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.

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

This post will discuss “The National Letter of Intent” (NLI) and detail exactly what signing this document means.

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!

Thanks to Woods Recruiting for featuring this post on their site…. If you get a chance, pop over and see the site…  and a “Like” for my post would be appreciated!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

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 PELL grant, 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 5^th 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.

Questions and Comments are always welcome!

Thanks to Woods Recruiting (woodsrecruiting.com) for running this post on their site.  They will be (along with PrepsKC.com) running selected posts from this blog twice a month.  If you get a chance to visit that site (and the PrepsKC site) and “Like” these posts, it would be appreciated!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Today’s post will detail the first in person contact the recruiting coach will make with you at school. This is the third of nine levels on the “Interest Pyramid”. To get to this level, your coach will have already recommended you as a player that he feels has the potential to play college football. You are on the college’s list as a potential player, and have probably already begun receiving information from them and filled out a questionnaire. The coaching staff at the college has probably already requested video tape, and this has been evaluated by at least the recruiting coach, and possibly by the position coach and head coach at the college as well.

During the Fall, after this initial evaluation has been completed, college coaches will start making the rounds and begin their in person visits with the prospective student athletes at their school. Typically, coaches will only do a face to face visit with players they believe have a chance of being a scholarship athlete in their program. It is an indication of a higher level of interest, but still not a true indication of their final intent.

Normally, college coaches will schedule this meeting through your high school coach, but may also email or phone you to set up the time. Often, the coaches will come unannounced, so being prepared for this initial “job interview” is important.

Approach this meeting as a job interview… a very important job interview. As the saying goes, “you only have one chance to make a first impression” – consider what you want this first impression to be. Make no mistake about this; the college recruiting coach will be continually evaluating you during this meeting, and through all of the remaining recruiting process. They are making a decision on whom to invest a significant amount of time and money into, and they want to be correct.

When this meeting takes place there should be two simultaneous “sells” taking place. The recruiting coach (if he is good) will for sure begin the process of selling his university and football program to you. At the same time, you should begin selling yourself as the best possible investment their football program could make in a student-athlete. Here are some suggestions on how to successfully do that.

If the meeting has been arranged with your knowledge, and it is not unannounced, there are a couple of things you can do to prepare:

• Dress nice – you don’t have to wear a suit and tie, but dress to impress. I was once told by a head college coach that he “always wanted to hear if any of the prospective student athletes were wearing any f**k you kind of T-shirts.”
• Do some research on the school so you will be prepared to ask intelligent questions. Be familiar with the schools location, conference, record, etc.

Even if the meeting is unannounced, here are some things you can work on now to begin preparing yourself for any meeting, with any coach at any time.

The coach WILL ask you some questions; be prepared for these. Here are some to expect, some that I asked when I was recruiting:

• They will check the basic info they have on you, including phone, email, address, parents name, etc.
• What are you interested in studying?
• What are you interested in doing as a career?
• Do you have any hobbies?
• What position would you prefer playing in college?
• What other schools have been in to talk to you?
• Do you have any “official” visits set up? If so, where?

• When it comes time to make this very important decision as to where you are going to go and spend the next 4-5 years studying, and plying football, whom are you going to be looking towards for guidance and direction? Who will help you make this decision?

• When it comes time to make this very important decision as to where you are 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?

Make sure to answer the questions honestly, but also know the recruiting coach will be using your answers to these questions (if he is good) to individually tailor his “sell” to your needs and wants.

The coach WILL ask you if you have any questions. Be prepared for this – there is little that is as unimpressive as someone who just sits like a bump on a log, and little as impressive as someone who asks some good, thoughtful questions. Don’t think you have to find out everything at this initial meeting – there is plenty of time. But do have a couple of questions handy that you are ready to ask.

Here are some possible questions to ask at this meeting – add any based on factors important to you:

• Type of offense (defense)
• How long has head coach been at school?
• How long has position coach been at school?
• Degree programs they are noted for?
• Graduation Rate?
• Redshirt philosophy?
• Ask the number and grade level of players at your position?
• Where do you see me fitting into your offense (or defense)?
• How is student support for the program?
• How is your Strength and Conditioning program? Do you have a full time (or two) Strength and Conditioning coach?

Here are some general “rules” on how to impress at this meeting:

• Be on time.
• Begin the meeting with a firm handshake.
• Introduce yourself.
• Make eye contact, with him and speak clearly and with confidence.
• Address him as Coach (last name)
• No food, gum or candy.
• The coach will probably have some collateral marketing material from university and/or football program. Depending on the level, NCAA FBS, FCS, DII, DIII or NAIA it could be a game day program or a football media guide along with a college view book. Thank him for the material, but put it aside to look at later. Don’t sit and read the game program while the coach is talking to you!
• Pay attention – lean in and listen intently.

One thing you can do that would be VERY helpful and insure you “hit the ground running” at your first meeting, is to have a “dress rehearsal” by doing some role playing. After you have thought through your answers to the above questions, and thought about the questions you want to ask, see if your high school coach or parent will help. It may sound silly, but it will prove dividends. Like anything else, practicing, from the opening handshake and introduction, to the conclusion of the meeting, will improve your performance. Every time you meet with a college recruiter, your performance will be better than the previous time. You want to make sure you impress every time – first to last.

The last pieces of advice that I gave every prospect I spoke with:

• Find out everything you can about every college and football program that expresses an interest in you. Ask questions, difficult questions, investigate, and ultimately make a decision based on what you find out and what is important to you and your family.
• Have Fun! Enjoy the process. You have put yourself in the position where good schools and good football programs are interested in you.

As always, questions and comments are welcome – feel free to join in the discussion!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com Twitter @youcandomore1

Squidoo Lens – You Can Do More!

This pyramid represents various actions that a college or university might take during the recruiting process – from the very basic at the bottom, to the ultimate sign of interest at the top.  Although it is not hard and fast, from my experience it is a fairly accurate gauge regarding the level of recruiting interest.  From my experience, too, the actions normally follow sequentially in this progression.  For example, a college probably will not set up an official visit for you if they have not evaluated your video.

You can download these versions of the pyramid here:

• Interest Pyramid – Full Sized JPEG
• Interest Pyramid – Word Document (can edit/use for all of your pyramid needs)
• Interest Pyramid – PDF 

Here is a step by step breakdown of each level:

You receive a letter from the college – Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but receiving a letter from a college or university does not mean you are being recruited.  It means you are on their list, which is a start, and is a good thing.  But colleges literally send out thousands of letters to potential recruits in the beginning of the process.  These letters can start arriving as soon as your sophomore year in school, and are usually based on your high school coaches recommendation.

College coach requests video – Normally in the Spring, college coaches will begin putting together their recruiting lists for the next season.  They will either physically visit your high school campus and talk with your head coach, or correspond via email or phone.  It used to be pretty much the norm that college coaches would visit in person in the spring because they had to physically pick up actual video tapes.  With the advent of Hudl and other online video services, college coaches now have the ability to get this information electronically in an instant.

College Coach visits you at school - During the Fall, after an initial evaluation has been completed, college coaches will start making the rounds and begin their in person visits with the prospective student athletes at school.  Typically, coaches will only do a face to face visit with players they believe have a chance of being a scholarship athlete in their program.   It is an indication of a higher level of interest, but still not a true indication of their final intent.  During this visit, really an initial “job interview” they will continue to gather information such as your academic interests, family background, and other schools you may have an interest in.  They will also give you the “eyeball” test to see if you really are 6’4” and 225 lbs, or actually 5’11” and 195 lbs !

Coach sends you a text.  If a coach begins developing a relationship with you by sending a text or email, that again is an indication of a higher level of interest.  Keep in mind, too, that both of those methods are fairly impersonal, and can be done “en masse” as well.

Coach calls you - When a college coach takes the time to actually call you and talk on the phone, it is an indication of a fairly high level of interest.  It is something that has to be done individually and is unique to you.  You can not do it in a group, or copy and paste like you can with email or text.  Things are getting serious at this level.

Offer Official Visit – This indicates a very high level of interest.  This is only referring to an “Official” visit – one where the college or university is paying for you (and your parents) to travel and visit their campus.  Colleges normally will have you (and your parents) spend the night, feed you, pay travel expenses, give you tickets to games, etc.  All this is legal (to a point) and what most colleges will do regarding Official visits.  While you are on campus, their evaluation of you will continue, as yours of them should as well.  Normally colleges will not spend the time, money, or energy bringing a prospect on campus for an Official visit if they are not planning to invest some scholarship aid in that athlete.

Home Visit – Typically, prior to you and your family coming on an Official visit, the recruiting coach, head coach, or both will try to schedule a visit in your home with you and your family.  If the head coach is taking the time out of his schedule to come to your home and talk to you and your family (selling himself and his program) they are VERY interested in you.

Scholarship Offer – Of course, this indicates nearly the highest level of interest.  Often, but not always, this offer is made during the Official visit.  Remember, on any level other than FBS, this offer may range anywhere from a small partial scholarship to a “full ride”.  It is very important to remember, too, that this verbal offer is NOT binding until the LOI (Letter of Intent) is signed, typically on the National Signing Date.  You can verbally “commit” at this time (or any time) but that is not binding as well.  Up until the LOI is signed, a college can pull their offer of financial assistance, and the student-athlete can change their mind as well.  Both the offer and “verbal commitment” are non-binding.

LOI – Congratulations!  You made it to the top!  This is a binding, legal document between the college or university and you.  You will also sign a one-year athletic scholarship agreement with the college or university.  The LOI must be accompanied by an offer of athletic financial assistance.  An NCAA school cannot have you sign a LOI if you are “walking on”.  At this point, it is important to note that the financial assistance offer is for one year, and can be renewed each year.  If an NCAA school says they are offering you a “4 year scholarship” that is not completely honest.  Typically, they will honor the agreement for 4-5 years, but they are not bound to that amount.

This is a LOT of information to digest at one time… I know.  I did want to get it into your hands this springs as the process begins anew.  As a general rule of thumb, the more effort the coach or college is expending during the process (a phone call as opposed to a text message) the more interested they are in you.

At some point I will break down the major steps into individual posts and spend a little more time with each.  And as with all of my previous recruiting posts, this is an excerpt from an eBook I have written about the recruiting process – “Wanted…. and Rewarded”

Questions or Comments are always welcome!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com     Follow me on Twitter at @youcandomore1

Check out my Squidoo Lens – You Can Do More!

My son played and was recruited during the era that video was computer based and DVD’s were used to record games and highlights.  Most schools used a system like DSV or other similar editing systems.  To make his highlight video, he had to schedule times to sit with his high school coach at a computer to record highlights from the original computer game files.  Every athlete wanting to make a highlight DVD had to go through this process! This was only slightly better than the VHS to VHS method, but easier to copy and send after an original was made.

Now as a high school coach using the web based program Hudl , things have really changed for the better.  It is now easier than ever for an athlete, parent, or coach to make a highlight video from your own computer and send it instantly via email to any recruiting coach or school that requests it.

Using improved technology, putting together a great highlight video can help get your foot in the door and your name on the colleges list.  Here are my suggestions for marketing yourself and making your highlight video.

1. Do it yourself, don’t pay a service.  As I said, it is now easier than ever to do this using Hudl.
2. Use your schools videotape, not a handheld video your mom or dad took of your Pop Warner games.
3. Your highlight video should be 15-20 plays, not 50-100.  Pick your VERY best plays – what I call WOW Plays; plays that make the coach watching say to himself “WOW, I need to see more of this guy”. If they are NOT outstanding, but just average play after average play, he will pass.
4. Pick plays that highlight your athletic ability  - that exhibit the remarkable (the Purple Cow) qualities that you have. This advice is not just for “skilled” positions.  If you are a lineman, pick some plays that show you running, changing direction, and exhibiting flexibility.
5. No music or fancy fades between plays.  The coach has a limited amount of time and doesn’t want to be entertained, but wants to evaluate you.  An arrow or circle around you at the beginning of the play is OK – it will help the coach find you quickly.  Hudl has a cool feature that makes it easy to do this and can be seen here:  Hudl Highlight Tutorial
6. Put one or two complete games on after your highlight.  In addition to your highlight video, a college coach will also want to see a complete game of you.    It should go without saying to select your best, games.  If it is against good competition, then that is even better.  The recruiting coach will be familiar with the better football programs in your area.
7. Make it easy on yourself and start this at the beginning of the season.  After each game, pick 5-10 of your best plays and mark them.  Hudl makes it very easy to do this.  At the end of the season, you can then go through the 50-100 plays you already have marked and pick your 15-20 best plays of the season.  Figure out what your two best games, against the best competition were, and your recruiting packet will be ready to send to interested coaches.  If you wait until the season is over to begin this process, you may not have these ready when a college coach asks for them.
8. Make sure you have all the correct information (phone, email, address, academic information) on Hudl.  This helps the college coach who has a limited amount of time and needs to evaluate thousands of prospects.  He will have all of your information AND your video right at his fingertips, and that will increase the likelihood of him following up with you and your family.

Market yourself – Make a WOW highlight video using the tools at your disposal.  Ask your coach if you need help, or drop me an email or leave a comment.

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com     Follow me on Twitter @youcandomore1

Stop by my Squidoo Lens – You Can Do More!

I often get asked by students, and have been asked by colleagues “what is a good Pound for Pound number?”  We tell our athletes that for a woman, over 2.00 is good, and over 4.00 is excellent.  The figures we use for our men is over 4.00 is good, and over 6.00 is excellent.

Today I will share some data that I gathered regarding men and women athletes in our Advanced Strength and Conditioning Class. This data represents men and women athletes in all sports (both varsity and sub varsity levels), and all grade levels (9-12).  I only used athletes that are enrolled in the class this semester, which includes many, but not all of our student-athletes.

The male Lb/Lb Ratios ranged from a low of 2.57 to a high of 8.19 (an athlete who I will be featuring in tomorrows post) and included data for 82 student-athletes.  The Average for this group was 4.76 and the Median was 4.59.  Here is a graph showing the distribution of the Lb/ Lb Ratios among the male athletes.

The female Lb/Lb Ratios ranged from a low of 2.14 to a high of 4.42 (a freshman) and included data for 42 student-athletes.  The Average for this group was 3.20 and the Median was 3.15.  Here is a graph showing the distribution of the Lb/Lb Ratios among the female athletes.

Using the Lb/Lb ratio can be a great motivator for your student-athletes, especially among the smaller athletes.  In the past we have posted Top 10 lists of our testing results, and our student-athletes probably take more pride in making the Top 10 Lb/Lb list than any other single testing result.  We have found there is a definite correlation between performance on the field and an athletes Lb/ Lb ratio.

Remember, if you want to change the template to include data you want to test your athletes on, it is pretty straightforward.  All you need to do is in Excel, go to Tools—> Protection–> and click Unprotect, and you will be able to change anything on the card.  If you are not proficient or comfortable making a change, just let me know what you would like on the card and I will change the template to show what you want.

Tomorrow I am highlighting a student-athlete in our track program (the one with the Lb/ Lb ratio of 8.19) Roy Bay.

As always, if you have any questions, just leave a comment or email.

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com    Twitter feed @youcandomore1

Even more Strength and Conditioning stuff at my Squidoo Lens – You Can Do More!

 “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”   Vince Lombardi

The next quality to discuss, the next quality that will set you apart from all the other high school athletes wanting to get a college scholarship, the next quality that will make you a remarkable recruit, a Purple Cow recruit is effort.

As was discussed in earlier recruiting posts, it is very important for you to “show up” on film; show your speed (Purple Cow Quality #2-Speed) , and athletic ability (Be a Quick Purple Cow), and show that you can play fast (Playing Fast!).  In addition, if you really want to stand out, show recruiters that you play with great effort!

During my collegiate coaching and recruiting days (University of Central Missouri and William Jewell College) , one of the biggest compliments that I would give when analyzing film on potential college football players was that they had a “great motor”.  It was a compliment that I did not give often, because it is a quality that unfortunately does not show up that often.  When I saw it on film, it was remarkable, and I took note. It is also why most recruiters (me included) want to see a complete game video along with a highlight film.  Most players can go back through a seasons worth of games and come up with a few good plays to slap together into a “highlight” video; playing consistently with great effort and technique, play after play during the course of a game is not as easy to do.  Often players get exposed.

Many consider it a character issue if players take a play off  - that it displays a lack of character.  Normally I do not think that is the case.  I think it is the norm.  Most high school players do not really understand what it means to go hard EVERY play.

I think the opposite IS true, though.

While effort really has nothing to do with athletic ability, I think it does show that you have good practice habits, have developed good character, and are “in shape“.  I don’t believe that playing with great effort, having a “great motor” is something that a player can just “flip on”.  It is a habit that they have developed over days, months, and years of doing it consistently in practice. If an athlete plays with great effort – has a “great motor” – it exhibits great character.  It is remarkable, and recruiters will notice.  I did.

Any Questions? Just leave a comment or email.

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow me on Twitter – @youcandomore1

All things Strength and Conditioning at my Squidoo Lens – You Can Do More!