For a specific bullet point checklist of responsibilities that are applicable for the summer, login to your My GAMEplan page and click on My Summer Calendar.

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

SUMMER NEWSLETTER

School’s out for the summer!  Congratulations to the Class of 2010 and good luck to all of you in college.  

With the next College GAMEplan newsletter scheduled for August, this will be the final newsletter for the 2009/10 school year.  And while this year’s senior class is now counting down to the start of their college careers, there remain some important preparation work to do in order to maximize your opportunities of playing collegiate sports.  So this edition of College GAMEplan includes a Summer Training Program designed to keep you trim through the summer months.  In between workouts, make certain to stay in contact with your new college coach.  When it comes time for your first college freshman practice, you'll want to make sure that your new coach remembers who you are since you'll be competing for playing time with several new teammates.  Take the time to send your coach your very latest statistics or video footage;  send him or her a note telling thank you for their offer and remind them how much you are looking forward to contributing this year.  A few short minutes spent now can make all the difference in August when the coach is penciling in his or her first fall lineup.   

For high school students, summer is a time to review and evaluate your plans for playing sports in college.  Are you happy with the attention you are getting from college coaches?  Is your college game plan on track?  

It is the opinion of many that if you are good enough to play college sports, you will already be being recruited by the end of your junior year.  While that statement may be true for some blue chip athletes, it is far from the truth for the majority of college athletes.  If on July 1^st, when college coaches can generally begin contacting incoming seniors, you find yourself disappointed that your phone is not ringing, don’t despair.  There remain thousands of opportunities for you to both play college sports and earn significant scholarships for doing so.  For many universities, the bulk of their recruiting won’t begin until after July 1^st.  Consider too that more than 80% of all collegiate playing opportunities take place outside of NCAA Division I schools.  While your current communications with colleges may be slightly disappointing, and while you may not get a lot of phone calls around July 1^st, there are likely two common realities you will need to react to:  

One - You may not be as well known as you thought!  Contrary to popular opinion, most college coaches manage their recruiting on tiny budgets (sometimes as little as only a few hundred dollars).  With little money to work with combined with their busy professional and personal schedules, these coaches simply cannot cover all the schools within their own demographic target market, let alone others located further away.  It is highly plausible that coaches may not be aware of who you are.  

Two – You may need to set more realistic expectations!  The July 1^st date that allows coaches to begin calling incoming high school seniors generally impacts NCAA Division I schools more than others (it doesn’t even apply to most schools).  If you find yourself not getting called, it may be time to begin considering schools at other division levels.  Throughout the year, College GAMEplan published newsletters and email articles on the benefits that many smaller, or lower division level schools provide.  Re-read some of our older bulletins and keep your eyes open throughout the year for relevant topics.  Above all, don’t make the mistake of listening to peer pressure that generally pushes you to only play ball at the Division I level.  Consider all your options and if possible, talk to athletes who have played ball at smaller schools.  You won’t find many who didn’t enjoy every minute of it.  Keep all your options open. 

For more information about recruiting guidelines, visit the Recruiting Guidelines page of your College GAMEplan subscription, or for specific recruiting regulations (including complete details – by division level and sport - on the July 1^st recruiting date that allows coaches to begin calling students) click on http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2007-08/2007-08_cbsa.pdf 

Regardless of your age and whether your plan is on track or not, take the time soon to update your own Player Profile or resume.  If you have not yet developed one, use the College GAMEplan templates located on the My Student Athlete pages of our web site to help build your own.  Be sure to include your most recent playing statistics.   

Next develop your own target list of schools that you might have an interest in attending.  Get feedback from your high school and/or club coaches, then mail them introduction letters that include your Player Profile.  Again, College GAMEplan will help you by providing a range of Letter Templates for several different types of letters.  Visit the My GAMEplan page of your subscription for details.  If you have been in contact with coaches, follow up your communication throughout the summer by choosing a follow up letter template and including your summer playing schedule. 

If you won’t be playing during the summer, take advantage of the many camps in and around your region.  These will help you prepare as well as gain exposure to coaches.  Read the Summer Camps article included in this newsletter for more information and ideas.      

Use the summer months to take virtual tours of college campuses by visiting our Choosing A College page.  Narrow your choices of schools you are interested in with our College Evaulation Template, then plan to visit those you are most interested in.  Contact the coach and introduce yourself by reviewing our Questions To Ask A College Coach, and if you remain interested, schedule a campus visit.  Be sure to take along our College Visits page to help you cover all the important points you’ll want to consider.  Later this summer and into the fall, you’ll want to schedule your ACT and SAT test dates using the calendar on our monthly Things To Do This Month page, and you’ll want to compare your College Evaluation Worksheets to determine the schools that best fit the criteria you have determined to be most important to you.  

Then we’ll walk you thru the financial aid maze giving you timely instructions and tips on how to position yourself to negotiate financial incentives (including scholarships) to minimize your out of pocket costs.  

Building a College GAMEplan is not hard but it does take time.  College GAMEplan helps you minimize the time by providing the tools and templates, and organizing your schedule so you focus only the important things that need to be done each month.   

Since you are receiving this newsletter, you have already subscribed to our free program.  Many of you are already working your own College GAMEplan, but others have yet to begin.  If you are really serious about playing sports in college, use the information we provide to build and implement your own College GAMEplan.  August is the start of a new school year and whether you are just starting high school or whether you will be a Senior in the class of 2010, one thing is for sure – taking a proactive approach to finding the very best college fit for both your academic and athletic needs reduces the stress of choosing a college significantly.  Use all the resources available to you.  Work with your high school’s college guidance counselor.  Work with your coaches.  Set your goals.  Allocate a small amount of time each month to keep your game plan on track and use College GAMEplan to guide you and help you implement your plan.  One thing is certain – this time next year you’ll be wondering where all the time went!  Make the most of your time and make the best decision college possible by implementing your own College GAMEplan. 

Video Highlights

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