<p>We have a friend who is not a college graduate, who is a single mom working a very basic job.
She has a junior son that is getting recruited for basketball by some good schools. I showed her a session at the local CC about being a parent with a recruited athlete but she thinks the colleges and the coaches will tell her what she needs to know...I have my 3rd kid going through the process of college next year as well but I've never had an athlete in the family. Is there a page in here for the basics? If he will be on scholarship- both athletic and financial, does he have to pay the application fee? Is there any guidance on here for basics like there is for almost everything else?</p>
<p>Stevelm, I wish I knew more about basketball, but the first thing your friend needs to do is to list the schools who are supposedly recruiting her son and find out what division they are in. D1, 1A, D2, D3 etc. Get a handle on his academics, his gpa and SAT or ACT scores. Only when you know this can you figure out what schools are an academic match for him, what the rules are in terms of contacting coaches and expressing interest, finding out what they need, and figuring out just how recruitable your friend’s son is in terms of those schools’ minimum standards.</p>
<p>Don’t depend on the coaches or anyone else telling you what to do or how to go about it.</p>
<p>Also, make sure she knows to start the NCAA Eligibility process for him!</p>
<p>Good luck to her son. Thankfully there is a slew of online resources but I would start with the NCAA website, I believe there’s a number of links there. It’s overwhelming…so much to learn!</p>
<p>How about meeting with his high school coach or AAU coach. I would trust their judgement and answers more than the college coaches that are recruiting - recruiting is a game for them and they are trying to get the best recruits.</p>
<p>Basketball wasn’t our sport either so I’m not much help there. I agree with Ahsmuoh about not relying on the individual college coaches for information. They will tell him lots of things…and all of them will be from their perspective and to their benefit. I’m not sure what you mean by “good schools”…NESCAC recruits alot differently than the Ivys, and the Ivys recruit alot differently than D1. Has anyone at the high school been recruited by the same league in past years? I got some of my best and most honest info and advice from parents who walked the road before me. If reaching out to an alum or his parents from his high school is an option I think that’s a great place to start.</p>
<p>Wow. That mom is a college coaches dream. Apparently she is not familiar with the concept of…trust BUT verify. I would strongly advise her to learn about the process on her own so she can help her son make the right decision. She needs to understand that there are good coaches and bad coaches just as there is in any walk of life. Blindly trusting them (or anyone) to tell you what you need to know is a recipe for potential disaster IMHO. I wish her luck.</p>
<p>I’d start here: </p>
<p>[NCAA</a> Publications - 2013-14 NCAA Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete (Sold as a Packages of 25) (Due Summer 2013)](<a href=“http://www.ncaapublications.com/p-4236-2013-14-ncaa-guide-for-the-college-bound-student-athlete-sold-as-a-packages-of-25-due-summer-2013.aspx]NCAA”>Product Not Found)</p>
<p>[NCAA</a> Eligibility Center](<a href=“http://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp]NCAA”>http://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp)</p>
<p>If she doesn’t want to read these publications or research the school or coach, she can read this one too.</p>
<p>[NCAA</a> Publications - NCAA Transfer Guide - 2012-13](<a href=“http://www.ncaapublications.com/p-4288-ncaa-transfer-guide-2012-13.aspx]NCAA”>NCAA Publications - NCAA Transfer Guide - 2012-13)</p>