25 years ago, during the 1989 football season at Central Missouri State University (now named the University of Central Missouri) Mark Hulet filmed a documentary chronicling a week in the life of a college football coach. The name of the movie was Seven Days in Season.
The 40 minute movie is classic, and offers a pretty realistic glimpse into the life of a football coach at any level. If for no other reason, it is worth watching to get a good laugh at the fashions and technology of the 80’s.
Enjoy!
You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!
Looking at the data for this blog gives me some insight as well.
Besides providing information on the posts that are most popular (see post “Top” posts “Best” posts) it also lists who the top referrers are… people and web sites that have sent readers to my blog:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank these people, and in turn recommend them as a source of football specific information… just click on any of the above links for some great information!
Many times readers arrive at my blog, not due to being specifically referred by a trusted source, but by typing a search term in Google, Bing, Yahoo, or some other search engine. Over 4,000 page views have been from people who have landed via one of these search engines.
All told, there have been over 500different search terms that readers have used to land at my blog. The most popular search criteria were from coaches who were specifically searching for some form of defensive game day call sheet…. Over 360views with 60 variations of that search term. This data tells me that there a was a large group of football coaches looking for a good tool to use on game day, and my game planning posts resonated with this group.
There have also been some very specific search terms from coaches wanting to find a particular item:
These landed them on pages of mine that DID mention these things, but they were used as analogies … sorry to those I led astray.
Some general observations and reflections:
There is a lot of information available on the Internet
There are a lot of coaches, athletes, and parents looking for help, be it very specific, or more general.
Some people are hungry… ready to dig deep to find information that they want. When I typed in some of these search terms, my blog did not always show up on the first page… often not even the second or third page of results.
Pretty much everything I have shared, was shared with me at one point in time…. that is why I freely share… that is what the “coaching fraternity” is all about.
Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!
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:
Coachable – Character
Speed
Explosion
Playing Fast
Athleticism – Quickness
Academics (GPA/Test score)
Size
Effort
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 Channelthat deals specifically with the recruiting process. The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.
Today is the final installment in the six-part series designed to help student-athletes and their parents know what to expect at the various stages of the recruiting process. I briefly explained these stages in the post, Recruiting – Gauging Their Level Of Interest; this series goes into greater detail at each step, helping you maximize every opportunity to market yourself.
In addition to these written posts, I have recently launched my YouTube Channelthat deals specifically with the recruiting process. The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.
You made it through the recruiting process to this ultimate and important step; the last step in the recruiting process, but the first in your collegiate playing experience. This step takes on increased importance, because unlike many of the previous steps (The Offer or your verbal commitment) this step IS binding. The NLI (National Letter of Intent) used by the majority of NCAA schools, is a legal, binding agreement that ties you to the issuing college and visa-versa. Non-NLI member colleges are the Ivy League schools, Military Academies, Division III and NAIA institutions, prep schools and junior colleges.
Signing date (the first day of the regular signing period) for football is typically the first Wednesday in February. The dates for all the sports can be found at this link: NCAA NLI Guide
Here are some things to keep in mind regarding the NLI and signing day:
The NLI must be accompanied by an athletics financial aid agreement. An institution cannot ask a student-athlete to sign a letter of intent to “walk on” or if it is accompanied only by a financial aid agreement from a non-athletic (i.e. academic) source.
The NLI may not be signed prior to the signing dates for the applicable sport. A coach cannot and should not ask a student-athlete to sign the NLI early “just to get a head start on things” unless your sport has an applicable early signing period.
A parent or legal guardian must also sign the NLI if the prospective student-athlete is under 21 years old, regardless of marital status.
A coach or institutional representative may not hand deliver the NLI off campus or be present off campus at the time of signing. The NLI will probably be delivered express mail, courier service, or regular mail. It can also be delivered electronically via email or fax. In the “old days” coaches, often head coaches, often head coaches competing for the same prospect, would show up at this top recruits high school with the NLI in hand. The NCAA felt like this was putting too much pressure on the prospective student-athlete and their family on signing day. It is still possible for a student-athlete to have more than one NLI delivered to them, but they will be able to decide which to sign without the pressure of a coach hovering over them.
It will be up to your high school to organize any signing day event.
Once you sign the NLI, all other institutions must respect the student-athletes NLI signing by ceasing all recruiting.
The student-athlete (and parent/ guardian) will sign two copies of the NLI and athletic scholarship agreement. They will keep one and return one to the institution.
The NLI binds a student-athlete to the institution, not the coach. If the coach leaves, the student-athlete is still bound by the provisions of the NLI
There are various circumstances that could make the NLI declared null and void. These are detailed at this site: NCAA NLI Guide
On a final note, I think it is important to remember that, although the recruiting process is over, your collegiate experience is just beginning. In order for you to compete at this next level, it is imperative that you continue ALL the things (or more) that put you in a position to receive an athletic scholarship and sign a NLI. Continue working to make yourself a remarkable, Purple Cow athlete! An athlete that was ultimately Wanted… and Rewarded!
There is always much confusion and misconceptions regarding all the different collegiate “levels”. In this post, I will try to clarify and demystify this Alphabet Soup. Here are my Top 10 Misconceptions regarding the different collegiate playing levels:
Misconception #1 – DI or Bust
Many athletes have the attitude that if they don’t get a NCAA FBS offer that they have failed; that playing at a so-called “lower level” would be beneath them. Let me assure you that at most of the so-called “lower level” programs, the athletes are very good. If you think you are just going to waltz in and earn a starting spot just because the football team is not classified as an FBS program, you will be in for a rude awakening.
Misconception #2 – I didn’t get a DI offer – I must not be good enough to play at the next level.
If you want to participate in intercollegiate athletics, there is a level and a program out there for you. It will be challenging (see above) and rewarding, but if you want to play and are willing to work, there is a program out there with your name on it.
Misconception #3 – DI schools are larger than their counterparts at the other levels.
The level that a college or university operates on has nothing to do with the size of their campus or student population. SMU (an FBS school) has an enrollment of 7,000 undergraduate students…. Washington University in St. Louis (an NCAA DIII school) has an enrollment of 7,300 undergrad students. NCAA DI basketball powerhouse Butler has fewer than 4,000 undergrad students… The 2013 NCAA DII Basketball National Champions, Drury University in Springfield, MO has a student population of over 4,500. I think this misconception has something to do with the way high school activity associations label and group their schools, which is completely based on student population.
So what does determine the collegiate level? There are 340 NCAA DI institutions. The FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision – formerly NCAA I-A) has 120 schools, FCS (Football Championship Subdivision – formerly NCAA I-AA) has 122 schools, and NFS (Non Football Subdivision) has 98 schools. All D-I schools must field teams in at least seven sports for men and seven for women or six for men and eight for women, with at least two team sports for each gender. There are several other NCAA sanctioned minimums and differences that distinguish Division I from Divisions II and III, such as average attendance and facility size.
Misconception #4 – NCAA FBS schools offer more scholarships.
This is partly true, although it comes with a caveat. NCAA FBS schools have 85 full scholarships in their program, while FCS schools have 63 and NCAA DII have 36. But, (the caveat) in all divisions except FBS, the scholarships can be divided up into partial awards. So, although FBS has more full scholarships to offer, the total number of scholarship athletes in the program is about the same.
Misconception #5 – The atmosphere at the “lower level” programs is lacking.
Misconception #6 – Class sizes at NCAA DI schools are going to be much larger than at an NCAA DIII or NAIA school.
While this is often the case, again there are other factors, such as student population, faculty size and course offerings that will ultimately determine this number.
The NAIA and NCAA are two different governing bodies of collegiate athletics. NCAA DIII schools cannot offer any athletic scholarship aid. NAIA schools CAN offer athletic aid (football 24, soccer 12, etc)
Misconception #8 – NCAA DIII does not offer scholarship aid.
While NCAA DIII schools cannot offer athletic scholarship aid, then can and do offer need based and academic aid to students… including student-athletes.
Misconception #9 – You have to go to a FBS school to have a chance at playing in the NFL
I hope this helped in digesting at least a portion of your Alphabet Soup.
In addition to these written posts, I have recently launched my YouTube Channelthat deals specifically with the recruiting process. The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.
I will also begin a new series of posts this week detailing a defensive game plan process we implemented while at the University of Central Missouri. I have given many clinic talks discussing the process, and have been asked to share via this medium.
Basically, I will be showing how to get from this:
And this:
And this:
And tons more information at your disposal, to this – A single, “game ready” defensive Call Sheet:
I am looking forward to sharing this information with you!
If you look at the rosters of every Big 12, Big 10, SEC, or Pac 10 program, you quickly realize that every major college football program, and MOST football programs in the country recruit the state of Texas.
As someone that coached high school football in both Texas and Missouri, and as a college coach recruited several geographic areas including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas, and who had a son that played football in Texas from grade 7-12, I often get asked several iterations of the same question:
“Is Texas high school football that much better than here (Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, etc)?”
I always hesitate to answer, “better” because that implies that coaches in these other areas (the Midwest) are not doing a good, or as good, a job coaching their programs, and that is simply not the case. But, there are some major differences between Texas (and other areas, too, I am sure) and the rest of the country. These differences are what make Texas a recruiting hotbed.
Population Density
There are several major population centers in Texas, including the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex with 7 million people, the Houston Metro area 6 million, the San Antonio Metro with over 2 million, and the Austin area now over 1 million. With that many people (students) in such close proximity, it is an efficient area to recruit. You can get to a lot of school, and see many great players without driving over 30 miles a day.
Weather
The weather is much milder that the Midwest, especially the upper Midwest, which lends itself to more, and more efficient practice sessions during the course of the season.
Length of Season
The 5A state championship game in Texas is normally played the third week in December; that is a full month later than in Missouri. If you project that over a 4 year high school career, that is about 4 more months of practice, or about an additional year of playing/ practice time.
Facilities
All it takes is flying over either Dallas or Houston and you realize football is king. Nearly every school from 2A to 5A has not only a turf game field, but also a turf practice field, and larger programs (3A and above) have indoor practice complexes. Combine that with state-of-the-art strength and conditioning facilities, meeting/ video rooms, training and locker rooms, and the differences become substantial.
Athletics PE
This is probably the biggest difference. My son had Athletics PE (in Texas) from the time he was in 7th grade until he graduated high school… that is the norm. Every athlete, in every sport, is enrolled in these classes. You can begin practice during the season, conduct an off-season program out of season, begin meetings or film review… all during normal school hours. Project this over 6 years (7-12 grades) and combine that with the fact that most high schools are on a block schedule, having a 2-hour PE class EVERY day, the effect is cumulative, and huge. A high school player comes out of a program in Texas much more developed physically and mentally. When you consider all the extra exposure to the game mentally, and all the opportunity to improve physically, this is no surprise.
My takeaway from all of this information:
If you are a high school athlete in the Midwest and want to continue playing football in college, understand that you are not only competing against area student-athletes for scholarships (and eventually playing time) but also athletes from these areas. You need to take advantage of every opportunity you have to improve physically and mentally.
If you are a high school athlete in Texas, don’t underestimate the athletes from the other areas of the nation. Although you may begin more advanced physically, and have a better understanding of the game, if you get complacent, these non-Texas athletes may have a larger room for improvement, and could gain on you.
If you are a coach in a school outside of Texas, do the best you can, with what you have. Time spent pining over what others have or what you don’t is unproductive. It does no good comparing apples (your program) to oranges (Texas programs). Concentrate on teaching and coaching the things that are under your control, in the situation you are in. Just because you don’t have an indoor practice facility, or a 2-hour athletics PE every day, does not mean you cannot be a GREAT football coach.
If you are a coach in Texas, understand that, although what you have may be the norm in Texas, it is not the norm in most of the country. Appreciate what you have, but understand, too, that good work… good coaching… good teaching… is being done in other areas of the country as well; often with much fewer resources than what you have. There are people outside of Texas who know football.
Today is the fifth of a six-part series designed to help student-athletes and their parents know what to expect at the various stages of the recruiting process. I briefly explained these stages in the post, Recruiting – Gauging Their Level Of Interest; this series goes into greater detail at each step, helping you maximize every opportunity to market yourself.
In addition to these written posts, I have recently launched my YouTube Channelthat deals specifically with the recruiting process. The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.
The previous post in this series can be found on my blog at the following link: Recruiting – The Level of Interest Pyramid. This post will discuss “The Offer” and detail exactly what the verbal offer of scholarship aid means.
At some point during the recruiting process, the school (or schools) that has been recruiting you will make a decision. They will either decide that you do not fit the current needs of their program, or that you are the type of student athlete that will be successful in their program.
If their decision is that you do not meet their current needs, understand their decision does not necessarily mean you cannot be a collegiate football player. It only means that you do not meet the needs of that specific program, at that specific time.
If their decision is that you DO meet their needs, their next step will be determining what type offer they will be making. Here are some important things to remember regarding the verbal offer:
At all levels below FBS football, the scholarships can be broken up into partial awards, ranging anywhere from a small dollar amount to a full ride. At the NCAA FBS level, the scholarships are all full awards. A full scholarship can include tuition, fees, room, board and books. If you qualify for any need based aid, such as a PELLgrant, you can accept that amount on top of your scholarship award.
At all levels below the NCAA DI level, the scholarship awards are 1-year contracts, with the option for annual renewal. A 2011 rule change allowed NCAA DI schools to offer multi-year awards, but even then, those are rare. A recent study by the Pittsburg Post-Gazette found the following:
“But nearly two years after that legislation, multiyear scholarships are rare, not publicized by universities and largely unknown by the athletes. According to data of 82 universities at the Division I-A level obtained by the Post-Gazette through open records requests, only 16 have offered more than 10 multiyear scholarships. Thirty-two of the universities have offered between one and 10, and thirty-four have not offered any.”
If a DII school tells you that they are offering you a 4-year scholarship, they are not being completely honest.
The verbal scholarship offer is non-binding; it can be rescinded. Nothing is binding until the National Letter of Intent is signed.
College programs will offer more scholarships than they have available, knowing that they will not “win” every recruiting battle. Because of this, they will want to know ASAP if you intend to accept the offer… and will ask that you give a verbal commitment to them. If you are not going to accept their offer, they know they can make an offer to the next person on their list. Just because the college will want to know ASAP, does not mean you should feel, or be, pressured to make a decision.
Your verbal commitment is non-binding as well; it can be rescinded. Nothing is binding until the National Letter of Intent is signed.
You should feel free to ask questions related to the scholarship offer:
Can the offer be increased from year to year?
How often does that happen?
What about my red-shirt year… will the scholarship cover a 5th year?
What happens to the amount of aid if I get injured and cannot play any longer? What if I graduate in 4 years, and still have a year of eligibility… will the scholarship cover grad school?
You are getting to the final, home stretch, of the recruiting process. You now are fairly confident in their level of interest. It is now up to you to continue your evaluation and make your decision based on the important factors to you and your family. You want to be confident in your decision before the next and final phase of the process, signing the National Letter of Intent.
I have had a couple of requests for links to all of the posts regarding the Level of Interest Pyramid (Recruiting – Gauging Their Level of Interest). Following are the links, in order, for all of these posts:
In addition to these written posts, I have recently launched my YouTube Channelthat deals specifically with the recruiting process. The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.
I have also created a “Magazine” on Flipboard (see Apps for the Coach) that puts all of these posts in one location that you can read (and share) on your mobile device. This is a link to the Flipboard Magazine:
This week I will post the final two installments in this series, Recruiting – The Offer, and Recruiting – The Letter of Intent. By the end of the summer, I will also have these in an iBook that will be free to readers of this blog. My iBook, Wanted… and Rewarded.. the complete guide to a successful college recruiting experience, will be released in iBook format by the end of the summer as well.
Today is the fourth of a six-part series designed to help student-athletes and their parents know what to expect at the various stages of the recruiting process. I briefly explained these stages in the post, Recruiting – Gauging Their Level Of Interest; I will be going into greater detail at each step to help you maximize every opportunity to market yourself.
In addition to these written posts, I have recently launched my YouTube Channelthat deals specifically with the recruiting process. The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.
Subscribe to my FREE channel with one click here:
Today I am going to discuss “The Home Visit” and what to expect when college coaches come to your home.
When a college coach, either a recruiting coach, head coach, or both, expends the time and effort to spend an evening visiting with you and your family, it indicates an extremelyhigh level of interest. The “Home Visit” and “Official Visit” go hand-in-hand.
When I was a coach at the University of Central Missouri, we always tried to schedule the home visit prior to the athletes “official visit” (see post Recruiting – the Official Visit) to campus. We seldom, if ever, did a home visit with an athlete that either was not scheduled, or at least offered, an official visit to our campus. Typically, if we offered an official visit to an athlete, we were anticipating making some scholarship offer to them. So athletes that we visited in person, at their home, were
Scheduled for an official visit, and
Probably getting a scholarship offer.
Why is it so important for the recruiting coach, and possibly the head coach, to come into your home to meet your family?
Your Evaluation of Them
The home visit should be important to you and your family in the evaluation process. It may be the first (and one of the few) times that your family (parents, guardians, etc) will have individual, personal, unlimited access to the coach. It gives you and your family another time to ask very specific questions to the coaches regarding you, your athletic and academic career, and how their college could fit with you. Now is the time to ask the “difficult” questions:
What happens if I get injured?
What are the time requirements of the football program?
What kind of academic help is available?
What is the graduation rate of the football student-athletes?
How good is the degree program in my field of interest?
What is the placement rate in my field of study post-graduation?
How good is the student support of the football program?
What type of offer, and when can I expect the offer to me made?
How quick will you want a commitment?
How many other athletes are you recruiting at my position?
What is your redshirt policy?
Is it possible to increase the scholarship amount while in your program?
Will I be able to keep my Pell Grant? (if you qualify for the grant)
Are you planning on staying at the college during my son’s entire career?
If the coach (or coaches) do not seem clear or straight forward in answering any of your questions… if they seem like they are dodging… that should throw up a red flag. Make note of the questions, and follow up with another coach, or follow up with current players in the program during your official visit.
Their Evaluation of You
Just as you are evaluating them, the coach(es) are continuously evaluating you, and the home visit is part of that process. They will be observing how you interact with your family during the evening… are you respectful, considerate, courteous? You and your family can expect similar questions that you were asked at the initial school visit (see Recruiting – First Impressions). One question that I always asked the family –
“When it comes time to make this very important decision as to where your son is going to go and spend the next 4-5 years studying, and playing football, what are the difference makers for you; what factors will separate one university and football program from the rest?”
Their Sales Pitch
The coach(es) will be operating under the assumption that your family will be helping you in the decision making process. They will want to make sure that all of the information they have given you (the athlete), through text message, mail, email, phone and personal visit, is conveyed to your family. The recruiting coach, and possibly the head coach, will want to “put a face” on the football program that you are considering. Often the home visit will happen before the official visit, so the coach will want to confirm specifics regarding your (and their if they come too) visit to campus. The main function of the home visit is to personalize and humanize the recruiting process, and demonstrate that you will be taken care of in their program.
We are getting down to the final stages of the recruiting process; the penultimate step of “The Offer” and finally signing the “Letter of Intent”. Details of these steps will come in the next couple of weeks.
The way to get to this point… keep working hard … and remember,
You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you… Don’t Believe It!
25 years ago, during the 1989 football season at Central Missouri State University (now named the University of Central Missouri) Mark Hulet filmed a documentary chronicling a week in the life of a college football coach. The name of the movie was Seven Days in Season.
