Transcript Media Training - East Brunswick Soccer Club

Myths and Facts
on Collegiate Soccer and
Soccer Scholarships
Presented by the East Brunswick Soccer Club
June 8, 2009
© 2009, East Brunswick Soccer Club, East Brunswick, NJ 08816
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Tonight’s program
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1. Introduction
 Heard on the sidelines …
 Collegiate soccer by the numbers
 Myths and facts
2. The recruiting process
 Coaches’ perspectives:
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Players’ perspectives:
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Alyssa Sotomayor, junior, Ithaca College (D3)
Evan Brandsdorfer, sophomore, Temple University (D1)
Parent’s perspective:
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Glenn Crooks, head women’s coach, Rutgers University
Julian Richens, assistant men’s coach, Rider University
Ron Brandsdorfer, parent and president, East Brunswick Soccer Club
3. Athletic scholarships
 Numbers and dollars
4. What to do right now
5. Q&A
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Heard on the sidelines …
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"I moved my daughter to an elite team to
improve her chances of getting a college athletic
scholarship." Parent of a 9-year-old player
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"I know a player who got a full ride -- everything
covered for four years." Parent
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"I really love soccer, but I’d rather be a student
than a student-athlete." EBHS senior soccer
player
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By the numbers
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Number of collegiate teams
Men’s:
 D1 207; D2 185; D3 397
 Women’s
 D1 321; D2 226; D3 423
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Number of current athletes
Men’s: 17,000
 Women’s: 21,000
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Number of high school soccer players
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Boys: 330,044
 Girls: 270,273
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Key fact: Just 5% of all boys and girls who play high school sports go on to
play collegiate sports
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Myths and Facts
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Myths and Facts
 Colleges
and the NCAA make it easy for athletes to
do well – Basketweaving 101
 6 a.m. weightlifting, practices, team meetings,
study halls, long trips to games
 New NCAA requirements -- graduation rates, GPA
 There’s a lot of scholarship money out there,
especially for women (due to Title IX)
 Excluding the glamor sports of football and men’s
basketball, the average NCAA scholarship: $8,707
 Typical baseball player, track and field: $2,000
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Myths and Facts (cont’d)
 If
you’re not playing for an elite team and
paying $4,000 a year for youth soccer, you
have no chance to play in college
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D1, D2, D3, NAIA, club, intramurals
 If
you’re a good player, collegiate coaches will
see you, recruit you
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Takes a lot of hard work – a family project
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Coaches’ perspectives
How coaches recruit
 What they look for
 Where they see players
 Club vs. high school soccer
 Do’s and don’ts in reaching out to college
coaches
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Players’ perspectives
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Collegiate soccer – yes or no?
Developing a visibility plan
Support circle – travel coaches, high school
coaches, other
Researching and visiting colleges
What it’s like to be a collegiate athlete (time
involved, commitment, ups and downs,
balancing athletics and academics)
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A parent’s perspective
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Supporting – not pushing – your child
Not all collegiate players are actively recruited
Taking responsibility for the process
 Do-it-yourself outreach
 Using a recruiting service
Visiting coaches and schools
What to look for
Promises, promises
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Athletic scholarships
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D1 Men’s maximum – 9.9 scholarships
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330,000 high school players
 2,300 scholarships awarded
 6,000 students receiving scholarships
 $8,533 yearly value ($16,698 for basketball; $12,980 for football)
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D1 Women’s maximum – 14 scholarships
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270,000 high school players
 3,900 scholarships awarded
 9,300 students receiving scholarships
 $8,404 yearly value ($20,540 for ice hockey)
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What does that mean?
 Head
count vs. equivalency sports
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Athletic scholarships (cont’d)
How do coaches decide?
 The National Letter of Intent
 Myth of the “full ride”
 Important web site:
https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/studen
t/index_student.html
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“Kids who have worked their whole life trying
to get a scholarship think the hard part is
over when they get the college money.
They don’t know that it’s a whole new
monster when you get here. Yes, all the
hard work paid off. And now you have to
work harder.”
-- Villanova baseball player
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What to do right now
Love the game
 Maintain your commitment to excellence
… on the field, in the classroom, in the
community
 Step back and think – right reasons vs.
wrong reasons
 Consider the options
 Talk to collegiate athletes
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Q&A
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Any questions?
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NCAA recruiting regulations
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Freshman and Sophomore year of High School
(and until Sept. 1 of Junior Year)
Coaches may:
Send questionnaires, sports camp brochures, and NCAA Educational Information
Accept phone calls placed by prospects at their own expense, but may not return voicemail
messages from prospects.
Coaches may NOT:
Initiate phone calls to prospects.
Send any other written recruiting materials to prospects
Unofficial Visits
Prospects can make unofficial visits to campus
Can receive up to three complimentary admissions to a campus sporting event
May talk in person with college coaches only on the college campus
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NCAA recruiting regulations
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September 1st of your Junior Year
Coaches may send information about their school or program (personalized letters, photocopies of
newspaper clippings, media guides, schedule cards, and official university academic and
admissions publications)
Coaches may also reply to your emails or send email
July 1st after your Junior Year
Coaches are only allowed to make one phone call per week to you or your parents. (Coaches may
accept unlimited phone calls that are initiated by prospects at any time)
A college coach may contact you in person off the college campus only on or after July 1st after
completion of your junior year. Any face-to-face meeting between a college coach and you or your
parents, during which any of you say more than "hello" is considered a contact.
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NCAA recruiting regulations
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Senior Year
Coaches can send written correspondence and make telephone calls as listed under July 1st after
your Junior Year.
You are only allowed to make 5 Official - expense paid visits to college campuses. Your visit to
the campus may not last longer than 48 hours. These visits can occur no earlier than your first day
of classes of your senior year.
Coaches must have an official SAT or ACT score and a copy of your official high school transcript
before this visit can take place.
Recruiting at Tournaments
At a tournament, if a coach does not talk to you, it's not because he is being rude. The NCAA has
specific rules about recruiting which limits communication at tournaments.
At tournaments, coaches are not allowed to have any personal contact with student-athletes. It is,
however, permissible to say "hello" in passing. Anything more than "hello" is considered a contact.
A conversation, other than a simple greeting, with a parent or guardian at a tournament site, is
considered a contact.
A coach may sit down with a parent or guardian at a competition site. This will count towards one
of the three in-person off-campus recruiting contacts a coach is allowed.
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