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.
I received three Inferno’s by Hot Feet Sports in the spring of 2016 and we put them to use immediately with our athletic population. I have seen a massive improvement in the general footwork of all our athletes who have participated in the our strength program, and the addition of the Inferno by Hot Feet Sports has been a major contributor to this process.
The inferno has the ability to be used in multiple manners, while being unique in its own way. When laying flat on the ground the grids can be used as you would an agility ladder. When elevated it can be used much like agility hurdles. These two things together in one is a definite benefit.
We began using these in the winter of 2015/2016, and I could see a rapid improvement in the footwork of our athletes. The 5×5 grid pattern allows you to run 3 athletes through while working on basic linear foot speed and ground contacts. The same can be applied sideways, working with athletes on staying square, taking proper steps and not crossing over.
Once we got the basics of footwork down, we started combining the drills, running one athlete through the grid in a desired pattern. The ability to have athletes move forward, backward, and side to side while maintaining proper footwork has made the Inferno a mainstay in our speed and agility program.
Once we were able to train outdoors we took the Inferno with us. We elevated the Inferno, which then forced the athletes to not only move their feet quickly, but to pick them up and set them down quickly. Not only are we teaching quick feet, we are developing knee drive. This also creates a plyometric effect, teaching the kids the quicker and faster they get their feet moving, the quicker and faster they move through the drills. Another great feature of the Inferno would be the ability level. Drills can be designed for beginner to highly experienced athletes without time loss. I can have a senior in high school and a seventh grader in the same line.
The Inferno also has the ability to teach kids how to move both feet. Most younger athletes are dominant with one foot, and the ability to step forward with the other foot can be very difficult to teach and learn. The Inferno allows us to train opposite foot first training very easily, and repeatedly. As a strength coach this tool is highly valuable to me. It is easy to set up, its highly efficient, and it produces results. We used these in the beginning as a learning tool, but as we began to see results in foot speed and quickness we started using the Inferno for competitive purposes as well. It has aided us as a way to learn to compete.
The Inferno develops foot speed and quickness. Foot speed and quickness are very important tools for an athlete’s success. The ability to train those skills with one piece of equipment saves us a lot of time, and we get the same if not better results. I highly recommend it to any strength coach that needs to develop foot speed and quickness.
We will continue to use the Inferno, it has been a very valuable training tool. I am most excited about starting an offseason and have full use of the Inferno. We will continue to use it once or twice a week, and we can continue to develop new drills. The only limiting factor with drills in the Inferno is your creativeness.
Iowa City West High School athletes Oliver Martin and Caden Fedeler, and Solon High School athlete Kendrick Harris burning up the Inferno by Hot Feet Sports. Way to focus fellas and great job moving those feet with some purpose!!
#fastfeet #quickness #pitterpatter
We pulled out the Inferno® by Hot Feet Sports today and will be incorporating it more for the remainder of our Summer workouts! Emphasizing mechanics, knee drive, foot positions and arm swing with these guys today! I want to wish three of them Cody Schroeder , TJ B and Ethan O. Good Luck at State Baseball this weekend! Go hard and make a statement!! SportsTrainerIndex.com Iowa Baseball Iowa Pediatric Dental Center Iowa City Press-Citizen
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.
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.
Hot Feet Make Plays so keep em hot and be a play maker.
Hot Feet Make Plays!!!! Hot Feet is a big part of many sports. Everyone wants to be the playmaker the BMOC or BWOC that people cheer for and love. Make the plays you are supposed to make, and be in the position to make plays that others would not even think of, then rinse and repeat .
Check this sweet video from Arnold on success. Playmakers embrace greatness!! When I watched this video I immediately embraced all of the things that were being said. Why, why would I embrace this video right away. The answer lies in the who, not the what. The who is a man that redefined his sport, and did not stop there. Every thing he decided to do after his body building career he attacked with the same vigor. All the way to being Governor of California. Watch the video feel the power, embrace the grind and get to work.
I received three Inferno’s by Hot Feet Sports in the spring of 2016 and we put them to use immediately with our athletic population. I have seen a massive improvement in the general footwork of all our athletes who have participated in the our strength program, and the addition of the Inferno by Hot Feet Sports has been a major contributor to this process.
