College Contacts

Todd Helmick played football at Florida State University under Head Coach Bobby Bowden (1986-88). He is also the Owner & Operator of the College Football Website NationalChamps.net (established 1999) and maintains an Official Heisman Vote and an Official Biletnikoff Award Vote that is given to the nation's best FBS receiver. The NationalChamps.net Top 25 Preseason Poll and Preseason All-American List has been recognized and/or utilized by several major College Football outlets including the ACC Official Site, the Mountain West Official Site, Sports Illustrated and numerous participating Division I-A institutions.

TEN COMMANDMENTS OF RECRUITING
1. Grades and SAT/ACT test scores really do matter.
All Division II, Division III and NAIA level schools (and even some Division I-AA schools) hand out financial assistance to student-athletes based on their grades and SAT or ACT scores. It's this simple...the higher the score, the more money they can offer. If a high school student-athlete has a sub par GPA (grade point average) their freshman and sophomore years, it is very difficult to raise that GPA the last 4-6 marking periods. Best Advice: work on grades from day one of your freshman year. Second, take the SAT/ACT exam as many times as possible. Even more important prepare for the SAT/ACT. This is by far the biggest downfall of almost every 16-17 year old student-athlete. Forget about spending money, time and energy on attending athletic combines or paying for recruiting services. Spend that money, time and energy hiring an SAT/ACT tutor and preparing for the exam. Too many times to count, I have seen extremely talented student-athletes fail to take their SAT/ACT exam seriously before their senior year only to find out too late that it cost them a scholarship opportunity. The first score will almost always be the worst. Students wishing to attend Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale sometimes take the SAT/ACT exam 20 times beginning with their freshman year. Best Advice: take the SAT/ACT as many times as possible and prepare for it.

2. If a college coach does not see your face on their campus, you will not be offered any scholarship money.
College coaches decide who gets athletic scholarship money and who doesn't. If you as a student-athlete don't take the time to visit their campus on your own dime, forget about it. Ask Ty Johnson, Gage Shaffer and Kirk Robinette and they will say the same...get to campus and let those coaches meet you face-to-face. How can you do this? The best way is to attend those Summer Camps. Most every college will host a Summer Camp from May through July. If they don't, then those coaches will attend Summer Camps at other places. Find out where they will be and attend. The reason college coaches have these camps in the first place is to see recruits face-to-face and to see these same recruits work out in front of them. Ty Johnson got offered at the Maryland Summer Camp, Gage Shaffer got offered at the Maryland Summer Camp, Kirk Robinette got offered right after visiting the James Madison campus last summer. Use the internet to find out when all the colleges you are interested in will be hosting one-day Summer Camps for the sport you are playing. Sign up and attend and be ready to shake hands with those college coaches, remember their names and contact them after the camp is over.

3. Recruiting is just like trying to find a good job. You have to knock on doors and submit those resumes.
Waiting around for a college coach to "discover" or "contact" a student-athlete is a horrible strategy that doesn't work, even if you're an All-Area or All-State performer. College coaches continually state that they are most interested in the athletes that show interest in them and their program. We all want to be wanted, and college coaches are no different. Athletes that are proactive in contacting a coach are going to be the athletes that have the most opportunities. Remember, a student-athlete can contact a college coach any day or time of the year whether by phone call, phone text, email or social media. Use these communication tools. If you are a recruit who is scared of talking to a coach or hesitates in answering their email and listening to what their college has to offer, be prepared to see scholarship opportunities dry up. Have that resume up to date. A resume is usually a highlight film, a transcript of grades and SAT/ACT scores, physical aspects such as height and weight or speed and strength, a list of any awards won, statistics earned, etc. Have this resume ready to disperse to coaches at all times. Also remember, coaches especially at the big Division I schools receive upwards of 200 emails a day, so don't expect them to respond. The best way to reach them is in person, on their campus.

4. It's about who you know.
As with finding a good job, sometimes it's not about how qualified an applicant is but who they know and recruiting is no different. A college coach who has been in contact with a student-athlete long before their senior season is over is much more likely to be in contact with those same athletes when Signing Day arrives (the day a high school student-athlete can sign a scholarship contract). The best way to build a relationship with a college coach goes back to Commandment No. 2. Get to campus, not just for Summer Camps but anytime including academic visits or a sporting event being held on campus. A little secret many don't know is that college coaches are sometimes more available when not coaching, on the road or hosting a Summer Camp. If football is your sport for example, sometimes February, March, and April is the best time to visit a campus on an academic visit with the rest of the general student population. Before visiting, contact one of the coaches and set up a private visit while there to see their facilities. Instead of trying to meet coaches when over 100 other student-athletes are doing the same, you might find some quality one-on-one time during a mid-week academic visit. Anything to try and build a relationship with a coach is a huge bonus. Best Advice: by the time your senior sport season ends, have a list of at least 20 college coaches you are in regular personal contact with.

5. A high school coach is not responsible for getting student-athletes a scholarship.
Too many times the excuse given by parents and their child is that the coach didn't do enough to get them a college scholarship. A big head's up: your high school coach is not responsible for getting you a college scholarship. The reality is that the average high school coach has contact with fewer than five college coaches, most of whom are local. So even if your high school coach wanted to help they are limited by their contacts and the fact a high school coaches' first responsibility is to coach, which leaves very little time for anything else. Student-athletes and their families are ultimately responsible for connecting with college coaches.

6. A letter in the mail does not constitute serious recruitment.
How many times have you heard a certain student-athlete has received a letter from this college or that college? A letter in the mail doesn't mean a student-athlete is being seriously recruited. In fact, many schools will mail out 500,000 letters to anyone that has supplied them with an address. This can be as easy as filling out a questionnaire on that college's website. What a letter should mean is that the student-athlete now has an invitation to try and reach out to contact one of the college coaches. True recruiting begins when a student-athlete has been in direct personal contact with one of the coaches such as in person, by phone, email or social media.

7. Know the difference between a Combine and a Summer Camp.
Combines serve a limited purpose, mostly to make money. Combines are set up to measure your physical attributes and are almost always one day events that can cost anywhere from $50 to $125. Much like the NFL Combine, they will test your 40-yard dash time, bench press, shuttle run time, broad jump, etc. This is important in terms of officially documenting such physical attributes. But honestly, a student-athlete need only attend one of these at a maximum. College coaches at most schools for example, are not permitted to attend these Combines. Summer Camps on the other hand pretty much accomplish the same thing except you get a chance to work out in front of the coaches that decide who gets scholarship money. Before attending any Combine or Summer Camp, find out what college coaches will be there.

8. Never pick a college based on a relationship with a coach or potential early playing time.
This is the most common error in recruiting as every prospect big and small has made their decision as to which college they will attend based on a comfortable relationship built with a certain coach on staff. Without attempting to contradict just how important it is to build a relationship with a college coach, don't be confused when it comes time to make the final decision on what college to attend because college coaches come and go every year. Some are fired and some move on to take other coaching positions at other schools. In fact, the likelihood that the coach who recruited you will still be there in four years is about 35% based on a recent NCAA report. Pick a college that is right for you based on these principals (in order): Location, Academics, Financial Situation, Campus Life, Athletics...notice athletics came last. Otherwise, like hundreds of student-athletes before, you will likely wind up quitting or transferring out before your first year is complete. And when it comes to early playing time, few if any true freshman should see the football field. Prepare to redshirt and turn that four year scholarship into a five year scholarship.

9. Know how much it costs to attend college and what your financial situation means.
What's the difference between public and private tuition? What's the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition? What's the difference between living on-campus and living off-campus? Know these answers before picking a school. As an example, according to CollegeBoard.org the cost of attending Frostburg State University for a student who currently resides in the state of Maryland is $18,134 per year if you choose to live on-campus. That includes tuition, room and board, books and supplies, and personal expenses. For a student who lives in West Virginia the cost to attend Frostburg State is $29,426. Quite a difference, huh? Frostburg State University is a state funded public school as are such places as the University of Maryland and Towson. On the other hand, the cost to attend a private school such as McDaniel College in Westminster is $46,240 per year no matter whether you currently reside in Maryland or West Virginia. Now that's a really big difference. Know how much it costs to attend college. Second, be sure to fill out those FAFSA forms early. FAFSA is Federal Student Aid the government will provide based on your family's financial need. Whether you think you might be approved for aid or not, be sure to file for this opportunity.

10. Have some fun.
Enjoy the process of picking a college to spend the next four or more years of your life. Don't make it a chore as these can be exciting times for a high school student-athlete. Visit the campus, attend games for the sport you plan on playing and meet the coaches and don't be afraid to use social media as a way of connecting with those coaches. But whether meeting these coaches in person or on social media...always be professional, courteous, responsive and respectful. These attributes are extremely important to a coaching staff, more than most people realize.

Most important, every student-athlete will have four to five more years to put on a football helmet. But a college degree lasts a lifetime. Choose to attend college based on getting a degree first, not just to play football.