January Newsletter

VOL. 1 ISSUE 3

NEWSLETTER

ELITE RECRUITING TIPS: ONE DON’T AND 5 DOS Eddie Goldman plays defensive tackle.

He is 6’ 4” and tips the scales at 310 pounds. He’s a U.S. Army and an Under Armor All-American. He is one of the top recruits of 2012 and received offers from every school that has ever won a BCS title since it was created in 1993.

He ended up signing with Florida State’s highly-rated recruiting class.

How did he get there? Here are five lessons every athlete can take away from Eddie’s experience.

1. Consider a lot of factors when finding your “best fit” Eddie has talked to some of the country’s top academic institutions, like Berkley and Notre Dame. He’s explored schools, like Maryland and Virginia, near his hometown of Washington, DC. And of course, he’s got offers from the football powerhouses, including Alabama, LSU, and Oregon. He also

has to weigh the playing time he may be able to get at a smaller school versus a better-known program but less on-field time. Even when you’re a top recruit, there are tough choices to make when it comes to balancing all the different things that go into finding the school that’s best for you.

2. Keep your options on the table Despite having offers from some very big names, Eddie still kept his options open with other schools like UConn and Boston College. For the Cont. on pg 3...

CHARLIE ADAMS RECRUITING CORNER As you go through the recruiting process, it is important to make sure you do not lose sight of what is truly important.

I delivered a talk to all of the teachers and staff of the Buchanan (Michigan) Schools this week. Afterwards, I gave copies of Athletes Wanted to the

IN THIS ISSUE....

Athletes Wanted Tips Pg. 3 Ask Coach Taylor Pg. 4 Upcoming Events Pg. 5

guidance counselors. As we talked, they shared how so many athletes in their school system are dead set on going pro. NBA. NFL. Major Leagues.

It is rampant. Even at a small school like Buchanan, many kids honestly believe they will go pro one day.

You don’t want to crush young athletes’ dreams, but sometimes they need a reality check. As the guidance counselors try to explain to these young people: the pro dream is fine, but it is critical to use your athletic Continued on next page...

ability to get an education, become an Athleader, to commit, succeed, and to give back.

My home of South Bend, IN, is home to many fine athletes at all levels of college sports. But I can count on one hand the number of them playing in the pros right now.

I would say about one-fifth of one percent of local athletes where I live go on to become pro athletes, and they do so through all levels of college sports. Joique Bell of Benton Harbor High in Michigan became a Detroit Lion via D2 Wayne State.

To give you some perspective: out of 545,000 High School boys basketball players, about 164 will go on to play professionally.

It is so important to have a game plan for recruiting, just like you have game plans for upcoming athletic contests.

Get together as athletes, parents and coaches and talk about recruiting priorities. Set up a time to talk with a NCSA Scout about the particulars of your sport, and what college coaches expect at each level. Think about academic interests and research the kind of colleges that fit your interests. Make unofficial visits, even as early as freshman or sophomore year: start getting a feel for campuses, the factor of distance-from-home, and what college coaches

As you go through it, it’s important to not lose sight of what is truly important, which is finding the right fit for the young person at the next level. It is finding a college where they can continue to play the sport they love, develop as a young person in those important years of 18 to 22 or 23, start to develop networks, and become seen as a true student-athlete. That is something that will benefit them the next 40 years.

There is a tremendous story in USA Today this week on former University of Wisconsin and NFL player Troy Vincent. He was one of the few to play pro (for 15 years in the NFL), but he never lost sight of getting his degree and developing into a man. He knew there so many years ahead even if he did make pro.

In the article, Vincent shares something his mother told him before he went to the University of Wisconsin to play for the Badgers. “My mother said you have to take advantage of everything your employer offers you,” Vincent tells USA Today. He says when there was a workshop on how to write a resume he was one of three people sitting in an empty classroom after practice.

“Some of their greatest, healthiest teams in history have never done what they did over that stretch.”’

Vincent is now NFL vice president of player engagement and speaks on what is truly important to audiences, especially those made up of young people. “We’re really hammering home, ‘Men, one day you’ll be fathers, you’ll be husbands, you’ll be in the workforce of America,’ ” he says. “Outside of professional football, you can’t tackle, catch, run and throw for a living. So that’s the message.

It’s the academic success, the character piece. It’s about being socially responsible.”

Vincent has been married to his wife for 18 years, and they have five kids. In the article he shares what he stands for: “I always make sure my wife knows she’s No. 1. So when I’m on the road, we talk like when we were dating. We go to sleep with each other on the phone, and we wake up to each other on the phone.”

and athletes are like. What happens when you start making visits early is the young person starts to process what is and is not important to them regarding college. Much of this is processed on the drive home as they discuss it with a parent.

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“As a successful traveler, I don’t ever want to leave home and my wife is worrying about where I am or what I’m doing,” he says. He doesn’t sightsee or even visit local restaurants when on a business trip. “That’s my discipline in my travel. That’s the discipline I want in my life. I’m responsible to my wife and my children, and I want to be responsible to my employer.”

Troy Vincent had the God-given ability to play in the Big Ten and the NFL for many years, but by reading the article you could tell that as he went through recruiting and playing at high levels, he never lost sight of what was important. He got an education, attended workshops to prepare him for life after football, and established a firm foundation for the husband, father and leader he would become.

• “Nothing is guaranteed until the student-athlete signs on National Letter of Intent Day.”

As you go through the recruiting process, have a game plan, be realistic, and talk to credible third party sources that can help you to find that right fit. The indepth conversation you have with the Scout will help clarify what is truly important in all of this. As always, feel free to reach out to me via email or Facebook and I will be glad to help any way I can.

• “Since colleges have limited budgets and limited personal relationships with high school coaches, student-athletes must take the initiative, casting a wide enough net to be noticed.”

Charlie Adams is an award-winning sports broadcaster and international motivational speaker.

Elite Recruiting Tips Cont. average recruit, it’s even more i,mportant to keep lots of schools on your radar. You never know when your recruiting process could be derailed by an unexpected coach departure or other change in circumstances.

3. Take every visit you can Eddie took 4 of the maximum of 5 allows visits, even though he was offered by many schools and could have easily landed a scholarship without taking any visits He did it anyway because visits are important to learning about your prospective schools, and are a chance to create a mutual trust between you and the staff. This is as true for Division III as Division I (though your visits to Division III will be “unofficial”).

4. Keep pushing yourself on athletics Goldman was ranked the top DT in the nation before he even began his senior year. But he kept going – kept training, studying game film, working out (he squats 500 pounds). Even if everyone around you is telling you that you’re great, keep working hard.

5. Succeed in the classroom Eddie had a 3.0 GPA. Athletes go to school to get an education. Especially with the stricter academic standards just passed by the NCAA, grades are crucial, both for your education and showing coaches they can depend on you. There is pressure from every level to bring more educational accountability to athletics, and for the majority of athletes who will not go pro, getting an education will change their lives.

Eddie Goldman had some luck getting where he is, but he’s a top recruit because he’s worked hard and done everything he’s supposed to: in the classroom, on the field, and in the recruiting process. He’s made himself into an athleader. Your turn.

ATHLETES WANTED TIPS

• Even the biggest schools have limited recruiting budgets, and smaller schools may have next to nothing. You can’t count on coaches to find you - build relationships and get coaches to notice you.

• For some recruits, Signing Day will signal the beginning of the end of their recruiting journey. But for many, many others, a National Letter of Intent will not necessarily be the best fit.

• “Jerry Rice and the late Walter Payton failed to receive a single scholarship offer from Division I-A college programs.”

• Not every successful athlete or attends a big-name school. The recruiting process is all about finding a place where you are a good fit, not necessarily with the most trophies on the wall.

It’s not “failure” to attend a non-Division I school.

find out more at athleteswanted.org

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TAYLOR H C A O C ASK MAILBAG G IN IT U R C RE Dear Coach Taylor – I am a senior playing in high school and I want to continue to play in college. How can I get a recruiter to recognize me at my games?

Part of the recruiting process – one of the most important parts – is to get in contact with coaches who are looking for players like you, open the lines of communication, and get them interested in your athletic ability, confident in your grades, and impressed with your character.

Basically, you can’t just sit back and wait for them to come to you!

First, make sure you have the basic information you need: 1. Academics (grades, honors/AP classes, test scores) 2. Athletics and training (examples: Club teams, attended a combine or training camp, All-District award, Team MVP, varsity starting years)

3. Physical stats like height, weight, bench, 40 time, any sport-specific stats 4. Extracurricular activities (examples: National Honor Society, Student of the Month, 4H volunteer) 5. Videos (highlights, skills, any other applicable) Then get all this information in one place where coaches can look at it. Find schools where you are a good fit athletically, academically, and that you want to attend. Start reaching out to coaches there by phone and email, and send them a link to an online profile (take it from me – a big stack of papers will get lost on the desk of a modern coach). If your communications with the coach go well, you may be able to take an unofficial visit, and maybe eventually an official visit.

Once those coaches know you and know what you can do – then they’ll start showing up to your games! ...Continued

ATHLEADERS OF THE MONTH KATELYN RYAN

JORDAN COLLIER Soccer 2012 Dream Job? To be a Doctor

Softball 2013 Wants to Major in Athletic Training

Committed to Elmhurst College

ANDREW EHERTS Football 2012 Dream Job? Orthodontist

Committed to Princeton

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SOCIAL CORNER Rules to live by on social media 1. If you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see it then DON’T post it 2. If you even hesitate for a second to post it ,DON’T, there’s are reason you hesitated 3. Make sure your default picture(and all others) are appropriate 4. Even if you delete it, it is always going to be there 5. Your twitter handle should be appropriate, no crude words, or slang 6. Privacy settings only go so far , social media is public 7. Respect yourself and respect others 8. The laws of the real world still apply in the world of social media, ie; underage drinking is against the law, harassment, hate crimes, cyber bullying 9. Is who you are presenting yourself to be online, who you want the world to see you as

Check out our Facebook and Youtube Channel for great recruiting tips and info! facebook.com/ncsasports youtube.com/ncsasport

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UPCOMING EVENTS...

2/8 - 5:30 PM Miami Killian CRS Auditorium Phil Clarke Miami, FL 2/13 - 7:00 PM Felix Varela HS Auditorium Phil Clarke Miami, FL 2/15 - 9:30 AM Central County Occupational Center (COCC) Annual College and Career Fair Julian Jenkins San Jose, CA 2/15 - 4:30 PM Oak Ridge HS TBD Julian Jenkins El Dorado, CA

And if you’ve built a good foundation, I can guarantee you they will recognize and appreciate you. But they won’t just show up one day, see you make a good play, and start asking “who is that kid?”

It only works that way in the movies. Great athletes don’t just wake up great one morning great – they work every day to make themselves that way.

Recruiting is no different.

2/15 - 7:00 PM Pleasant Grove HS Gym Paul Putnam Pleasant Grove, UT 2/18 - 8:00 AM THE COLLEGE EXPO Oakland Coliseum Julian Jenkins Oakland, CA 2/22 - 7:00 PM East HS Auditorium Paul Putnam Salt Lake City, UT 84102

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Social media is a great way to connect and interact with college coaches but R-rated tweets and facebook posts will only hurt the relationships you’ve built.

Peter Jinkens knows you have to be smart to be a good linebacker. He makes split-second decisions every play: is that QB starting down his tight end, or is he looking off his receiver? Is that running back going to go up the middle or cut to the outside?

He’s adding one more snap judgment to his arsenal: should I tweet that, or keep it to myself?

Jinkens, a four-star recruit out of Skyline High School, committed to Texas last week. Like a lot of high school kids, his Twitter feed hasn’t always been something he’d want his grandma to read – but that’s changing. Savvy recruits have understood for a long time that “everything on the Internet is public,” but college coaches are now taking it one step further.

Texas football has partnered with UDiligence, a company that monitors student-athletes’ social media accounts. Coaches at LSU, Kansas, and Florida have also partnered with the UDiligence, which automatically alerts coaches any time a player or recruit posts a curse word, a slur, or a reference to illicit substances or violence.

After an online scuffle earlier this month, Jinkens posted an online apology and promised to “show respect and honor for the Longhorn name.” Maybe he’s getting wiser, or maybe a Texas coach followed up on a UDiligence alert.

Either way, with coaches directly tracking social media, they may as well be @ replied in everything you write. Jinkens and other smart recruits are talking online like their coaches are in the room. Make sure you do the same!

Check out some college athletes and recruits doing a good job with social media: Dorial Green-Beckham, uncommitted WR and top football recruit of the 2012 class: http://twitter.com/dorialgb5 Draymond Green, Michigan State Forward: http://twitter.com/money23green Matt Barkley, USC QB: http://twitter.com/MattBarkley

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