Category Archives: Recruiting

Recruiting Real Talk E4 Social Review

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E4 of recruiting real talk is down right real.  Let it be known right here right now that we have clarified one simple truth about recruiting.  You have to put it out on the field, and do what you need to do to show your skills off.  This is the first and most important rule of recruiting.  If all of your work and exposure show you not performing or having poor body language, recruiting will be very challenging for you.  People notice people that perform when the lights are on.  This is not to say that all of your hard work behind the scenes go to waste it just means you have to reevaluate the work and consider some changes if playing between the lines, is not translating from playing in practice.

Alright, with that clarity out of the way lets look at the rest of E4.  We answered 3 questions from parents in our mailbag section.  JC and Trevor can’t wait to get more from our listeners.  If you had a question for Christoph Trappe please let us know we will get it to him and share the answer.  So how do we connect with you is what you are asking.  Simple!

All – recruitingrealtalk at hotfeetsports.com
Trevor – @hotfeetsports – twitter, www.facebook.com/hotfeetsports
JC – @thestrengthu -twitter, www.facebook.com/strengthusports
Christoph – @ctrappe – twitter www.authenticstorytelling.net

The NCAA Eligibility Clearing House has a great twitter feed.  @ncaaec
Simply knowing this site exists is a step in the right direction for prospective students and parents.

Lastly be on the lookout for future episodes.  We have some great guests that you don’t want to miss including a Volley ball recruiter, NAIA baseball coach, Former Chicago Bear whose son just committed to Air force.  and many more.  Keep it real, and keep it about recruiting.

For your twitter profile set up here are some tips.
1. make sure either your name or your handle has your actual name in it.  It makes it easier for people to find you

2. Location can be city alone, school alone or both

3. Link should be set to your profile that would take a coach directly to you or your film.

4. Make the description fun and add your graduation year.

Recruiting Real Talk E3 – Social Media

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Episode 3 of Recruiting Real Talk digs deep into social media as a critical tool for taking your recruiting to another level.  Social media guru and Authentic story teller Christoph Trappe, @ctrappe on twitter, joins our hosts Trevor Bollers, @hotfeetsports and JC Moreau, @thestrengthu for an information filled 15 minute discussion.  Christoph was a scholarship football player from Germany who now is running www.authenticstorytelling.net and can be found posting on social media outlets about how to garner attention from fans and followers by sharing stories.

Listen to the show to find out more on the 3 keys to success

1.  Share the story of your journey and who you are.  Your success and your failures that drive you to future success.

2.  Be careful who you follow and retweet.  The content that shows on your feed could provide a negative perception of you.

3. The hot thing in the sports world is a behind the scenes look into the inner circle of the team or group.  The people with good content normally get the attention.

We also discussed the use of hash tagging and mentioning people that are around you.  Social media is about the conversation.  Interact with people around you in fun and inviting ways.  Energize those around you and congratulate them on their success it puts you in a positive interaction that is not all about you.

Questions:

E2 had a great parent question and you can check out the answer at the facebook link below.  Question from Kyle Thomas on hotfeet facebook

Resources:

Authentic Story Telling by Christoph Trappe www.authenticstorytelling.net

Hot Feet Sports on twitter

The Strength U on Facebook

 

Podcast Recruiting Real Talk E2 – Exposure

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Episode 2 of Recruiting Real talk with Trevor Bollers @tbollers of @hotfeetsports and J.C. Moreau of @thestrengthu is all about Exposure.  When you talk to anyone that has been recruited, or that is in recruiting, they will tell you that exposure is king.  Coaches used to have to run all over their area hunting down kids but that has changed.  The word could not be more true than for Tyrese Johnson-Fisher the rugby player from London, who was invited to the Under Armour All America game in 2017 after sharing video of his skills and his desire to play.  http://www.americanfootballinternational.com/tag/tyrese-johnson-fisher/

Exposure comes in many ways but today it is easier than ever to share who you are on the field with the world.  We dive into this topic in the second round of Recruiting Real Talk.

The show can be found on

Sound Cloud, Stitcher, Tune In, and Castbox

Exposure some times is not cheap.  There are Showcases, All star games, All America teams, Travel Teams, National Teams, Regional competition, National competitions.  There are some sports where the only thing one can do is attend a competition put on by a governing body of the sport.  Get out there and hit it hard is the response to the question of “what should I attend.

Podcast Recruiting Real Talk E1

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Episode 1 of Recruiting Real talk, with Trevor Bollers and Jc Moreau is out in the wild.  The inaugural entry in this series is focused on the topic of “Getting Started”.  How, When, What do parents need to do to get started.  Give it a listen, give us a like, or a hate, or a question for future episodes.

Below are some of the resources that go along with this show.

NCAA Clearing House is a great place to start especially if you are a late bloomer or a late starter in the recruiting conversation.  Find out what your academic needs are to be able to play.  https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/

NAIA Eligibility Center is there to remind us that the NCAA is not the only option to continue your playing career.  https://www.playnaia.org/

These 2 resources can help with preparing the profile and getting questions such as what classes do I have and what do I need to be eligible.

Our biggest point in this podcast for parents is, don’t fear the stigma of people that would tell you it is wrong to get started early.  Your goals for your family are allowed to be set sky high.  If your kids have the desire don’t let anything or anyone stop you from supporting them.

Recruiting 3: A Different Kind of Recruiting Company

sports-trainer-index Sports Trainer Index is the name and helping kids land over 4 million dollars in athletic scholarships is the game.  Lets recap the numbers shall we.  I said over 4 million dollars in athletic scholarships for kids in all sorts of sports.  The man behind it all is named Evan Turkish, he has engineered the contacts and alliances that are needed to even be relevant in the world of recruiting.  Sports Trainer Index is not a big fish by any means.  However, they are growing and growing fast.

evan-turkishIn my interview with Evan, he explained that the original goal for the company was to provide a knowledge base of training resources in every city. His goal was not to build a recruiting service.  It was to build a network of sports trainers that would help kids work toward their goal of playing at the highest level they possibly could.

With the goal in mind Evan put a strong list of training organizations together all over the country.  He then started using the list to refer kids that were interested in working to getting better so they could be recruited.

sti_featured sti_standardThe best things in life are free but training and recruiting are not.  So lets look at the numbers and see why this affordable service is a great steal for families that are looking for help and guidance but don’t want to get caught up with hidden fees.

Your package fee is a one time fee that encompasses the relationship you have with STI.  Things like phone conversation coaching or email response reviews all come with the base fee.  What I have found through all of my research is that if you are thinking to start these processes in Junior year you would be miles behind. According to Evan “These things start around 8th – 9th grade.  By junior year summer we are showcasing you in camps that match your goals”

Everything I have observed about STI has been solid support of the athletes and families that have signed up with them.  I hope what I have seen stays the same as they grow.  It is easy to lose sight of the primary goals when things get hectic.  People start racing for profits and lose the point that it was about helping youth find a path to education.

The web site for them is www.sportstrainerindex.com.  Best of luck with your recruiting journey.

Recruiting 1: Small World Big Competition In The Social Age

Tyler Schamel #14 of Norwalk HS applying a stiff arm to a defender
Tyler Schamel #14 of Norwalk HS applying a stiff arm to a defender.

A long long time ago I was recruited to the university of Iowa to play fullback for the Iowa Hawkeye football team from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  I had no clue who the coaches were, where the school was, what Iowa was famous for, and the list goes on baby.  Even with all of that going for me, I decided to play for coach Hayden Fry who had a legendary 20 year run as Iowa’s Head Hawk.  When I say this happened back in 1994 most peoples jaws drop through the floor.  They don’t understand how a kid from Canada could be recruited without tweets, grams, vines or hudls.  Even then, resourceful coaches were working in the background collecting information from sources all across the world to find the next “Diaper Dandy” as Dick Vitale endearingly referred to great freshmen players.

Today, for Tyler Schamel a 5’10” wide receiver at 3A state runner up Norwalk high school in Norwalk, IA who has a profile on the web showing his picture, 4.65. 40 time and brainy GPA, the world is even smaller and the competition for the attention of coaches is even bigger.  Think about the changes in just finding out about a school.  In 94 there were no websites listing the coaching staff.  There were no email addresses and the fastest way to send a message across the wire that was not a phone call was this old dusty technology called a FAX.  In my chat with Tyler, he shared that he is smarter than your average high school kid.  Why, because Tyler uses the same type of email marketing tools that big companies use to analyze the effectiveness of a message to buyers to assess the interest of a coaching staff.  “I can see if they open the message and if I get a response”.  He excitedly noted that it was not challenging to find the email of a coach by using the recruiting service.  He said the recruiting services have really helped him reach out to coaches.  So what role does that leave for your friendly neighbor hood high school coach.

When I asked if all of the services and film have diminished the role of the high school coach.  Tyler laid it out there, “our coach is amazing and even more important today than ever!” He shared that, his coaching staff have supported his goal to continue playing football after high school.  Tyler is primarily a D2 to D3 prospect so it’s not like he does not have to compete for the interest of coaches.  His high school coaches help him and his teammates with visits, collecting assignments,  and coaching him on how to connect with perspective schools.  He couldn’t say enough about the support he has received from the staff.  The big difference today, is that the film, if you want to watch it is online and available with a simple search for Tyler Schamel.

  • http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2468017/tyler-schamel
  • http://www.ncsasports.org/football-recruiting/ia/norwalk/norwalk-community-high-school/tyler-schamel
  • http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/tyler-schamel/29U9zxTiEeOZ5AAmVebBJg/videos.htm

There is something to be said for having a strong team that believes and achieves.  Norwalk is that school and Tyler is one of the keys to their success.  There is nothing like winning to make people listen and Tyler found that out right away.  “Before getting to the state championship game you have a few coaches that will talk to you.  When we hit the championship game there were many other coaches contacting me and asking about my film”.  The Warriors, like other teams to finish in the state finals, has a few kids that are being watched and offered by Power 5 conferences.  What coaches know is that the talent on the team does just stop at those players.  With any team to get to the finals they need horses in the stables that can catch 5 touchdowns.  Coaches are always on the lookout for that kid that might have not had the biggest stats or all of the data from testing combines but show up on the big day in a big way.

Intangibles are factors like speed, strength, agility, height that although measurable beat out most other factors when looking to recruit a player.  Talking to a recruiter from the Green Bay Packers last year made that absolutely clear.  The intangibles for a player are the first things looked at.  You can’t beat those with training.  You can’t train 7 feet tall,  stamina that doesn’t quit, leadership, or a fastball that is effortless.  Whatever those traits are, the recruit must highlight their intangibles before anything else even your team or individual record.

At the end of the day some how years ago with no technology this world was huge and coaches still found me in the frozen tundra of Edmonton, Alberta.  Today with some smarts and tools that are out there it is easier to communicate who you are to coaches, and recruiting coordinators.  Tyler’s advice to all the juniors and sophomores out there that are getting started in their quest to continue playing the game that they love is “Get to camps where people can see you live, it makes a big difference”.  Just remember that the opportunity you have is available to kids all around the world.  The communication is easier now but the competition is a whole lot harder.  Someone is working, don’t guess as to who it is, KNOW it is you.

Best of luck to 14 Tyler Schamel and thank you for taking the time to enlighten us.

Next in the series, I talk to several high school coaches about how their role has been adjusted in this ultra connected world.  After that an interview with a good friend of mine who’s daughter just finished her senior season of volley ball and son is a top high school football prospect.

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