Three Big Mistakes Prospects Make In Recruiting - Camp Edition

Every year I see talented athletes make critical mistakes that limits their opportunities for college scholarships. I wanted to a take a minute to share these mistakes with you, and give you some tools that can help you increase your chances of earning a scholarship. Today we are going to focus on college football camps. This is part of a course I have for parents and prospects called How to WIN the Recruiting Process and Earn a Scholarship. 

The first and most important thing you need to understand is that college athletics are a business. Coaches are required to win football games to keep their jobs. If they don't win, they get fired. When they recruit athletes, they want to find players who will help them win games. How can you help them win more games?

Mistake One

The first mistake that prospects make is not going to camps. It seems simple right? It is not enough for a coach to watch your film. They want to see you in person. They want to have an opportunity to work with you and coach you individually. If you are not going camps, they don't have this opportunity. They can't evaluate you. You need to attend college camps during the summer. 

Every single year I talk to parents and athletes who are very talented, but they don't have any offers. I always ask, what camps did you go to. Many of them say they didn't go to any, or they went to one camp as a junior. Last night I met with a parent of a graduating senior who has no where to play next year. He went to one camp last summer.

You need to go to college camps to give yourself a chance to get evaluated. Don't wait until your junior or senior year to go to camps. Go to college camps as a 9th and 10th grader as well. Camps are a chance for you to audition. They are a chance to showcase your skills. Go to four or five camps each summer. Make sure you are also attending your school workouts. 

Mistake Two

The second mistake I see prospects make is going to the wrong camps. It is fun to go to the camp at your favorite Power 4 school, but understand that if you are not that quality of player, you are going to be one of 500 kids standing in line not getting reps. 

At camps and Power 4 schools they divide players into groups based on ability. The top guys they want to evaluate will be with the coaches from the host school. Everyone else is put in groups with the GA's and student managers. 

At some camps, there will be coaches from smaller colleges working with these lower ability groups. But do to the sheer number of kids, they aren't going to be able to give you many reps. 

Pick college camps at schools you have a chance of being recruited by. If you are not a Power 4 or FCS player, it is better to go to the D2 and NAIA camps at schools where you have the ability to play. Go to at least three or four camps at a level you can play. It is okay to go to that dream school camp, but understand that it may not advance your recruiting. Or, you could go there and make a name for yourself. 

Understand this: Just because a coach invited you to camp doesn't mean they are recruiting you. If a college really wants you at a camp you will know. They will tell you they need you there to evaluate you. They probably have talked to you several times. Know when they are serious about giving you an opportunity, and when they just want to get the camp numbers up. 

Third Mistake

The third mistake I see prospects make at camps is not standing out, or standing out in the wrong way. When you go to a college camp, you have 2 to 3 hours to make an impression. What are you going to do to set yourself a part from 500 other people?

I was at a camp last summer and a talented athlete was working with the top group. The position coach was excited to see the kid move and work with him. But the young man was always at the back of the line. He let players go in front of him. When it was time for one-on-one's, this kid again went to the back. While other kids got four or five reps, he got one. The staff did not offer him a scholarship.

If you stand in the back and don't get reps, you aren't going to help yourself. You need to take initiative to get reps. Make eye contact with the coach. Listen to coaching and do what the coach is asking, even if it is different than what you might normally do. 

The coach wants to know if they can see themselves coaching you. Are you going full speed? Are you giving great effort? Do you listen? Do you take reps? These are simple things that take zero talent.

Here is a HUGE KEY! Wear something that will help coaches identify you. Most camps are going to give you a shirt to wear with a number. You need to wear something that will make it easy to identify you. Wear bright orange cleats. Wear your hat backwards. Wear a bandana. Wear something that will help them be able to say, "hey, did you see the kid with the orange cleats?" 

There is a line between drawing attention to yourself and being a distraction. Don't draw negative attention to yourself. That is why bright colored cleats are an easy way to differentiate yourself.

As I mentioned above. these are part of a webinar I did on CoachTube that has helped many athletes navigate the recruiting process. That webinar is divided into sections so you can watch it a little bit at a time. It also has downloadable resources you can use to increase your chances of getting an offer. How to WIN the Recruiting Process and Earn a Scholarship is on SALE right now! 

5 Keys to Getting a Scholarship Offer

Every time I go on social media it never fails that I will see numerous tweets in my feed the start with: "blessed to receive an offer from." More and more colleges are offering earlier and earlier. This is becoming more and more common place. With the advent of social media, there is so much more daily interaction between prospects, coaches, and parents.

Everyone wants to know how they get their offer. I get texts, calls, and emails from parents each week asking what they can do to help their child get more exposure. They want to know how they can increase the opportunities for their son to get an offer. I have had experience on both sides of this as a high school recruiting coordinator and as a college football coach. There are really five keys to getting an offer, but first, let's look at what an offer is.

An offer is simply a college saying we intend to offer you some sort of scholarship to play for us. If a D-1 offers you a scholarship, they are going to pay for your entire cost of schooling. If a D-2 or NAIA school offers you a scholarship, it can be anywhere from $1 to a full ride. Very few D-2 players will get a full scholarship. D-3 schools can't give athletic scholarships, but offer other forms of aid.

An offer is not a scholarship. Schools will offer hundreds of scholarships, but there are only going to sign a small number. This means that many players with offers will not get a scholarship. Some will not have the qualifying test score. Some will have a bad year. Others will get into trouble. Everything you do is being evaluated by someone.

A scholarship is an grant-in-aid that will help you pay for the cost of college. College is the key. College is about education. Athletics are important, but you must take advantage of the opportunity you are getting to get an education. Your scholarship can be taken away if you don't take care of business in the classroom. It can also be taken away if you violate school and/or team policies.

Here are the five keys to getting to getting an offer...

1. Be An ELITE Player
Only 2% of high school players will get any opportunity to play in college at all. Less than 1% will get an opportunity to earn a D-1 scholarship. Only elite players will get that opportunity. Elite is very rare. I talk to a lot of parents who think their son or daughter is elite, but when I put on the film I see above average. 

I recently sat down with the family of a defensive lineman who does not have any offers. He has size and strength, but he is average on the field. He doesn't look elite on film. If you want to get an offer, your film has to be very impressive. It has to show you doing things that are elite on a consistent basis. Colleges will not recruit someone who his average no matter how big they are. Big guys who are average players get people fired.

To be a great player starts with talent, but the next aspect is vital...

Here is the key: They need to know who you are. No one will recruit you if they don't know who you are. You need to get your film in front of coaches. Better yet, get yourself in front of coaches. Go to college camps so you can perform in front of coaches. Go to showcases that have a large media following and perform. 

2. Have An ELITE Work Ethic
As a high school coach I had the opportunity to coach over 100 scholarship players. They all had one thing in common. They worked harder than everyone else. Talent will only get you so far. Talent and work ethic are necessary to be elite. Very few elite players are lazy. There are a few, and they are the guys who are 5 star recruits in high school that get sent home before the end of their freshmen year of college.

College coaches are going to watch you practice. They are going to talk to your high school coaches. They are going to talk to your math teacher, a counselor, and the principal. They want to know if you are a hard worker. They want to know about your attitude. Do you have an elite work ethic? Do you take reps off in practice? If so, they will move one.

The weight room is a vital place to see your work ethic on display. The harder you work in the weight room, the better you will be on the field. In college, the strength and conditioning staff will push you harder than you have been pushed. If you can't handle a high school workout, you will never handle a college workout.

Play Hard EVERY Play
The harder you play, the more recruitable you become. If you take plays off, you will become uncrecruitable. Coaches watch game films before they recruit you. And they aren't going to just watch your best games. They want to see you against great competition. How hard do you play against great players? How hard do you play when you are behind by 3 scores? How hard do you play when you are up three scores?

Here is something vital to remember... You are not just on the film you provide college coaches. You are on everyone's film. Your opponent is sending film to coaches as well. You are on that film. If you send the college coach a great film, but then he gets a film of you playing terrible, it will have a negative effect on your evaluation. Remember that the next time you think about taking a play off.

On the other hand, you can get noticed off another player's film. When I was at the college level we found one of our best players that way. We were recruiting a kid from another team, and were watching film of a game. We were grading it just like we would grade one of our players. There was a kid on the other team flying around and making plays. We found out who that player was and called his coach. We watched two more games and ended up giving him a scholarship. We didn't know who he was until we saw him on someone else's film.

When a coach sees this film-- and they will see this film-- will they be more apt or less apt to recruit you?

*One important note: Your highlight film will get you noticed. Make sure your film has your best plays first. A highlight film is just that. Don't put every play on your highlight film. If it is a great play, put it on your film. Once a college has interest, they will watch your game film. If your highlight film is done poorly, they will not look at your game film.

3. Have GOOD grades 
Your talent will get you noticed. Your grades will either make you more recruitable, or unrecruitable. The more C's, D's, and F's you have, the less recruitable you become. You must strive to get A's and B's in your classes. Every single year I have been coaching, despite our best efforts, we have at least one player who sabotages their future because of poor grades. Every year one guy who would have multiple scholarship offers does not get to go because they have a low GPA. If you have a 2.5 or below you are sabotaging your own future.

Here are the NCAA Division 1 Academic Standards

Here are a few keys...
A. Show up to class on-time
B. Smile at the teacher and be polite
C. Complete your classwork
D. Put your phone away during class

If you are a clown in the classroom, you might not get an offer. Everything matters. Colleges are recruiting several players at your position and you are being evaluated on everything. If you are causing disruptions in school and getting into trouble, you are sabotaging yourself.

4. Measurables.
Only elite players with the right measurables will get an offer. The measurables are height, weight, 40 yard, vertical jump, shoe size, etc. You can be the best linebacker in the world, but if you are 5-8, you aren't getting a D-1 offer. You have to have ELITE TALENT, ELITE WORK ETHIC, and the RIGHT Measurables. Below is an image showing the average D-1 Recruit.

These measurables are the average of NCAA D-1 recruits. There are very few exceptions to this. The better your talent and work ethic, the more of a chance a team MIGHT take a chance on someone who is missing a measurable. 

5. Use Social Media As A Tool
Your Twitter/X, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram accounts can be a tool to get you recruited. And if you aren't careful, they can get you uncrecruited. Every D-1 school is going to monitor your social media accounts. What you post, like, and retweet matters. If you are positing videos and pictures of yourself drinking and smoking, you are going to be less apt to be recruited. Use your social media to show the best of who you are, not the worst of who you are. Use twitter to encourage your teammates. Use twitter to post highlights from your last game. Use social media to thank college coaches for visiting your campus. If you see someone do something great, shout them out on twitter.

Remember, you are the brand you are trying to sell. You need to understand that everything you share on social media becomes your brand. 

Numbers Game
Everything comes down to a numbers game. If a college is recruiting two offensive lineman, and they need a guard and a center; they might not recruit you if you are a tackle, and they can't see you playing guard. The If you are a receiver, and a school only needs one receiver, there is less of a chance of you getting a scholarship. If a team has 6 safeties on scholarship, chances are they aren't offering another safety. You can be the best safety in the world, but they are not going to recruit you unless they see you playing another position.

They May Move Your Position
Colleges will recruit you to suit their needs, regardless of where you played in high school. I once had a kid who played safety in high school get recruited to be a defensive end in college. He was 6-2 195 and ran a 4.7. He was not fast enough to be a college safety, but had a frame that would hold 75 pounds, and he was still growing. He ended up being a 6-4 260 pound defensive end. Be willing to change positions if it will increase your chances to get a chance to have your school paid for.

At the end of the day, control what you can control. You control your work ethic and your attitude. You control your performance on the field and in the classroom. If you need to make changes in your life, then make those changes. Understand that every decision you make will either help you get recruited, or keep you from being recruited.

If you really want an advantage... I do recruiting seminars for parents and prospects throughout the year. I help them navigate the recruiting process to increase the chance they earn a scholarship. The pictures you see came from my webinar on the how to earn a scholarship. I have made this webinar available at a huge discount. 

We know that prices have gone up with everything, so we have reduced this to under $30 so every single prospect learn what it takes to get that scholarship! You get lifetime access to the webinar, where I teach you everything you need to do to navigate the recruiting process. If you want to take advantage of this limited time offer, click Here to get access to this webinar now at a huge discount! It is divided into sections, making it easy to navigate to find the most important information you need! It includes information on NIL and the Portal!

You will get lifetime access to all the materials in this course! That way, you can watch at your convenience. 

Additional Resources for Coaches:

Last year I got hooked up with CoachTube, and put together three courses for offensive football coaches. I put together two courses on RPO's, and a course on Building An Elite System of Communication. All of these courses will help you to score more points!  https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

Installing Post-Snap RPO's

Installing Pre-Snap RPO's To Get Your Skill Guys More Touches

Building An Elite System of Gameday Communication

All three of these courses are detailed, with everything you need to be more explosive and to score more points. 

The course on communication gives you a detailed approach to your gameday communication. I give you a system and a process to improve the quality of conversations, leading to improved play calling on game day. This course has received outstanding reviews from coaches at all level of football. A coach with multiple state titles told me this course helped them to be much more efficient and explosive this season. 

My two RPO courses take you through a systematic process of installing RPO's into your offensive system. RPO's put the defense in conflict, forcing them to defend all 53 yards of width and all 6 skill players every single play. I not only give you a system, but I teach you the methods to develop your own RPO concepts. 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

For you coaches who are preparing for the upcoming season...

A lot of coaches ask me about my call sheet and how we prepared. We have a very systematic approach that we have developed over a 20 year period. Last summer I made our offensive game planning documents available for coaches to purchase for a nominal fee. The response was outstanding. Coaches from all levels of football in the US and internationally began using this resource. The head coach from one of the top 5A programs in Texas said these documents helped them to be much more prepared.

If you are interested in this resource, click here: Offensive Game and Practice Planning Resource.  Every document in this resource is completely editable and customizable to your program. Everything you need is in this resource. You order it today and you will be able to immediately begin downloading the documents and using them to be better prepared. This even includes our 2-sided color calls sheet! It prints on to 11x14 paper. I also include our weekly and daily practice plans, wrist bands, scouting forms, and much, much more! For just a few dollars you will score more points and win more games with this resource! It is on sale right now, so don't delay!

I also have a defensive game and practice planning resource that can be ordered here: Defensive Game and Practice Planning Resource. It has everything you defensive staff would need to dominate!

I also have a special teams resource available here: Special Teams Resource It is awesome because it includes teaching presentations and video for every phase of special teams!

This year I put out a book on RPO's that will give you a systematic process to build RPO's into your offensive system. The book has an iBooks version and an Amazon Kindle version. The iBooks version can be read on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It is an amazing book that gives you over an hour of video! It has been read by coaches at all levels, and they have all loved it! This book gives you a systematic process for installing and teaching pre snap and post snap RPO's! This book will greatly enhance your offense! It can be ordered clicking here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959.

If you don't have an apple device, you can order the paperback version! It is available on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520447485

10 Keys to A Great Highlight Film

If you are a prospect wanting to play college sports, you need to put effort and intentionality into building your highlight film. There are thousands of talented athletes who should be getting recruited, but they sabotaged themselves with a lazily thrown together highlight film. These 10 Keys will help you to put together a highlight film that will give you a better chance of being recruited. 

Before I get to the 10 Keys, it is important you know why you are making a highlight film. Your highlight film is often the first introduction coaches will get to you. There are tens of thousands of prospects putting their highlight films together. What are you doing that will set you apart from the others? Coaches click the link to watch your film, and they will watch as long as they have a reason to keep watching. They will stop watching the minute you give them a reason to stop watching. 

When coaches put your film on, do you give them a reason to keep watching? Read these 10 Keys and then go through and fix your film. If you aren't intentional with your film, you are going to hurt your chances of getting a chance to earn a scholarship.

10 Keys To A Great Highlight Film

1. Only put highlights on your highlight film

Too many guys put average plays on their highlight film. Your highlight film is called a highlight film because it has only highlights. You being on the field does not make it a highlight. If you aren't sure if it is a highlight, then you need to ask your coach to look at it. If you aren't sure, it probably isn't a highlight. Too many players put average plays on film because they worry about their film being too short. Your highlight film does not need to be longer than 3 minutes. If you only have one minute of highlights, don't add average on film to try to make it longer. 

2. Put your most explosive plays first

This is a huge mistake I see many players make. They hide their best plays in the middle of the film. Your BEST plays come first. Your most explosive plays should come first. If you had a 99 yard touchdown run, that play should be the first play on your film. Give the coach watching your film a reason to keep watching. I want to add that your highlight film does not need to be in chronological order. This is a huge mistake I see prospects make. Put your most explosive plays first. 

3. Show them where you are before the ball is snapped

This is another mistake I see made far too often. Put a circle around yourself or insert an arrow pointing to you before the ball is snapped. If they have to guess who you are they won't find you. 

4. Don't put music on your film

They are going to turn the volume down most likely. But if a coach is watching your film in an airport or anywhere in public, they don't want loud music blaring. Music doesn't help your recruiting. The wrong song can hurt your recruitment. 

Making the Most Out Of Clinic Season

With clinic season ramping up, I wanted to share some thoughts with you to help you grow as a coach and in the profession. Building a network is one of the most important aspects of growing as a coach. 

There are two ways to build a network. First, is social media. Social media has made coaches more accessible than ever. You can communicate with coaches and share ideas 24 Horus a day, 365 days a year. Social media can be a powerful tool. 

While social media is a powerful networking and learning tool, going to clinics and conventions in person is even more powerful. Virtual learning is very good and technology has opened doors, but there is no substitute for the personal connections you can make at a clinic or convention. So when you go to a clinic or convention, what do you do to get the most out of it?

Professional Growth

Clinics and conventions give you an opportunity to meet coaches and develop professionally. When you attend a clinic or convention, you are going to be able to listen to a variety of speakers who are teaching different aspects of the game. In addition to listening to coaches on your side of the ball and coaches talking about your position, listen to coaches on the other side of the ball. Also, listen to speakers to fill your gaps in knowledge. 

If you are an offensive line coach, listen to quarterback and receiver coaches. Learn about the pass game. If you are a quarterback or receiver coach, listen to some offensive line coaches. If you coach defensive line, listen to secondary coaches. If you are an offensive line coach, go listen to defensive line coaches and defensive coordinators. This will help you learn more about what you will be going against each day. If you are an OC, go listen to DC's and secondary coaches. Learn what they are doing to defend what you are doing on offense. 

You also want to be flexible as a coach. A good ball coach can change positions to meet the needs of the staff. You also open doors of opportunity if you can change positions to pursue an opportunity. 

4 Keys To Getting An Athletic Scholarship

For most of my coaching career I have been heavily involved in recruiting. I have been a high school recruiting coordinator for over 17 years, helping our athletes to get recruited. I also coached at the college level, where I evaluated and recruited student athletes. Over the years I have directed camps and showcases, and hosted recruiting seminars for parents, prospects, and coaches. 

Recruiting is ever-changing. It never stays the same. But one thing remains unchanged. It is competitive. There will be over $3.6 Billion in athletic scholarships given by NCAA schools this year, and another $500 million or so given by NAIA schools and junior colleges. Only 2% of high school athletes will earn any sort of scholarship. Most scholarships are going to be partial, but regardless of the amount, can help make college more affordable. 

How do you get recruited? How do you become one of those 2%. What does it take for you to earn an athletic scholarship? There are four things that parents and prospects must know when it comes to scholarships. 

1. You have to be talented

    

    If you do not have talent, you most likely will not be recruited. This is important to understand. Coaches need to have a reason to recruit you before they will do so. What do you do that no one else can do? If you don't separate yourself, your recruiting will be limited. Before you can earn an athletic scholarship, you have to be a very talented player. Can the college coach see you having the ability to help them win more games? Talent is often measured based on your film. 

2. You have to have the measurables

   

    Recruiting is a lot like a beauty contest. If you run a modeling agency, it doesn't matter how good someone can walk, if they don't have beauty, you won't hire them. This is how measurables work. If you are the best offensive linemen in your state, but you are 5'11," your chances of being recruited are slim. If you are 6'6" and 275 pounds, you will get interest based solely on your size. 

    There are certain measurables that college coaches are looking for at each position. For some schools, not meeting their measurables means they will not offer you a scholarship. They are going to look at your height, weight, wingspan, shoe size, hand size, body type, and more. Again, how are you going to set yourself apart? The better your measurables, the better your chance at a scholarship. If you don't have the measurables, it makes it harder to earn a scholarship. 

3. You have to gain exposure

    No one will recruit you who doesn't know who you are. You have to get your name in front of college coaches. You have to attend camps and showcases. One of the biggest myths in recruiting is that if you are really good, coaches will find you. This simply isn't the case. There are literally thousands of really, really talented athletes who don't get recruited each year, that are good enough to play. They aren't getting recruited because no one knows who they are. 

    When you make a decision that you want to play college sports, you have to immediately begin to put your name out there. You have to be willing to do the leg work to get yourself known. If you come from an elite high school program, coaches might find you. But if you are like most kids who come from less well-known programs, you have to be very proactive. Reach out to college coaches. Go on their website and fill out their questionnaires. Go to camps and showcases. Use Social Media. There are so many things that you can do right now. If you want to be recruited you have to be willing to get your name out there. Just like in sales, the more contacts you make, the more chance you have of someone being interested in you. 

4. You have to have good grades. 

    The first thing a college coach asks for is your transcript. If you have below a 3.0 GPA, you are sabotaging yourself. The number of schools who can recruit you is reduced every tenth of a point your GPA falls. Every time you get a zero on an assignment, you sabotage yourself. 

    Getting good grades starts with being in class, and being there on-time. Second, you put your phone away and look at the teacher. Listen to them and take notes. Then, complete your classwork in class. Never say, "I'll do it at home" when the teacher gives you time to work on things in class. And when you do get homework, do it. Homework should be the first thing you do when you get home. Don't turn on the game system or FaceTime your girlfriend until your homework is done. 

    If you are struggling in class, go to tutorials. Your teachers will help you. Someone right now is reading this and saying, "but my teacher won't help me, she's mean to me when I ask for help." That may be true. It might be because your teacher is mean. Or, it might be because you haven't put forth much effort in class, and the teacher wants you to work harder. If the teacher doesn't like you, ask yourself what you need to do to change. Most likely, you have done some unlikable things. College coaches don't want to recruit guys that aren't going to do well in school. And if your GPA is too low, they can't recruit you. It is vital you do well in school. 

    Part of having good grades is knowing what your core GPA is. Your core GPA is not your overall GPA. Your core GPA is based on your math, English, science, social studies, and foreign language courses you take in high school. These courses must be on your school's 48H form. If you don't know what this form is, see your counselor. It lists every NCAA approved core course offered by your high school. I have seen kids lose scholarships because they took courses that didn't count towards the NCAA core course requirement. 

BONUS KEY: Your highlight film matters! Your film with either move you up the recruiting board, or move you down the recruiting board. Your film might even get you taken off the recruiting board. Your highlight film should only be highlights. Don't put average on film. 

Make sure you put your best plays first. Don't put plays in chronological order. Put your most explosive plays first. If they would say WOW, then that play should be the first thing they see. Don't worry if your film is too short. Don't put average plays on film to make it longer. This is a huge mistake too many prospects make. Only show them film that would make them want you to be a part of their program.

    

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TODAY TO GREATLY INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF A SCHOLARSHIP! Recently I made my recruiting webinar available online for parents and prospects. This has hours of valuable information that will help you with the entire recruiting process. It has everything you need to navigate the recruiting process. For less than the cost of attending a college camp, you can learn everything you need to know to increase your chances of earning a college athletic scholarship! Click the link below to take advantage! I have put this on sale for a limited time! Click HERE to take advantage of this offer!

How to Win The Recruiting Process Course!

Here are the downloadable resources that are included in this program!

Click THIS LINK to save a few extra$$! 

You will get lifetime access to all the materials in this course! You will get 24 hour access to watch the videos. That way, you can watch at your convenience. 

This course has literally everything you need as a parent or prospect to greatly improve your changes of earning a scholarship! I take you the entire process, teaching you what you need to do, and how you need to do it. I educate you on some very important details that will help you to better navigate the entire recruiting process! Click the link to get your discount, and improve your chances of earning a scholarship. 

Additional Resources for Coaches:

Last year I got hooked up with CoachTube, and put together three courses for offensive football coaches. I put together two courses on RPO's, and a course on Building An Elite System of Communication. All of these courses will help you to score more points!  https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

Installing Post-Snap RPO's

Installing Pre-Snap RPO's To Get Your Skill Guys More Touches

Building An Elite System of Gameday Communication

All three of these courses are detailed, with everything you need to be more explosive and to score more points. 

The course on communication gives you a detailed approach to your gameday communication. I give you a system and a process to improve the quality of conversations, leading to improved play calling on game day. This course has received outstanding reviews from coaches at all level of football. A coach with multiple state titles told me this course helped them to be much more efficient and explosive this season. 

My two RPO courses take you through a systematic process of installing RPO's into your offensive system. RPO's put the defense in conflict, forcing them to defend all 53 yards of width and all 6 skill players every single play. I not only give you a system, but I teach you the methods to develop your own RPO concepts. 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

  

Social Media: The Power To Build and Power To Destroy

The advent of social media has changed our society forever. Nothing today is going to be done anonymously. Everything will have a digital footprint. If someone takes a picture at a party and you are there, chances are you are in the picture. They might be taking a picture with you in the background. But with facial recognition software, you may end up being the star of the picture.

Social Media is not all bad. Used correctly it can be a powerful tool that can be used many different ways. Nearly everyone can find a positive use for social media. Unfortunately, one bad tweet, post, or snapchat can be the downfall of the young and old.

For student-athletes, social media can be an outstanding way to build your brand. You may not realize this, but if you are on any social media platform you are building your brand. However, if you don't build your brand with intent, you may be giving people the wrong picture of you.

If misused, social media can be a very powerful tool of destruction. One negative tweet can result in the loss of a job or a scholarship. One negative tweet can destroy a friendship. One bad Facebook post can give people a negative perception of you, and perception to many becomes reality.

Every winter we hear the stories of a school dropping a recruit because of something they do or say on social media. College coaches do not want to recruit headaches. They want to recruit great athletes who will represent their program with class. They will monitor your Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat accounts. One negative tweet or retweet, and you are no longer on the board.

One the other side, you can use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to build a brand that a school will be proud to have in their program. You can show your community service, your leadership, your ability to build people up, and of course, your athletic ability. I am not talking about bragging about your talent and your stats. Your play on the field takes care of itself. I am talking about a tweet to a classmate who may be having a bad day. Or, sending an inspirational picture on Instagram and tagging a teammate who might need to lifted up. Used appropriately, people can see the greatness you have inside of you.

Social media doesn't lie. It will distort, but it won't lie. The thing is, everything you post is a choice. It is a choice to post something positive or negative. Before you post, like, or retweet something, ask yourself these questions:

1. How will the coaches recruiting me see me if I post this?

2. Will this help me get recruited, or will this hurt me?

3. Is this tweet going to make me look like a liability to a school recruiting me?

4. What will my teammates, parents, coaches, and future coaches think of me?

5. Would I want to be teammates with someone doing this?

If you aren't sure if the post will help or hurt you, then don't post it. It probably isn't good. If it is negative, don't post it.

If you are new to social media, here are a couple of ways to build your brand:
1. Post a link to your highlight film. This is a way to get it viewed. One post will not get it viewed. Post it a couple of times a week.

2. Post positive messages for your teammates and classmates. This goes a long way to build good will and shows potential coaches you care about others.

3. Post pictures of you doing good things. If you are doing a service project, post a picture. If you get an award or honor, post a picture. Make sure you thank others in the picture. It is bigger than you.

4. Tag coaches in your positive posts. If you get an award, tag a college coach recruiting you.

5. Retweet Uplifting messages: If you see something uplifting, retweet or share it. If a classmate or teammate does something great, share it or tweet about it. If someone is down, tweet something that might lift them up.

The ultimate question is, how do you want people to see you? How do you want college coaches to see you? You can't use twitter to impress the wrong people and the right people at the same time. You can't use Instagram and Facebook to impress the wrong people and right people at the same time. You have to make the right choices when it comes to social media. Remember, everything is retrievable. If you say something stupid, it will be screen captured and archived. It will never disappear.

If you make positive choices, social media can be great for building your brand. If you make negative choices, social media destroy opportunities. Don't let 140 characters ruin an opportunity for you.

Recently I made my recruiting webinar available online for parents and prospects. This has hours of valuable information that will help you with the entire recruiting process. It has everything you need to navigate the recruiting process. For less than the cost of attending a college camp, you can learn everything you need to know to increase your chances of earning a college athletic scholarship! Click the link below to take advantage! I have put this on sale for a limited time! Click HERE To Get This Course Now!

Here are the downloadable resources that are included in this program!

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Shameless plug: I wrote two iBooks that can help your program with X's and O's. The first is on Installing RPO's into any offense. Here is a link to the iBooks version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959. The ibooks version includes explanations, diagrams, and video clips on multiple RPO Concepts. It will give you a simple process for implementing them into your offense. 

If you don't have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can order the Amazon version for the Kindle. It has everything except the embedded video. You can order it here: http://www.amazon.com/Installing-Explosive-Concepts-Into-Offense-ebook/dp/B01B12YSCG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8