Recruiting Summary & Steps

Recruiting Summary & Steps

Your Mustangs Coaches and the Mustangs Recruiting Coordinator are here to help! The recruiting process is more successful when the player, family and coaches work together and there is consistent communication with the target program. College Coaches want to hear from players more than parents or High School and Travel Coaches although your Coach can be a VERY useful asset in the process. Your Mustangs Coaches and the Recruiting Coordinator can be available to talk with you as a family or team about the Recruiting Process. Ask!

Start early! Identify Target Schools Consider school size, location, academic interests Consider the Player s projected skill level Look at DI, DII, DIII, NAIA & JUCO s

Understanding Athletic Scholarships DI Programs even when fully funded only have 12 Athletic Scholarships to give per year. With most Rosters over 20 players it s easy to see the Full Rides are mostly fiction! For the most part Athletic Scholarships combined with Grants and Academic monies form packages. DII Programs when fully funded have 7 Athletic Scholarships to work with. DIII Programs do not have any Athletic Scholarships but work from Academic monies, Grants and Federal Aid. JUCO s typically have Athletic monies and Academic monies to work with and can be a great path to play and study at a larger DI Program for 4 year degree. NAIA s have 10 Athletic Scholarships and Academic monies to work with

Initial Steps: Once you have identified your target schools (and remember to go big and wide initially) send an introductory email from the player to the Coach expressing interest in the School and their softball program for your continuing education.

Introductory Emails: Personalize the email to the Coach (e.g. Hello Coach Smith, not Hello Coach. Do not blast email to 20 coaches all cc d on the email) Give them your name, High School, Travel team, Positions played, Graduation Year etc. Express your interest in their program and the School for your continuing education Remember they get dozens of emails everyday. Be short, give highlights and easy to follow. Include a electronic signature with your name, grad year, travel team and positions played.

Make a Contact Sheet: Keep track of who you are emailing, what you emailed. Repetition and updates help advance the player on the Coaches Whiteboard. While there s a point that s too much, a good communication program with your target list, balanced throughout the year will be most beneficial. Follow up updates about stats, academic or sport accolades, upcoming Showcase or Season schedules are all worthy items to continue communication. One introductory email or one contact a year doesn t serve you the best.

Next Steps: Once you have built your target lists and sent your introductory and follow up update emails, the next logical step is a phone call to the Coach A player, at any age, can call a College Coach and talk to them. A coach cannot call you back or email you back depending on your age but most of them do appreciate the effort put forth by potential recruits when they call and talk with them or leave a brief hello message. A phone call to the Coach further demonstrates your interest and drive regarding their program. The phone call is another way to move yourself higher on the Coaches Whiteboard of potential recruits!

Recruiting Questionnaires: Most Colleges and Universities have a Recruiting Questionnaire on their Softball or Athletic website. This is used by the College Coaches to gain more information on the potential recruit for their database. It will probably also set you up in their email contact databases to get event and camp invites. Taking the time to fill out these questionnaires further demonstrates to that schools coaching staff that you are sincerely interested in their school and Program!

Official and Unofficial Visits: There are two types of visits to Schools An official visit is set up by the Coach and Target School when your are formally being recruited and the school is typically paying for the trip. There are only a certain number of Official visits allowed by each athlete An Unofficial visit where the athlete has arranged and bares all costs. You can do as many of these as you want. Coaches do welcome visit and sometimes depending on time of year and their schedule do set aside time to meet and show the athlete around campus and the facilities. This is another way to demonstrate your sincere interest in the school and softball program and a way to get a feel for the type of school you are looking for.

NCAA and NAIA Clearinghouse: In order to receive an Athletic Scholarship and play in College, an Athlete must have pre-registered and been approved by the respective Clearinghouse. If you are expecting to play NCAA (e.g. DI, DII, JUCO etc) you will need to Register and get your ID from the NCAA Clearinghouse. http://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr2/ncaa_ems/ncaa.jsp If you are expecting to play NAIA you will need to register and get your NAIA Clearinghouse ID. http://www.playnaia.org/page/register.php

Help and information is available The Recruiting process is an exciting time. Some find it daunting, but remember many Mustangs Coaches have personally and successfully been through the process. They have built significant contacts. There s a wealth of information and support within the Program. Your Coach can help you with the process and can engage the help of the Georgia Mustangs Recruiting Coordinator as needed. Good Luck!

NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, and NJCAA (JUCO) Schools There are around 3000 universities/colleges in the US, in different locations, at different levels of athletics, and different costs. o NCAA, Div. I and II (large public universities) o NCAA Div. III (usually small private colleges) o NAIA (usually small private colleges) o NJCAA (community colleges) NCAA Division I is the big leagues of college athletics. For the most part it is a heavily funded, scholarship dense, publicly well-known organization that prides itself on having the best athletes. While full ride scholarships are few and far between even at fully funded programs, partial scholarships can make a huge difference when paying tuition. NCAA Division II Balance is the key selling point of Division II athletics. It offers a level of competition that is not far off from the Division I level, yet there is not as much pressure as the highly visible Division I. Though you will find very few full ride scholarships, many partial scholarships are available at the Division II level. NCAA Division III schools are generally the smallest in the NCAA, although some larger schools, such as New York University, are in DIII. Many of the four hundred twenty schools are private and high quality. The competition level of D III schools varies widely. While DIII schools do not offer athletic scholarships, students can receive financial aid based on need up to the cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, room and board, books, transportation and incidental expenses. DIII students don t have to register with the NCAA Clearinghouse. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, (NAIA) was started to offer a sports organization for smaller and less wealthy schools. After the NCAA started Division II and III, size and money were less of a factor in the NCAA. The NAIA offers fewer sports and has fewer recruiting restrictions than the NCAA. The level of play is somewhere between Division II and III of the NCAA. It includes nearly three hundred schools, most of which are smaller in size. The NAIA recruitment process is simpler, since there is no clearinghouse and fewer restrictions on the contact between student-athletes and coaches. NJCAA (JUCO) The NJCAA (the National Junior College Athletic Association) is made up of two year and junior colleges. Many of its members are community colleges. Like the NCAA, it is divided into three divisions. Division I can offer full athletic scholarships. Division II can offer athletic scholarships limited to tuition, fees, and books. Division III may not provide athletically-related financial assistance. 2-year options like Junior and Community colleges can be used as stepping-stones to be accepted into a 4-year university. Many spend a year or two at a Junior College to build their résumé and athletic abilities while costs for tuition are payed by the school playing their sport.