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Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Monday, January 13, 2014
Recruiting: The Vast Unknown - Part III: Getting Noticed
Getting noticed!
Probably one of the most difficult things in the entire recruiting process is getting noticed. How do some kids get noticed while others, who very well could be as good if not better recruits than those who have caught the public's eye get their due? How do you get noticed? How do you catch the eyes of those recruiting guys?... How do you get on those listings?
Some of these ideas might work, some might not. But all are worth a try!
Publicize your player!
Now while the major newspapers are a great place to get your son's name out to the masses, the chanced of getting your son mentioned in these papers are as remote in most cases as winning the Lottery. The facts are simply this: most major newspapers are limited in the amount of space that they can devote towards recruiting, and most if not all major newspapers have their own "recruiting" experts who they rely upon for this information.
So how can you get the message out? Prepare. Look at the various recruiting outlets; how can they possibly get all of the information that they list? How can they possibly look and judge all of these players? How can they rate and compare players? The answer, in a word, is information. Recruiting services spend a TON of time sending out surveys to coaches and players in the off-season, they also spend thousand of dollars a year on the phone, calling coaches and parents and players. Getting information. If you are sent these surveys, fill them out. If your asked for a picture of your son provide one. Video tape? By all means make sure you have Tape! More on video tape later.
I have dealt with many players and parents over the last several years, and what amazes me is the lack of understanding of why this is so important. Websites and recruiters can't talk or evaluate your son without this information. Be prepared and ready. Have extra pictures of your son ready. Have copies of a video tape all set to go. Throw together a one-page bio on your son as well, nothing too fancy, just consider it a resume for any potential schools. These bio's are extremely helpful and the more info the better including grades, size, special honors, stats, etc. This also is an incredibly handy tool that can be prepared at minimal cost.
But what about if the recruiting services or other mediums don't call? What then? My suggestion is to find out how to contact them (usually isn't too difficult, although some services make contacting them like trying to find a person in the witness protection program!) and send them the information! You would be amazed at how many kids are "discovered" because someone "tipped" off a service or a recruiter! It does work, because I know this firsthand!
Let's face facts: it is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to know about every kid in the state without some help. No one can claim to have "discovered" every kid. I readily admit that many players slip under my nose each and every year. Players on losing teams? Yep, you get overlooked a lot! Kids on winning teams? Doesn't matter, if we don't know about you, you won't get publicized!
From my own personal experience, I am more than willing to take the time to reply to any emails on a player and actually answer emails in the thousands each year from parents and players wanting more info. I figure it's the least I can do. Pictures? I have yet to NOT use a players picture on this site and at one point last season I featured a new player picture on the Varsity Underground Message Board almost daily! I will also follow up these request with a call to that players coach. This is how I get my info, and any website or recruiting service out there worth anything will also happily respond and reply! Heck, you can always follow me and contact me on twitter http://www.twitter.com/
coming: Part IV Making the Video Tape.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Recruiting Calendar - December through February
12-01-13 thru 02-01-14 Contact Period *with the following exceptions of 1-8 below Six in-person off-campus contacts per prospective student-athlete shall be permitted during this time period with not more than one permitted in any one calendar week.
(1) 12-15-13 Quiet Period
(2) 12-16-13 thru 12-19-13 Dead Period *with the following exception (i)
(i) Contact Period. Coaches may have contact with a recruit who has been admitted for midyear enrollment, provided the recruit has signed a National Letter of Intent.
(3) 12-20-13 thru 12-21-13 Quiet Period. All JUCO recruits who intend to enroll midyear.
(4) 12-22-13 Quiet Period
(5) 12-23-13 thru 01-03-14 Dead Period *with the following exception (i)
(i) Contact Period. Coaches may have contact with a recruit who has been admitted for midyear enrollment, provided the recruit has signed a National Letter of Intent.
(6) 01-04-14 thru 01-11-14 Quiet Period. All JUCO recruits who intend to enroll midyear.
(7) 01-12-14 Quiet Period
(8) 01-13-14 thru 01-16-14 Dead Period *with the following exception (i)
(i) Contact Period. Coaches may have contact with a recruit who has been admitted for midyear enrollment, provided the recruit has signed a National Letter of Intent.
02-02-14 Quiet Period
02-03-14 thru 02-06-14 Dead Period
02-07-14 thru 04-14-14 Quiet Period
Monday, October 14, 2013
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose
That speech is where the term "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose," came from. It was the battle call for the mythical Dillon Panthers on the television series of the same name, "Friday Night Lights."
As I began to think about those words I was moved in my spirit to how true those words are in both football and in your spiritual walk with God.
As athletes, it is of vital importance that we maintain clear eyes. It is having a a mind and vision unconflicted with doubts or fears. What that basically means is having an awareness; being alert to not only your goal or the prize that is your goal, but to the distractions that surround you each day. It means dealing with each second as it passes and each inch as you move forward. It is not succumbing to what the crowd says or does. It is keeping that goal in the forefront of your vision and not ignoring the obstacles or hurdles but looking beyond them to your prize.
In Matthew 14:22, Peter took his eyes off of his prize, Jesus, and was distracted by the wind and the waves and because of that began to sink. In a literal sense, his vision of Jesus became obstructed. When he allowed that to happen, fear overtook his faith. He simply lost sight of his goal and allowed his focus on his goal to become blurred with doubt and fear.
If I want to be the best quarterback in the state of South Carolina, there are things I must do to obtain that goal. I will set that prize and the means of obtaining it in front of me. There will be distractions. "You don't really have to work out today, do you? Lets go hang out today," says one friend. "Lets ditch class today and go have some fun," says another. "You guys are good, but that's the top defense you're facing this week, you'll never put up big numbers on them," says another. Nay sayers will throw negative on it at every opportunity. They will tell you that you're not big enough, not strong enough, not fast enough, not good enough. Clear eyes doesn't mean you are not aware of those distractions. It means that you look beyond them and stay focused on the prize.
Full hearts are engaged and full of passion. We are told in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Pure heart is a singular heart. It is a heart that is full of God's love and passion.
Count Nicholas Zinzendorf was a German religeous and social philosopher in the 1700's and was quoted as saying "I have but one passion and it is He and He alone," referring to his relationship with God. His passion was focused on God. That means his heart was full of God controlled by that relationship. He had one - singular and pure - passion. I don't have to tell you that if your heart is full with God's love, there is no room for anything else. When I was a coach, I used to explain to my offensive and defensive linemen that as a principle of physics, two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. That is true with your heart, as well. If you fill it with Good, with light, there is no room for darkness. And if your heart is full with love, then all you do is out of that love and done with passion.
What you need to do, what I need to do, is empty that heart of everything so that God can fill it with His love and the gifts he has fo rus. Our hearts were designed to contain God and he wants to live there. It is only at that point that everything you do, or I do, is for God and His Glory.
It is such a simple concept but one so easily to lose sight of. No matter what the score is on the scoreboard at the end of the game, as long as you can say with a clear conscious that you gave everything you had for the effort - everything in your heart - then you can never lose.
And the life application? Our goal as men should be able to look ourselves in the mirror each night and tell ourselves we gave it our all. We gave it our all as players; we gave it our all as husbands; we gave it our all as fathers; we gave it our all as employees; we gave it our all as coaches; we gave it our all as a man. Even if things didn't turn out the way we wanted or expected, there's a peace in knowing that you did all you could do to succeed and you did it with integrity. You did it with Clear Eyes....you did it with a Full Heart....and you did not, will not, and Can Not Lose. CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN'T LOSE.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Recruiting: The Vast Unknown: Part II
Having a game plan! Get YOUR act together!
In Part 1, I briefly discussed several important factors that make up the whole recruiting process. Now that we have figured out that your son has skills and MIGHT be considered a recruitable athlete, where can you go from here?
Have a GAMEPLAN!
A game plan? What kind of game plan? How can a parent or player really be prepared for the entire recruiting process? When do you start?
Research! Learn more!
As mentioned in Part 1, you need to learn as much as possible about the entire recruiting process. Besides visiting the NCAA website and speaking to your son's High School head coach, what else can you do? Plenty!
So what is your son's goal? To play in the SEC or ACC? To run out onto the field to "2001" at South Carolina or rub the rock and run down the hill at Clemson? Or how about the Big East, Big-10, or PAC-10? While these are the dreams of EVERY player in High School, the reality of this happening as well as the overall chances of this dream coming true is SLIM at best. The odds of having a kid accept a full scholarship to a MAJOR Division 1 school is about the same as hitting the Lotto. This is reality. Part 1 of YOUR game plan must be based in some serious REALITY! It's great to shoot for the moon and the stars, but reality tells me that you should keep the goals in recruiting attainable. If your son wants to continue to play football after high school, this should be goal number 1. Paying for this? This should be a goal as well, whether a full blown ride to Enormous University or some serious Financial Aid to a smaller school. Another goal? Keep all doors and opportunities OPEN!
Every parent and player wants to play for Enormous University. But what MANY players and parents don't realize is that while a smaller school might not offer the "atmosphere" of a Monsterous State University, the smaller school can offer as good if not a BETTER education than the larger schools. Many 1-AA and smaller DII schools might not offer the "full ride" or the glory, getting 50/60/70/80 percent of your education paid for playing a sport that your son loves is a pretty good route to a degree. Again, I have seen too many players in the past who "blew off" these smaller schools waiting for Enormous State to call and unfortunately, in most cases, EU never calls, and the smaller school has moved on! Remember...keep ALL DOORS OPEN!
Prepare prepare and prepare!
So we are fully into the off-season, and many of the players are getting to get surveys and questionnaires in the mail. Most colleges and universities send these out en mass. Yet filling these out is a MUST! If you receive 15 of these in the mail, send back all 15! If a college has your info on file, they know that you are actually interested. If a college asks/requests information, send it back! The sooner the better! Now....what information can YOU prepare?
Create a bio of your son/player
This is a cheap and easy yet effective way to have all of your son's information on hand if this is requested. While I have seen a million different styles, just a simple one page bio with a picture is the most effective. What is on this bio? Name, address phone number, sizes, position, any awards won, basic academic info, anything that YOU want a college/university to know. Look at this bio like a resume for your son. Sell and use his strengths, but don't get too carried away, keep it to one full page. This is an effective way to have all of this important information on hand if requested.
Have Tape Available!
Part III of this series will go into details about having a video-tape ready on your son! I will cover the so-called "ideal" tape as well as what NOT to do!
Pictures! Have some pictures!
It amazes me how many parents do NOT have any pictures of their kids available. Make sure that you have at minimum a head shot of your son. Recruiters and schools want to at least see what your son looks like! Some goofballs like myself will attempt to use EVERY picture that we receive. I also ensure that these are seen in HIGH traffic areas of the website as well!
Take care of the essentials!
This seems VERY obvious, yet because of the importance of recruiting, I feel it's important to mention??.grades! Despite what you have seen or heard over the years?.very few if any schools will offer a basket-weaving degree. Grades matter. Your son will be considered a STUDENT athlete for recruiting purposes regardless of his athletic skills. You MUST have your academics in order. Take your SAT early! Study, study and study some more. If you need to boost your test scores?..get help! Remember?..grades do matter!
The best word of advice I can give is to NEVER give a college a reason to NOT recruit your son! If his grades are bad, you have limited your opportunities. Does he have a behavioral problem? Or has your son ever had a run-in with the authorities? Schools and colleges will find out, if the press and recruiters don't first! Be honest and up front with the coaches.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Call For Prayer: Tragedy Strikes High School Football Again
by Coach Jim Baxter
Because we share this excitement, this passion, for the game we should also also take the time to share in the grief when tragedy strikes one of the young men whom provide us this excitement. Last night, in a scrimmage at Banneker High School in Georgia, a Creekside High School player, DeAntre Turman, was injured on a play that resulted in his death. During the tackle of a wide receiver, the 5-11, 165lbs defensive back "went limp" according to witnesses and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
This is not supposed to happen. 16 year olds are not supposed to die. These kids have their entire lifes ahead of them. I am deeply grieved by the news this morning, causing me to reflect back to last season when South Carolina lost one of our own high school players at Hartsville High School.
There are no words we can say that can take away the sting of a sudden, tragic death such as this one. But our corporate prayers for this young man's family, friends, coaches, and community will help them as they endure through their grief and seek peace at a very trying time in their lives.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
The Truth About Camps And Combines
Competitive camps, combines, and showcases basically bring in masses of potential prospects to put them through a testing phase where they have their height, weight, vertical jump, bench press, 40 yard dash time, and shuttle time recorded. What you need to know is that per the NCAA rules, coaches from Division I and Division III football programs are not allowed to attend activities devoted to testing of agilities, speed, and strength. Recruiting Analysts serve as the coaches' eyes and ears by evaluating the players at these events, providing feedback and write ups.
If you are a parent or athlete considering these events, I encourage you to research the agencies offering the events. There are a lot of organizations out there producing these events that do not truly provide athletes with early exposure to college coaches. Many of these organizations tell you how many schools they send data to but what they don't tell you is that unsolicited data ends up in the trash can in the offices of the college coaches. They are also organizations that claim to be "national" in nature but are not a part of any media network that can provide true national exposure. If you're hitting an event that is not produced by Rivals.com organizations, such as SCVarsity.com, or Scout.com, or 247Sports, there is a very high probability that your exposure will be very limited regardless of the word "national" in the title of the event.
The other thing to consider is price. These events should be affordable to the participants. If you are paying more than thirty or forty dollars for a combine, you are probably paying too much. Some companies charge eighty to one-hundred dollars and then invite you to a follow up "elite" event and try to get another eighty to one-hundred dollars out of you. Beware of those organizations. The big company events that can give you national exposure are going to range from no cost (free) at all to about forty dollars.
If you've got any questions about the evaluation period, camps or combines, feel free to shoot me an email at coachjimbaxter@sc.rr.com