Ways to show D1 talent as a underdog, Football camps and winter/spring programs

Athletic Recruits
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<p>Hello Athletic Recruiting forum,</p>

<p>A little information about myself, warning huge block of text, however it will tell you all that you need to know about me and the problems that I need guidance with.</p>

<p>I am a sophomore right now, who is interested in playing in Division 1 FCS American Football. I am in JV right now, and my experience so far has been terrible. I am just around halfway into my current season, and I have no notable film or accomplishments to date, I have not even scored for my team. My situation is that coach's refuse to even put me on the field, they simply sideline me for the entire game, putting their pet favorites in for the entire game, and maybe giving us a minute or 2 at the end. The unfortunate reality that I have to face, which I feared ever since season started, is that I am not going to start due to simple coach/player chemistry, and that I won't be able to do anything for the football season. I even considered quitting the team, however my brothers in jersey and my friends have convinced me to stay, at least to help us get into playoffs/state champs.</p>

<p>I know that I have the potential to play D1, I have senior players who tell me that I have what it takes, and I truly believe in my heart that I have the ability to run the ball at such high a level. However, I must prove myself to the college coach's that what I say is true, and that I truly have the ability to play at this level. Therefore I ask of you for advice, I wish to know everything there is about recruitment, from initial contact restrictions and the initial resume, to locking in a Likely letter and sealing my place. I have my sights on Harvard and the big boy schools, so I will use this unfortunate lack of playing time to better anger myself to raise my GPA, and study hard for the ACT and SAT 2 subject tests, in order to have a recruitable AI score (200 is the ballpark that I am aiming for). I will be running for class president, will participate in several academic groups such as Model UN etc, and aim to get the national AP scholar award (have 2 AP classes being taken right now). I also dream of being all star state, however that will be very difficult if I don't get playing time.</p>

<p>Now as well, after I learn about the recruitment stages, I wish to know of all the camps and programs that I have at my disposal to show my talent in an unconventional way. I heard a great saying by a senior on my team, where he basically said that if you are good enough, and shine bright enough, they will find you (recruiters), even if you film yourself in your backyard (not sure about that, but you get the point). I understand that there have been many exceptions to the norm, however these are unique cases and quite hard to replicate. Therefore I have done some extensive research into camps and programs that I could possibly join in the winter/spring that will allow me to play on a team and get film, and also show coaches D1 skill much better than standing on the sideline. I also have heard from a player on my team that he has baseball practice year round, fall and winter with local teams, and then spring with the school. I have done research in this, and I can't seem to find the same thing for football, only local adult flag football teams that I doubt will allow me to join, much less show any talent.</p>

<p>Camps wise, my perfect camp would be a contact camp, that gives you plenty of time to get game reps with a offensive and defensive huddle. This should be a camp that will allow me to run the ball all day (hours on end), thus allowing me to get my best plays recorded into a great highlight film, and have an excellent game film level tape to give to coaches, that shows my endurance (hours on end fighting for yards, and great plays in this timeframe). I also would love if we have a small unit of backs being taught by an experienced coach, one who can give me a great recommendation in addition to the film and running skill that I have shown on the clips.</p>

<p>I have already spoken with coach about my ambitions, and he has told me that I need to learn high school football first, before worrying about the big leagues. Completely agreeing and following his exact instructions to the letter, I proceeded to memorize the entire playbook, worked on form and technique exactly the way the coaches instructed, and done everything that they have asked. Now however, they have failed on their end of the bargain, now I understand that the varsity backs have more skill then me, which is fine and understandable and I completely agree with them being starter, however the thing that get's me is that they put a back that has not really worked much harder than he has since the start of the season at the starting team at JV, and his starting role has never changed. Now I don't care about the big starting team getting to rip the banner the cheerleaders hold for us at the start of the game, and all of that pomp school politics that you get, however the thing that ticks me is the way the minutes are divided. Our starters get the entire game, I mean all 4 quarters, with our 2nd and third string guys getting no time, maybe a minute or 2 in order to prevent the parents from making a scene.</p>

<p>I remember during a JV game, I was patiently awaiting my turn to be called in, and at 3 minutes left, I got my chance at TB. Now I am an optimist, and I know that a lot can happen in 3 minutes, so I was set and ready to get myself some points and glory for me and my brothers in jerseys. QB called a pass play, no problem I thought, and blocked my side beautifully. Then however, at the very next play, I see the starting JV RB running on the field, yelling at me to get off the field. Now I was furious, and I stormed to coach and asked nicely (rage was deep inside), why I was only in for one play. He simply gave me a chuckle and said that you got in, now be happy. This really pissed me off, and the only thing that prevented me from going berserk all over the place was 4 of my teammates quickly surrounding me and taking me to the edge of the sideline, calming me down and talking about how it sucks for them to, getting no reps. These coaches are idiots we all agreed, who simply put in their favorite players regardless of skill, to play the entire game even to the point of exhaustion ( can't even begin to count the games we lost simply because the coaches refused to sub kids out, and our 20 point lead quickly became a 30 point loss simply because the players could not anymore).</p>

<p>Now unfortunately I got this to deal with, and it's really angering me because I have worked so hard for my goal, and I'm not letting a bunch of coaches who have favorites to get in the way. The situation however is that I can't get on the field, therefore I require your help to tell me of ways that I can show my shine without the sunshine (I can't make analogies, I know :(.</p>

<p>Thank you, please feel free to ask questions about my situation, and I will respond as quickly as possible (football + AP/Honors is time consuming, so I might not get to log on CC for a day or 2 at a time).</p>

<p>Our starters </p>

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<p>I thought you were going to go concentrate on your schoolwork, and come back in January to prove us all wrong? Can’t you even keep that most basic commitment?</p>

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<p>I am, this is simply an additional info thread that I will check when I have free time. Relax </p>

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<p>CC Community, do not indulge this delusional, narcissist. Check out his other threads. He is out of touch with reality and needs to seek professional help.</p>

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<p>What do you do when you are not at practice to make yourself football knowledgeable? My brother was a high school football player, and did get to play in college. In high school he wasn’t the #1 guy on his team. That guy had nothing but talent on the field, and was dumb as a rock off it. My brother was a good player, not outstanding, but knew every play, all the rules, how the refs called the game. He was on all the special teams because he could count off the players, knew which numbers could be receivers and who had to be on the line. He knew all the rules, signals, how to talk to the coaches. </p>

<p>Make yourself necessary to the coaches.</p>

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<p>Agreed. Go learn how to long snap. Quickest way to a letter in college.</p>

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<p>^ I see what you mean, also btw ignore heights, he seems to think that being ambitious is evil and that I am going to do bad things -.-. I ask that my questions that brought up on the big post that I wrote be mentioned and talked about first, as it will be quite difficult for my small quick frame to become a center :D. I wish to know how to fix this problem up and accomplish my goal, and again I ask that you ignore anyone who believes my goals to be to great or simply wishes to bash the conversation. I tell them yet again that being narcissist does not mean that you are a bad person, it simply means that you have a much larger array of confidence about yourself than most people. Most leaders are narcissistic or have these traits, it’s simply part of who we are.</p>

<p>I really care about that perfect camp if it exists that I mentioned, failing that, I really wish to know of any additional ways to show D1 talent without playing on the field (worst case). I understand that it is difficult to do, however I don’t have much of a choice, because it seems that coach’s simply don’t like me.</p>

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<p>Try looking at your credentials from the point of view of a college coach. D1 coaches receive an enormous amount of information from athletes that are stars on their high school varsity teams. With so many athletes looking to play in college that have proven themselves at a high level, why would a coach consider a JV player who sits on the bench as a serious recruit? I doubt a great performance at a couple of camps would overcome the lack of achievement at the high school level. While it’s possible that there is an outstanding athlete with no playing time that could make a contribution at the college level, there is almost no chance that a coach would take a chance on him or her.</p>

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<p>@hangNthere and others,</p>

<p>This fellow, with a GPA of 2.6, struggling with two AP classes, which he admits he is taking without appropriate academic qualifications, who admits to not being good at standardized testing, and apparently with little athletic ability, believes he’s going to Harvard as a varsity football player. And then, on to be a billionaire, and ultimately, President of the United States. As heights has suggested, it may be better not to indulge him. </p>

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<p>^ Allright, I can see your point hangNthere, also notjoe, why you gotta rub my goals in my face? I mean, if you don’t have anything productive to say, because you obviously don’t know if I might raise GPA, skill, and test taking ability, so why do you have to be such a pain? I mean please people, if your angry, just don’t comment.</p>

<p>Now I see your point hangNthere, therefore I must get some playing time then, question is, how is the best way. Trying to keep responses low key so I don’t attract those pesky annoying can’t doers. </p>

<p>Paul</p>

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<p>Also I am not struggling anymore with my AP classes, and I am making improvements class wise, so all you trolls can shove it as you are incorrect. Going to aim for AP scholar, and really get these grades up as much as I can, therefore when the time comes and admissions cringe at the GPA, I can say that while I had a 2.6 freshman year, I got it up with TWICE the class difficulty.</p>

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<p>Paul, congratulations on getting your grades up. That is a great start. As far as football, the best use of your time would be to speak with your coaches after the season and work with them to develop a workout plan for the off season that will increase your chances of getting on the field as a junior. There are no short cuts. You need to work to get a little better athletically and academically every day. Instead of trying to leap from a jv back up to a D1 recruit, or a 2.6 student to a harvard undergrad, set intermediate, achievable goals. Get stronger, and quicker. Find a way to get on the field somewhere, for some meaningful snaps, next year. Get more As than Bs. Once you hit those goals, then start working on how to get recruited. Nothing serious is going to happen on the recruiting front at the lower D1 level (including the Ivys) until the winter after your junior year no matter what.</p>

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<p>@Paul13375,</p>

<p>“Allright, I can see your point hangNthere, also notjoe, why you gotta rub my goals in my face? I mean, if you don’t have anything productive to say,…”</p>

<p>What I’m saying IS productive. And worthwhile. I’m not rubbing anything in your face. If you believe in your goals, my pointing them out shouldn’t make you feel that your face is being rubbed in them, but rather, if you truly believe, you should feel proud of them. But perhaps down deep, you realize that your goals aren’t going to happen, so you don’t like to be reminded of them.</p>

<p>"… and I am making improvements class wise,…" </p>

<p>That’s great. If true. But how do you define "improvements, class-wise? Have you done all your homework? Getting grades of A on all your tests and quizzes? Writing papers that earning grades of A? Are you actually doing those things? </p>

<p>But don’t tell us what you’re GOING to do, tell us what you’ve actually DONE.</p>

<p>On a more global level, don’t tell me you’re going to be an AP Scholar. Just do it and tell me afterwards. Or at least wait until you’ve earned some actual 4s and 5s on AP exams, where you can say, “Well, I’m not there yet, but I’ve actually made a start!”</p>

<p>Read what Ohiodad51 says in his last post:</p>

<p>“You need to work to get a little better athletically and academically every day. Instead of trying to leap from a jv back up to a D1 recruit, or a 2.6 student to a harvard undergrad, set intermediate, achievable goals.”</p>

<p>From the start, many posters have told you, “Work hard, study hard, do your homework, get your grades up.”</p>

<p>Weeks ago, I said to you that inch by inch, life’s a cinch, yard by yard, life is hard.</p>

<p>And you’ve replied with scorn and derision, with pretension and arrogance, and with none of it earned or merited. At this point, everything you say is hot air. You’ve done nothing, accomplished nothing, and told us at various points that you don’t need to get great grades or test scores to get into Harvard, that becoming a billionaire is easy, and that becoming president is practically an inevitability, and anything less isn’t good enough for your high and mighty self, that you can’t be one of the little people with boring and ordinary lives. I read that stuff and it makes me feel sad for you.</p>

<p>You should be so lucky in your entire lifetime to accomplish 10% as much as what many posters here have accomplished, and many of our sons and daughters have accomplished. </p>

<p>“if your angry,…”</p>

<p>I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m not angry at you. How could I be? I feel sorry for you. You live almost entirely in your head, with nearly no contact with reality. When you’re forced to deal with reality, you get angry, you push away. My hope is that although it may make you angry, maybe it will actually also motivate you to do something productive. My hope is that you really are picking up your studies, and that you really do get decent grades in your courses, including your AP courses. At this point, unless you suddenly become a standardized testing star, and actually become a phenomenal football player, it is most unlikely to get you into Harvard. But maybe you’ll do well enough to actually be admissible to a decent college a couple of years down the road. And maybe, if you’ve done the hard work to get there, your ego and arrogance will be tempered, and you’ll realize that there are inherent satisfactions in a job well-done.</p>

<p>That’s my hope.</p>

<p>Underpromise and overperform. Deliver more than what is expected of you. Don’t trumpet what your dreams are. Just accomplish them. Let your deeds speak for you. This way, if you do great deeds, people will admire you, but if you don’t, they won’t think you’re a fool.</p>

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<p>Paul, I would like to see you make peace with your coach. Earn his respect. Do the little things as others suggested to be useful to the team in your current capacity. Learning to cope and follow will help you achieve your goals.</p>

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<p>So, my CC friends, Paul comes purportedly seeking advice on how to get into Harvard as an athletic recruit despite the inconvenient truth that as a Sophomore he sits on the JV bench and boasts a 2.6 GPA (that, if you can believe it, is plummeting even lower because he inveigled his way into Honors and AP classes he has not business being in, was counseled against taking and in which predictably he is struggling mightily). (In fact, one of his threads is dedicated to discussing his best escape path from them).</p>

<p>In response, well-intentioned posters (myself included) tell him that if Harvard is his ambition, he’d better become a much better student and athlete pronto, and we try to provide guidance on what the typical profile of a Harvard football recruit looks like to make him see that a 2.6 and JV benchwarmer won’t cut it. That’s where things go downhill, fast.</p>

<p>Let’s revisit some of Paul’s greatest hits in response to the collective advice he has received on the many, many threads (essentially all the same self-indulgent meanderings on each) he has polluted this forum with in order to appreciate why so many of us are fed up (not angry) with this tiresome young man. He’s proven that he’s not genuinely here seeking advice. Rather Paul is here to regale us with the wisdom of a fifteen year old C student and scrub athlete who nonetheless assures us is on a glide path to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue via Park Avenue and Bell Laboratories while we muck around in our drone-like middle class existences. </p>

<p>Here then is perceived wisdom according to Paul. We all should be extremely grateful::</p>

<p>Need a high GPA for Harvard?: </p>

<p>“What people must realize is that Harvard could care less about grades as long as you have something to contribute to the organization. Let’s use the girl scientist and the boy bestseller writer as an example. While both may have average grades, and be considered ‘inferior’ to nearly all other applicants that apply, they have a increased chance of paying off for the institution. If the boy becomes an intercontinental bestseller, and writes books that can compete with the hunger games/Harry potter series, there is a good chance that these books will be made into movies. So when millions of people finish the book, and look at the back cover at the author’s biography, or even read a book on the author’s biography if he becomes famous enough, it will say that the man is a Harvard alumni. Which helps to strengthen that the best leaders and innovators of their respective fields graduate from Harvard.” </p>

<p>and this beaut:</p>

<p>“Also Grades don’t really mean much other then measure of aptitude for whatever the test/exams are based on. I can assure you that someone who failed school, however has very high emotional intelligence will wield much more power than someone who get’s a 99 in every class He/She takes.”</p>

<p>Smarts of any importance?: </p>

<p>" I will use Netflix’s House Of Cards Remake as an excellent example of EQ vs IQ. The main character came from a relatively poor background in the south. It is evidenced through the show that he suffered many severe childhood experiences. Spoiler, his father asks him to pull the trigger in a suicide attempt. Much evidence of early fighting on the streets, not to mention the man has an almost sociopathic ability to not feel any empathy or remorse. Yet he chews to the top of the food chain, going from majority whip to President Of The United States in 2 years."</p>

<p>Any validity to our opinions as HYP alumni and/or parents?</p>

<p>“Whilst your children got in with excellent grades, and I applaud them for it as they worked very hard and studies long hours to gain them, today’s admissions climate is very different. With so many top tier 4.0 2400 applicants, the wow factor of these applicants is as exciting as a high school degree is to an employer. As everyone has it, admissions rolls their eyes every time they see one. This is why college graduates have it so bad, whilst back in the day a degree was a sure fire way of a good job and a iron reinforced cement foundation into the middle class, nowadays is just as common as a high school degree. The reason that people are also crazy for Harvard etc, is because these institutions are generally recruited by a lot of people, and still have that bang for the buck with their degrees. I can do to INSERT NAME University, which likely will get me a job that I could of gotten had I not gone into 200 thousand dollars in debt, or I can work my ass off and get into Harvard, where I likely will have significant financial aid, and that degree that carries weight.”</p>

<p>It goes on, and on, and on.</p>

<p>We should, of course, be generous with our time and advice to anyone who genuinely seeks them. That is why most of us take the time to respond to posts. Paul is not the least bit genuine. He either cannot or will not process information at odds with his distorted view of the world. He is here to pontificate, not listen. When he wears out his welcome on this thread, as he invariably does on all his others, he will open a new one in hopes he can suck even more suckers into his vortex.</p>

<p>The biggest favor we can do for this troubled young man is to ignore him, so that he will have one less distraction to keep him from what he really needs to be doing, which is succeeding in the classroom and on the field.</p>

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<p>All right, before I begin I must stress that I wish for this to be a learning experience for me, hence why I opened this thread in order to better understand the process of camps and their relation to being recruited. Now as people want to try to discredit my posts as a entertainment scheme, and with heights downright convinced that I am the next anti Christ, I am forced to defend myself against people who in their words are ‘tired’ of listening to me.</p>

<p>I hate citing and all that fight using the other opponents words stuff that school wishes me to learn, as that is not simply how the world works (do you argue by citing exact lines of your opponent)? So I will simply address that heights believes that my grades are failing, this is a misconception by him, as I commented this when my grades where indeed dropping fast at the beginning of the year, however now with the temp of my honors work mastered they are climbing at a quite reasonable rate.</p>

<p>He also wishes to discredit me by using several points that I made to a ambitious CC poster who was getting hammered by other people. They where actively telling him to ignore his dream of Harvard, because it’s not going to happen. I decided to defend and educate him, therefore I began to tell him that he must shape his application to impress human eyes, not overly inflate stats and accomplishments like so many others will do. Now don’t get me wrong, high test scores and GPA notes will get you in, and this is a very well tried and proven method that indeed works, however for the OP that posted, this strategy was not effective for his circumstance. OP has average GPA like myself, and while I don’t remember exactly his application I believe he was a track athlete who was trying to get recruited. Therefore the advice that I imparted was explained through a few imaginary applicants, and I created a mini short story about how these applicants who on paper many people here would agree will not get in, get in using common sense.</p>

<p>I used the House of Cards reference because it is the way the world works. Many people who wield the true influence and power that writes the history books do not have to much IQ as we like to think about it. Of course they must be intelligent in a matter in that they can easily think outside of the norm and come up with ingenious new ways to stay ahead of competitors and serve the public interest with new products, however Rockefeller did not know about the chemical process of his oil refining, and one of the most used compounds today (gasoline), was discovered by one of his chemists, who simply was dumping it into the river as a highly flammable combustible waste product. Ford did not know much about his cars, and he very famously defend himself in a court case against a Intelligence insult by saying that I can summon 50 men who could answer your question using these buttons, so please tell me why I need to fill my head with random facts when I can access them at the touch of a button? Therefore the art of communication and leading men, as well as inspiring the populace with your ideal is more “intelligent” that memorizing a bunch of facts. Because a person who did not finish high school has access to several smart ivy league employees who can answer and help with anything he/she desires does not know the material, he can still use it in his plans as his EQ knows it.</p>

<p>Now for the biggest one hurled by heights, he tries to say that I believe that 4.0 2400 sat students are wasting their time by working hard, therefore getting you angry in order to prevent you from helping me with information. I will comment very carefully to prevent any friction, however heights was correct in a way. I compared the average overachiever in a classroom to a high school graduate in today’s job environment in order to explain the competition that many people face to be accepted into these schools, and why it’s hurting our children. Now we can all agree that Harvard has more opportunities for a student than the local community college, and my point saying that was a mix of excessive need to find another niche other than grades to get noticed, and that students are pressured (the ones who know the truth), to be accepted into the big schools because they will save a lot more (unless you already have enough money that this becomes irrelevant), and get much more with their time.</p>

<p>The biggest problem that many students face who care about their financial future is how to pay for college. I can expect that many people want to know why I’m only Harvard, and why I seem to have this Harvard or nothing mentality. The honest truth is that this is my only option, now you could say how is this true, where there are thousands of uni’s out there. Well the thing is that I can’t pay for college, my background and career choice require me to be debt free until I begin to acquire capital. Harvard is the only school that I can get a full ride to that fits my application. Full rides generally require 4.0’s and valedictorian status, things that I know I won’t get. This automatically cuts me from attending around 99% of all colleges, and before you tell me otherwise, I have done research, and I shed a tear inside my heart when I realized this. I am this ambitious because I can’t begin to explain in words how much I hate the lies that I hear. It’s always about how college is so great, and when I was young this angered me, because I knew that I would not be able to go, even if I really wanted to. </p>

<p>Harvard is the only uni that will allow me to attend tuition wavered through their financial aid program, and give me everything that I need to succeed. It is also the only uni that will have the things that I can’t get by simply heading to barns and noble and getting a few books. So my desire is a life and death one, I am working because I have no choice, if I don’t get athletic and grades go higher enough, I will not head to college. Not because I am throwing a wahh I did not get accepted into Harvard tantrum, but because I simply can’t go due to costs.</p>

<p>To try to quickly defend the 4.0 thing, I simply want to let that OP know that a lot of people have 4.0’s and valedictorian, and that you are better off fighting with a strategy that may make you win. I mean do you charge an entire battalion with a single soldier, or guerilla warfare the heck out of the battalion with small squads. Now please gentlemen, stop basing me, I don’t care and will continue to defend and learn until I am set, however I wish to do this professionally. I am raising the grades, and I’m lifting every day in order to get these fibers as strong as possible, any additional advice is of course much appreciated.</p>

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<p>The highly regarded poster T26E4 put it best to you in response to you utter nonsense on that particular thread:</p>

<p>“Nice of Paul to be slagging the advice of a father of two Harvard students, and other alums and college students. While your transparency (15 yrs old and a cumulative 2.6GPA) do you honors, conversely, they diminish your stature to comment on advising Harvard aspirants, don’t you think?”</p>

<p>Good luck to you son. I’m afraid you’re beyond reach. This is my last reply to you.</p>

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<p>^ Thank you, you have done nothing to help me and this shall be my last reply to you as well. As for everyone else, please take the time to read the original post that I placed on this thread, about my camp aspirations etc, and feel free to comment from there. You can also mention any experiences you had with camps etc, and any knowledge about Harvard’s camps and the like. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts, and I’ll use every bit of advice that you give me.</p>

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<p>Discussion in this forum of camps: </p>

<p><a href=“Football during and post June/July camps? - Athletic Recruits - College Confidential Forums”>Football during and post June/July camps? - Athletic Recruits - College Confidential Forums;

<p>It would be a mistake to assume that simply matching the GPA of the weakest admitted applicant or athlete on a team will get you admitted to a top school. Modest academics are almost certainly offset by some truly outstanding achievement in another field. Many IVY football players are walk-ons and receive little or no support in admissions. If the lowest GPA of any freshman at Harvard is a 3.4 and the least impressive of the many talented backs at Harvard has demonstrated more talent than you have done so far, your only options are to change your goals or change your stats. </p>

<p>If you show interest in the subject matter or sport and follow the advice you are given, teachers and coaches will support you. Since teachers have other students and coaches have other players, don’t burden them with your long- term plans or ambitions. Rather than telling people how great you believe you can be, show them. </p>

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<p>^ I like your advice hangNthere. I certainly intend to change my stats, that’s a given. It seems that for camps etc I will ask my coaches, as they will have the most experience with them. Well it looks like I’m set for my academic/athletic improvement, I will report in on January to give a report on my progress and plan for the big year of Junior year.</p>