March 29, 2024

Football – October-Junior


Now that you are a Junior, recruiting for you should be speeding up. We’re not saying that the signing day fireworks should start, but by now you and your parents should have started marketing you and your talent to college football coaches.

What is meant by marketing?

If you have achieved significant varsity statistics this past year, here is the minimum marketing you should have done:

A Letter of Introduction or an email introducing yourself should have been sent to all the coaches where you have an interest in playing

 Your Recruiting Profile should be attached to your letter of introduction and sent to these same coaches

  You should have a personal website up and running.

  And, you and your parents should be seriously thinking about how you will get your highlight video done after this season ends.

If no marketing has been done, it is definitely time to get cracking.   Use this time and your Membership Resource Section to develop your letter of introduction or initial contact email, recruiting profile, webpage and highlight video.

Letter Of Introduction

In most cases, your Letter of Introduction or initial contact email should be sent to the recruiting coordinator (go to the college websites and look him up in the staff directory of the athletic site) unless you already know and have worked with a specific position coach during college football camps.

Go to the Membership Resource Section to see a sample.  Here are some things to consider as your write this short and simple first communication to the coaches.

  • It should be written by you with your parents guidance and be grammatically correct with correct spelling.
  • Be short and to the point
  • Tell a little bit about yourself (where and what year you play) and that you have researched schools and the coach’s school is where you would like to play.  Do not sent the same mass email to all the coaches.  Make it relevant to their school.
  • If you have already built a recruiting profile, attach it as a .pdf , .doc or .xls to your email or print it out and put it in with the letter.

Recruiting Profile

Briefly, here is what should be included in your Recruiting Profile.  Go to your Membership Resource Section to see a sample:

  • Your Contact Information including home phone, cell phone, email address both yours and your parents and home address.  If possible, get permission from you high school coach about including his email too.
  • Grades and Academic Information including grade point average and any ACT or SAT scores you have, and class rank if you can get it from your guidance counselor.
  • Athletic Accomplishments including honest stats that you and your team have achieved.
  • Include A Picture of Yourself with a pleasant expression so the coaches can recognize you when recruiting gets serious.
  • Put it in either .pdf, .doc. or .xls.  Most coaches can open these.

Personal Webpage

Your personal webpage is primarily to give the coaches a quick way to find out about your stats, your talent and your accomplishments and it gives them easy access to your highlight videos.  This website is strictly for the convenience of the coaches.  Many of you will know how to put up a web page, others will need to depend on techy friends and some will have to hire it done.  Whichever route you take, here some things to consider:

  • The domain name should be your own name, for example if your name is Thomas Webster, register a domain as www.thomaswebster.com, but if that is taken register as www.thomaswebster44 (your jersey number) or websterfootball.com, or your name and your birth year.
  • Remember, we said your personal website was for the convenience of the coaches.  You can email the link to the coaches or you can tell the coaches to go to your site.   Registering the domain with your name and jersey number is a great way to get him to remember you and your number.
  • Having your video online is a quick and cheap way to get your information reviewed by coaches.  Coaches can click a link and see your stats and highlight video within just seconds.
  • Basically the information including your picture that you put in your profile should be posted on your website, and you should regularly update it with new stats and accomplishments.
  •  DO NOT PUT PERSONAL COMMENTS ON THIS WEBSITE
  • Post your highlight videos on your website.

September 1st Is A Big Recruiting Day For Juniors

Starting September 1st of your Junior year, the coaches can start sending you ‘real mail’, that is mail other than revenue camp invites and questionnaires, which are typically sent out by the droves.

Now you can get serious communication from the coaches like hand written notes, game invites, and even scholarship offers if they think you are good enough; all of which show genuine interest in you. If you do have a written scholarship offer at this time, consider yourself in the top 2% of all the high school football players in the country.

The facts are, though, that most of you will have to wait until later to receive scholarship offers, but there are a number of important things you can do now to help yourself:

 You should be on the radar of all the schools where there is even a remote chance you will eventually play, that is you should have sent a letter of introduction and your recruiting profile to all the football programs at schools where you have dreamed about playing, those where you wouldn’t mind playing and also to some other ones where you are a sure fit both academically and athletically.

 If you even suspect that you may not be a good fit for the D-1 programs in your state or around the country, then you should also send your recruiting profile to those lower level D-1AA, D-11, and even D-111 schools where you know you would be a fit. Also, fill out and return every single questionnaire from every school that sends you one. This is an efficient way to, at least, get on their recruiting radar if you aren’t already.

Make Sure To Apply Where You Are A Good Fit

Remember, it is far better to get to play the sport you love in college and get your college paid for than it is to hold out for a powerhouse football program that may be showing only mild interest in you.  Make sure that you have applied to enough schools where you KNOW you will be a fit.

These football scholarships can easily be worth a hundred thousand dollars and many are worth twice that figure.  Leaving college with a degree that equips you to make it in the world and no debt is something that few college graduates today can claim.

Are You Registered With The NCAA?

If you have not already registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, use this link to do so now. This is the official site which determines each high school athlete’s eligibility to participate in college sports and it is the authority on your high school academic credentials.


In this section we’ll not only be guiding you through the tried and true methods for paying your college expenses, but we’ll also be including some alternative and unusual ways that you might never have considered.

Add these tips to your Financial Aid Tips file. Remember, there’s plenty of money out there that has to go somewhere. It may as well be you.

FINANCIAL AID TIPS:

 Register for the October PSAT. The PSAT qualifies students for the National Merit Scholarship Competition. If you get a high PSAT and SAT score, good grades, and a recommendation from high school, you may become a National Merit Scholarship Finalist which could qualify you for a scholarship.

 Do not rule out any college because of costs. Why? The more expensive schools will offer more financial aid than the less expensive ones, so your costs should end up being about the same.

 Continue looking at scholarship requirements to understand the qualifications you need in order to obtain funds that you won’t have to repay.


Staying on track with your GRADES?

 Review your high school class plan and take the most challenging classes you can handle. Consider earning college credit while in high school through Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Post secondary Enrollment Options or College in the Schools. Check to see that the colleges you prefer will accept these credits.

 Participate in school activities that are meaningful to you. Stay involved in extracurricular activities as long as you can maintain a balance between your schoolwork and your other activities. Continue or start community service. If you need ideas ask teachers or counselors for suggestions.

 If you haven’t done so already, make a college wish list of at least 15 colleges. Develop a preliminary ranking of the schools on your list. Include on the list those colleges that meet your most important criteria (athletic programs, size, location, cost, academic majors, or any other special programs). Consider each of these factors according to their importance to you.

 Continue attending college fairs and financial aid events. By attending college fairs, you can start narrowing your list of schools down or you may discover a college you hadn’t thought of.

 Arrange campus visits to those colleges that interest you and speak to the college representatives that visit your high school.  If you can’t visit all your favorites, check  youniversitytv.com for over 3000 virtual college tours.  Another such site is campustours.com.

Following is a list of tips for getting the most out of your college campus visits:

  • Ask yourself: Do you want to live here for the next four years?
  • Eat in the college cafeteria. Notice the atmosphere and evaluate the food.
  • Listen in on conversations to see what students are talking about. It may be a bit rude but you will find out a great deal.
  • Ask a few students to tell you what they like or don’t like about the school.
  • Talk to faculty in your major department. Remember these people may be your teachers in the future. Ask questions.

Things To Do This Month:

 Take the PSAT in the middle of this month.  You’ve got a couple of weeks before you take the test, continue your test taking preparation by going online and taking various PSAT practice tests.

How To Prepare Mentally For Competition

How well you can control your mind determines whether you choke, go crazy or are able to remain focused and calm during competition.

Overcoming mental and emotional weakness is difficult to achieve, especially if you let your defects overwhelm you.

Learn to turn your weaknesses into positive outcomes. Begin by knowing your deficiencies. Do you get nervous, anxious, or angry? Train yourself to avoid letting these negative emotions reach the surface. Change your anxiety into energy and your anger into the determination to win. Learn to view a “raw deal” as a challenge.

Mentally tough football players view competition with fascination, however, they realize that it is just a sport and their self-image is not wrapped up in whether they win or lose. Their self-worth comes from knowing who they are from an inner perspective.

They slow down to enjoy the adrenalin rush of the present moment, and they understand that practice and the games are a part of the journey.

“Mental Toughness Tips”

1. Even when you are tired or discouraged, stay pumped up.

2. Even if you are losing, act as if’ you are winning.

3. Stay loose and relaxed during breaks in the play.

4. Plan your strategy before the game.

5. Before beginning each game, follow the same rituals.

6. The more intense the game gets, the more you love it.

7. Thrive on the fun of the play.

8. Stay positive no matter how bad things are going.

9. Stay intensely focused on the competition.

10. Realize that toughness is more important than talent.

11. Maintain your composure regardless of the score.

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 families will have to add to any financial aid.

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