<p>Is there such thing as an independent college counselor who specializes in athletic recruiting? And if so, has anyone used one to any reasonable effect?</p>
<p>What services are you hoping to get?
We have been through the athletic recruiting process for both of our Ds. In our case it was not a difficult process to manage. There has been great growth in recruiting websites like jumpforward.com and berecruited.com where things like contact with coaches can be tracked. We didn't use any of these but several of the high schools around here are giving positive feedback about the services offered.</p>
<p>While I have not personally used such services, I met a gentleman whose occupation is to help match student athletes with appropriate schools. He told me he has connections with coaches in sports that are not the major athletic recruiting sports (e.g. NOT high profile sports such as football and basketball), and he helps students identify appropriate schools for them. I recommended this person (six years ago, so he may no longer work in this field) to an attorney I worked with who used the services and told me he was very satisfied with the help for his daughter (who was Division I caliber soccer player) in narrowing down her list of schools and ultimately choosing where to attend. This attorney did not need scholarships, but was more interested in getting his daughter into the best school and with fit.</p>
<p>I recognize this is not specific information, but I do think that such athletic recruiters do exist and some of them are probably very good, depending on the sport, achievement level, and academic qualifications of a high school student. I remember at the time the person I spoke to charged around $1000, fixed cost, for his services.</p>
<p>Agree with pafather. DH is a HS soccer coach and knows someone who specializes in matching kids with soccer opportunities. He does the same sort of services. Not sure what he charges. </p>
<p>HS coaches seem to know those folks. Check with your coach.</p>
<p>Thanks all. I was just hoping some magic person existed who could help us understand what the different communications from coaches actually mean. My son has been emailing coaches since February, letters and view books have been arriving and I really have no idea how serious it all is. I think we will know more after July 1 when I imagine the coaches who are really serious will call. But it also seems that, if he does go on multiple official visits, the process gets very complex very fast. Coaches are at an advantage since they do this all the time, but for newbies like us, it would be great if there were someone knowledgeable who could help us decipher the code.</p>
<p>My view is that most of these people simply take your money. Does your son have either an HS or club coach who a) he can trust and b) has been through the process?</p>
<p>What sport does he play? Is he just finishing his jr year? What level does he want to play? You can make all the unofficial visits you want right now. It was easier for us to go this spring for visits rather than wait until next fall when she is in season.</p>
<p>D2 is a jr, plays soccer and has verballed for DI already. You can pick out the ones who are serious pretty easily. Just use your common sense.Make sure he picks a school not a coach, they come and go as D1 found out. If there is a school he really likes stay in touch with the coach. Our Ds were in touch by email a lot.</p>
<p>I wish we had such a magic person. Also for theatre. I went through such processes blind, and made ever so many mistakes. Now I know the ropes of such procedures, but kid #3 has no need of such things.</p>
<p>He does crew, is finishing his Junior year and wants to row D1. He definitely trusts his club coach though I'm not sure how much experience his coach has with the D1 recruiting process.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse:</p>
<p>Maybe we can have a contest about who made more mistakes.</p>
<p>I know I'll win hands down!!! My kids were difficult. We broke many rules. We had a lot of trouble. This time around was soooooo easy.</p>
<p>3xboys:</p>
<p>I did learn that there are only a few key questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does your son like the coach (no. 1 by far)</p></li>
<li><p>Is there actually an offer on the table? If so, how much money and/or how much pull does the coach have in the admissions process?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the REAL timeframe on accepting the offer? Be aware that, whatever the coach says to you and your son, you can try to negotiate for more time. But also be aware that, even if the coach (sincerely) says that your son is No. 1 on his list (or some such thing), the offer can still disappear if a slightly less desirable candidate is able to put the coach under pressure.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I think you will find a lot of information on this forum. There are a number of crew parents/kids, so if you have questions, ask on the parents forum. Be careful not to reveal too much personal information.</p>
<p>Yes, there are several crew families represented here! I know nothing about that sport but can only speak to the recruiting side for bball, soccer and track. Rather than liking your coach as number 1 I still say loving the school should be number 1. We have seen coaches leave many different programs and unless your student would transfer I say really pick a school that he loves! Injuries can happen, coaches leave, he may lose his desire to compete.
D1 and D2 had offers presented before their senior years. Know going in that there will be several recruits for each spot...some will have offers, some may not. I know a local girl who had never crewed but was a good athlete, joined the team as a freshman and got a substantial scholarship the next year. She loves it! </p>
<p>As far as time frames for offers the coaches we worked with were up front and reasonable. However....the kids we know being recruited in football, soccer and bball are being pushed to committ earlier and earlier.</p>
<p>S is a recruited D1 athlete. The recruiting process required a moderate time commitment, but was easily managed on our own. The first thing I would suggest is to make sure you have a copy of the NCAA Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete. It is available free by calling or downloading off the NCAA clearinghouse website. Also, be sure your son registers with the NCAA Clearinghouse. The time to do it would be now, so you can submit his transcript after he receives his junior year end grades and he can get the prequalification process completed.</p>
<p>Thanks karp4170, he is already registered with the NCAA clearinghouse. Perhaps I am imagining it will be more complex than it actually will be - I hope that is the case.</p>
<p>We know someone who used an "athletic counseling" service, but many, many more who do not, and have great outcomes.
Crew is huge in our area- son's prep schools sends to Cornell, Penn, one to MIT this year.
Local girl off to Princeton crew team.</p>
<p>Remember that coaches cast a WIDE net early on, making lots of promises, which may change as his recruiting is fine tuned.
On the other hand, your son may want to cast a wide net, too. It is a dance, and I can understand why you would think a counselor may help. Many people think this is a waste of $1,000 or more money. </p>
<p>If your S has strong stats, and is on a good crew team, he should have nice choices.</p>
<p>If your S is thinking of Ivy or NESCAC schools in the northeast, there's an excellent book: "Playing the Game: Athletic Recruiting in the Ivy League". It does a good job explaining the process, though is not focused on crew. I've know several people who have used advisors for soccer and golf, and they highly recommend that path. But I've heard that crew is more straightforward because it is so dependent on erg scores and times in races - far more objective than trying to gauge the skill of a soccer player. You might not need a professional. The wealth of experience on CC is amazing, and you can get lots of good advice.</p>
<p>At one point we talked about the need for an athletic recruiting forum on CC - I still think it needs to happen!</p>
<p>I wish we had been able to find specialty counselors. It is a crazy dance going through athletic recruitment and other non traditional college apps. Had I discovered CC sooner, it would have helped enormously.</p>
<p>I had an athlete who was competitive at all but the very top schools. We wanted him to pick the schools first with characteristics he liked, then we would check out the coaches and teams there, and where he would be athletically. It was then up to the coaches and the school. However, in our case, we got NO athletic scholarships, and because we did not know what was going on in the sport at colleges, we wasted time at schools where the coach was on his way out, and even where the sport was on its way out. There are schools where the sport was just not important enough, or the coach not influential enough that it gave our student much clout. It would have been very nice to have known that up front.</p>
<p>Good friends of ours went through this with football recently. I and nearly everyone else thought these kids were cinches for scholarships and/or elite schools, given their size, experience and academic stats. It was a nerve racking experience for both families. One family did get what they wanted; the other did not. Neither got a dime. I think they would have done much better if someone knowledgeable about the whole process were helping. Too often the high school coach has his own biases and may be limited in knowledge as well. The problem that occurs when you do it yourself is that you are reinventing the wheel . The knowledge you gain through your mistakes and decisions is valuable, but too late to help your kid.</p>
<p>"We wanted him to pick the schools first with characteristics he liked, then we would check out the coaches and teams there, and where he would be athletically."</p>
<p>I know this is the conventional wisdom but I disagree. I believe that, within a relatively broad range of schools, the coach should come first. He will be the most important person in your son's life during college. Admittedly, the coach might leave (in both prep school and college, the coach left BEFORE my son got there; top THAT cpt). But in my view, the other uncertainties about the college process are far greater</p>