Path to College Coaching: Creating Opportunities

How a "Walk-In" appointment with Coach Jim Harbaugh at Stanford led to a college coaching career.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/19016332/tsuyoshi-kawata-went-japan-stanford-cardinal-all-thanks-jim-harbaugh

Progress Isn't Linear - Cubs Joe Maddon

Good article from Men's Journal on Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon.  

Maddon never played above low-A minor league ball but grinded out a career that led to managing a World Series win.

http://www.mensjournal.com/features/articles/can-joe-maddon-win-another-world-series-w479752

Grab a Pen & Mid-Size Post-It Note: Felonies Are Bad For Recruiting

Off Field Intangibles are the tie breaker in college recruiting.  Coaches will start the recruiting season with dozens and sometimes hundreds of high school athletes for consideration.  They are looking for a reason to cross names off the board.

Athlete or not, the college applicant must disclose and explain a felony conviction when applying for admission.  Felonies are not considered a big seller when competing for an athletic scholarship.

Disclosure sample below:

      Ball State University is committed to maintaining a safe learning environment that supports and protects students…the University requires all applicants who have been convicted of a felony to disclose this information.

An applicant who has been convicted of a felony is required to provide a letter of explanation and official court documentation…

      

       

Athletic Scholarships & Negotiations

With "Equivalency Sports" like tennis, golf, track it may be possible to negotiate the amount of financial aid offered.  Of course this depends on whether or not the student athlete has leverage.  But assuming there are at least two offers on the table, the athlete and family should have some knowledge on effective negotiating.  

Kenneth Feinberg is one of the best to learn from. Article on Kenneth's negotiation tips from Inc magazine attached.  


https://www.inc.com/magazine/201705/kevin-ryan/make-a-deal.html

How To Lose An Athletic Scholarship

Coaches must notify returning student athletes by July 1st whether their athletic scholarship will be renewed at the same level, increased, or decreased for the upcoming academic year.

Myths - student athletes will not lose a scholarship due to injury or poor performance on the field.  

Student athletes may lose a scholarship for the following three reasons:

1. Team Disruption (AKA "Workplace" Insubordination).  Sipping Slurpies at the 50 yard line while the team is running stadium steps is a bad life plan.

2. Breaking team, school, or NCAA rules.  

3.  Failure to maintain a full-time class load (at least 12 credits); or failure to maintain the minimum required GPA. 

Don't Lead With The Resume

Don’t Lead With The Resume

Big mistake coaches make when taking the reins of a “turn-around” program is leading with the resume.  Coaches feel pressure to make a good first impression in a hurry.  So they introduce themselves by rattling off their own past coaching accomplishments.  Big mistake.  Start with the “Why.”  Start with the influences and mentors in your own coaching career, program philosophy, and why you got into coaching – hopefully it’s to help student-athletes develop life skills.

Leading with the resume usually gets one of two (unspoken) responses from the sports parents – 50% of the parents will see you as a ‘me’ coach; the other half will see this coaching stop as simply a resume builder on the climb up.

Introduce yourself to the sports parents with the “Why.”  End with the resume once trust is built with the stakeholders in the room.

Tom Brady - A Work In Progress

 * Off Field Intangibles * 

 IBM passed on Microsoft. Apple fired Jobs. But this might be the biggest miss in the history of mankind and even before that. 

 The NFL combine report on Tom Brady. At least they got the off field intangibles right.

"Negatives: Poor build. Very skinny and narrow. Ended the '99 season weighing 195 pounds and still looks like a rail at 211. Looks a little frail and lacks great physical stature and strength. Can get pushed down more easily than you'd like. Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush. Lacks a really strong arm. Can't drive the ball down the field and does not throw a really tight spiral. System-type player who can get exposed if he must ad-lib and do things on his own. Summary: 

Is not what you're looking for in terms of physical stature, strength, arm strength and mobility, but he has the intangibles and production and showed great Griese-like improvement as a senior. Could make it in the right system but will not be for everyone."

Free NCAA Athletic Scholarship Resource

Free Recruiting Webinar is a solid (non profit) recruiting resource for sports parents and student athletes.  

Pretty generic company name but tons of useful links, stats and tips. 

The free one hour video is well worth it. 

http://www.freerecruitingwebinar.org/