All of the sources interviewed for the Post-Dispatch story on recruiting services agree on the following points, which are vital for athletes and their parents in the search for an athletic scholarship:
• There's no such thing as a "full ride" or four-year scholarship. Schools that offer athletic scholarships offer them as one-year awards, renewable annually for four years.
• Most scholarships in nonrevenue sports, even at the Division I level, are partial scholarships.
• College coaches send out form letters, which parents incorrectly interpret as a pitch, "but they don't realize they are one of a thousand and nothing special," said John Elder, executive director of the Illinois Coaches Association. If you're interested in a school, you'll have to follow-up on your own.
• The time to start preparing for a college scholarship is freshman year, both athletically and academically. Many of the core courses required in the grade-point average for NCAA eligibility are taught freshman year. "If you goof off, it's going to be tough to catch up, and academics count as much as athletics, especially in Division III," Villa Duchesne soccer coach Tim Twellman said. "Coaches don't want to babysit athletes."
• Division III schools don't offer athletic scholarships but can offer financial aid packages and academic scholarships to offset the costs of education. "You have to be patient and realize it's more about admissions than athletics," said Laurie Richter, author of "Put Me In, Coach."
• The admissions office decides who gets into Division III schools, almost always with no input from coaches.
Want more free (or pretty cheap) advice? Twellman offers free advice to parents who want to get involved in the recruiting process. Contact him at twellmansoccer@aol.com.
The Illinois Coaches Association has prepared a webinar for parents and students, available at www.icacoach.org.
Richter's book, "Put Me In, Coach" is available through amazon.com in traditional or e-book format.
