Hello again.

I am now done with my college education and it feels great! I hope finals are going well for all you collegiate athletes!

As you know, I play baseball for Keene State College, a Division III school.  While every person’s recruiting process is unique, I would like to give an in-depth look at what I went through when being recruited in the hopes of helping you navigate your own process. I started receiving letters of college interest for not only my athletic abilities but also for my academics during my junior year of high school. In addition to letters, I received phone calls from coaches that wanted to set up overnights for me at their schools. During these visits I would spend an entire day with the team so that they could show me the student’s view of the school, both academically and socially. Some experiences were really a deterrent for me because the student I was paired with did not share the same views as to what the college experience as a student-athlete should entail (academics first, team and sport second and not being side-tracked by unhealthy distractions).  But in the end, any experience that you have is helpful because it will give you information necessary to enable you to make a very big decision: where to go to school!  We all know that the NCAA has some strict regulations when it comes to college athletic recruiting.  For a helpful chart outlining all of that information, click here.

Having experienced my own recruiting process and now viewing it on the other end as a coach, I have some tips to help you with yours. Decide what you are looking for in your college experience.  What team atmosphere would you like, what kind of coach do you enjoy playing for, what overall school environment would make you thrive?  I chose my school because they had a good baseball program and the academics were spot on with my ultimate career goals. 

At the end of every visit I had a final meeting with the coaches and they would tell me where I would fit into their program. These meetings were helpful because I could find out if I would get a lot of playing time or not, what role I would have on the team and answers to any other questions I had about their particular program.  This information was helpful as I began weeding through my options.  I also highly suggest you research the school before making an overnight visit. I made sure I knew that the school was safe, affordable, and had what I was looking for as a major. Some athletes go to a school just for the sport but hate their major.  Why put yourself through that, especially since once you graduate you may never play on a competitive sports team again, yet you have your degree for life! Do your research before you look at the school. As a competitive athlete, make sure you are going to a school with a team that you know works hard.  Attend one of the school’s games, or practices! You can tell a lot about how good a team is by the intensity of their practices. As a coach if I have a recruit visiting I will work my players just as hard as every other practice (if not harder!) just so the recruit knows what they are getting themselves into.

Finally, I would highly suggest asking your Guidance Counselor to help you make sure your academic portion is submitted in plenty of time (early is always best!). If your forms are not sent in on-time you are in trouble! Some student-athletes procrastinate about doing their work in high school thinking that the coaches don’t look at their academic performance.  Nothing could be further from the truth! As a coach if we find you struggle in high school to be on-time and complete your schoolwork, we wonder why we should take a chance on you as a player if we cannot count on you making grades for the season.  Athletics and academics are not separate entities, the two work hand-in-hand.  So do your work and be strong in both areas!

I hope that you found my advice helpful.  Any other tips from those who are going through the process or have recently finalized their college athletic decisions?

Have a great Holiday and Happy New Year!!!!!

Cippy Out!