News Archives

 8-19-08: ESCAPING THE DATA TRAP
Accessible video production has changed the College Sports Recruiting landscape forever.  No longer do recruiters have to travel around the country and watch hundreds of games to find the best athletes for their program.  Now recruiters only need to request film from coaches and parents to evaluate the High School talent pool.

Recruiting Video Production (Highlight Videos) have made the recruiter's job even easier.  Now they don't have to watch full game to see that an athlete can do in a full season.  With a properly produced Recruiting Video athletes can show off their skills more thoroughly.  Athlete's can send, or have sent, their Recruiting Videos to college recruiters to market themselves. This provides recruiters with a more one-on-one introduction to athletes.  It also allows athletes to get more pointed exposure setting them out from the crowd.

While video marketing sets specific athletes apart from the rest of the pack there is a danger of this individual exposure being undone.  That is what I like to call "The Data Trap".

There are dozens of companies with websites that claim to have the attention of college recruiters from around the nation.  Most of those sites allow athletes to post their footage on the site and state that Recruiters will come to the site to find that footage.  The Data Trap is...while some Recruiters may visit those sites most recruiters don't want to spend money to pay for access to footage.  Hundreds of recruiters are barraged by spam emails from companies with recruiting websites.  With all of those websites, claiming to have access to the recruiters, the recruiters actually do not have time to sift through all of those website directories looking for specific athletes to fit their needs.

So when athletes rely solely on recruiting websites to help get themselves seen they are basically putting themselves in the same boat they used to be in.  On Recruiting Websites athletes become one face in a sea of thousands, much like they were before they started sending out film.

To escape The Data Trap your best bet is to continue to send out produced Recruiting Videos/Highlight Films to recruiters.  That will provide you with proper exposure and a more personal connection with the recruiter who receives your video.  You can contact Pro-Dynamix to handle your Recruiting Video production and marketing with close to a 100% success rate.
Pro-Dynamix Recruiting (856) 374-3669

8-19-08: THE VERBAL WARNING

You may have already heard about many athletes making "verbal commitments" to colleges. While this may prove to be an exciting step to take for many athletes one important fact to keep in mind is that verbal commitments are just that "verbal". There is no legal or binding commitment to the school. Because of this here are a few key warnings to keep in mind before you take the big step at making a verbal.

1) A college does not have to sign you if you have a verbal. They can ignore that verbal commitment any time and move on to a different player. The only binding agreement is the Letter of Intent which is not signed until February. The NCAA College-Bound Student Guide states the following information about Verbal Commitments:

"Verbal commitment. This phrase is used to describe a college-bound student-athlete's commitment to a school before he or she signs (or is able to sign) a National Letter of Intent. A college-bound student-athlete can announce a verbal commitment at any time. While verbal commitments have become very popular for both college-bound student-athletes and coaches, this "commitment" is NOT binding on either the college-bound student-athlere or the school. Only the signing of the National Letter of Intent accompanied by a financial aid agreement is binding on both parties."
                                 (NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, p.28)

2) As stated above, the verbal commitment is not binding to the athlete or the college. So you may say, "I can get out of this verbal at any time." But here is the mistake that many athletes make. By committing to a verbal agreement, and allowing colleges or their affiliated sites to make the announcement, you are making it known to all the other potentially interested colleges that you have made your decision. The other colleges can, and most often do, lose interest and pursue other athletes. Remember, the verbal is not binding to the college either so they can choose not to pursue your verbal commitment and now you are left with a limited number of options since you already took yourself off the market.

3) Prolonged contact with coaches is prohibited by NCAA rules if you are a Junior. The NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student Athlete states the following about contact:

"Contact. A contact occurs any time a coach has any face-to-face
contact with you or your parents off the college's campus and says
more than hello.  A contact also occurs if a coach has any contact
with you or your parents at your high school or any location where
you are competing or practicing."
                                 (NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, p.28)
So if you are an athlete in your junior year and have had any discussions with coaches beyond the word "hello" you and the coach are in violation of NCAA Regulations.

Keep this information in mind as you progress through this upcoming recruiting period.