NCSA Membership Guide

ATHLEADERSHIP NEW MEMBER’S GUIDE

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WELCOME TO NCSA ATHLETIC RECRUITING Welcome to the NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network!

We’re excited to start working with you and want to help you get started right out of the gate. If you should ever have any questions along the way, you can always turn back to this guide to make sure that you’re on the right track.

A NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDER Congratulations and welcome to the Network! I’m so excited to hear that you’re committed to becoming a collegiate athlete. The years you spend in college will shape the next forty years of your life, and nothing will compare to the lessons you learn competing for a college program while earning your degree. At NCSA, we are driven by a passion for all student athletes to COMMIT, SUCCEED, and LEAD both on and off the field of play. Nothing makes me more proud than knowing you’ve chosen our team to assist you on your journey. This guide will help prepare you for what lies ahead in your recruiting process. It includes an outline of what you’ll be doing, when to do it, and how to do it! Good luck in your recruiting and Athlead on!

Chris Krause Founder & CEO

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TABLE

OF CONTENTS 4 5 8 9 11 11 12

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR RECRUITING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CONNECTING WITH COLLEGE COACHES RECRUITING RESOURCES NCSA GAME PLAN YOUR PERSONAL RECRUITING COACH HOW COACHES USE THE NCSA NETWORK BE PART OF THE NCSA TRADITION

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GETTING TO KNOW YOUR

RECRUITING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Your first step will be getting to know the technology that will help you connect with college coaches and guide you through the recruiting process. It’s called your Recruiting Management System (RMS)!

BUILDING YOUR PROFILE Your RMS is your one-stop-shop for everything recruiting.

The RMS is where you have the ability to: • Add and update all your athletic and academic information for college coaches • Find detailed information on any college • Access Video and Recruiting Libraries of insider recruiting information you can use to stay ahead of the competition Getting started, the most important thing to do in your RMS is to build your profile. All of your athletic and academic information that appears in your profile is stored under the ‘Edit Profile’ tab of your RMS where you can add or edit that information at any time.

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There are over 42,000 college coaches in the network and we’re excited to start connecting you, but in order for coaches to view your profile, you MUST have your Name, Graduation Year, High School, Sport, Position and GPA listed on your profile, which is why updating your initial information is so important.

If you ever want to know how much information you have left to add, you’ll see a progress bar at the top left of your screen every time you login to your RMS. This bar will show you what percent you have left to complete your recruiting profile as well as what items are missing and what percentage you’ll receive for completing it.

CONNECTING WITH

COLLEGE COACHES APPLYING FOR ROSTER OPENINGS Once all of your information has been added, you can immediately begin reaching out to college coaches under the Roster Openings tab! About 25 times every day, college coaches reach out to NCSA with roster openings they are looking to fill with NCSA athletes along with the criteria needed to qualify for that position. Under the Roster Openings tab in your RMS, we give you the ability to apply directly for the roster openings coaches send us.

You have the ability to sort through roster openings by division level, physical traits, academic requirements and location. If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve listed some of the roster openings that match your grad year, position and other requirements of the coach near the top under My Matches.

ROSTER OPENINGS TAB As long as your information matches the criteria for a particular roster opening, you can apply for that roster spot directly through your profile. Just explain why you would be a good fit for that roster spot or that coach’s program and your application will get sent directly to that coach! Keep in mind it’s always good to follow up with a coach after you submit an application for a roster opening.

SHOWING INTEREST Take a few seconds to picture your recruiting process in the future. How does it make you feel when college coaches send you personal emails and hand written letters about how excited they are to have you on their roster and how you can benefit their team? It’s a great feeling that gets you excited!

The truth is, when a student-athlete is truly a good fit for a program and reaches out to a college coach, that coach feels the same way! This is why it’s so important to identify where you will be a

ROSTER OPENINGS APPLICATION

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CONNECTING WITH

COLLEGE COACHES CONTINUED good fit academically and athletically.

The better fit you are for a program, the better response you’ll receive from the coach.

There are a lot of ways to reach out to college coaches and show your interest, including emails, phone calls, applying for roster openings, submitting questionnaires, connecting on social media and scheduling visits. Whenever you view a college’s information in your RMS, there’s even a green check mark you can click that will notify that coach that you’re interested and add your information to their Coach RMS! Depending on your sport and what grade you’re in, college coaches may be limited in how they can respond.

Make sure you attend a Coach LIST OF FAVORITES Communications recruiting class or view the Coach Communications section of the Resource Library in your RMS so you know exactly what you should say and how the coach is allowed to respond.

SELECTING YOUR FAVORITES If you have a college or list of colleges you’re seriously interested in, you can save them to your Favorites page in your RMS so you can easily manage all your favorite colleges in one place. You can add any college to your Favorites by clicking the star marked Add to Favorites near the top right of any college details page.

Your list of Favorites can be viewed under the My Colleges tab. From there

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you can prioritize your list of favorites, track when and how many times coaches from that college have viewed your profile and email any coach at that program directly.

If there is a criterion you use to select your favorite programs, make sure to include that criterion on your Preferences page. Your preferences tell us what schools you’re interested in, and depending on how you have

them set, can either increase or decrease your match level with any given college.

MONITORING VIEWS Many student-athletes send their information to college coaches in unsolicited emails or through the postal service hoping that a college coach will take the time to view their information and follow up with a phone call or some form of mail.

In reality, coaches don’t have the time or manpower to go through the thousands of emails and game videos they receive each year, which is why they focus on recruiting lists and verified 3rd parties like NCSA Athletic Recruiting.

NCSA has placed over 60,000 athletes since 2000, which is why coaches know and trust NCSA to send them only the recruits that meet their needs. That means your information is more likely to be seen over everyone else’s.

Under the My Colleges tab in your RMS, you can see every college coach that has viewed your profile, when and how many times that coach has viewed it as well as how many past connections you’ve had with that coach.

RECRUITING TIP – On the Views & Recommendations page of your RMS, you have the ability to send an email directly to any coach that has viewed your profile. Before you follow up with a coach, make sure to learn about that program and introduce yourself the same way you would a coach that hasn’t viewed your profile. It will make for a smoother introduction.

COLLEGE VIEWS

RECRUITING TIP On the Views & Recommendations page of your RMS, you have the ability to send an email directly to any coach that has viewed your profile. Before you follow up with a coach, make sure to learn about that program and introduce yourself the same way you would a coach that hasn’t viewed your profile.

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RECRUITING

RESOURCES

RECRUITING WIKI

YOUR ACCOUNT/PAYMENTS PAGE

Your RMS is your one stop shop for recruiting information.

Under the Recruiting 101 tab, you’ll find a link to the Resource Library which is where you can find information on nearly every facet of recruiting. If you’re ever not sure how to find certain information, just type a question or set of words into the search bar and any page in the library matching your search will be in the results. It’s your personal search engine for recruiting information!

If you ever have any questions regarding your membership or payment schedule, just click on the appropriate link under the Account tab in the top right of your RMS. From here you’re able to change your password, view the specifics of your membership, view your payment schedule and even update your payment information!

RECRUITING HELP Any time you have a question that can’t be answered in your RMS, or if you need to hear from a recruiting expert to get specific feedback based on your situation, feel free to email a Recruiting Coach anytime at recruitinghelp@ncsasports.org.

VIDEO SECTION Similar to the Resource Library, there is a Video Library located under the Recruiting 101 tab of your RMS. The Video Library provides you with demos & tutorials of your RMS, example highlight videos, quick tips, FAQ’s (with a specific section for NCAA rules), and more!

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MEMBER SUPPORT LINE If you ever have a question you’d like to discuss over the phone, our Member Support team can assist you with whatever you need.

Everyone on the Member Support team has been through the process him/herself and is very knowledgeable about the process. Our Member Support team can be reached at 877-845-6272 Monday - Thursday from 8am-8pm, on Friday and Saturday from 8:30am-5:30pm, and on Sunday from 9:30am - 6:30pm Central Time.

NCSA ATHLETIC RECRUITING

GAME PLAN RECRUITING ACTIONS There are a few tools in your RMS designed specifically to help guide you through your recruiting process so that you always know what step comes next.

The first of which are your ‘Recruiting Actions’.

ACTION LIST

Located directly under the progress bar that shows your profile completion when you login, these actions will tell you what to do now to make sure you stay ahead of the competition. These actions are specific to your recruiting process and include all the most important actions during each phase of recruiting. Out of 7 million high school athletes, knowing what to do next is what will make you a part of the 2% that go on to compete at the college level.

Your actions list is so simple, all you have to do is take one minute to login to your profile and it tells you exactly what you should be doing so you don’t fall behind!

RECRUITING ROADMAP

RECRUITING ROADMAP

The second tool is your Recruiting Roadmap. The Roadmap is a recruiting timeline specific to your sport that walks you through each semester of high school. While your Recruiting Actions are more focused on what to do to stay ahead, the Recruiting Roadmap is more focused on recruiting rules and actions you should be taking each season athletically, academically and in recruiting to make your recruiting efforts most effective. Your Recruiting Roadmap is near the bottom of your home page when you sign into your RMS.

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NCSA ATHLETIC RECRUITING

GAME PLAN CONTINUED RECRUITING CLASSES With your membership, recruiting classes are going to be your primary source of recruiting education and main point of contact with your personal Recruiting Coach.

These online group classes are hosted live by your personal Recruiting Coach and can range from a variety of sport specific topics to general recruiting topics like financial aid and ACT/SAT prep. Each class has a live chat feature which is a great opportunity to ask your personal Recruiting Coach any questions you may have.

Search and register for any upcoming class under the Recruiting 101 tab of your RMS. If you’re unsure of what class to take next, your Sport Specific Info page in the Resource Library contains a full recruiting class curriculum put together by your personal Recruiting Coach to educate you on the recruiting process every step of the way.

RECRUITING CLASSES

Since you are new to the network, we always recommend registering for 3 critical start-up classes: ROOKIE ORIENTATION Will give you a better understanding of the tools you have in your profile, teach you how and when to use them and give you a better breakdown of what your recruiting timeline will look like COACH COMMUNICATIONS You’ll take either under or upperclassmen depending on your grad year. This class will give you a better idea about what you should be saying/hearing from college coaches based on what grade you’re in YOUR SPORT 101 Your sport 101 will give you specific information you’ll need to get recruited for your sport

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YOUR PERSONAL

RECRUITING COACH COACHING SESSIONS With your Recruit-Match membership, you have your own personal Recruiting Coach that will oversee your profile and will be the one to evaluate your video and send your information out to college coaches.

On the Recruit-Match membership, you also receive a oneon-one Coaching Session with your personal Recruiting Coach to get ahead in the recruiting process. This is a halfhour phone call or Skype session you can use to discuss anything you’d like, including visits, talking to college coaches or narrowing your options to make a decision.

SCHEDULE A COACHING SESSION You can find information on your personal Recruiting Coach and schedule a Coaching Session from your profile by clicking the Contact Us button in the top right corner of your profile, then Coaching Session from the dropdown. We recommend using your one Coaching Session just before your junior season.

HOW TO USE YOUR COACH TO YOUR ADVANTAGE Outside of your Coaching Session, the online recruiting classes are going to be your main point of contact with your personal Recruiting Coach to keep you on track with your recruiting process. These classes are going to be where you learn about sport specific topics directly from your Recruiting Coach and have the opportunity to ask him/her questions in real time.

Again, our coaches on the Member Support team are very experienced with every aspect of the recruiting process and serve as an extension of your personal Recruiting Coach. So any time you have a question or your personal Recruiting Coach is unavailable, don’t hesitate to contact our Member Support team to help you with anything you need!

HOW COACHES USE

THE NCSA NETWORK Just like you, college coaches have their own RMS built specifically for promoting their school and finding the student athletes that fit their needs.

for that spot! In addition to what coaches do, NCSA sends college coaches updates whenever new student athletes are interested or are qualified for their program.

College coaches have the ability to post camp brochures or questionnaires, search the NCSA Network based on a variety of search filters, and set preferences based on what type of recruits they need. They also come directly to us with roster spots they’re looking to fill by providing us with the criteria student athletes need to meet to qualify

NCSA’s relationships with college coaches and the tools coaches use to easily access athletes in the NCSA Network are what resulted in 16,004 commitments from the 2013 NCSA grad class on an average scholarship of $19,300 per year. That’s over 1.2 BILLION scholarship dollars!

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BE A PART OF

THE NCSA TRADITION ADDING YOUR COLLEGE LOGO TO YOUR PROFILE We know going through the recruiting process takes a lot of work and we’re going to do anything we can to make sure your hard work pays off. So, when it comes time to make your final college decision, make sure to let us know!

We have a gold bell in our office that we ring every time a student athlete like you commits and we want to make sure we celebrate with you. We also want to update your status and let other college coaches know you’ve committed.

Even after you make your college decision, remember

you’re part of the NCSA family for life. If at any time through your college career you have a question, need to transfer, etc., we’re going to be there to help!

Any time you have any questions about your recruiting process, how to use a particular part of your profile or just want to know your next steps, make sure to give us a call.

Our Member Support team and your personal Recruiting Coach are going to be here for you every step of the way.

We’re excited to see you succeed so let’s get started!

The Member Support team is available by:

PHONE 877-845-6272 MON-THURS 8AM-8PM; FRI-SAT 8:30AM-5:30PM SUN 9:30AM-6:30PM CENTRAL EMAIL RECRUITINGHELP@NCSASPORTS.ORG FAX 866-996-6272 OFFICE NCSA ATHLETIC RECRUITING 1415 N. DAYTON ST. 4TH FLOOR CHICAGO, IL 60642

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WWW.NCSASPORTS.ORG | 866.845.6272