GRADES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS ENTIRE PROCESS. There are a couple ways to look at this. NCAA has a certain GPA you have to have in your core classes to play. Even to play DIII, you will find it more difficult to play at the DIII level the lower your grades fall. You could also look at the concept of a "scholarship." You want a coach to invest, potentially, hundreds of thousands of dollars in you and pay for you to play for their program. They are not interested in making a bad investment. If they pull the trigger and you can't stay eligible, they just wasted all that money on you because you can no longer play for their program. The higher your GPA, the more schools you are eligible for, providing you with more opportunities to play at more programs. If you're serious about playing ball in college, whether you're a freshman or a senior, it's time to get your grades as high as you can.

This may have been true in the early 90's. Times have changed. 95% of student athletes (SA's) are first seen (and further researched) online before the coach will decide to invest their resources to come watch them play. This is especially true today for the programs that have been effected by Covid-19. Now, more than ever, coaches are relying on NCAA & NAIA Compliant Recruiting Services to identify athletes that have been verified by professionals. The majority of schools have yet to be cleared for face-to-face recruiting. Even when face-to-face recruiting is 100% permissible, many schools have had to cut their funding and have less resources to get out to recruits in person. DI coaches can only subscribe to compliant services to see verified recruit databases which contain all of the SA's necessary information.

Loaded question. It's important to understand that most of these camps and combines are main streams of revenue for those who are putting them on. Any combine being held will NOT be able to guarantee college coaches are going to be there. Generally when coaches go to combines they are there to evaluate, and focus on, a player they already know about. Camps on the universities are usually open invite for anyone who can pay. Important here to keep in mind that while camps on universities are generally a little less expensive, and can get you noticed by the coaching staff, there is a certain way to handle that situation. They can not adequately evaluate 300 players on a Saturday afternoon. It's important to take the correct steps before you attend a camp at a university held by staff.

Your high school coach can be your best friend through the recruiting process. We encourage you to have a great relationship with your coaching staff. We also want to make sure you understand that this is YOUR recruiting process. What you get, or what you do not get, out of it will impact you and your family significantly more than anyone else. Your coach could be sending your film to coaches, giving you advice when you come to them, or potentially not be doing anything at all. Remember, your coach's job is to win ball games to keep food on the table for him and his family. While they do their best, usually, to help - it is not their job to get you a scholarship. If it were their responsibility, they would have that same responsibility for every SA on your team. College coaches want to speak with you. They are recruiting YOU. Take control of your process.

Social media can be a useful tool to help out with your recruiting. It provides coaches a platform to learn more about you, your friends, and your family to help them determine where they will place you on their board - or if you are going to be on their board at all. It's important to be mindful on what you post and who you associate yourself with. You are, after all, the company you keep. Keep it clean. If you have things on your social media you do not want coaches to see - don't panic and delete all accounts. Go through and remove the negative. If you have no online presence, it will throw red flags. Twitter specifically is a platform that coaches use to connect with recruits. Keep in mind, however, that there are a lot of athletes who do not have the ability to play at the next level who are blowing these coaches up on a regular basis. It's more beneficial to get verified through a compliant service.

Believe it or not, there are 9 & 10 year old kids who have received scholarship offers. This obviously is not normal, nor should you expect it, but it is becoming increasingly more common for middle schoolers to begin receiving offers. Recruiting is more competitive than ever and the NCAA / NAIA continuously adopts new legislation to protect the student athletes. All being said, if you're already in high school, it could happen at anytime for anyone. Have you seen freshman showing they have been offered by DI coaches over twitter? You definitely need to begin building relationships with coaches if you are in high school and have nothing going on. If you are experiencing a lot of conversations, but no offers, it's time to expand your search. When coaches say they are not offering yet, it just means you're not on the top of their board. There is a way to move those conversations forward.

Absolutely. Just remember, you only get to go through the recruiting process once. You do not want to look back and have regrets. The process is tedious and there are a lot of windows to make mistakes. You should make sure you have a full understanding of the language, guidelines, and calendars. You also need to understand how valuable your time is. It takes a lot on your behalf. You have to be persistent and methodical with your efforts. There are some who can handle it, but usually at some kind of expense or another. For instance, your focus should be on your studies if you're not at practice or working out. It is possible, but seek some type of guidance.

Absolutely! We should sit down and develop some type of game-plan and evaluate what you have been doing and where you are at. DI coaches can offer until April 1st your senior year. That being said, money is very limited and tight at this point - however, still possible. NAIA and JUCO programs can recruit all the way into August after your senior year. There is a certain approach to take if you are a senior and your year is over. There is truly no time to waste and no room for mistakes. Do not be discouraged though, because you definitely can still get this done.