LET’S GET STARTED!

 “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.  The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”  Mark Twain

This famous Mark Twain quote could have been written as a testimonial for College GAMEplan since the core concept of College GAMEplan’s is to break down the massive, confusing and often intimidating “big picture” recruiting process, into small manageable steps.  Then, as you begin or continue your high school career, to guide you through the completion of each step of the process – one step at a time. 

One of the most important tools you’ll need each step of the way through the process is a resume or player profile.  Your profile should be broken into sections on contact information, academic accomplishments, and athletic accomplishments.  By now, you should have received a separate email from College GAMEplan that discussed building a resume.  So if you’ve taken the time to develop your resume, you’ve actually already taken your first step.  If you haven’t built your resume, either login to “MY GAMEplan”  and click on “My Student Athlete”, or email service@collegegameplanonline.com and request that we re-send you the resume building article we originally sent shortly after you enrolled in College GAMEplan.  Your first step needs to be to build your resume, so start it right away.  Without it, you'll be missing an essential tool that is needed to effectively implement the next steps along your path.   

Now, with so many students returning to school over the next few weeks, let’s assume that you have (or soon will have) completed your first resume.  Let’s continue our journey by developing and implementing plans for our next steps.      

Freshman and Sophomores 

“You gotta start somewhere”  “The toughest step is the first one.”  “One small step for man, one giant step for mankind”  …   Let’s get started! 

In this same newsletter, our Goals and Objectives article discusses the importance of both short and long term goal setting.  Although long term goals are often somewhat vague, i.e. “I want to play sports in college”, they often carry a strong overall commitment.  Conversely, short term goals are usually more well defined, yet much more flexible and subject to change.  So let’s start by making tentative longer term plans that we can change or define more clearly later.   

Let’s think about the type of college you might be interested in.  Does a big school or small school appeal to you?  Rural, urban, or suburban?  Click on the My GAMEplan link and check out our “Choosing a College” page to think about the many considerations that may be important over the next four years.  Make a note of the general characteristics of the colleges you identify so that later, you can search for other similar schools.  In this manner, you’ll begin to build a target list of schools that soon, you’ll begin sending information to.    

In your freshman year, while it is important to expose yourself to the radar screens of college coaches, it is not necessary (or recommended) that you send information to every coach throughout the school year.  So as you think about schools that interest you, avoid the immediate temptation to contact their college coaches and instead research the university a little more first.  Take a “Virtual Campus Tour” from our “Choosing a College” page to find out more about each campus.  Review their admission requirements for grades and test scores and consider if you can meet their requirements.  If you really like a school but you know you may not qualify, use it as an incentive to adjust your goals and improve your grades in order that you might be accepted.  And use our “Evaluate and Compare” worksheet to list the things you like and dislike about each school.  Remember to keep an open mind since you will probably change it many times over the next few years prior to making your final college decision.   

Finally this month, update your previous season statistics (either last year’s stats or this summer’s stats depending on your sport) and enter the information on your player profile/resume.  Stay in good contact with your previous coach – whether you will continue playing with him/her now you are in high school or not, it’s always preferable to maintain a good relationship with your coaches.  If you can, call them and ask them to tell you what they think your strengths and weaknesses are.  And ask them if you can use a quote from them on your resume, then include a sentence or two from them in your resume as you build it. 

Remember, at this point in your high school career, these are small steps in a long process.  They don’t all need to be completed immediately but they should serve as a guide to keep you on track.  Treat them as small steps and start taking them one at a time right now!  

Juniors 

For many athletes, junior year is the most important year in the recruiting calendar.  So it’s important to get a jump start on your year.  That means: 

• updating your resume
• preparing for your upcoming season by implementing a strength and conditioning program and working out regularly
• getting feedback from your coaches about the level of play they feel you should play at in college
• studying hard and focusing on grades – while grades have always been important, perhaps they have never been as important as they will be this year
• registering for ACT and/or SAT tests
• getting involved in extra curricular activities that might include school clubs or government positions 
• and keeping track of out of school activities and perform volunteer services.

Remember that colleges don’t only recruit the most qualified athletes - they recruit the best and most well rounded student athletes, and they recruit the students they know about!  Although it may be hard to imagine or admit, you should understand that every year, top quality universities recruit thousands of students who for instance, might have performed numerous hours of community service, volunteered at their local church, lead their sports teams in just about every category, held student government positions at school, and maintained a 4.0 (or higher) GPA throughout their high school careers.  These are often the type of students you may be competing with for college admissions and scholarship dollars.   

So understand that everything you do this year might help position you to be accepted at the college of your choice.  Understand that you might be competing for admission with other extremely talented student athletes.  Better yet, position yourself so that colleges will not only want to recruit you, but will also be willing to offer heavy financial incentives for you to attend their school.  Start by considering all these factors and setting your goals to put yourself in a position of strength as you talk and negotiate with admission representatives and college coaches.  Stay on top of your College GAMEplan.  Work hard … and play hard!   

While you are doing all this, use the tools on the “My GAMEplan” pages of College GAMEplan to help determine the schools that will give you the best playing opportunities and meet your college requirements and expectations.  Meet you’re your high school coach and college counselor to get their feedback and input into the colleges they feel will be the best fit for you.  Research them on-line, make plans to use weekends and school holidays to visit the campuses of schools you are most interested in and who are interested in you.  Keep track of your thoughts on each by using our “Evaluation Worksheet”, and keep your resume and Player Profile current and up to date.   

Seniors 

By now you are probably familiar with the pre-season sports preparation drills, and it goes without saying that you need to stay focused in the classroom.  If you need to take or re-take your SAT/ACT test(s), register for the fall tests immediately.   

Whether you have already had coaches contacting you or not, if you are serious about playing in college, where you’ll commit and play next year is probably going to be contingent on the actions you take over the next few weeks and months.   

Whereas other grades have time to implement a full marketing plan, if you are a senior and you are still waiting to hear from colleges that may be interested in you, it is essential that you immediately put your own plan to contact college coaches into full effect.   

Login to College GAMEplan right away and go to the “My GAMEplan” page.  Then click on the “Letter Templates” tab and choose a letter format that matches your situation.  If you don’t have a list of college coaches to contact, contact College GAMEplan immediately at 314-322-1920 or email us at service@collegegameplanonline.com.  We'll give you information about a College Coaches CD that contains the names, addresses, and email addresses, etc. of over 20,000 college coaches.  Use this valuable tool to help produce your own letter or email. 

Next, send your letters out immediately.  If you need to get in contact with college coaches quickly and you just don't have the time to do it yourself, contact us directly by email at service@collegegameplanonline.com or call us at 314-322-1920. 

If college coaches have already made contact with you, be sure to stay on top of the process.  Before the fall high school season begins, send each coach an update letter.  If you played over the summer, update your resume/player profile with your most recent stats and awards and send it out.  If you will be playing this fall, send the coach your fall schedule.  A list of letter templates is available under “Letter Templates” on the “My GAMEplan” page. 

As we explained earlier in this newsletter, remember that you are in competition with many other students that the coach is likely also recruiting.  Prove to the coach your resourcefulness and show them how organized you are.  Selling yourself to the coach includes showing how you are different from others, so be proactive – send the coach updated information and follow it up with a phone call to each coach after you’ve sent the letters or emails.  Prove to the coach how interested you are in their school (at this point you should probably be interested in most schools that are interested in you).  Even if you’ve already made your decision, stay in touch with the coach by sending your fall schedule and any appropriate updates. 

Most students return to school soon.  Take time to put your senior plan in action, regardless of how heavily you are being recruited.  If you’ve already selected your college, congratulations.  If you’re getting lots of phone calls and letters, stay on top of the process.  If you really want to play but haven’t heard from college coaches, understand that although it’s not too late, you might want to consider what division level is most appropriate for you - by now, most potential Division One scholarship athletes will have already received phone calls from their applicable college coaches.  If you haven't, contact your high school and/or club coach right away.  Get their feedback on your playing level.  Ask for their help.  And implement your own College GAMEplan right away.  There are a lot of colleges who will be rounding out their 2008/09 rosters all the way through your senior year.  So don’t panic but be realistic instead.  Focus on the schools that will be the best fit for you and start contacting them immediately.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact our professional counseling staff at 314-322-1920 or by email at service@collegegameplanonline.com.

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MORE IMPORTANT INFORMATION

For a specific bullet point checklist of responsibilities that are applicable for the month of July, click here to go to My Calendar - August. 

Don't forget, if you are running late and need to see last month's My Calendar or Things To Do list, click on Contact Us and call or email College GAMEplan right away.