iSportsRecruiting
There are over eight million student-athletes that compete at the high school level in the United States. However, only approximately 900,000 of these make it to the NCAA, NAIA, or NJCAA. This makes competing at the collegiate level a challenge if you are not prepared. Because of this competitive environment, it is imperative that you find a partner to guide you through the process. This is where iSportsRecruiting can step in to help you to achieve all of your academic and athletics dreams together at the same time.
Now is the time to prepare yourself for the rigor of college athletics, both academically and athletically. By marketing yourself in a positive and unique way, you will be well on your way to becoming a committed student-athlete. This will allow you to continue your athletic pursuits while getting part or all of your college education paid for in the process.
The most important goal of the recruiting process is to get your name out in front of as many college coaches as possible. However, before you can begin to market yourself, you need to make sure that you are indeed marketable as a student-athlete. There are a number of ways that you can do this so that you are able to present the total package to the recruiters.
• Grades - Your performance in high school in the classroom is a key determining factor if you will even get a foot in the door with many coaches. The better that your grades are, the higher the chance that you will get recruited by the schools that you prefer. College coaches are always looking to fill their rosters with strong students, making your grades a vital element of your overall body of work.
• Stay Active - If you are serious about playing sports at the collegiate level, you need to jump into the recruiting game as soon as your freshman year of high school. The more college coaches that get to know your game, the more opportunities that you will have on the recruiting trail. In order to maximize your chances of being offered a spot on the roster, you need to get in front of approximately 300 - 600 coaches and recruiters. Remember that this is a numbers game, allowing you to increase your odds every time that you get to know a new coach.
• Highlight Videos - All successful student-athletes boast professional highlight videos to showcase their talent. Divisions II and III in the NAIA and the NJCAA do not have deep recruiting budgets and the means to track athletes on their own. This makes it especially important that you put together brief highlight videos no longer than six minutes in length.
NCAA Recruiting Rules - It is important to note that the various divisions within the NCAA structure have different rules and regulations. If your goal is to be recruited to an NCAA institution, it is critical that you familiarize yourself with each division and its unique recruiting rules.
The NCAA is comprised of over 1,200 colleges and universities. Within these schools, there are over 90 sports and more than 466,000 student-athletes. Because of this massive size, the organization boasts over $2.7 billion in available athletics scholarships.
Keep in mind that you must register your profile with the NCAA eligibility center if you plan on playing sports at the Division I or Division II levels. While the Division III schools do not offer scholarships for athletics alone, they do offer academic and other merit-based money for their student-athletes.
The NCAA is proud of its commitment to support the well-being of its student-athletes by promoting a
fair recruiting environment. By limiting intrusions into the lives of the student-athletes and their
families, the NCAA demonstrates its professionalism and concern for the student-athletes.
Definition of Recruiting - Recruiting is defined as the process by which a college coach or
representative of the school or athletics program gives a high school student-athlete the
opportunity to
play sports for their school. Recruiting happens in various ways, including in-person contact, phone
calls, emails, or text messaging.
High Schools Athletes
The most important part on the recruiting process is to get your name in front of as many colleges coaches as possible. However before that step they are many factors in this process, if you as student athlete are looking to get any type of athletics scholarships you need to consider this.
- Grades is a key factor, the better you get your grades the better chance you will get to get recruited, colleges coaches are constantly seeking qualify student athletes.
- Stay Active high schools athletes need to consider start this process as soon as freshman year, the more colleges coaches get to know you the more changes you will have. Student athletes need to get in front of 300-600 colleges coaches.
- Highlight videos All student athletes have to have highlight videos, DII-DIII-NAIA and NJCAA don’t not have masses recruiting budget to track athletes, there for is externally important to have video no longer than 6min.
Consider All Division
NCAA- National Collegiate Athletic Association All division have different rules and regulations, if you are planning to play at the collegiate level you need to make sure you familiarize your self about each organization.
NCAA has more 1200 Colleges and Universities. It has more than 90 national championships and more than 466,100 colleges Student-Athletics. There are more than 2.7 billions dollars available for athletics scholarships. If you are playing to play college sports at the Division I & Division II you must register with the NCAA eligibility center. Division III does not have athletic scholarship however they are very competitive, academics is the primary focus in this division and they offer academic and other merit related scholarships.
- Is the biggest and more competitive of all divisions, they have the larges athletic budget and more athletic department support than DII and DIII.
- Student-Athletes participating 173,500
- Colleges and Universities 346
- Many Student-Athletics in this division are these first-generation college students; provide opportunity to growth at a high level of competition.
- Student-Athletes participating 109,100
- Colleges and Universities 300
- Many Student-Athletics in this division are these first-generation college students; provide opportunity to growth at a high level of competition.
- Student-Athletes participating 109,100
- Colleges and Universities 300
- Provides environment that focuses on academics, Division III does not provide athletics scholarships. Many of this colleges and universities are ranked on a very good skill Academically speaking in fact 4 of the Top 10 Universities in the US are Division III.
- Student-Athletes participating 183,500
- Colleges and Universities 450
24 sports across this organization, 90 National Championships this means around 54,000 student-athletes participate in NCAA Championships each year.
All athletes that are considering playing in Division
Division I and Division II must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center
Division III do not provide athletics scholarships however they do have many opportunities on playing your sport and the best way to play in this division is by Grades.
NAIA - National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes
NAIA has more 212 Colleges and Universities has members, with more than 65,000 colleges athletics and 500 million in scholarships. This organization contained two division DI and DII. 525 Colleges
This organization continue to grown NAIA have more than;
- 65,000 student athletes
- 250 Colleges & Universities
- 25 National Championships
Recruiting Notes
Today's Recruiting
College coaches are beginning their recruiting process earlier than previous years. Many baseball players are verballing their freshman and sophomore years versus their senior years due to increased levels of competition across the playing field. By the time you have reached your senior year in high school, colleges have reserved spots on the roster for the next two years.
College coaches have short periods of time to recruit their athletes. This is known as the contact or evaluation period. These are the times you want to be in front of college coaches displaying your talents.
Things To Consider
According to ncaa.org, only 7% of high school baseball players will move from high school to college. It is imperative for young baseball players to develop a strong work ethic early in their careers. By developing these habits they are not only prepared for baseball for the real world as well.
National Letter of Intent
A National Letter of Intent is an official document indicating a student-athlete's decision to attend a Division I or II College for the purpose of participating in the school's athletics program. The agreement is valid for one academic year, provided that the student is admitted to the school. This program is under the direction of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Eligibility Center.
Although signing a National Letter of Intent is voluntary, many students choose to sign the letter as a ceremonial gesture. Because other schools are not allowed to contact student-athletes who have signed their National Letter of Intent, the official signing of this document effectively concludes the recruitment of the athlete.
Individual sports designate specific days as the official signing day for the athletes to commit to participation at a school. If the student-athlete changes their mind after signing their letter, they will need to request a release from the obligation in order to attend a different school. Without an appeal, they may lose one full year of eligibility.
Division III schools are not allowed to use National Letter of Intents as part of the recruiting process.
Recruiting Terms
There is a myriad of sports scholarship terms used to describe the courtship of a college recruit to play college sports. Although the terms used to describe playing collegiate level sports are often used interchangeably, they actually have distinct meanings.
A contact is when a coach or administrator reaches out officially to meet with a prospective student-athlete in an off-campus meeting.
When the coach or recruiter observes the athlete in competition or in a practice situation, it is called an evaluation.
A verbal commitment is when the student-athlete informs the coaching staff of a school that they intend to play college sports with them. This commitment is not binding, as it precedes the official National Letter of Intent. A verbal commitment often happens before the student-athlete is eligible to sign the official letter and it signifies that they want a sports scholarship offer from that college.
Playing collegiate level sports is an immense commitment. When the college recruit wants to make their commitment to a Division I or II school official and binding, they sign the National Letter of Intent. This contract is good for one academic year.
Official And Unofficial Campus Visits by Student Athletes
The official college campus visit is an integral part of the recruiting process. An official campus visit is defined as a trip in which a student-athlete tours a prospective school. During an official visit, the school is allowed to pay for the lodging, transportation, entertainment, and three meals per day for the student-athlete and their parents or guardians. A student-athlete can make up to five total official visits to Division I schools but only one to each location. During these trips, the student-athlete may be able to attend a game or practice, tour campus housing facilities, and meet with academic advisors about majors.
A student-athlete can participate in an unlimited amount of unofficial visits. However, during these visits, the only thing that the school can pay for or provide is up to three tickets to a home athletics event.
Financial Aid Options
Not all scholarships are created equal. A full-ride scholarship will cover all of your tuition, fees, and room and board, while partial athletic scholarships will only cover part of the total cost of attending school. While a partial ride is still an amazing accomplishment and a significant amount of money, you are going to need to come up with the funds to make up the difference. Here are five primary ways that you can help to bridge the gap:
NJCAA is been around seen 1938; this organization is a two-year program. NCJAA or know as "YUCO" or "Junior College" is the most recommended for student athletes that will like o improve on the academics stander, at the same time is a great opportunity for student-athletes to make a transfer to a four year program on the NCAA or NAIA. College's coaches really appreciate student-athletes coming from this organization.
- 525 Colleges
- 54 National Championships
USCAA - United States College Athletic Association
This organization mostly has small colleges, they have four-year programs and two year programs Junior colleges and Community Colleges.
- 86 Colleges
- 12 National Championships
CCCAA - California Community College Athletic Association
The coaches in this organization are not allowed to offer athletics scholarships base on the Bylaws.
- 26,000 student athletes
- 105 Colleges
- 24 Championships
