!!559.636.3605!!!!!!!!!!915!W.!Center!!!!!!!!Visalia,!CA!!!!!!!!www.mymcdonaldcc.com!!!!!!!info@mymcdonaldcc.com!

College&Athletic&Do’s&&&Don’ts&! Do’s& Don’ts&Freshman!

and!

Sophomore!

Year!

Keep!your!grades!up!and!take!as!many!AP!or!

Honors!classes!as!you!can.!

!

Learn!to!manage!your!own!time,!your!schedule.!

!

Develop!your!college!sport!playing!skills.!

!

Take!the!core!curriculum!classes!required!to!meet!

NCAA!and!college!eligibility!requirements.!

!

Play!enough!tournaments!to!get!a!sectional!or!

national!ranking.!!

!

Play!desired!high!school!sport.!!

!

Keep!a!record!of!your!wins!and!losses.!!

!

Do!say!“hello”!to!college!coaches!when!you!see!

them!but!no!more!than!that.!!

Do!not!contact!coaches!by!phone!or!letter,!yet.!They!

cannot!answer!your!questions!about!their!program!

until!your!junior!year.!

!

Do!not!make!personal!contact!with!college!coaches!

other!than!to!say!“hello”.!They!cannot!talk!to!you!about!

their!programs!at!this!time.!

!

Do!not!agree!orally!or!in!writing!to!be!represented!by!

any!individual,!agent,!or!management!even!if!the!

contract!would!begin!after!you!complete!college.!!

!

Coaches!cannot!initiate!contact!with!you!about!their!

program.!If!they!call!or!write!you,!tell!them!you!will!be!

glad!to!speak!with!them!on!or!after!July!1st!after!you!

complete!your!junior!year.!!

!

Do!not!accept!prize!money!(exception:!!you!can!accept!

money!to!cover!your!costs!for!participating!in!that!

tournament).!

From!

September!

1st!of!your!

Junior!Year!

Keep!your!grades!up!!

!

Complete!any!college!sport!questionnaires.!!

!

Select!the!college!programs!which!fit!your!academic!

and!sport!criteria.!

!

Send!for!catalogs!and!applications.!

!

Send!introductory!letters!to!coaches.!Send!update!

letters!during!the!year!to!notify!them!of!your!

progress.!

!

Play!desired!high!school!sport.!

!

Achieve!any!sort!of!sectional!or!national!ranking.!

!

Update!your!sport!record.!

!

Take!the!SAT!or!ACT.!

!

Know!the!college!sport!rules!and!regulations.!Send!

for!the!college!guides!from!the!NCAA,!NAIA,!and!

NJCAA.!

!

Say!“hello”!to!coaches!but!no!more.!

Do!not!call!and!ask!coaches!to!return!your!phone!calls.!

The!NCAA!does!not!allow!coaches!to!return!your!phone!

calls!until!after!you!complete!your!junior!year.!Write!

them!a!letter!instead!and!ask!your!questions.!

!

Do!not!wait!for!coaches!to!contact!you.!They!may!not!

have!enough!time!to!search!you!out.!

!

Do!not!ask!coaches!questions!about!their!program!

when!you!see!them!offUcampus.!They!cannot!discuss!

this!with!you!in!person.!

!

Do!not!accept!recruiting!phone!calls!from!coaches!until!

you!have!completed!your!junior!year.!

!

Do!not!accept!prize!money!(other!than!for!expenses)!

and!do!not!agree!to!be!represented!by!an!individual!or!

agent.!!

!

Do!not!send!form!letters.!

!

Do!not!practice!with!a!college!team!during!an!

organized!practice!session.!

College&Athletics&Do’s&and&Don’ts&Continued&

& Do’s& Don’ts&On!or!after!July!1st,!after!you!finish!your!Junior!year!

Keep!your!grades!up!!!Take!the!SAT!or!ACT!again!to!improve!your!scores.!!Talk!with!the!coaches!on!and!off!campus!about!their!program.!Let!them!get!to!know!you.!You!can!phone!them!now!and!they!can!return!your!calls.!However,!it!may!be!easier!to!get!questions!answered!if!you!write!a!letter.!!Visit!colleges!of!your!choice!while!they!are!in!session.!You!can!visit!as!many!colleges!as!you!like!at!your!own!expense.!!Make!an!appointment!for!an!interview!with!the!coach.!It!is!best!not!to!come!unannounced.!!Accept!official!visits!to!colleges!if!they!are!offered!to!you!provided!you!are!interested!in!attending!the!college.!Find!out!what!costs!of!the!visit!will!be!covered!by!the!school.!!Send!thank!you!notes!to!coaches!and!players!who!assist!you!during!the!visit.!!Be!honest!with!the!coach.!If!you!are!not!interested!in!their!program,!let!them!know!as!soon!as!possible.!!!Check!on!your!admissions!status.!Your!coach!may!not!have!time!to!keep!up!to!date!on!in.!!Play!national!tournaments!where!college!coaches!can!observe!you.!Let!your!coaches!know!the!tournaments!you!will!be!playing!throughout!the!year.!

Do!not!send!form!letters!to!coaches.!!Do!not!make!demands!on!coaches.!They!are!busy!enough!already.!If!you!are!having!trouble!getting!through!to!them!on!the!phone,!write!a!letter.!!!Do!not!try!to!impress!the!coaches!or!tell!everybody!what!a!great!player!you!are.!Let!your!results!and!behavior!speak!for!themselves.!!Do!not!let!your!parents!ask!all!the!questions!and!answer!them!for!you.!The!coaches!are!looking!at!choosing!you,!not!your!parents.!!Do!not!exhibit!poor!performance!during!tournaments.!Just!when!you!least!expect!it,!a!coach!may!be!scouting!you.!!Do!not!try!out!for!a!team!at!any!NCAA!campus!school.!!Do!not!automatically!expect!to!receive!a!scholarship!no!matter!how!good!you!are.!

Decision!Time:!!MidUApril!to!the!end!of!your!Senior!year!

Be!patient.!Wait!to!see!which!schools!send!you!a!National!Letter!of!Intent.!Schools!start!sending!them!in!midUApril,!and!they!continue!sending!them!during!the!rest!of!the!year.!!Ask!your!personal!coach!and!parents!to!assist!you!in!evaluating!the!strengths!and!weaknesses!of!your!schools!of!choice.!!!If!you!are!offered!a!scholarship,!ask!coaches!what!specific!expenses!your!scholarship!offers.!!!Do!make!the!decision!yourself!and!sit!with!that!decision!for!a!few!weeks!without!talking!with!anyone!about!it,!to!see!how!you!feel.!If!you!believe!you!have!made!the!right!decision!for!you,!inform!the!coaches!and!others.!!Sign!one!Letter!of!Intent.!Once!you!sign,!you!are!committed!to!going!there.!!

Do!not!sign!an!institutional!Letter!of!Intent!or!any!financial!aid!package!before!the!National!Letter!of!Intent!signing!date.!!Do!not!decide!to!go!to!a!particular!school!to!satisfy!your!parents!or!anyone!else!unless!you!really!want!to!go!there.!It!will!be!your!home!for!the!next!four!years!so!you!need!to!be!happy!there.!!

Second'choice:Third'choice:

What is your reason for playing a sport?

ACADEMIC STATISTICS

Weighted GPA:Unweighted GPA:

Class Rank: out of a class of

Possible Major:

TESTINGComposite ACT: Best ACT English:

Best ACT Math:

SAT (1800 scale): Best SAT Critical Reading:SAT (2400 scale): Best SAT Mathematics:

ATHLETICS

At what level do you want to compete: Div 1 Div 2 Div 3 NAIA

My first choice is to play for a school at level.

My second choice is to play for a school at level.

Motivation:Circle the answers that apply to you:I am hoping athletics will boost my chances of getting admitted to the college of my choice: YES NO

I want to move on in the pros: YES NO

I just want to compete in my sport: YES NO

I want an athletic scholarship, because it will help me get a better financial aid package YES NOeven though my family will show need

I want an athletic scholarship, because my family will not get financial aid, YES NOI only qualify for merit based aid.

©"CMA"2013" info@guidedpath.net" www.guidedpath.net"

"

College

Athletics

Resources

Counseling Students Who Think They Can: Throw, Catch or Hit

"ATHLETIC ORGANIZATIONS "NCAA national Collegiate

Athletic Association http://ncaa.org/ Recruiting, statistics, rules

" http://www.ncaa.com/ Sport specific rankings, scores

" "

NAIA National Association of Intercolegiate Atheltics

http://www.naia.org/ Small schools, mostl

" "

NJCAA National Junior College Athletic Association

http://www.njcaa.org/

Athletics for Junior & Community Colleges

" "

NCAA Eligibility Center http://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp

Must register to be eligible to compete

"

NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/About+the+NCAA/Who+We+Are+landing+page

List of Sports

" "SEARCH <sport> ocllege rankings

"

"

" " " " "

Questions to Ask College Coaches ACADEMICS

• What is the graduation rate for student-athletes at your school? What is the graduation rate for your program?

• What type of academic services are available for the general student body

and what services are available for student-athletes? (e.g., tutoring, writing labs…)

• Approximately how many days of class does your team miss during the

year due to practice and competition schedules? How is the missed class time handled?

• What happens if class time conflicts with practice time?

• Is it difficult to change majors once you declare your major?

• What type of career counseling services are available for the student-

athlete? ATHLETICS

• How many seniors are you graduating this year and in what position?

• Do you allow freshmen to start (provided they have the ability)?

• Is there a junior varsity program?

• Have you made it to post-season play, and if so how have you done?

• What is your general coaching philosophy?

• How do academics fit into your coaching philosophy?

• At this point, where do you see me fitting into your program?

• How many other prospects are you recruiting in my position, event, etc? Where do I fall in that group of prospects?

• Does your team practice year round? What is expected during the off-season?

• What type of strength and conditioning programs are conducted and are

they done year round? GENERAL INFORMATION

• Are your student-athletes required to live on campus? If so, do they live with fellow student-athletes or with someone from the general student population?

• What type of medical coverage is available for student-athletes?

• Do you provide all necessary uniforms and equipment, or are the student-

athletes responsible to pay for or provide uniforms and equipment?

• As a coach, are you looking to move upward in the coaching ranks in the near future or do you see yourself continuing your career at this institution?

• Does the athletic department or college offer counseling services for drug

and alcohol use, nutrition, etc.? FINANCIAL AID

• Do you offer athletic grants-in-aid? If yes, do you offer full grants-in-aid (tuition, room, board, books and fees) or do you offer partial grants-in-aid?

• How many athletic grants do you have available for the upcoming year (or

how much grant money do you have available for the upcoming year)?

• I know that athletic grants-in-aid are not guaranteed for a four year period and that they are renewed on a yearly basis. If I receive a grant-in-aid, will it most likely be renewed each year provided I remain a part of the team? What is your policy on renewing aid? What is the institution’s policy on renewing aid?

• If I receive an athletic grant-in-aid and I am injured in the first practice or

game, what happens to that grant for the remainder of that year and for the following years?

• If you do not offer athletic grants-in-aid, what type of financial aid is

available to student-athletes? Is it only need based aid, or are there merit scholarships available?