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! 

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