Recruiting websites are they worth it?

[trinitron12]

I have read on many sites how having a recruiting site like NCSA.ORG is the best way to get an athlete recruited. I have also been told that the cost for this is quite extensive. Not knowing exactly how much that is but on a very limited budget im not sure it would be worth it. What are the thoughts of using a recruiting site like this one? Does it work as advertised and any idea what the actual cost is? Anyone have any experience good or bad with them?

[InItToWinIt]

Good experience with tHem. I'll reply longer when I'm out of class.

[Justafan#85]

Like anything else...buyer beware. There is a lot of things you can do.

[Mustang75]

I have read on many sites how having a recruiting site like NCSA.ORG is the best way to get an athlete recruited. I have also been told that the cost for this is quite extensive. Not knowing exactly how much that is but on a very limited budget im not sure it would be worth it. What are the thoughts of using a recruiting site like this one? Does it work as advertised and any idea what the actual cost is? Anyone have any experience good or bad with them?

NCSA is good. The best part is getting a set of eyes on your athlete. Meaning someone who has coached played at a very high level. for me it was an FBS player and FBS recruiting coordinator. They are able to tell you what level a kid can play at watching your game film. This was the part that was worth it for me. Then they point you in the right direction. They are spot on with my son. Muti FCS offers and FBS walk on offers. I feel the highlight film they put together is top notch. Also they guide you in the process of recruiting. What's real what's just nothing to get excited about.

[footmaster]

If you think you can just pay NCSA and they'll do all the work, you'll have a bad experience.

 

If you join NCSA and you (and especially your kid) will really "work" the website... Sign up for web seminars, go through their info library, put together a good profile, use their search engines, talk to the recruiting coaches, etc...

Then you will have a great experience with it and really expand your kids' college recruiting opportunities by a large margin.

[Mustang75]

If you think you can just pay NCSA and they'll do all the work, you'll have a bad experience.

 

If you join NCSA and you (and especially your kid) will really "work" the website... Sign up for web seminars, go through their info library, put together a good profile, use their search engines, talk to the recruiting coaches, etc...

Then you will have a great experience with it and really expand your kids' college recruiting opportunities by a large margin.

Yes. Can't just sign up and sit back. You have to do all the work. Make it your part time job to respond to emails. Also coaches will call txt make sure the kid is very involed and knows what to say and do.

[InItToWinIt]

The cost varies depending on which package you choose. I don't remember the specific numbers, but I can at least give you my experience:

 

NCSA is basically as helpful as you want them to be. They really focus on teaching you how to talk to coaches, which focuses on reaching out first. That is really one of the keys to college recruiting. Athletes need to establish connection with coaches at as many schools as possible. It is A)good practice and B)gives them leverage when talking to other coaches.

 

Another great thing NCSA does is the video. Depending on the package you get, you send them film and they can create "X" amount of highlight videos or even post entire game footage. What they then do is send this video (with your profile) to schools that "match" your preferences. It is a good establishing point to connect athletes with coaches, but what it really boils down to is how and how often the athlete talks to the coach. NCSA educates you on the most effective way to do this thru web seminars and 1-on-1 coaching sessions.

 

In summary, it is worth it if you take advantage of the resources. If you sign up then "do your own thing," you'll probably think its a waste. But if you consistently talk to the people there and use their resource library for any questions you have, it is probably worth it.

 

FWIW, I used it for Men's Basketball so I'm not entirely familiar with the football recruiting. Hope this helps.

[Ram]

I used CSA PrepStar while my son was being recruited, he received 100's of college contacts and offers from quite a few. I was skeptical about using a service, but they did way more then I expected. My son got contacts, interest and offers from a few D1's, Several D2's, More D3's then I could count, and many NAIA schools.

 

With that said, did they do anything that I couldn't do? No. But, they did it on a scale that I did not have time to do. My son received contacts from schools from California, Washington and Oregon to Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. I did the same with the schools in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, but I would have never had the time to contact the 100's of schools PrepStar contacted.

 

So, it's a decision that each parent/player has to make. Is it worth the price? Depends of how many schools you want contacted. Would my son have played college football without the service? Yes, but he had more options with the service and can say he made a knowledgable decision, not because it was his only option.

[Mr. Sixer]

I agree with just about everything all the previous posters have written but the one thing I will add as a true benefit is TIME. NCSA's website is EXTREMELY helpful in having more information then could be imagined all at 1-stop. Sure, some people state that you could do it all, or most things, on you're own which is very true but to do it all individually and have to dig to find the proper contacts one will spend countless hours.

 

My one bit of advice I will give anyone becoming a client of NCSA is you do have to put in work still and as someone else stated you cannot sit back and think offers will drop in your lap if you do nothing. However, they do make it much easier than if you were to go at it alone and provide a bevy on information and have never failed me on answering ANY question I have had. Another service they also provide to clients is on-line ACT prep and that is a bonus in and of itself.

 

Finally, they are as advertised in that they have never turned away potential clients based upon financial need. If someone has a demonstrated financial need they will work with you to assist and in some cases provide a full fledge scholarship to cover the cost of becoming a client. They were helpful in placing 2 of my sons on Div. 1 football teams so yes I'm an advocate. For my oldest son they even contacted me after he graduated and asked if they could assist with job placement. Additionally they are always looking to improve themselves also which is a huge plus in my book and they ALWAYS pick up the phone when you call and I cannot ever remember not talking to someone live.

 

I can't speak for the other companies out there but NSCA is legit in my book but you do have to put the work in but it is a hell of a lot less than going at it alone. I recall the cost being somewhere around the $1500 - $2500 range depending on the level of services you want but again, you will get out of it what you put into it and really the student-athlete needs to grasp what needs to be accomplished, which isn't hard at all, and help the parents out with what needs to be done. Biggest thing for me was the saving of time which was worth was very well worth the money I spent in my book.

[trinitron12]

Thanks for all the great feedback i really appreciate it...

[Jack of all Trades]

We have used the GoBig recruiting site? My son and I get several text messages a day from all over the country ranging from Division 1 to Division 3 and some NAIA. We then decide based upon this information what schools we want to send highlight videos to.

 

My son is looking to catch on at these schools first as a placekicker and if need be he can punt as well. Punting needs a lot of work, but the placekicking abilities are already there. Plan is to make the tour this spring/summer to any schools that show the least bit of interest and attempt to get around to area kicking camps.

 

Little different scenario than some are describing on here, but the premise is still the same.

[doubledeuce]

I used recruit-me.com for my daughter when she played basketball, but they do every sport. They provide contact information for every college regardless of level in the country for every sport that is offered at those schools. The contact information includes phone numbers for each head coach, email addresses for each coach on the staff, and mailing addresses again this is for every sport. So, if you have other kids playing other sports you can use it for them as well. Information about each school is listed things like costs, admission requirements, application deadlines, size and location. All of this costs about $250, you get to download some handbooks and a personal coach to help along the way. I think there are some free things there to help also.

 

Easily worth the money, yes you have to do the leg work but you will be surprised how easy it is following their direction. Example, on one web form you pick a region, sport, and what level and it list everything about every school in that region(s).

[keyplayer]

I used recruit-me.com for my daughter when she played basketball, but they do every sport. They provide contact information for every college regardless of level in the country for every sport that is offered at those schools. The contact information includes phone numbers for each head coach, email addresses for each coach on the staff, and mailing addresses again this is for every sport. So, if you have other kids playing other sports you can use it for them as well. Information about each school is listed things like costs, admission requirements, application deadlines, size and location. All of this costs about $250, you get to download some handbooks and a personal coach to help along the way. I think there are some free things there to help also.

 

Easily worth the money, yes you have to do the leg work but you will be surprised how easy it is following their direction. Example, on one web form you pick a region, sport, and what level and it list everything about every school in that region(s).

 

Regardless of who you use, it is going to be A LOT of work on your part to do it right. Unless of course you have a 5 star blue chip player that needs no additional exposure. An email with a very good athletic resume, all the measurables and stats as well as important academic info (test scores, GPA, etc.) will do AND is essential. End it with a signature line that includes all of the contact info, measurable, position and a link to the highlight film...Lots of followup is necessary as well. Send at different times of the day. Different days....Coaches check their emails at different times, different days- Keep in mind they get hundreds, if not thousands of emails, be persistent. If you have the time to do the leg work yourself, you can get the contact info reasonably cheap and without going to every schools website. Unless you want Notre Dame, USC, etc. But if you have that level of talent, you likely have that contact info already....Most of the schools info is there. For less than $20 per month you can subscribe to a monthly membership at College Coaches Online - University student athlete information. A little hint...during my initial subscription- you can copy and paste the info into a spreadsheet, so you only need the 1 or 2 month membership (19.95). Set up a separate email address just for recruiting, make the name respectable and include the childs name in the address...Subject line is VERY important. Make it something they want to open, whether it be measurables, name, size, position, etc. if you can...I used this info with great success for my son and am currently using it for my daughter. Multiple sports, every region and level of play.

 

Most important, and trust me with this one...Be realistic as to the level your child can compete. You can waste a lot of time, gas and money traveling to camps where you end up on a side field away from any eyes. If you aren't being recruited by an SEC, Big Ten school etc. don't expect a lot out of the BIG camps (Northwester, Ohio State, SEC). But Coaches you want to talk might be there. There are A LOT of coaches, from all levels, at the Northwestern camp....Most of the camps have coaches from many schools. Make sure the coaches you want to talk to know you will be there and set up a time/place to meet/talk before/after camp. Get there early and mingle outside the gates/sidelines with the coaches. Pick a level, pick some schools and get after it. If the school does not hold a camp, schedule a visit. Find out what camps they will be attending and hit that one. Most of them attend multiple camps.

 

During visits, don't carry your kids coat or bag. Make them. Don't follow them around. Have questions ready. Have answers ready. Love everybody. Be humble and appreciate the opportunity. Make sure to understand that all of this is big business. Nothing personal, treat it that way. Be ready to sit through the NCAA rules/registration talk at every visit. If you haven't- Register your athlete on the NCAA's web site and get that process started NOW. Take as many visits as you can. Go see some games, enjoy the food, do the cat walk, walk the sidelines before spring games, keep the lanyards.........

 

Good luck to all! It is a lot of fun, enjoy it. It ends far to soon!

[doubledeuce]

^The recruit-me fee includes the college coaches online subscription for a year, I think it is a year.

[GreyFox]

I have nothing but good things to say about NCSA.

 

Something that has not been mentioned about NCSA is they are not out to simply make money. They will not sit there and tell you that your son is a DI athlete if he isn't. They will take all the information they have on your son and give you the truth about your kid as best as they can. If he isn't a DI scholar athlete they won't sit there and blow smoke telling you they can get him recruited by DI schools just so you will sign on the dotted line. They then will recommend your son to the schools that they feel he is best suited for, whether that be DI, DII or DIII etc.

 

They will take your kids measurables, stats etc. and tell you what level they think he will be the most successful.

Just like anything, you will get out of it as much as you put into it, but with NCSA I can vouche for getting a lot more contacts from colleges than I ever expected to get. They have thousand of coaches across the country that use thier site to find athletes they feel can be succesful at their schools playing for their teams. I can tell you that once we signed up and they created a highlight video with the video's we sent them from HUDL, the emails started flying in from schools all over the country.

 

If I could give the best advice it would be this. If you use NCSA, which I highly recommend, then make sure you send them your hudl videos of your kid and also attend a camp/combine to at least get your times etc. that can be put in your son's profile on NCSA for coaches to see.

 

We have heard from literally close to 100 different schools all over the country and many of them we would have never even thought about sending info on our son to. Their connection with NCSA led them to my son. He is now playing at the next level and he has started since his freshman year at that college. He is getting a better education than I would have ever imagined so keep that in mind also. NCSA allows you to post GPA's etc. as well as ACT scores etc. which will also attract many different schools if his grades are there.

 

Yes you can keep yourself very busy with the online classes NCSA offers etc. or you can do very little. The more you provide the more coaches you will hear from but to be honest, other than supplying highlight videos and updating his profile after each season along with his grades etc. that is all we did and was contacted via email or phone calls or letters through the mail from a ton of schools.

 

If I had 1 way of describing what NCSA does is they have the coaches from all over the country from every level and they use NCSA's database of players to find the players they want. All you really need to do is get your kid on there and they will find you. It isn't cheap, but I will put it this way. For $900 that we paid when my son was in High School his Junior Year, well it has more than already paid for itself. My son has received around $40k a year in scholarships, and the college he is getting this from is a college we never would have even thought of sending his info to if not for NCSA. They found us, we didn't find them. I'd say it is well worth it.