MYSTX Field Hockey 2009 Guide To Recruiting For the Mystx Student Athlete Thank you to the dedicated staff who worked diligently preparing this guide. Not to be duplicated. Copyright Mystx Field Hockey Club, 2009. All rights reserved ©Mystx Field Hockey Club INDEX Introduction Prospective Student-Athlete Timeline College Board College Visits Contacting College Coaches NCAA Eligibility Center NCAA Field Hockey Programs National Letter of Intent (NLI) Recruiting Rules Recruiting Terms Resume Scholarships and Commitments Shirts Showcases, Camps and Clinics Video USA Field Hockey Programs Resources and Links References INTRODUCTION This information is intended for exckusive use by members of the Mystx Field Hockey Club. It is meant to help guide you and your parents through the college selection process. It is important for each college bound athlete to select an institution that is the best fit for them in all ways so be sure to consider academics, athletics, geography and finances. All information presented here is a guide and each student athlete will follow a different timeline and process. Every path to college athletics is a unique one so don’t be discouraged. Do your research, ask lots of questions, be honest and be persistent! When starting the college search process keep in mind that if you want to play in college and you aren’t in the top 1-2% of players you will have to market and promote yourself. Your Mystx coaches and Director are here to help you. Please feel free to list your Mystx coaches as references in communications with coaching staffs during the recruitment process. All of our coaches contact information is listed on www.mystxfieldhockey.com. PROSPECTIVE STUDENT-ATHLETE TIMELINE Freshman Year Sep-Nov Fall Hockey! Begin your hockey Resume Begin your hockey Video Familiarize yourself with Recruiting Terms and Recruiting Rules Dec-Feb Indoor Hockey! Update your Resume with fall accomplishments Begin to learn about NCAA Field Hockey programs Begin researching Summer Camps Mar-May Spring Hockey! Update your Resume with Indoor accomplishments Sign up for Summer Camps Jun-Aug Summer Hockey! Update your Resume with spring accomplishments Sophomore Year Sep-Nov Fall Hockey! Begin Contacting Coaches Send your HS hockey schedule to colleges Attend college games in your area Dec-Feb Indoor Hockey! Send your Indoor hockey schedule to colleges Update your Resume with fall accomplishments Continue to learn about NCAA Field Hockey programs and begin narrowing your list of schools Begin researching Summer Camps Mar-May Spring Hockey! Send your spring hockey schedule to colleges Update your Resume with Indoor accomplishments Sign up for Summer Camps Jun-Aug Summer Hockey! Update your Resume with spring accomplishments Send your summer hockey plans to colleges Junior Year Sep-Nov Fall Hockey! Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center Register for the PSAT Send your HS hockey schedule to colleges Update your Video at the end of your fall season and distribute Attend local college games If PSAT results aren’t up to par, research and register for SAT prep course Register to take College Board exams in the winter or spring Dec-Feb Indoor hockey! Begin making Unofficial Visits Take College Board exams or prep course Update your Resume with fall accomplishments Send your indoor hockey schedule to colleges Narrow your college search list again Research Summer Camps Mar-May Spring hockey! Update your Resume with indoor accomplishments Send your spring hockey schedule to colleges Take College Board exams or continue prep course Sign up for Summer Camps Continue making Unofficial Visits Jun-Aug Summer hockey! Send your summer hockey plans to colleges Update your Resume with spring accomplishments Update your Video Continue making Unofficial Visits Senior Year Sep-Nov Fall hockey! Begin making Official Visits Begin applying to colleges Take College Board exams or continue prep course if needed Attend local college games Send your HS hockey schedule to colleges Dec-Feb Indoor hockey! Update your Resume with fall accomplishments Send your indoor hockey schedule to colleges Continue making Official/Unofficial Visits National Letter of Intent (NLI) Signing Period Mar-May Spring hockey! Continue making Official/Unofficial Visits Send your spring hockey schedule to colleges Jun-Aug Summer hockey! COLLEGE BOARD www.collegeboard.com College Board Tests Institutions may handle and weigh these test scores in a different way. For example, if you take exams more than once, some institutions will consider the highest combined score, some will consider the SAT Writing score while others may not. College Board now offers the choice of only reporting certain of your scores to the institutions of your choice. When you register you are given the opportunity to have your scores reported to up to 5 institutions for free and more at an additional charge. Before you send all of your scores to the schools you are interested in you may want to find out what their policy is. Test scores will no longer be accepted as reported on a high school transcript so always request that your SAT and ACT scores be transmitted to the NCAA Eligibility Center by using code 9999. College Planning CollegeBoard.com offers many college planning tools including My College QuickStart™ a free personalized planning kit for all PSAT/NMSQT takers. You may: o View a detailed online PSAT/NMSQT score report o Prepare for the SAT using a study plan based on your results o Connect to detailed profiles of suggested colleges, majors, and careers College Research CollegeBoard.com offers numerous research tools. Visit the site to learn more. College Finances CollegeBoard.com offers valuable information and tools about the cost of college and how to finance school. COLLEGE VISITS For recruiting purposes, there are two types of college visits: Unofficial and Official Unofficial visit Any visit by you and your parents to a college campus paid for by you or your parents. The only expense you may receive from the college is three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest. You may make as many unofficial visits as you like and may take those visits at any time. The only restriction is that you may not speak to the coach on campus during a dead period. Official Visit Any visit to a college campus by you and your parents paid for by the college. The college may pay all or some of the following expenses: • Your transportation to and from the college; • Room and meals (three per day) while you are visiting the college; and • Reasonable entertainment expenses, including three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest. Before you make an official visit to a college, you must provide that college with a copy of your high school transcript (Division I only) and SAT, ACT or PLAN score and register with the Eligibility Center. General Tips Any time you plan on visiting a college campus email the coach to let them know and request a few moments or a more in depth meeting depending on your interest. If possible, plan your visits for a time when the college isn’t on break. If you are watching the home game of a college you are interested in you may be able to visit with the coach after the game. If you do, always introduce yourself by name and high school. You may speak to a coach on their campus at any time without violating Recruiting Rules except during a Dead Period. If you want to speak to the visiting team’s coach you must follow the Recruiting Rules since you aren’t on their campus. In the case where this is allowed email them ahead of time to request a few moments after the game. Any time you visit the campus of a program you are interested in you should research the school and its hockey program ahead of time, especially if you have a meeting with the coach planned. The coach may incorrectly gauge your interest based on your knowledge or lack of knowledge about the program. Take a few moments to visit the program’s website and see what their schedule is like, how their season is going or went, what conference they compete in and so on. A coach appreciates it when you’ve done your research. Be wary of a coach who “bashes” other institutions or their coaching staffs. Form your opinions based on information you have gathered directly or from trusted sources. Recruiting is a business and like any other business, some are more cutthroat than others. A visit is the best time to gauge your “gut” feeling about a school so pay attention to your instincts! Questions for the College Coach Player Personnel How many players do you carry on your roster? How many players are you replacing through my recruiting class? How many players typically travel and see substantial time? Do you play freshmen? Describe the role of scholarship vs. non-scholarship athletes? Do you hold try outs? Program Describe a typical week during fall season, off season and non-traditional season? What are the program goals? Does your program receive good budgetary and institutional support? What equipment does each player receive? Team Describe the personality of the team? Do the players live together? Coach What is your coaching style? What is your coaching philosophy? Describe your communication style. How long have you been at this school and how long do you plan on staying? Academics Will I miss many classes because of games/travel? Do players in your program graduate on time? What is the team’s GPA and how does it compare to the dept and the school? How many of your players are on academic probation? What academic