Contrary to popular belief, and the belief of many athletes and parents, your high school coach will not “get you (or anyone) a scholarship”.  It often becomes easy to put the blame on the high school coach for not promoting an athlete enough for them to miraculously become a DI athlete come signing day.  The responsibility to put yourself in a position to earn an athletic scholarship lies squarely on your shoulders.  You will need to display, to your high school coach AND the college coaches evaluating you, that you have the following characteristics:

1. Coachable – Character
2. Speed
3. Explosion
4. Playing Fast
5. Athleticism – Quickness
6. Academics (GPA/Test score)
7. Size
8. Effort
9. Technique

Your high school coach will be your first contact with college recruiters.  Each year he will get literally hundreds of college prospect forms to fill out. These will be asking for 10th, 11th, and 12th grade prospects that have the potential to play college athletics.  Your high school coach can be one of your biggest assets in getting an initial connection to college football programs.

So … to put it simply, and a little corny (but true) you have to show him how remarkable you are!  Here is the question:  Will your coach be able to TRUTHFULLY say to a college recruiting coach that you have done everything in your power to become the best football (and team) player during the last four years?  If not, then you have work to do.  If you expect your coach to be your biggest fan, you must show him that you have character and are coachable…. the first things on the list above.  How do you do that?  Here are some (but not all) examples….

• If your coach asks you to play scout team your sophomore year to help the varsity team prepare, then be the best scout team player on the field!  Make plays against good varsity competition and follow directions.
• If your coach expects you to participate in 7-on-7 during the summer, then be at every practice and every game. Be a leader – learn your system – play fast.
• If your coach you to attend 90% of the workouts during the off-season program, be there 100% of the time and work at a high intensity.  You don’t want to be the guy in this video:
  
• If your coach asks you to switch positions your senior year to help the team, then take on the new position with enthusiasm.
• If your coach expects you to evaluate your opponent’s game film an hour every day during your season, then watch 90 minutes a day.
• If you coach demands that you are on time to every practice and meeting, then make sure you are on “Lombardi Time” and get there 10 minutes early!
• When you coach says you should take a “6 inch step” during film evaluation of your blocking, you say “Yes Sir” and learn how to do it consistently rather than asking your teammates “what is the big difference between a 6 inch step and a 7 inch step?”

When you do everything in your power to make yourself a better football (and team) player, then you will be able to check off two important qualities college coaches are looking for, being coachable and having great character.

You can read in depth information about the qualities that college coaches will be evaluating, and other recruiting information, at my blog at this link:  You Can Do More – All  Recruiting Posts.

In addition to these written posts, I have recently launched my YouTube Channel that deals specifically with the recruiting process.  The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1