{"id":14501,"date":"2017-07-27T05:30:23","date_gmt":"2017-07-27T10:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/?p=14501"},"modified":"2017-07-27T08:38:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-27T13:38:53","slug":"college-athletics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/college-athletics\/","title":{"rendered":"College Athletics Has a Place for Every Prospect"},"content":{"rendered":"

College athletics. \u00a0Being in recruiting for over three decades has taught NSR<\/a> scouts an essential truth. \u00a0There is a place for every high school student-athlete wanting to play college athletics.<\/p>\n

We have seen it over and over again in our\u00a037 years of working with prospects and college coaches. \u00a0Colleges recruit more than the All-Staters. \u00a0They also recruit second-teamers and even other key reserves. \u00a0If the fit is right, and the athlete’s grades are there too, a prospect can find a spot on a college roster.<\/p>\n

College Athletics Depend on Role Players<\/h2>\n

Look around. \u00a0There are more reserve players on teams than starters. \u00a0They all have important roles to play. \u00a0Every college roster has\u00a0athletes at different skill levels, to state the obvious \u00a0All of them cannot be starters or stars. \u00a0Some, in fact, \u00a0may never start a college game, place in a meet or win a match. \u00a0Nevertheless, coaches have a specific need for athletes whose character and work ethic are undeniable. \u00a0Coaches see these athletes as an integral part of their team’s makeup. \u00a0They need athletes whose drive pushes the ones in front of them to be better, much better.<\/p>\n

Starters, stars, and first-teamers often arrive on campuses as coddled, overly secure and cocky. \u00a0It happens from Division I to junior colleges. \u00a0Coaches know that when it comes to putting all that uber-confidence to good use, these athletes require a comeuppance before actualizing their potential. \u00a0And to cut them down a notch or two, coaches bring in athletes whose desire to compete every day in practice is greater than their need to be noticed. \u00a0Their pride outweighs their egos. \u00a0While they may not be the foundational bedrocks of a team, they are certainly essential building blocks. \u00a0And when carefully selected and inserted into a team, these athletes can elevate a team. \u00a0It speaks to the very nature of college athletics – there is a place for every high school prospect.<\/p>\n

The good news is that some of these also-rans themselves eventually can get playing time. \u00a0Spotty as it may be, their contributions during practices earn them the right to see action. \u00a0And it is a good thing for starters to see that hard work has its perks. \u00a0Then there is the added benefit of giving starters a breather here and there. \u00a0It is not uncommon to see starters on the sidelines rooting hard for their support players, even if it is in the waning minutes of a contest. \u00a0See, the once coddled finally appreciate seeing their less recognized mates having a chance to represent them all.<\/p>\n

Prep Prospects Fit In a Box<\/h2>\n

Becoming a college athlete is an elixir to high school athletes. \u00a0Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the lure of college athletics. \u00a0However, being a star on a high school team\u00a0does not necessarily translate into the level of college competition an athlete fits. \u00a0Because of this, too many prep\u00a0athletes think they belong in a higher division than they belong. \u00a0The fit is not there.<\/p>\n

It is a typical mistake. \u00a0Being All-Conference or even All-State does not automatically open the door to a NCAA D-I program<\/a>. \u00a0Oh, but she (he) has heart. \u00a0That admirable trait is still not enough. \u00a0There is more to the D-I box, or D-II box for that matter than accolades on paper. \u00a0There is size, speed, strength, and other attributes required. \u00a0Neither prospects nor parents make that determination. \u00a0It is all up to college coaches. \u00a0They know what they need to compete at their level. \u00a0For instance, no amount of heart will turn a 5’9″, 220-pound offensive lineman with heart ito a Division I tackle. \u00a0It is just not going to happen.<\/p>\n

That said, to play in college, that is to really compete for a starting spot, prospects must come to grips with where they fit. \u00a0Thousands upon thousands of potentially solid D-II and D-III players go unrecruited. \u00a0The main reason is they are unrealistic about their place in college athletics. \u00a0A D-II athlete is there for a good reason – it is where he or she belongs. \u00a0Yes, a few legitimate D-I athletes end up in D-II, but that is extremely rare. \u00a0Coaches know what they\u00a0are doing. \u00a0If a prospect is being recruited by five D-II programs and zero D-I schools, \u00a0she or he is a D-II athlete. \u00a0The same goes for Division III. \u00a0Prospects cannot force-fit themselves into a higher level, that is if they want to compete for playing time.<\/p>\n

Choosing Which College Team to Target<\/h2>\n

There are no guarantees in college athletics. \u00a0That is for sure. \u00a0Signing a National Letter of Intent, regardless of the division, is not accompanied by a red carpet to the starting lineup. \u00a0That has to be earned every day in practice and during contests. \u00a0Athletes either cut it or they don’t.<\/p>\n

However, an athlete can improve his odds of playing, and playing a lot, if he or she chooses the right fit. \u00a0How does that happen? \u00a0By looking around and observing what is going on in a program. \u00a0Is the style of play a fit? \u00a0Is the coach’s coaching style a fit? \u00a0Are the campus and school’s philosophy good fits? \u00a0Is the distance from home a fit? \u00a0Answering these questions help eliminate insurmountable hurdles.<\/p>\n

Note: \u00a0Author Alan Parham is a 14-year veteran high school scout for National Scouting Report<\/a>. \u00a0He currently serves as the company\u2019s NCAA Compliance Officer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

College athletics. \u00a0Being in recruiting for over three decades has taught NSR scouts an essential truth. \u00a0There is a place for every high school student-athlete wanting to play college athletics. We have seen it over and over again in our\u00a037 years of working with prospects and college coaches. \u00a0Colleges recruit more than the All-Staters. \u00a0They … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":14660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[865,3,864,859],"tags":[301,10,11,507,29,31,1218,1217,54,56,57,222,79,94],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14501"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14663,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14501\/revisions\/14663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}