Football – Freshman – October

Sincerely asking yourself these difficult questions now and doing a complete realistic assessment of yourself as it relates to football will help you spot weaknesses so that you can begin early to improve and perfect in those areas.

Unless you are one of those rare elite and mature athletes, as a freshman, you will not be seeing much playing time.  Most coaches, even those coaching at smaller schools, hesitate to bring up freshmen players, and as many as 95% of freshman do not see any significant varsity play.

Does that mean you won’t have a chance at a Division I scholarship?  Absolutely not, there is still a GREAT CHANCE that you will provided you start early to improve in your game and market yourself to the coaches.

If you are one of the exceptional stellar ‘blue chip’ athletes, and after your freshman year you have the stats to back it up, by all means, send an email to the college football coaches where you would be interested in playing and get yourself in their database.

Most high school athletes dream of playing for one of the big time D-I Universities; however, the facts are, that very few athletes have the God-given talent to play at this highly competitive level, but for those of you who don’t, there are still many, many opportunities for you to play and earn yourself a scholarship.

While hard work, heart, passion, and persistence can get you far, at some point physical attributes set in. Remember the old adage that “you can’t teach height”?  You’re a high school freshman and you will, more than likely, get taller, but the point is be realistic in your physical assessment of yourself.

For example, you may not have the physical attributes to play at the University Of Alabama, but the coach at UNM and literally hundreds of other schools would love to recruit you for his team.

Due to improved training methods and conditioning techniques, today’s athletes are stronger and faster than ever before, and they begin their football training at an earlier age. In fact, in some sports, basketball for example, scholarships are being offered even to 8th graders.

You’ll be competing for scholarships and your talents will be compared with athletes all across the U.S. and around the world. Do all you can to improve yourself, and when you’ve done all you can, bear in mind that during the recruiting process the athlete’s Potential is a vital consideration. College coaches know from experience that even moderate athletic performance can be boosted immensely with their intensive training methods.

Here are some things you can do this month to prepare to play scholarship level football:

 Begin this month doing research on the different schools where you would like to play to determine what athletic level you need to be at to play football at those schools.

 Start grooming yourself to eventually compete at those schools.   Set your sights on becoming the kind of athlete they recruit for their teams.

 Also start doing research to see what kind of grades and SAT/ACT scores you need to be admitted to those schools.

 Remember, according to the NCAA, you are no longer a student, you are now a student athlete.  For the most part, recruited athletes have and maintain good grades.

FINANCIAL TIPS

What do all these words mean?   What aid will I have to pay back after college?

 Scholarship: funds provided to qualified applicants that do not have to be paid back

 Scholarship/Loan: funds provided to qualified applicants that may or may not have to be paid back depending on stated conditions

 Grant: funds provided to qualified applicants that do not have to be paid back

 Loan: funds provided to qualified applicants that do have to be paid back, usually with interest

College may seem a long way off at this point,but grades really do count
toward scholarships and admission
requirements.
STAY ON TOP OF YOUR GRADES!

Things To Do This Month

1. Explore your interests and start thinking about possible careers. Take advantage of any career day opportunities at your school or local community college. Ask your teachers for advice on careers in their academic area and what you need to know now. You may have taken a career interest survey in middle school. Check with your counselor if you don’t remember the results.

2. Learn to manage your time. Here’s some great time management tips.

For each study period, decide ahead of time what you want to accomplish and how long you will spend on each subject or assignment.

* Take your homework one step at a time and break your workload down into manageable chunks. Use any class time you have (even 5 minutes) to start your homework and get help if you need it. Use any online sites your teacher gives you for help and extra practice.

* Avoid putting things off. Plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time to get things done. Stick to your schedule.

* Know and stay aware of the things that could distract you.

* Set aside times to study when you know you will be the most effective.

For example, if you know that you get tired after 9 P.M., try to finish your work before then. If you are more energetic and creative in the mornings, write the first drafts of your assignments then.

3. Start a calendar with important dates and deadlines. Include all your major assignments that are due each term. Get in the habit now of checking your calendar daily.

4. Talk to friends who are already in college about college life. What do they wish they had known before college?

5. Even if it is not appealing to you, get to know your high school counselor well. Knowing your counselor can help with issues like getting into college-prep classes, writing college reference letters, and many other issues down the road. Check out the bulletin boards around school for information on colleges, careers, financial aid information, deadlines, etc.

6. Avoid stress over academics. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Try to prioritize your activities and focus on the most important ones. Work off stress through some form of exercise. Physical activity will take your mind off the things that are bugging you.

Six Tips To Conquering Your Fear

 Realize that fear is in your mind, it is not reality. When you feel afraid, immediately shift your thoughts to the positive side. For example, think of how skilled you are, how well you’ve trained for this game, and how many times you’ve completed these very same plays perfectly in practice.  Avoid thinking negative thoughts about “what if” this or that happens.

  Acknowledge that fear natural. There’s tons of pressure linked with football performance and it’s perfectly natural to be afraid. Channel that pregame fear and adrenaline burst to winning energy on the field. In practice, try to duplicate the fear situation so you’ll know what to expect in the game.

  Talk to yourself differently about fear. Refer to it as “intense high energy”, a “challenge” or “excitement.” When you can use a positive alternative to a negative word, you are well on your way to overcoming your fears.

  If you begin to experience fear gripping your body, consciously breathe deeply and rhythmically. Relax those areas where you know you carry excess tension.

  Be aware of exactly what is causing your fear. Are you really afraid of missing a tackle or dropping the ball, or are you more afraid that an old injury will come into play? Overcome this negative “what if” self talk by keeping your focus on the moment at hand, just take the game one step at a time.

  When you start to experience fear, have a ‘thought shifting phrase’ handy. It can be anything that is short that will remind you to immediately put a different positive picture in your mind. For example, you could say to yourself, “I’ve trained hard, I’m unstoppable.”

Net Cost Calculator

According to the Federal Government, as of October 29th, all colleges and universities must have installed on their websites a NET COST CALCULATOR for determining the real out of pocket expenses that families will have to pay for college expenses after all financial aid including athletic scholarships have been figured in.

This handy and much needed website tool will enable families to accurately predict ahead of time how much they will have to come up with in addition to any financial aid.