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Thursday, August 28, 2008 |
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FAQ'S - Frequently Asked Questions
What should we be doing now to help in my son's / daughters college decision process? As a rising senior you should follow up on all contact you have received from those schools you have an interest in attending. Try not to be concerned about what level of play that is but rather if that school fits all of your needs. E-mail any coaches you have been in touch with and let them know if you want to go there. Narrow your list of choices to your top three realistic schools and make sure you are happy with those decisions. Keep one or two dream schools on the list because you never know what may happen. Look at the admissions forms and see if you are allowed to send additional letters of recommendation. Every thong you can do to separate yourself from the pack of applications will be a help. As a rising junior, now is the time to see as many schools as possible. Long weekends or an overnight trip to look at as many campuses as possible is a great idea. E-mail coaches of schools you are interested in and ask if you can see the facilities when you plan a visit to the school. Keep in mind all visits are unofficial and coaches may have specific guidelines that they follow in regard to junior visits. Concentrate on your SAT/ACT exams. Take a proactive attitude when taking them; work hard to get the best score you can. As a rising sophomore, you too should visit schools when you can. Gain as much knowledge about where you might want to go to school now so when the time is ready, you are prepared to sort through the recruiting process. We haven’t heard from our top school in a while, what should we do? Keep in mind recruiting is a business as much as coaches need to and do personalize it. Coaches begin by speaking to as many players as possible. As more information and commitments from players are made, there sights narrow to their top 8-12 choices, just as your do with college selection. If a coach is showing less and less interest, e-mail him / her or have your high school coach contact him / her to see why his level of interest has waned. In most cases it is just a game of numbers and you need to move to your next choice on your list of schools. What is the NCAA Clearing House and why do I need it? The clearing house in an eligibility system set in place by the NCAA to ensure all prospective division I and II athletes meet the minimum academic requirements necessary to be eligible to play as college freshman. Rising seniors will need to fill out the clearing house application in order to be eligible for the following season. Clearing house checks the core classes of the student athletes and makes sure they are taking at least the minimum amount of core classes needed to meet requirements. You may use the link on the web site to browse the site and even to fill out an application. Underclassmen can check requirements as well without applying so they can familiarize themselves with the requirements. (more...) We haven’t been contacted by the schools we wanted? College recruitment is an objective process with many variables. College coaches are under a lot of pressure and restraints with recruiting. Certain years a school may have 9 returning midfielders and only 5 returning defensemen. A college coach in that position is not going to spend a great deal of time on midfield recruits. Don’t take anything during this process personally. Keep in mind that you need to find the best situation for you and don’t worry about the fact that John’s Hopkins isn’t returning your calls. Ask your high school coach for his opinion on your level of play and narrow your list to those schools. Also remember just because you have not been contacted by a school does not mean they are not interested. Reach out to them via your coach or e-mail and let them know of your interest. Remember, keep moving forward despite any frustrations you may encounter. As an underclassman, what should I be doing? The biggest change over the last 5-8 years is how the recruiting process has changed. It is not uncommon to have Juniors verbally commit to top schools. More and more college coaches are looking at rising sophomores and juniors to stay ahead of the recruiting process. So as an underclassman you need to work hard academically, to help with the process when coaches call. You also should try to attend camps and tournaments where you can be seen by college coaches, who are always gathering names and information on young players. See as many schools as you can and be open to anyone who may send a letter or speak to you when they are able to. I am a rising senior, is it too late for me? The biggest problem to arise with the new trend in recruiting is that a lot of quality players fall through the cracks. Also a lot of coaches and players make mistakes with those early decisions leading to the high amount of transfer players in college ranks these days. But please don’t be discouraged. As we have stated here and elsewhere there are many, many quality schools to attend and play college lacrosse. You need to work with your high school coach and college counselor to find the right one for you. Just because you weren’t recruited by a school does not mean you cannot play there. Contact the coach and ask questions. Be proactive because as a rising senior you need to act now. Our high school coach is not helping us that much, what should we do? Speak to your coach and ask if he/ she could offer you more help and
guidance. Some coaches wait for parents or players to ask for help
and then they are more then willing to do their part. Also speak
to your college counselor at school and see if they can help with
narrowing your list of schools and help with setting realistic goals.
If you need more assistance please don’t hesitate to contact
us for advice and information.
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