Get The Ball Rolling Early
Today, the Internet makes it possible for college football coaches to recruit worldwide. Recruiting profiles, highlight videos and game tapes can be posted on the Web for literally every coach in the country to see instantly. You must think nationally rather than regionally in today’s recruiting world; you can no longer just think of being recruited by a school in your state or region.
Parents and athletes, make it your top priority to know and understand the NCAA rules as they apply to football. Because of the Internet an social media sites like Facebook, the rules for contacting potential recruits are changing rapidly. Knowing an understanding the rules now will keep you from breaking them and your heart as you move through the recruiting process.
It is important that you get your name in the coaches computer database as early as possible. Make it a high priority to contact the schools via email where you might like to play early on. See a sample Letter Of Introduction in the Member’s Resource Center.
Here’s why. Once you appear on their radar, you can update your information periodically with any accomplishments so the coaches can track your improvement over the years.
You and your parents should decide now to be proactive in your recruiting process. It could be the difference between receiving a college athletic scholarship or not. Realize that many coaches have very limited recruiting budgets and they actually depend on you to get your information to them.
Once you are in their database, you can send regular updates as to your accomplishments and improvements. For example, if you had a 4.8 this year, when you cut it down to 4.6, send them an update.
As a Freshman football player, you should know what the ‘measurables’ are for your sport. As examples, you will measured on your vertical jump and bench press and you will be timed on your 40-yard dash. Remember, these measurables must be verified in order to count.
Many high school football players do not realize their dreams of playing college ball simply because they do know how to honestly assess their athletic abilities. They think they are better than they are and they shoot for unrealistic fits. Start now to be honest about how fast you are in the 40 and how high you can jump. This will give you a real evaluation of where you are now and will allow you to set goals based on the real facts.
Develop Mow Them Down Bursts Of Power
Use this time in March to get bigger, faster, and stronger. As football players you are not only allowed, but you are encouraged to bulk-up to a certain extent. Too much bulk though, can lead to loss of flexibility and speed and can result in injury.
Weight Room Tips
Use the weights intelligently and correctly. Perform all exercises using full range of motion and good form with no jerking or throwing the weights.
Know how to execute each exercise in your workout program. Using the weights incorrectly can result in injury and will prevent you from obtaining maximum benefits.
Since maximal strength training involves the use of heavy weights to increase explosive bursts of power, it is crucial that you ALWAYS USE A SPOTTER.
Realize that only after you have built strength and power in the weight room will you have at your disposal the rock solid muscle foundation to increase your power and strength on the football practice field.
With each rep, visualize yourself moving toward your ultimate goal of landing a College Athletic Scholarship. Doing so will help you keep your goal in sharp focus.
Composure Under Fire
It is a fact that during every game or in most practices there are many opportunities for someone to make a mistake that causes someone to lose emotional control. Either your coach, the referee, one or several of your teammates or even you will at sometime do or say something that may make you apt to blow your stack.
So what can you do to keep your composure when things get heated? That has been a question that sports psychologists have been working to solve for years. The experts have come up some simple steps that anyone can use to stay calm under fire.
- First, in order to keep maximum composure, you must recognize that mistakes are going to happen if you play sports. You must accept that they are inevitable. Everyone makes them no matter how skilled a player they are, and you will make them too.
- Next, you need to develop a strategy to deal with mistakes when they happen, and you should have this plan to regain your composure in mind before you engage in any game or practice.
- Then, you need to identify the things that cause you to lose it on the field. Knowing before hand what causes you to lose your composure is a big step in the right direction.
1. Failing To Perform Perfectly – When you set high expectations for your play and you feel that you are not playing to those elite standards that you have set for yourself. Doing this will cause you to focus on your errors instead of the next play at hand.
2. Loss Of Social Approval – This happen when you imagine what others are thinking about your performance. When you worry about how others are judging your play, you are distracted from the next play up.
3. Irrational Beliefs – When you indulge in irrational beliefs like “I will never catch a pass”, or “I’m going to throw an interception”, you are really bringing to pass that which you dread.
4. Fear Of Failure – When you are afraid you will lose or fail, your play is iffy and defensive rather than clearheaded and decisive.
5. Focusing On Mistakes – Athletes that are unable to get past mistakes are unable to regain composure quickly, their dwelling on errors causes them to get frustrated preventing them from keeping their heads in the game.
An easy way to start calming down when you start to boil is to remember the three R’s for regaining composure. Recognize – Regroup – Refocus.
Recognize – First you must become aware that you are dwelling on the error, this keeps you from focusing on the next play.
Regroup – Next you have to break the debilitating circle of thought, you must challenge your emotions and convince yourself that your thinking is irrational. For example, say to yourself, I’ve trained for this and I’m good at it, just wait until the next play.
Refocus – Last, ask yourself, “what do I need I need to focus on to be successful in the next play”, answering this question will take your mind off your mistake and get your head back in the game.
Self Motivation in Studying Can Help Achieve Your Academic Goals
Let’s face it, very few people like to study. You may not have had to study much until now. Instead of having parents or teachers on your back about studying, take the opportunity to become more self motivated. If you are the one in charge, studying can become easier and will help you achieve your academic goals.
Below are some ways to improve your self motivation to study:
1. Reward yourself for studying. Find something to look forward to after your study session.
2. Study with a group. Study groups can really help if the group members are serious about the task.
3. Remind yourself of your long-term goals. Think about how your academic success is going to help you.
4. Eliminate distractions. Turn that TV off. And the cell phone too.
5. Develop interest in what you are studying. Try to figure out how this relates to you in some way.
6. Establish achievable goals. Don’t try to cram in all your studying in one night. It won’t happen.
7. Create a comfortable environment. Some people do better at a desk, others want to sprawl on the floor.
8. Give yourself a break. Take breaks at logical stopping places to make restarting easier.
9. Use motivational tools. Make a poster for your wall that has words or pictures of what you want to achieve in the future.
10. Just do it. It feels so much better to do it than to dread it.
9 Financial Aid Myths
College is just too expensive for our family. College tuition is rising but high tuition does not provide the only way to get a good education.
There’s not a lot of financial aid available. Billions of dollars in aid are available. It’s out there but you won’t get any of it unless you apply.
My parents’ income is too high to qualify for aid. Aid is available to families in all income brackets. Other factors such a number of family members in college are considered.
My parents saved for college so we won’t qualify for aid. Aid is based primarily on family income, not savings.
I’m not a straight A student so I won’t get aid. While there a many aid opportunities that reward scholarship, there are many others that are need based and don’t even consider grades.
Working will hurt my academic success. Working full-time and taking a full load in college is very hard to do. However, research shows that students who work moderate hours do better academically.
I should live at home to save money. Not necessarily. Consider commuting costs and how often you will need to be on campus before making this decision.
Private schools are out of reach for my family. Don’t rule out private schools automatically. Make your decision after you get the aid package offers from all schools to see which offer is best.
My family will have to sell their house to pay for college. No college expects that. Aid is based more on family income than other factors.
NCAA Upholds Multiyear Scholarships
According the NCAA’s press release:
“Multiyear scholarship legislation, one of several measures the Division I Board of Directors adopted in the wake of an August 2011 presidential retreat, was upheld in a membership override vote that concluded Friday.
As such, Division I schools will have the option to offer scholarships guaranteed for more than one year.”
This new rule by the NCAA will no doubt be a huge recruiting tool in years to come with schools that offer multiyear scholarships having a distinct recruiting advantage over those that don’t, but you should remember that more that 62% of the member schools voted to override this new rule.
This means that while some D-I programs may offer guaranteed multiyear scholarships, you and your parents should comb the fine print of the contract to look for loopholes that will let the schools out of the contract if you become a liability to their program.
As marketing specialists like to say, “What the bold print giveth the fine print taketh away.”
As examples, what if you become a disciplinary problem, or if your conduct off the field becomes an embarrassment to the institution, or if you perform poorly as an athlete or what if you get injured, can the school terminate the scholarship?
College football coaches will insist on ways to address these potential problems. Look for well-written contracts that will allow the individual schools the discretion of terminating the scholarships should the athlete fail to live up to expectations in any of these ways.
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