PlayMaker Network

View Original

3 Must-Dos To Earn A College Scholarship

What's up guys, I just wanted to give you three ways that you can get noticed by college coaches.  Out of high school I had over 10 offers.  The process is easier than assumed, but for whatever reason a lot of people don't have this information.  Fortunately I was able to have a very positive experience when I was getting recruited by top football colleges so I'm here to share this information with you and hopefully you can apply this same stuff to help you get a better chance to get your own college scholarship.

1) Play Against Good Competition

A lot of us are in situations that we can't change, however if you're playing at a school that's playing against good competition that's going to put you in a position to potentially get recruited or get noticed by some of the bigger colleges. Think about it...if you're playing against a school that has a top recruit, and during that game you have a very good game....you make some good plays against a top player.....what do you think is going to happen?   That same coach that's watching that other player is going to start watching you.   This is something that is very subtle, but it makes a very big deal in terms of getting an opportunity to get noticed when you otherwise we're not getting recruited.   

When I was playing in high school, we played against this Top Running Back that was getting recruited by all of the top colleges across the country...Michigan, Ohio State UCLA, USC.....and in that particular game I was playing strong safety.  I had like 10 or 12 tackles, and made a few very big plays. Shortly after that game I started to get calls and letters from coaches. Playing against really good competition helps raise your own personal bar and puts you in a position where you can also get noticed.

2) Send Your Highlight Film To Coaches

Get your highlight films in front of coaches by using Twitter or other social media channels.  Do whatever is reasonable to get a coach to see your highlight film.  A coach may not even know that you exist so you want to use technology to try to get it in front of those coaches. It's very very important for your highlight film to be out there.  You can push it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and by having your friends share your links, and using the social media platform for your highlight film to spread, giving yourself a bigger opportunity for other people to see your film.  

3) Visit the schools that you're interested in attending

You might have an opportunity to play at a school if you are not getting recruited by that school. At my former school University of New Mexico, and also when I transferred to Georgetown University, we had a number of walk-ons on our team that still got to play for team.  That's because they developed a relationship with the coach before they showed up on campus.   The school or the coach was not able to offer them a scholarship, however they had a relationship with the coach and school from their visits before school started.  The coach knew that they were a good players, and so the coaches allowed them prove themselves as "walk-ons" so that they could get an opportunity to play on the field.  So go and visit the schools that you're interested in, and see if you can go visit with the coaches.  Try to talk to any coach or anyone else that's affiliated with the program, because this is going to give you the opportunity to build relationships.  This whole recruiting process is all about relationships.  Why do you think the coaches are sending you letters - why do you think coaches are calling your house - why do you think they are coming into your house to meet with your mother and father - it's to build a relationship.  So you can reciprocate that and go out to the school and directly build a relationship with the schools that you're interested in to potentially get an opportunity to play at that school.  They may not necessarily recruit you, and they may not be offering you a scholarship, but you might be able to develop a relationship to give you an opportunity to walk-on and play at that school.  

The recruiting process is not about what HAPPENS, but it's about what you DO.  What you DO on the field, and what you DO off the field both matter!  Good Luck!

See this content in the original post