When To Start The Recruiting Process?
More than 95% of Freshman will not have had any varsity playing time by the end of their freshman season, but for those of you that did get called up to actually see playing time and you have impressive stats, you can begin now to send your recruiting information to colleges where you would like to play football.
Doing this will get you on the radar for recruiting at those schools, and it will allow you the excuse to send periodic updates of your accomplishments.
Most of you will not be doing this until after your junior season has ended, but a few will have substantial stats after their sophomore year. If you don’t see playing time until your junior season, don’t be discouraged, many athletes go on to play Division I football coming from this particular situation.
Speed And Football
Why is the 40 Yard Dash one of the main stats for football? We all know that receivers have to be fast, but the fact is, regardless of which position you play, speed is a vital consideration to college football coaches.
The following is a list of optimal 40 Yard Dash stats that D-I coaches look for in their potential recruits:
Quarterback
- 4.6
Wide Receiver
- 4.5
Running Back
- 4.5
Tight End
- 4.7
Offensive Line
- 5.1
Linebacker
- 4.6
Defensive Line
- 4.8
Defensive Back
- 4.5
Defensive Back (Safety)
- 4.6
Looking at this list, where do you stand stand? Most likely, there is room for improvement, and the off season is a perfect time to not only work on conditioning but to also work on speed.
Here is a good free program for increasing football speed. It was developed by Bill Martens who has played TE, WR, SE, K, P, OT, NG and C.
If you are not a natural born speedster, you will need to use a speed training program that will improve your speed specifically for football.
Things To Do This Month
Parents, if your son is beyond is years and already has a good idea about his field of study, you may want to begin thinking about some top schools in the country. For example, is he thinking of a career in science?
Look into some of the Ivy league schools. They do not offer athletic scholarships, but they do have huge endowments and if his grades are impressive enough, he could attend all expenses paid and play football too.
Check the websites of these schools to see what the admittance requirements are. If you think this is way too early to be thinking about a college, think again, today parents are beginning to groom their kids for college from preschool forward.
Continue with off-season conditioning and speed training. Yes, the season is over, but you can use this time to really improve in these areas so you are more than ready for spring training.
Check the schedule for the National Underclassmen Combines tour and try to make plans to attend one in your area. These combines are designed to showcase up and coming freshmen, sophomores and juniors. It is a terrific way to begin getting your name out there.
Ten Ways For High School Freshmen To Prepare Now For College
College may seem a long way off when you’re in ninth grade but you need to begin preparing for it NOW. All of your academic and extracurricular activities will be a part of your college application.
Start off on the wrong foot now and you’ll end up playing catch up (if you can catch up at all). For freshmen the big ideas are to take demanding classes, keep your grades up and be active outside the classroom.
Below are ten specific tips on what you should be doing now to ensure you can be accepted to the college of your choice.
1. Meet with your high school counselor. Start now being a regular in the counselor’s office. This is where you will find tons of information on colleges, admissions requirements and other things such as tests you need to take.
2. Take Challenging Courses. Colleges want to see good grades sure but they also want to see that you’ve taken the courses needed to prepare you to succeed at the college level.
3. Focus on Grades. You’re going to hear that month after month. All your grades from now on will count toward your GPA (grade point average). Colleges have GPA requirements so the higher your GPA, the more colleges you will be elligibe for as a senior.
4. Continue with a Foreign Language. Colleges require foreign languages. If you continue with a foreign language through high school you will be well on your way to qualifying for the college you want to attend.
5. Get Help If You Need It. If you are struggling with a course, don’t wait until you’re so far behind you’ll have to repeat the class. Ask for help. Ask your teacher, ask your coach, ask your couselor. Most schools have help available and you’ll be glad you got it.
6. Extracurricular Activities. This means more than just playing football. Colleges want to see that you are well-rounded so get involved now in community service and school organizations that you are interested in.
7. Visit Colleges. You’re not visiting as an athlete who is being recruited. You are just getting a feel for different colleges in terms of size, location, private vs. public, academic programs, etc. Use any opportunity to see any college and begin thinking about that short list of your top picks that will be coming sooner than you think.
8. SAT II Subject Tests. You probably won’t need to take any of these this year but it’s important to take some of these as soon as you finish the course. In other words you want to take the Biology test as soon as you finish your high school biology course when the material is fresh.
9. Read a Lot. The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the better your test scores and writing ability will be. The better your scores, the more attractive you are to colleges. So, the more you read, the better your chances are of getting into the college you want.
10. Don’t Blow Off Your Summer. Of course, you’ll be going to football camps and keeping fit, but make sure you use some of this time to volunteer, get involved with community service and other activities that will be rewarding and also look good on your college application.
How To Maximize Financial Aid For College:
Start now as a freshman to work on your grades and community service. This is part of what colleges consider in awarding financial aid. Don’t wait.
Don’t think you won’t qualify for financial aid? There are scholarships based on grades. There are scholarships based on need (family income). There are scholarships based on what you want to major in at college, where your parents work, what college you want to attend. There is money out there for you, you just need to start looking for it now.
Become aware of deadlines and how critical they are. Every aspect of getting into the college you want will involve doing many things. Each of those things will have deadlines associated with it. If you miss a deadline, you may lose an opportunity. Start marking deadlines on a calendar and keep track. This is a habit that will pay dividends the rest of your life.
Start a Writing Portfolio. Keep all those essays you are writing for your high school courses. You will need to look back at your writing over a period of years as part of the college application process. Having these will give you an edge as a senior.
Why Is It Important to Master Your Mental Game?
Mastering the game of football is no easy task. To play at the elite level requires more than just being a tough kid with heart; it also requires intensive training and commitment.
The truth is, no sport, including football, can be completely mastered since there’s always room for improvement individually and as a team.
This Month’s Mental Skill
Focusing on the things that you cannot control is the number one reason for choking in football. Learning to overcome this huge football mental trap will give you an enormous edge over your competition.
There are literally hundreds of things that are outside your control during any given game. For instance: the playing field, the weather, your past mistakes, the crowd, the size strength and skill level of the other team’s players, your own teammates, the eventual outcome of the game and injuries, to name just a few.
Focusing on things that are outside your control will cause you to get stressed, lose your confidence and not play up to your potential.
Learn to quickly recognize when you are focusing on elements on the football game that are beyond your control, then instantly shift your attention to the parts of the game that you can control.
New Legislation Just Approved For Division II
Advanced communication technology like e-mails and texting have forced member schools to drastically relax recruiting restrictions in several areas.
- D-II Athletic programs will be allowed to visit potential recruits on an unlimited basis beginning June 15 before the student athlete’s junior year in high school.
- D-II Programs can now contact student athletes via fax, e-mail, phone, instant message and text starting June 15 before the students junior year.
- Additionally, D-II programs can use social media like Facebook and Twitter to contact recruits as long as it is private. For example, coaches and recruiters could send a message on Facebook, but would not be allowed to write on his wall.
Twitter And Facebook Beware
Now that college coaches monitor Twitter and Facebook as a routine part of the evaluation process, potential athletic recruits have to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL about the content of Tweets, Facebook and other social media.
Recently, the Michigan Wolverines stopped recruiting, Yuri Wright a nationally ranked hot cornerback prospect, as a result of a series of sexual and racially derogatory Tweets. His fate also hangs in the balance with Rutgers.
This young athlete has possibly ruined his chances to play college football. The fact is, although most college athletic scholarship hopefuls have been warned about the possible negative consequences of using social media, now we have concrete proof of how damaging their use can be.
Speak Your Mind