Navigating the NCAA recruitment process – Part 2

Key topic

This is the second and final lesson of our two-part lecture on the NCAA Recruitment process. During the previous lesson, we discussed some of the factors that will play a role in the recruitment process and explore the Eligibility Checklist. Today we will focus on three other things. First, we will look into the Do’s and Don’ts of the Recruitment process; second, we will revisit the Amateurism criterion as it is extremely important, and third, we will look into the emotions associated with the final decision, whether you are recruited or not.

Learning objectives

• Find out what to pursue and what to avoid in order to maximize your chances of being accepted in collegiate sports
• Appreciate the importance of amateurism in the recruitment process
• Anticipate  the  emotions  that  will  accompany  the  final  decision  in  connection  with recruitment

Do’s and Don’ts in the recruitment process

In the recruitment process, it’s very easy for you and your parents to get too involved and make mistakes, or break the rules. Whether it’s contacting coaches, heavily following a college team’s social media, or pressuring coaches to make a decision, pushing your high school coach to put in a favor with a college and so on. Remember it’s your time to shine, be the team MVP, but do it in style and in the right way. Here are some tips:

• Communicate with college coaches directly and on your own, practicing self- advocacy. It is ok for your parents to monitor the communication closely, it is actually suggested that you create shared email accounts, or have conference calls, but refrain from allowing your parents to take lead in the communication and responding to the communication on your behalf. Practice your communication in advance and be as professional as possible.
• Stay organized and on top of things by creating to-do lists and calendars dedicated strictly to recruiting and the deadlines you need to follow; keep track of the details pertaining to your communication with colleges and coaches.
• Be aware of the importance of open communication and follow up for the inflow of the right information and feel free to do your own research, on top of any information you receive from your parents, your high school or any other source. It’s not a matter of trust, but it never hurts to double check everything yourself.
• Your effort in the classroom and the playing field must be equal and at its peak. It’s ok for your parents to be involved, as they want to show you how much they care, but remember it’s your hard work, it’s your determination, it’s your discipline, it’s your performance that will dictate the outcome and help you achieve your goals.
• Your parents should be realistic in their expectations of their kids’ future and in their communication with them. They should allow high school and college coaches to dictate expectations, based of course on the athletes’ own expectations and desires, and not their own. At no point should your parents try to realize their dreams through you.
• Do not allow anyone to dictate your expectations about your future but at the same time be honest with yourself and realistic, allowing others to do the same in their assessment. Make sure the decisions of which college to attend and what major to follow are yours and yours alone. It’s your future, it’s your life after all.
• Allow the recruiting process to come to you and not the other way around. In other words, be patient, don’t over-push, and trust the process. Explicitly avoid behavior that would otherwise not be socially acceptable, when it comes to interacting with any sort of third party in the process. Don’t allow impatience and panic to hurt your chances.  That of course does not imply that you should be passive and not proactive.
• Refrain from over-promoting yourself on social media or bombarding colleges’ social media pages with material and information regarding your performance. Whatever you do, make sure you depict an accurate and truthful image of your abilities, sport wise and academically. Trust the fact that your performance will speak volumes and will do all the talking for you.
• Learn to face and accept rejection or lack of interest from colleges; prepare for the possibility that you are not chosen and accept the fact that it’s not a reflection of your abilities, rather a reflection of choice from others, which you cannot control. Don’t allow yourself to be discouraged at any point. An offer could literally come on the last available day.

Amateurism

As already discussed, amateurism is one of the cornerstones of the NCAA eligibility process. The NCAA promotes amateurism to create a level playing field for all student-athletes, who must be students first and athletes second. If an athlete wants to compete in NCAA sports, they must be an amateur athlete.

Prospective student-athletes enrolling for the first time at a Division I or II school must receive a final amateurism certification before being eligible to compete, as already indicated. This includes transfers from junior colleges, NAIA, international or Division III schools.

To receive an amateurism certification, prospective student-athletes should:

• Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center;
• Fill out the “Sports Participation” section during registration;
• Request final amateurism certification promptly; and
• Monitor tasks assigned to their account.

Below are some situations that may impact a prospective student-athlete’s amateur status:

• Taking a break between high school/secondary school and full-time collegiate enrollment and continuing to participate in your sport(s).
• Using a recruiting agency, scholarship agent or a scouting service.
• Receiving payment from a sports team to participate.
• Receiving funds or money to offset training expenses.
• Accepting prize money based on performance/finish at a competition.

Additionally, here are some other tips regarding your amateur status:

• Recognize that your relationship with your parents takes precedent over any sort of relationship with a college. This means that parents that also serve as an athletic booster, or representative of any college’s athletics interests of any sort, are recognized by that college as a parent first and a booster second. Discuss this with your parents, if you are in a similar situation and make the best possible decision for your future.
• Make sure to avoid any sort of communication or, even worse, an agreement with representatives or agents.
• Student-athletes, parents and relatives may not receive any extra benefits from an agent or anyone associated with an agent. Doing so, could jeopardize eligibility.
• Student-athletes and their parents may not receive any extra benefits due to the student-athlete’s participation in athletics.
• Per NCAA rules and regulations, it is not permissible for you to accept anything that is not generally available to the student body, at the high school or college level.
• Do not accept anything from a sports agent, scout, runner or outside equipment vendor.
• Do not accept any complimentary or discounted items, such as merchandise or lodging, offered because of your status as a high school student-athlete or college prospect.
• Do not accept any sort of gifts, payments, meals, reimbursement of expenses by the university or by a representative of athletics interests (booster). A booster is a person who promotes a specific college program and/or makes a financial contribution towards that program and/or provides other benefits. This is a status that once acquired, can never change, so don’t be misled by them.
• It is not permissible for student-athletes, their friends and relatives to sell any item received incidental to the student-athlete’s participation on a sports team.

A major point of caution: Beware that in the summer of 2021, the NCAA relaxed its NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) exploitation criteria, allowing college athletes to benefit from their NIL, after a major loss at the Supreme Court. However, regarding high school students, the ultimate authority is your high school and/or your state laws. Violating those can in turn lead to problems that may jeopardize your NCAA eligibility indirectly. This statement was valid at the time of writing. Please do your own research to ensure that accuracy of the above at the time of reading this. In late 2021, only California allowed high school students to benefit from their NIL.

Let’s watch a 2-minute video addressing the above statement:

NCAA NIL: What High School Student-Athletes Need To Know

Dealing with the emotional roller coaster

It has been mentioned, time and again, throughout these lessons that most high school student-athletes will not get the opportunity to play collegiate sports; 94% of them precisely, according to NCAA statistics, will not play organized sports after their high school days. It’s not intended to put kids down, or discourage parents from making an investment in their kids. It is repeatedly mentioned, because repetition is the mother of learning and because preparation is key; preparation is more than half the battle to be won.

Going through the last two years of high school is a true game changer for you. Hormones are sky rocketing and sexual maturity begins to heighten. Peer pressure is enormous, social influences derived from social media are exponentially growing. Pressure from teachers, pressure from parents, pressure from peers, some bullying perhaps, little free time, and everyone’s eyes and great expectations concentrated on you. Can you feel it?

This is a description of a typical high school student; that of a high school student-athlete is a ten-fold of that; add coaches, teams, games, travelling, eyes from the whole school being on you, pep rallies, social parties and outings, people look and talk about what you wear, what you say; you have pressure to perform in the playing field and in the classroom, the need to be top in your “game”; everyone wants to have game, on and off the playing field. It cannot be really understood from those who have never done it.

It should be a priority to behave as an MVP. That means doing the work, excelling in class  and in sports, behaving responsibly and respectfully to everyone, not allowing distractions to get the better of you. It’s time for you to step up and be the adult, take responsibility and own it and just concentrate on getting the job done. You will have time to enjoy the benefits and relax, you will have time for social interactions later.  Now it’s the time to focus and perform.

You are now reaching that point in your life, where the sacrifices are greater than the returns. You first should know and accept this fact; sitting at home after the game, wondering what the scout really thought; being home on a Sunday morning hoping for the phone to ring from a college head coach; reading the local newspaper at 6am every morning, hoping for a glimpse of news that a reporter may accidentally have overheard or got a coaching staff member to say “off the record”, about a National Letter of Intent being sent; checking emails ten times a day, pounding that refresh button, hoping for some communication. This is what is coming for the next two years in your life. It’s ok for you to be anxious and nervous. Embrace it, but don’t let it interfere with your mindset and your effort. Don’t let anything discourage you.

Control the things you can control. At this point, you as a student athlete can only control two things; the classroom GPA and the sports performance, both arising from effort, resolve, discipline, goal-orientation and a pure never-ending thirst for a “Return on Investment”, the pure will to say “Failure is not an option”. Prepare for success. Prepare to be greater than ever before. Attitude is key. Being focused and remaining humble is a good recipe for success.

At the same time, leave some room in the back of your head, for the unfortunate scenario of not playing collegiate sports, which is by no means a failure or an inadequacy. It’s just the way the system works; 94% of the student-athletes will be in the exact same position. You are not a failure; you would not have failed and most certainly you would NOT have failed your parents and coaches or anyone else for that matter.

Prepare yourself to deal with this emotional rollercoaster, which takes patience and a lot of hard work. It’s ok to feel down sometimes, it’s ok to be anxious and worried; even panic every now and then could be considered acceptable. The key is not allowing these emotions to interfere with your plan. Your effort and your resolve, your discipline and goal-orientation should remain the same, unaffected by external factors. That is the way you will beat the odds.

Be real with yourself concerning your expectations and dreams; own these dreams and expectations, while taking responsibility for the adverse outcome too, if it were to occur. Think clearly and carefully about which college to attend and what major to follow and make only one decision, one and final, and stick to it; ride it out. Be thankful at all times, for the opportunity, for your talent, for your family and friends. If you do make it to college sports, this is only the beginning, there is nothing to be taken for granted and you will need to work hard in the next four years.

If you don’t make it, you should still be thankful for the opportunity to participate, the opportunity to try and the sacrifices everyone around you have made (family, friends, love partners, teachers, coaches, trainers, tutors, counselors and the list goes on), so you at least could have a shot. Being thankful, means feeling respect and appreciation for this support system in place. Comradery developed over this period of your life will be something to cherish in the years to come. Worry only about yourself and the things you can control.

Don’t compare your journey and your experience with your friends’ journey in other sports, or your teammates’ journey which is unique for everyone. Share the joy with those who make it to college, obviously they deserve it, athletes know that first hand.

Then there are the tough choices. Athletes may receive offers from schools they don’t like, or coaches that don’t click, or colleges that don’t offer the degrees they want to major in; even worse, colleges may offer roster spots without full scholarships, or even in the total absence of one. Parents should always choose to prioritize the best future for their kids. No one would even imagine the possibility of advising kids to turn down offers from colleges. But don’t rule it out. Make sure the decision ends the emotional rollercoaster and puts your mind at rest; because if it doesn’t, you probably (as a team with your parents) have made a bad or a wrong choice of school. There is no silver lining, there is no right or wrong, not a “fix” that can be used in this scenario. It’s all trial and error. In this scenario, you are on your own; you and your parents have to decide what’s best. Remember that playing it safe is a very good option some times. Other times, the greatest risk is not taking one. It’s all up to you together with your parents to decide. Enjoy the ride!

Action steps – Exercise 1 (15 minutes)
Let’s find out what you took away from today’s lecture. Please respond to the following statements with a True or False (T/F):

1. You should put pressure on college coaches to make a decision in your favor as it shows your willingness, commitment and determination ___     _
2. You should let your parents handle most of the communication with prospective colleges as they know better how to navigate everything Stay organized and on top of things by creating to-do lists and calendars dedicated to recruiting and the deadlines you need to follow ___
3. Refrain  from over-promoting  yourself on  social  media  or bombarding  colleges’ social media pages with material and information regarding your performance ___
4. To   receive  an   amateurism   certification,   prospective   student-athletes   should register with the NCAA Eligibility Center and  fill out the “Sports Participation” section during registration, among other things  ___
5. You may accept, prize money based on performance at a competition, without risking your Amateurism status  ___   
6. Student-athletes, parents and relatives may not receive any extra benefits from an agent or anyone associated with an agent. Doing so, could jeopardize eligibility ___
7. In the summer of 2021, the NCAA made major alterations in its NIL. These directly allow high school student-athletes to benefit from their NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) no questions asked  ___
8. Make sure to avoid any sort of communication and most importantly, an agreement with representatives or agents ___                  
9. Since it’s your last year, you should invest almost fully in sports. Academics can wait  ___
10. You should put pressure on college coaches to make a decision in your favor as it shows your willingness, commitment and determination ___
11. You should let your parents handle most of the communication with prospective colleges as they know better how to navigate everything ___
12. Stay organized and on top of things by creating to-do lists and calendars dedicated to recruiting and the deadlines you need to follow ___
13. Refrain from over-promoting  yourself on  social  media  or bombarding  colleges’ social media pages with material and information regarding your performance ___
14. To  receive  an   amateurism   certification,   prospective   student-athletes   should register with the NCAA Eligibility Center and  fill out the “Sports Participation” section during registration, among other things ___
15. You may accept, prize money based on performance at a competition, without risking your Amateurism status ___
16. Student-athletes, parents and relatives may not receive any extra benefits from an agent or anyone associated with an Doing so, could jeopardize eligibility ___
17. In the summer of 2021, the NCAA made major alterations in its These directly allow high school student-athletes to benefit from their NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) no questions asked    
18. Make sure to avoid any sort of communication and most importantly, an agreement with representatives or agents        
19. Since it’s your last year, you should invest almost fully in Academics can wait         

Answer sheet

Lesson wrap-up

With this lesson we have concluded your familiarization with the NCAA recruitment process. We began with some do’s and don’ts that you need to be aware of and then explored the Amateurism criterion in detail, including the recent (summer 2021) changes. Finally, we explained that the following months can be described as an emotional roller coaster. You should prepare for pressure, nervousness, excitement, anxiety, ups and downs building up to the day of the final decision. The important thing is to be prepared for any scenario.

At this point we will wrap up today’s lesson. First, we will go over the learning objectives of this lesson and we want your feedback as to whether they have been achieved and then we will address any questions you may have. Please feel free to ask anything you’d like in relation to today’s lesson and we would love to hear how the concepts we discussed today relate to you and your life!