Thursday, April 17, 2008

Developing an Effective Organizing System for College Athletics Recruiting

Developing an Effective Organizing System for College Athletics Recruiting
By Tom Kovic


Creating a user friendly organizing system for the college recruiting process will serve as a helpful tool, especially when information begins to pile in from different college coaches. Not only will this system assist you in keeping track of the steady stream of paper and e-traffic, it will act as a great resource for future contacts and important coach-prospect communications. Trust me, coaches will be requesting information (transcripts, high school profile, standardize test results, tax information for financial pre-reads etc.) at about the same time, and the family who develops an efficient access system to this information will navigate the process successfully and with great confidence.
Below are some organizing points that I think will be very helpful:
1. The following information should be stored in individual college program folders:
• Updated contact information for coach, assistant coach, financial aid representative etc. Include name, address, e-mail, phone number etc.).• Materials the coach has sent (brochures, articles, etc.).• Team competition schedule. You should add important events to your calendar and stay updated on the team’s accomplishments, especially before any correspondence with the coach.• College catalogs, applications and/or other marketing materials.• Updated notes from your phone conversations and meetings with representatives from the school.• A list of pertinent questions or follow-up items you need to address for the program. Set aside regular time to review outstanding tasks you have for each college program and list these items on your calendar.• Copies of all the information you have provided to the school – your application, the data sheet you may have to fill out for the coach, the last resume you provided etc. By keeping these copies handy, you can easily reproduce them if they are misplaced.
2. Keep extra copies of your resume, video, transcripts and test scores ready in case a coach misplaces this information.
3. Just as you organize your paper files, your e-files on your computer should be saved in a way that will allow you to easily refer back to all the documents. Most likely you will want folders for each college so that you can readily access the files for any letters, essays or resumes you have sent out.
4. You will likely be corresponding regularly with coaches via e-mail, and saving all the important e-mails that you receive and keep electronic copies of the important e-mails you send out will assist you greatly. Again it may be helpful to create folders in your e-mail account for each college, where you can file correspondences that you may need to reference at a later time. Consider creating a master date file for all educational information, medical data, references, sports achievements and family information. You will need this information at your fingertip to fill out the many different forms over and over again.
5. Maintain your personal calendar to be sure that you have added new events and that you are aware of upcoming deadlines. Also have your calendar in front of you when you are speaking with a coach on the phone or when you are in a meeting. This will help you to answer questions about your availability for campus visits and evaluations.
It is essential that you respond to correspondence in a timely manner. You should set regular times where you reply to e-mails, phone calls and/or mail. If for some reason you anticipate a delay in your response, you should notify the coaches by e-mail to let them know that you are working on the response, and provide a time when they can expect to hear from you. You want to show coaches you are organized and responsible about deadlines and that you respect their time. College coaches remember the “little things.”
Maintaining an organized approach can become very time-consuming and frustrating, especially in the beginning phases of recruiting. Once the system is in place and the process is understood and practiced to perfection, it becomes a tremendous tool for the prospect and the family to use in accurate planning, while increasing the chances of strong success in the college quest.

Tom Kovic is the director of Victory Collegiate Consulting where he provides educational seminars and individual advisement on preparing for the college athletics recruiting process. Visit: http://www.victoryrecruiting.com/

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

BaseballClick.com: 2008 College Baseball Recruiting Resource Package -Now Available...

BaseballClick.com's 2008 College baseball Recruiting Resource CD-ROM Package is now available at Amazon.com