Recruiting Interview on the Dr. Casey Show

I recently did an interview on "The Dr. Casey Show," and we discussed the perils and challenges of successfully navigating the college recruiting process. There are some wonderful tips in this interview, so be sure and check it out...it is only about 10 mins! You can learn more about the Dr. Casey show at www.thedrcaseyshow.com!

Please, leave your comments below if you have any questions! Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

MUST watch TV...Coach Carroll

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Please, share your comments on the video by clicking on COMMENTS below...Thanks!

College Recruiting = Finding a Job?

The more you can treat your college recruiting process like a job interview the more apt you are to successfully navigate this awkward territory known as "college recruiting". The comparisons are very similar, and I want to share a few examples with you...

1. You need an athletic resume (with video highlights) if you are going to give yourself the BEST opportunity to find the RIGHT fit for your college experience academically and athletically.

2. You need to send your athletic resume with video to as many college coaches as possible. Again, just like looking for a job, you are going to send your resume out to as many employers as possible.

3. If an employer/college coach likes what he/she sees on the resume the college coach may invite you to a camp or an official visit. Think about it...very few employers are going to hire you solely based on your resume. A college coach is the same. He or she is going to want to have the opportunity to meet you face to face, speak to you over the phone, and any other thing they can do to effectively evaluate you. Attending a camp or going on your official visit is just like going to your job interview. One of the first things a coach does once you leave your official visit is talk to the player who hosted you. He is going to ask that player, what he thought of you, do you think he would fit into our program, did he make good decisions when you were out this weekend, and a plethora of other questions.

Those are just a few examples, and I would encourage you as a student-athlete to look at yourself as a job applicant. The college coach is going to be evaluating each and every contact they have with you, so the more professional and real you can make each contact with a coach the more you increase your chances of finding the BEST fit for you! Remember, choosing a college is not a 4 year decision...it is a 40 year decision. Take your time, do it right, and get help if you are unsure of how to successfully navigate the college recruiting process. If there is anything I can do to help you please let me know!

To your continued success!

Are coaches REALLY interested in you...?

I work with a lot of student-athletes and families, and one of the things that is most disconcerting to me is how many parents have false expectations for their kids. I speak to a lot of parents who do not fully understand the recruiting process, and they believe that if their son or daughter has some letters from a school, or if a coach stops by the school and speaks to their son or daughter that they have a legitimate shot at a scholarship at that school.


You must understand that these coaches are recruiting hundreds of kids, and they are using every variable possible to SCRATCH kids off of their recruiting list. If your son or daughter is a senior right now, and you are not receiving weekly phone calls from a coach, and/or the coach is not setting up an official recruiting visit with you...then they are not that into you.

Official signing day for several sports is less than 2 months away (February 4th to be exact). If a school is serious about you at this time (and you are a senior), then they are CONSISTENTLY contacting you, setting up an IN-HOME visit at your house, and setting things up for your official recruiting visit (you are able to take official visits to a maximum of 5 different schools).

If you are currently uncertain about how serious a school is interest is in you, then CALL the coach that was actively recruiting you. A coach appreciates a phone call from a high school player because it shows leadership and initiative...we will talk more about that in a future post. When I was 17 years old, it was intimidating to me to pick up a phone and call a major college coach...I understand what you are feeling. But if you put on the coach's hat for a second, you can see how they would appreciate your taking the initiative in calling them...especially if you are a good communicator. If your phone skills are not that strong, then role play with mom and dad, your high school coach, or some other adult you trust. Call me...I will gladly role play with you.

I hope this helps whether you are a senior, junior or underclassmen. Until next time...BE YOUR BEST!

Coach Chris Berg

Student-Athlete Spotlight Success Story

CONGRATULATIONS to Hanna Drake...she is attending Cornell University next year to play volleyball! I just received a great letter from her dad, and I wanted to share with you the POWER of using a college recruiting coach for your recruiting process...


November 26, 2008

Dear Coach Chris,

Hanna has committed to playing volleyball at Cornell, gone through the early admission process, and is waiting for her official letter stating she is attending Cornell next fall. Cornell was Hanna’s first choice of the over 50 schools that contacted her. While Hanna would have drawn interest on her own, there is no doubt that SAS greatly increased Hanna’s reach and options in attending a school. Schools are always interested in other schools that a prospective athlete is talking to. The breadth of schools Hanna was corresponding with gave her valuable leverage in discussions with the specific schools she was interested in.

Originally Hanna wanted to stay close to home. Through the encouragement of others, you included, Hanna decided to send her website to Ivy League schools. Within a week Harvard and Cornell sent her very specific letters stating their interest. Hanna responded, they came and watched her play in tournaments, and each offered her a visit. Hanna immediately felt a connection with Cornell and rigorously pursued playing there. While she focused on Cornell, she was fielding interest from a wide range of schools. When requests came for transcripts, game footage, and personal information being able to email the website address that contained all that information was a blessing that greatly simplified a very complicated process.

Hanna started playing club at the age of eight years old. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars over the years enabling Hanna to play sports. We put a great deal of money into middle and high school sports as well. In addition to the money outlay we spent untold hours supporting her efforts. Given the interest SAS generated for Hanna, and the hours it saved us in responses to schools, SAS was the best investment we made in the course of getting Hanna into a university.

We couldn’t be more pleased with the results we garnered from SAS. We are thrilled that Hanna will be part of Cornell’s program. Thank you for all your efforts to date, and your continued support and dialogue with Hanna going forward.

Sincerely,

Howard Drake

To view Hanna's SAS profile go to: www.hdrake.sasprospects.com

Hanna, GREAT JOB, and I am so proud of you! Best of luck in your future endeavors!

Are YOU on their recruiting board?

First off, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I am THANKFUL that you read my blog ;)



As many student-athletes are ending their fall seasons, the recruiting process begins to pick up for many athletes. For example, official signing day for football players is February 4th, and I have a lot of parents wondering what to do now that the season is coming to a close. (For all official signing days go to: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/nli )

One of the BEST things you can do as a student-athlete is find out from the coaches recruiting you where you are on their recruiting board. Every school uses a recruiting board to keep track of the athletes they are recruiting.

It basically works like a recruiting depth chart. Most schools will be recruiting several people at the same position, and they put you on their recruiting board in the depth chart number according to how they have scouted you amongst their top recruits. For example, if they are recruiting 5 QB's they will place the 5 QB's names in order from 1 - 5 as to where the QB falls in their scouting report. You can be their #1 QB recruit or you can be their #5 QB recruit (and obviously anywhere in between).

As a student-athlete you want to ask the coach, "Coach, where do you have me on your recruiting depth chart?" This will help you know how serious the school is about offering you a scholarship. Another example...if you are their number 4 QB recruit, and they plan on offering scholarships to 2 QB's, then you need to hope that 2 of their top 3 QB recruits take offers from other schools, or you need to find a school that has you as their #1 QB recruit. This is important so you can get an accurate idea of where you stand in the eyes of the coaching staff at each school recruiting you, and you can focus your energy on the schools that have the most interest in you.

If you have been sending information and video to college coaches, NOW is the time to find out where you are on their recruiting board...it will help you feel great about your decision on signing day!

If you have any questions or comments, please, click on the word COMMENTS below.

Thanks, and again HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Part 2 - Goal Setting

My last blog entry talked about the power of Goal Setting. I had a lot of people email me and say they hear a lot about goal setting, but they do not know where to start, or how to set a goal.

There is a great quote, "Yard by yard it is hard; inch by inch its a cinch." One of the best ways you can set goals it to set them for fairly short time frames i.e. 1 month, 3 months and/or 1 year.



Today, I want to share with you a SIMPLE goal setting formula that you can begin to use immediately! It is called the "SMART GOAL" formula. The acronym stands for:

S = Specific - Be sure the target of your goal is specific.

M = Measurable - Your goal must be able to be measured on a consistent basis.

A = Active - Be sure your goal is current and active.

R = Realistic - Allow your goal to STRETCH you, yet make it realistic.

T = Timed - Be sure your goal has a completion date or timeline.

This is a simple and powerful way to set your goals. Let me give you an example of how you can use this formula for your success. Let's say you want to get a 3.5 GPA in your second semester this year, and your second semester ends on May 29th, 2009. To write your SMART goal you will write:

As of May 29th, 2009, I now have a GPA of 3.5.

Simple, eh? That is how you write the goal, and now you will want to write it in a place that you can see it everyday. Every time you read your goal, be sure to visualize yourself ALREADY achieving it!

If you would like me to take a look at your goals, and make sure they are written most powerfully for you, please, email your goals to me at coachchris@coachchris.tv.

Go for Your Goals!

What are your goals academically and athletically? Do you have them written down in a place where you can see them everyday? If you do, CONGRATS! If not, you should write down your goals immediately, and be sure to put them in a place that you can see them EVERYDAY! Ideally, where you can see them right when you wake up and just before you go to bed.

I started writing down my goals in 9th grade, and one of my goals was to get a football scholarship to play quarterback at Stanford University. I wrote down my goals for each year of my high school career, and my ultimate goal was to play at Stanford. I wanted to share a video with you today from my high school state championship game to demonstrate the power of goal setting!





Hope you enjoyed the video! Now, go write down your goals!!

If you have any questions about goal setting please be sure to email me or write your comments below by clicking on the word "comments".

The Coach Chris Radio Show

A couple of years back I did a GREAT radio show that I want to share with you to educate and empower student-athletes and their families about the college recruiting process. The show includes interviews with college coaches, other recruiting experts, and parents and/or student-athletes currently in the midst of their college recruiting process.

Enjoy the show by clicking on the PLAY button below:

If you have any questions or comments, please, leave them in the comments section below by clicking on the word comments.


**The phone numbers included in this show are no longer valid.

My day at the USC vs. OSU Game!

The BIGGEST game of the college football season, and a GREAT friend of mine, Curtis Boyer (above with me), just happened to have an EXTRA ticket to the USC vs. OSU game! WOW, how lucky am I!!? Thanks Curtis! It was AWESOME!

You have to watch the video below to appreciate our seats! Be sure to watch the WHOLE thing!! You will get a GREAT view of the Air Force jets flying over our heads right before kick-off.



WOW! What an amazing college football atmosphere. We tailgated most of the afternoon with the other 100,000 plus college football fans. Check out video of our walk to the stadium before the game:



Below is my buddy's tailgate set up! It was incredible! Curtis had a HDTV, so we could watch the games as we prepared for the BIG SHOWDOWN!



Below, I am getting ready for kick-off. OUTSTANDING view of the game!



Definitely a day to remember, and that is why I wanted to share this amazing experience with you! I hope that many of you as student-athletes and/or parents will have the opportunity to experience this sort of college athletics atmosphere first hand!



Hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you!

Mira Costa Athletic Recruiting Event

5 Steps to WIN the GAME of College Recruiting Video

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to the families of Mira Costa HS. They asked myself and Student-Athlete Showcase to come in and educate their families about the college recruiting process. I was fortunate enough to have a friend of mine record the event, and I wanted to share it with you (or any families you would like to forward this link to).

Depending on your Internet connection, you may have to allow a few moments for the video to buffer! Enjoy, and I would appreciate your comments via this blog post. You can leave comments by simply clicking on the word "Comments" below. Thanks!

If you would like a FREE college recruiting consultation, please, email me, and we can set up a time to discuss your collegiate future.

College Admissions Expert - Danny Ruderman

Today, I wanted to introduce you to College Admissions Expert - Danny Ruderman. He is the President and Founder of a company called Admit U, and the author of The Ultimate College Acceptance System.

Recently, I interviewed Danny about the Secrets of a successful College Admissions process. You can listen to the interview by clicking on the "Play" button below.

Danny has a wonderful software program that will LITERALLY walk you through the college admissions process STEP-BY-STEP! Listen to the interview, and find out about Danny's special offer on his College Acceptance program for Coach Chris listeners ONLY!

You can learn more about Danny and his company at www.admitu.net.
To take advantage of Danny's SPECIAL OFFER use coupon code: SAS

Create the VISION, PLAN, and YOU will Succeed!

College football season starts this weekend, and my Stanford Cardinal picked up a 'W' on Thursday night versus Oregon State! It is exciting to see us off to a good start, and we need all the W's we can get for this upcoming recruiting season.

IMPORTANT NOTICE as of September 1st:
In several sports, college coaches will be able to contact you on a more frequent basis, so make sure you are prepared with the RIGHT questions to ask the coaches that contact you! If you need help with this matter, please, contact me directly.


Nick Saban, deemed by Forbes magazine, "Sports' Most Powerful Coach", states in the article the importance of having a LONG TERM VISION about choosing a college.

When he visits a recruit, he says, “I tell them this is a 40-year decision, not a 4-year one.” He stresses the importance of his players’ being successful as people, as students and as athletes. Queen Marvin, the mother of Julio Jones, says: “He came in here and talked about education. That’s what I want for my son. Football won’t always be there.”

Now, about your college recruiting experience and what you are doing about it. I cannot stress to you enough the importance of putting together a GREAT college recruiting game plan! Mom and dad, the more that you can assist your son/daughter in this process, and help them look at the LONG TERM impact of their college decision the happier they will be for LIFE!

The article from Forbes about Nick Saban speaks to one of my CORE beliefs about choosing the RIGHT college for YOU, and why this decision is so important. The reason I love coaching families through the college recruiting process is because of the impact that your college decision makes on the rest of your life.

If you have any questions or comments about putting together an OUTSTANDING college recruiting game plan, please, add your comments to this blog and/or contact me via email.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to the games! Hooray for football season!

What are YOUR Biggest Concerns when it comes to college recruiting?

As some of you may know, I was recently married, and I decided to take about a year off from blogging. I wanted to spend some time with my wife, and enjoy our first year together as newlyweds. Well, now that school is about to start, I have the itch to get back out there and be a resource for families that are going through the college recruiting process. Below is a picture of my wife and I.



Some of you receiving this email have already gone through the college recruiting process, and I want to CONGRATULATE you on all of your success. Some of you are just beginning to navigate this journey called, "College Recruiting," and I would like to be your go to resource for your questions and concerns. Each week (or so), I am going to be blogging to discuss, "Athletic Scholarship Secrets," so you can ensure your recruiting success.

Since this is my first post in quite some time, I want to start off by addressing your concerns and questions about the college recruiting process. Please, email me your college recruiting questions at coachchris11@sbcglobal.net. I will answer all of your questions, and if I find that their is a common theme among questions, I will write about it in this blog so all of you can learn and ultimately achieve your collegiate dreams.

For those of you that are beginning your college careers, again CONGRATS, and if you have any questions about how to deal with the transition from high school to college, please feel free to contact me.