Blue Chip Sports: Recruiting 101

Baseball season is here once again and the recruiting wars are on. Lots of recruiting services selling their wares to unsuspecting clients, promising to get that much heralded college scholarship, all the prestige, all the glory, all the headlines for a small price of $2000 to $6000. The price of a college education would be much more than that small sum. The bigger the promise the bigger the price. What a tremendous deal, until that phone call you’ve been waiting for never comes. Your own personal representative of this service explains that the coach changed his mind, but maybe a Junior College would be the path for you, until you are noticed or the coach comes to his senses. Probably your last and only phone call from the service. Two thousand bucks, this is a great deal??

Straight up, in a nutshell, the coaches out there don’t want to here from your high school coach, your parents, your fans, used car salesmen, (recruiting service), or anybody else. They don’t want mass emails from various recruiting services. They want to here first from YOU!! Coaches want players with initiative, work ethics, and the confidence to approach your next level of play. The coach will contact your supporting cast of coaches, opposing coaches, and parents when he feels good about it. If you’re really that good, a true prospect, people will talk about you for FREE. The free talk gets around faster than you know. A select few of you will be in this class, but even those few should cover their bases.

Blue Chip Sports has developed essential tools needed to pursue all opportunities, as well as a timeline to get needed tasks done. Over the course of this article series we will give you some essential tips and an overview of the timeline. All you need is the tools; remember the initiative, work ethic, and confidence from the paragraph above? Those parts come from you. Now that you have the facts, lets get started.

If you want to play after high school you need to understand how the process works. Few high school coaches have knowledge how the process works. Baseball Northwest or similar tournament teams are very aware of the process and can offer guidance. The beginning timeline is as follows.

Freshman year

• Get your basic classes out of the way. Required classes for the NCAA Clearinghouse should be started, (2 years of Algebra or higher math). Build a good scholastic foundation.

• Find your niche in the game, (speed, power, smarts, big hitter, finesse pitcher, stealing sensation, etc.) Do not accept where the older more experienced players decide where they think YOU should be. Look around at the other guys and define yourself and your skills, not other teammates lack thereof.

• Play the highest level of summer ball you can. You need significant field time to develop skills, so don’t play up just to sit the bench. If you don’t see the ball, the ball will get you.

• Be smart and consistent. Don’t do anything to embarrass yourself, your team, or your family. This hold true for all 4 years of high school and beyond. Be a consistent hard worker on and off the fields.

• Get a FREE profile on line with Blue Chip. Get on the radar screen with coaches and scouts.

Now that you have successfully completed your 1st steps and honed some skills towards getting recruited, lets move to your sophomore year.

Sophomore year

* Let your school coach and/or counselor know your intentions of playing at the next level. They will be able to help with the classes you need to accomplish your goal.

* Consider taking SAT and ACT twice during the year. You can bank your best scores and discharge your weaker ones.

* Research some colleges and send out some letters of inquiry to indicate your interest in their institution and sports program. Also let them know your summer team and summer schedule inviting them to come watch you play.

* Again play at the highest possible level that will get you field time in the summer.

* More and more college coaches are looking at players in this year to put them on their radar screen, so keep sending postcards or updates showing your interest. (Initiative)

* Contact Blue Chip for sample letters of introduction, personalized postcards, college search engines, links to pertinent websites such as FAFSA, NCAA Clearinghouse, SAT/ACT, etc. Two CD’s are available; one is interactive with direct links to all websites. One has all college coaches, at every college, NAIA to D1, every sport. Phone numbers, address, email address for every coach is provided, updated every 6 months. (Essential tool)

* Once more, be smart and consistent

Now that you have spent the last 2 years honing your skills, building your scholastic foundation, and establishing your niche in the game, you’re ready to move on to the recruiting field. The junior year is probably the most important time in the process. There is a lot to do this year so enlist help from behind the scenes from parents and coaches. College coaches spend time looking at players that have contacted them, and the select few true prospects.

Junior year

* At the end of your summer season, you have just completed 60 – 100 games with the high school season included. Your skills are still sharp and you should be strong. Get a professional skills video done before the seasons change. If you wait until spring your skills and eyes may not be as sharp sitting over the winter. Contact Blue Chip Sports for professional video and edit.

* Play fall ball for a qualified tourney team such as Baseball Northwest, to be put in front of the right people.

* Send personalized postcards to coaches to let them know your fall schedule. At least 30 coaches should be contacted with as many as 100. Send cards to 10 dream schools, 10 advanced play schools, and at least 10 realistic schools if not more.

* Beginning of the school year see your councilors to set necessary classes and schedule.

* Use the Blue Chip interactive CD and register with the NCAA Clearinghouse, and confirm your registration a second time

* Schedule your SAT’s and ACT’s for a fall and spring test. Do the winter test also if necessary. Improve your scores and bank the best ones. Have all test scores sent to the NCAA Clearinghouse.

* Cell phones. Change your answer message to be a polite courteous young adult. Coaches aren’t interested in leaving messages for hip-hop, rap, or hard rocker partying answering voicemails. Be lively and professional in your message center. You never know when that 1 call might come in.

* During this whole junior year send out letters, resumes, updates etc to lots of different types of colleges. Be sure to answer all questionnaires and anything else the coach asks for. If he asks for a video, transcript, or schedule get it in the mail or via Internet ASAP!!

* Keep sending out information to new schools you might be interested in.

* Try not to limit yourself to just the D1 schools, get all different types. Just because D3 School does not give athletic money, the coach may pound on the Music Dept for $5000, the Math Dept for $4000, and the English Dept for $8000; you may get $17,000 in academic money and still play baseball. Throw in some financial aid and a small student loan, and college is paid for.

* You can call coaches to request information about their school, but they cannot contact you personally until July 1 after your junior year. After that they can contact you in person or by phone. Follow up on all replies you get from coaches ASAP!!

* Over the course of the year, each coach should have about 4 contacts or updates. 1 in fall, 1 between Thanksgiving/Christmas, 1 after New Years, and 1 just before College summer break. * Winter/Spring – Get your NCAA Clearinghouse Initial eligibility certification started, so it will be ready and on file at the beginning of your senior year.

* Parents, your kid has a full schedule with school, sports, and other activities, so be a positive and help as much as you can. They do need some help and support during this time.

* Whatever number of coaches contact you after July 1, make sure you tell all of them that they are your number 1 choice, your dream school, and you would give body parts to play for them. This is the sale and you need to close the deal. Be eager and attentive, this way you keep some semblance of control on the process. Remember the coach has a ranked list of recruits, and you may be number 2, 3, or 5 on that list. If a higher ranked recruit accepts his offer first, you may never hear from that coach again. Keep the numbers in your favor. * Again be smart and consistent

Well, that was a big year. Did you have any fun at all? Not to worry, you have gotten close to the peak of the mountain. Downhill is in sight. You are going into the senior year; you’re the big dog now. Just think, all the freshman are just getting started. So lets close the deal.

Senior Year

• At the start of your senior year you will hopefully be narrowing your list of schools. You will definitely know which ones are still calling you and you may be scheduling official visits. It is also possible you may need to expand your search and contact schools you haven’t talked with yet. Any coaches that showed interest and have been recently absent, give them a call at this time to verify their position, good or bad.

• Make sure your classes, test scores, and the NCAA Clearinghouse information is all in order.

• Play fall ball again for a reputable exposure team and keep up the contacts.

• Fill out the FASFA forms ON TIME using the Blue chip interactive CD

• Coaches vary in their thinking. Some prefer to sign as many recruits as possible during early signing in November, while others will wait to see who isn’t signed and try to get a verbal commitment to sign in the Spring

• Play summer ball after your senior year. More and more players are being signed the summer after the senior year. Some of those true prospects are getting snagged by the pros or don’t have enough grades to stay in school

• All seniors need to APPLY at the school of their choice in the event they DON’T get any scholarship money. It does not always work out and you should prepare for that possibility. Cover your bases.

We at Blue Chip hope this clears up a lot of questions about the recruiting process. The first thing you don’t need is a used car salesman to market you. Do you really think this information is worth $2000 plus?? Not hardly. Do the work. You need to be willing to promote yourself, and do this with confidence and maturity. No matter how good you are, be confident, not arrogant. Look at all the work you just went through to take your game to the next level. You’re a ball player, stand on your own, with your teammates at your side, and mentally prepare yourself for the next phase of your game. Those teammates will be lifetime contacts and friends. If you have any further questions, give us a call for the “No nonsense” answers. Good Luck to you all. Blue Chip Sports