College Coach Contacts

Q: When is a good time to start contacting college coaches?

A: As soon as a student-athlete shows exceptional athletic potential. The important thing is to not to wait too long. Intercollegiate coaches are well into their recruiting process by the time a student-athlete's senior year of high school starts. The ideal time to start is during the student-athletes first year on varsity with significant playing time, preferably as a starter.

Q: Should we wait until my child's senior year? 
A: DO NOT wait until your child's senior year to begin the recruiting process!!! College sports are a big business and there is a lot on the line for both your child, your family's finances and college coaches.  You want them to get recruited and earn a scholarship if available; coaches want to make the right recruiting decisions.  Therefore, your child needs to get on a coach's radar screen early.

AASR will submit your child's personalized recruiting website to college head coaches at least once per week ensuring maximum exposure for scholarships!

Q: I know my child can play at the intercollegiate level, but no coaches or only the local college coach have contacted us.    
A: In most cases, a lot of intercollegiate coaches would be interested but they have never seen your child's name, heard of them or much less evaluated their athletic ability and academic qualifications.

Q: My child goes to camps, and a lot of intercollegiate coaches see and even speak to my child.  Why have they not contacted me?

A: An intercollegiate coach usually works camps to watch a handful of athletes that have been recommended by a professional scouts or is on their follow list.

Q: We have written/emailed to college programs.  Why have they not replied?  Why should All-American Sports Recruiting contact them for us? 
A: Intercollegiate coaches expect a certain level bias from parents and student-athletes and always hear the same line from parents, "I'm not just saying this because he/she is my son/daughter..."  An objective source like AASR that presents your child's skills and accomplishments carries more credibility.  Especially when AASR is owned by a former intercollegiate head coach with 13 years of experience.

Q: Should my child be completing and returning all questionnaires?
A: Yes! If your child has any interest in the school whatsoever, or think that they might be interested in the school then send back the questionnaires. Completing a questionnaire will show the coach that your child is really interested in playing for that school. It won’t hurt your child to complete all the questionnaires they receive, since no one knows how things will work out later on during the recruiting process.  Some coaches will occasionally pass a prospects information onto other coaches.

High School/Travel Coach’s Assistance

Q: My child's high school/travel coach told us not to worry about a scholarship since the coach will or is talking to intercollegiate coaches for my child.  Why have college coaches not contacted my child? 
A: If your child has not been contacted by any college coaches, then YOUR CHILD IS NOT BEING ACTIVELY RECRUITED.  How many student-athletes has the high school/travel coach helped get scholarships for in the recent past?  How many student-athletes have successfully advanced to play intercollegiate athletics?  To be actively recruited college coaches will set up a weekly schedule to call your child and to get to know the family.

Many high school/travel coaches will recommend their qualified athletes, but the competition is too fierce nationally to simply offer a scholarship to an athlete based off a conversation with a high school coach or a relationship a high school/travel coach has with a college coach.  For that reason, you and your child MUST take control of their recruitment.  

Q: My child's coach helps us, why do we need AASR? 
A: While many coaches try to help their athletes get recruited to play college sports, many simply do not have the time or resources to dedicate to see your recruiting campaign to the end. If your child's coach goes above and beyond the call of duty to help his or her athletes get recruited, consider yourself one of the lucky few.

AASR puts your child's recruiting website in front of college coaches up to once per week, nationwide!  Most high school or travel coaches only have contacts with some local or regional colleges.

Our sole focus is to help your child sign with a college program and earn a scholarship, if they qualify.  Your child's success is our success. We help plan your child's recruiting campaign and focus on what needs to be done on the recruiting front. We provide your family with information and resources so that you understand the recruiting process which results in you making the best informed decisions possible.

Most coaches have other jobs besides coaching. Many have teaching responsibilities and have families of their own to take care of.  Ultimately, you and your child are the one's responsible for their recruitment.

AASR Services

Q: What does AASR offer?
A: An efficient system designed to get student-athletes exposure to maximize scholarship opportunities:

• College Matching Program

Q: Why will enrolling with AASR's College Matching Program give my child an advantage in the process?
A: With the AASR's networking power and outreach to over 35,000 college coaches nationwide, your child will have a definitive advantage over other student-athletes.  With AASR's College Matching Program, student-athletes get their own personal recruiting website that is send your child's athletic and academic updates to college head coaches up to once per week!  Student-athletes and parents learn how to answer college coach's questions and what questions to ask.  AASR will evaluate the student-athlete's academic and athletic qualifications to NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA eligibility and recruitment standards.  This saves college coaches time by only evaluating prospects that qualify for their program and saves families time from trying to get recruited at levels the student-athlete may not qualify for.

Q: How long can videos be? 
A: Each video should between 3 and 5 minutes. Keep the videos short and get to the best stuff right from the start.

Q: What if we don't have a video?

A: The more information provided a coach for evaluation, the better. Keep in mind that your child's personalized recruiting website is developed to provide collegiate coaches with the specific information that they like to have when considering recruits.  If you currently don't have a video, that is okay.  The sooner you make one available for college coaches to evaluate, the more scholarship opportunities you will have!

Q: What are college coaches looking for at each level?

A: Please visit our Sports Recruiting page and choose your child's sport(s) to review what college coaches are looking for at each level.

Q: What if my child plays multiple sports?

A: AASR has been successful at helping multi-sport athletes.  For best results, student-athletes need a focused effort that highlights the sport that they are most committed to, most enjoy, and physically best at. Through AASR your child is requesting to be considered as a recruitable contributor to a competitive collegiate program. 

Q: How do I enroll my child?

A: Simply click here to contact us to enroll into the College Matching Program and help get your child recruited NOW!

Scholarships

Q: What kind of schools offer athletic scholarships?
A: NCAA Division 1, NCAA Division 2, NAIA , NJCAA Division 1 , and NJCAA Division 2 can offer athletic scholarships. Also you should be aware that individual colleges and conferences have their own athletic scholarship rules and policies.  Please visit our Sports Recruiting page for scholarship maximums per sport.

Q: How many student-athletes are competing for these scholarships?

A: NCAA's 1,265 member colleges and universities report that they have more than 355,000 student-athletes playing each year. Approximately 36% of these NCAA student-athletes receive a share of the $1 billion earmarked for athletic scholarships.

NAIA's 299 colleges and universities report that they have over 46,000 student-athletes playing each year. Though NAIA doesn't track scholarship or financial aid statistics, they do report that over 90% of NAIA institutions offer athletic scholarships.

Q: My child is receiving calls and letters from coaches, can we count on a scholarship now?
A: ABSOLUTELY NOT! Coaches have to call and send letters and questionnaires to many more student-athletes than they will actually sign. It's a good sign to receive calls and letters, but remember that the recruiting process is not complete until your child signs a letter of intent. Other student-athletes are competing with your child for the same roster spot and if someone else accepts before your child, or is considered a better prospect, then that coach's interest in your child will disappear overnight.

Q: If I get the chance should I sign early?
A: Tough question. You have to ask yourself a few questions first. Is this the college I really want to attend? Is this the best deal I am going to get? Will this take the pressure of recruitment and choosing a college off me? Remember that the offer may very well not be there later, don't ever think that you are the only athlete that's been approached. This is a tough call, but if you have done your homework and know what you want it should make your decision easier.

Q: Can my child play college sports without a athletic scholarship?
A: YES. NCAA Division III, NCCAA Division II, and NJCAA Division III offer excellent opportunities to play sports at the college level and obtain a quality education without an athletic scholarship.  All levels allow for invited walk-on's and some programs have walk-on tryouts. Athletes who excel at the junior college level often transfer with a scholarship to other colleges. If your heart is absolutely set on a particular school that does not seem interested in your athletic talents then ask the coach about walk-on tryouts.  There is no guarantee a program will have the need for tryouts or for another player that plays your child's position.  

NCAA

Q: When is it appropriate to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly Clearinghouse)?
A: The registration process should begin during junior year. Go to https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/  to initiate the process. The student-athlete fills out a form online and there is a fee of $90.

At the end of junior year, the student should have the high school guidance counselor send a transcript to the eligibility center. It should include grades from freshman through junior year. They should also have any ACT or SAT test scores sent directly to the NCAA eligibility center. When registering for the tests, there is a code for each college that the scores can be sent to. The NCAA also has it's own code--9999. The eligibility center will not accept test scores that are on a high school transcript, they must be sent directly from the testing agency.

Finally, when the student graduates, they must remember to have their guidance counselor send their final transcript to the eligibility center to complete the registration process.

Note that athletes who will play at D III schools don't have to register with the eligibility center.

Q: What is the NCAA Letter of Intent?

A: This is a document that sets out your agreement or "intent" to attend the college for which you have signed for 1 academic year in exchange for college financial aid, including an athletic scholarship. The NCAA letter of intent or NLI is for Division 1 and 2 athletes.  The NCAA NLI becomes binding the first official college class day and supersedes the NAIA, NJCAA and NCCAA letters of intent and scholarship agreements.  NLI are for one academic calendar year and are renewable upon the student-athletes’ good academic and athletic standing.  Therefore, there is no such thing as a four-year scholarship. 

NAIA

Q: What is the NAIA?
A: The NAIA is the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. It is an organization that promotes athletics as an integral part of education. NAIA member colleges award athletic scholarships.  

NJCAA

Q: What is the NJCAA?
A: The NJCAA is the National Junior College Athletic Association. Junior college is an excellent way to get both a quality education and play college sports at an affordable price. NJCAA member schools in Division 1 and 2 offer athletic scholarships. NJCAA Division 3 schools do not offer athletic scholarships.

Q: What is the NJCAA Letter of Intent?
A: The NJCAA Letter of Intent is basically the same as for the NCAA and commits the athlete to that institution for one academic year.

NCCAA

Q: What is the NCCAA?
A: The NCCAA is the National Christian College Athletic Association. Many NCCAA colleges are also NCAA or NAIA members. The NCCAA is divided into Division 1 and 2 schools. Division 1 colleges offer athletic scholarships, division 2 colleges do not.