guys when you are visiting on campus but what are they doing at practice ? You can start to see their demeanor and see how they teach . Are they a yeller , calm , organized , etc .? Seeing a coach in action and how the players respond to them might just help your decision .
A huge thing that some people over look are their grades and test scores . You have to stay on top of these and take care of business . Take the ACT AND the SAT . Most people do better on one than the other . Once you know which one you do better on , find some tutoring for it and get to work . It is worth paying for a tutor and taking the test one or two more times if you can raise your test score . I have seen kids go from one academic scholarship bracket of $ 14k to $ 20k by taking this approach . Paying $ 100-200 to get $ 7k a year in return is a great investment in my eyes . Make sure to pay attention to your GPA as well . The best way I can put it is with schools that can give athletic scholarships having a set amount they can give , you have to separate yourself . This is where college athletics and recruiting become a business . If you have two players that are identical in ability on the field but one has a higher GPA and test scores , a coach can get that young man with a smaller athletic scholarship . This saves money to be able to continuing recruiting .
Another thing that goes into athletic scholarships is making sure you understand what your offer really means . In other words you cannot just get caught up in the percentage of the offer . For example , you might have College A and College B that are interested in you and both have made you an offer to play for them . College A will be covering 50 % between academic and athletic money while College B is doing the same at 60 %. The difference is that College A cost around $ 25k a year while College B is $ 55K . I have seen athletes that have expressed concerns on paying for college , take an offer from College B just because the percentage is higher and not realize that they will actually be paying more out of pocket . Also make sure you understand if an offer is a total of athletic and academic money or just athletic . Some schools present their offer as both combined and say that they are going to give you 80 % which is actually made up of 50 % academic and 30 % athletic . There is nothing wrong with doing offers this way , it is just something to help understand how a school is pursuing you .
In closing , I would like to add a few more things that can make a difference . When you go on a recruiting visit to a school and are going to meet with the coaching staff , please have some questions ready . Also , you have to talk on your visit . Coaches need to get to know you . If you are silent the whole time , it is hard to get a read on how you will fit in . No question should be off limits either . You are making an important decision in your life ; you need to have no doubts left . Don ’ t just ask what can a school and the coaches offer you , ask what you can do to help the program . Sell yourself . Tell them what you bring to the table , work ethic , leader , etc . Finally , parents , don ’ t steal the show ! Nothing worse than asking a recruit a question and the parent answering for the young man . Remember you might be a little bias . We need to get to