrace: More and more, today's prospects are looking to commit early.

There are a few reasons for this shift in thinking when it comes to a prospect committing:

Recruiting is stressful for athletes. Because of that, you might be looking for stress-relief in the form of ending the recruiting process early.

Prospects want security. You know recruiting is competitive, and you might be starting to put a priority on enjoying your senior year of high school knowing that your college future is secure.

Colleges are putting pressure on prospects. Earlier application deadlines, stiff competition for admissions, and pressure from college coaches on athletes to give their commitment early to secure their spot on the roster.

With that in mind, is it any wonder that prospects like you are looking - and maybe even expecting - the opportunity to commit early to a program? I'm not just talking about big time college football or basketball, either. Early commitments can happen in any sport at any level - from D1 tennis to D3 softball.

We're starting to get reports in from our athletes who are CSA Prepstar clients that they are getting offers from college coaches as they head into their senior year. Some of our athletes are getting attention from a lot of colleges that have started to contact them now that they know about them and can track their progress in the CSA Prepstar athlete database. "Is this much early talk about an offer normal?" asked one parent? Yes, it is.

Do early verbal commitments "guarantee" that the college will follow through with an actual written offer? Yes. If a coach makes a verbal offer to you as an athlete, they will follow through with an offer. Not to do so would kill their reputations as recruiters, and would hurt their chances of ever signing another athlete in the future.

The big question: Should you accept an early offer, or hold out for something bigger and better? Is that smart, or does it jeopardize your chances to play college sports? We'll tackle that question next in next week's CSA Prepstar Recruiting Expert newsletter.

If you have immediate questions about an early offer you've received, and need expert advice, e-mail me at dtudor@csaprepstar.com. We're here to help.

Its easy to see why early commitments are becoming popular among prospects and the college coaches who are recruiting them. If you're an athlete that isn't getting attention from college coaches, but would like to start getting in front of the right coaches before opportunities are lost, click here.

Available Scholarships for June 19, 2007

Each week, the staff at CSA Prepstar gets calls and e-mails from college coaches who are searching for pre-qualified student-athletes for scholarship consideration. We want to make you aware of these scholarships, and see if you might be a good match for any of these college programs:

• D1 Golf Scholarship in Southeastern U.S.: 90% out-of-state athletic scholarship to award for the fall of 2007. They are searching for a golfer who is looking for a university and a women’s golf program they can be proud to be a part of and who will be an asset to the school and our team. We have a lot to offer at at our University. Our golf program is well-respected in the state and throughout our region. We are a Division I program, and we play a good tournament schedule each season.
• JC Basketball Scholarship in Southeastern U.S.: They have one full tuition scholarship available to the right player. Need to fill this position ASAP.
• NAIA Football - Multiple Scholarships in Midwest U.S.: Looking to complete their roster for 2007, as well as get info on talent for 2008. Minimum 2.5 GPA, 850 SAT, 17 ACT. Partial to full scholarships available. D1, D2 caliber athletes encouraged to contact them ASAP.
• D3 Volleyball Scholarships in Western U.S.: They are in need of two middle hitters/blockers right away with potential of starting this year with no returning middle from 2006 season. Significant scholarship money is available. 5' 9" or taller.
• D2 Men's Soccer Scholarship in Midwest U.S.: Goalkeeper needed immediately at this Division II program. 850 minimum SAT or 18 ACT minimum. Scholarship money available for 2007 high school graduate.

This is a sampling of the coach recruiting requests that have been submitted by college coaches this week to CSA Prepstar. If you are a CSA Prepstar client, please notify your Area Scout of interest in any of these opportunities. If you have questions, please contact Dan Tudor at dtudor@csaprepstar.com.

Are You REALLY a D1 Prospect?

Ask any talented high school prospect whether or not they think they're a D1 caliber athlete, and they'll probably answer with a very confident, "Of course!" Athletes that are top in their sport in their league or region automatically assume that they're Division I material.

Maybe you feel that way. Maybe your parents do, too.

How can you tell if you're really a D1 prospect? There are a couple of very clear signs:

• If you're going into your senior year in high school, the beginning of July is a banner time of the year. Its when Division I college coaches can start "officially" calling you and talking to you about scholarship possibilities. Calls from college coaches during this time period are a clear indicator that you are being recruited as a D1 athlete. What if you don't get calls during the beginning of July? That's a clear sign, too. It should tell you that you aren't being looked at seriously as a D1 scholarship candidate.
• If you're getting encouragement to take an official visit to the D1 campus, that's a good sign that you're being seriously recruited as a top athlete.
• If you're a high school football prospect, contact during May by a D1 college coach or program by personal "bump in" visit, phone, or text message is a good sign that you're on their radar. If you didn't get contact in May, that is a definite red flag that should indicate that you are currently being overlooked by college coaches.
• Serious D1 prospects that are heading into their senior year would have at least been receiving letters from college coaches as a junior. If you've received letters, make sure you're replying to their profile questions that are included. If you aren't receiving letters, this is a clear sign that you are not being recruited...and, you probably won't be recruited as a senior. It's rare that college coaches "discover" hidden Senior talent that is good enough to knock out all of the other prospects that they have information about already.

D1 athletic prospects are hearing from college coaches earlier and earlier in some way. If you're a CSA Prepstar client, make sure you stay in touch with your D1 colleges that we've put you in touch with so far. If there is a particular school that you're interested in hearing from, talk to your CSA Prepstar Area Scout right away so that he can arrange for your information to get to that coach. We don't want to leave any stone unturned for you.

If you are not a CSA Prepstar client, you should start right away in contacting as many college coaches as possible. Its vital that you get your name in front of the right coaches within a program, and do it as soon as possible. Or, look into having CSA Prepstar do that work for you by becoming a client. If you have questions about this process, or about determining whether or not you are a serious D1 candidate, e-mail me at dtudor@csaprepstar.com.

3 Tips For Contacting College Coaches This Summer

Summer isn't a time for relaxing and not thinking about your college sports future.



Instead, summer is a great time to get the jump on your competition for college sports scholarships!



How do you go about contacting a college coach, and why is it so important to do it before the fall start of the new school year? Here are our tips:

1. E-mail at least 10 coaches right away. Why ten? Because you need to get yourself in front of as many coaches as possible, as soon as possible. Don't make the mistake of limiting yourself to just one or two "dream" schools. Search out a variety of college coaches that you think might be a consideration for you after you graduate from high school.


2. Send a highlight DVD to your top choices. Summer is a time for coaches to catch up on watching highlight DVD's and game videos. They do this in the summer so that they're ready to contact and pursue athletes in August. Make sure you get a highlight or game video together for coaches to watch. If you're already a CSA Prepstar client with a video-enabled web profile, you can just e-mail them your video link for faster and less expensive distribution.


3. Call a coach. Gutsy move? Not really, although its intimidating for some student-athletes to pick up the phone and make a phone call to a coach. However, this can be a great way to initiate contact with a coach that you've been wanting to hear from. And, coaches love to hear directly from athletes...it shows them that the athlete is serious about playing college sports. If you're a CSA Prepstar client, you're probably already receiving the initial contacts from colleges. For you, its important that you follow-up with those coaches that have expressed interest in you.

Summer is a key time in the recruiting process. If you have questions about the process, and you're already a CSA Prepstar client, call your Area Scout right away. If you're not a client, but have questions, e-mail Dan Tudor at dtudor@csaprepstar.com or call his direct line at 661.746.4554.