Here is the eight-part checklist and ‘Reality Check’ on getting scholarships and acquiring athletic funding coming in from the Chicago Tribune and from NCSASports.org…..CLICK HERE for all the details on each key talking point….
1 Provide your child with challenging athletic opportunities early.
2 But don’t overwhelm them.
3 Seek a third-party assessment of your child’s abilities so you can be realistic about the future.
4 The Internet is a potential college athlete’s best friend.
5 If your child isn’t academically eligible, athletics won’t matter.
6 Keep an open mind about schools — most collegiate athletes participate outside of the Division I level.
7 Prepare to put in a lot of time and effort to promote your athlete.
8 Remember the recruiting process is different for every sport and every athlete.
This is some darn good information and I sincerely hope parents and athletes alike are reading this. Too often parents and kids are too caught up in thinking that only really big name schools matter and tend to scoff at lesser name schools. A very big mistake.
Having just gone through this …… Good, solid info and advice.
I think #2 is a biggy. Most go AAU or similar route very young. For many this is the right route but I have seen many superstars at 8 who are no longer playing the game by middle school. Some turn to drugs and alcohol when they figure out that they are no longer the starting shortstop or quarterback of the team now that daddy ball has ended.