Last week I wrote a piece about NCAA commitments. It was very general in nature, and really intended to get players and parents to think about not trying to rush the process.
Several Coaches emailed me last week asking me to continue talking about the commitment process and admissions. Some said that the hardest part of the job sometimes is not evaluating the talent of a player, but evaluating the admissibility of the student.
One point we need to make perfectly clear is that if you do not meet NCAA admission standards, no matter how good an athlete you are, you will not play an NCAA sport. The days of getting great athletes admitted and fudging their way through classes are over.
If you think a 2.5 GPA will get you admitted to an NCAA D-1 program you are correct. Out of the 60 NCAA D-1 hockey programs, there are about 5 of them that will admit you into school with a 2.5 GPA. So, when you go through High School thinking that your average grades and test scores are enough, you are wrong.
If you have a GED, you are a “non-qualifier”. I had a client a few years ago who told me he graduated from high school, when he actually had a GED. After securing a D-1 commitment for him, he attempted to get admitted to the school, and was caught misrepresenting his academic achievement. Needless to say, he is not at the D-1 program, but is playing D-3 after a lot of work to get him admitted there.
The moral of that story for players now is that if you are taking “on line” or “web based” classes, make sure they comply with NCAA standards. Your Adviser should know what to do to make sure everything is compliant.
One Coach specifically asked me to mention the new Five Year National Letter Of Intent. The new NLI allows for athletes to be “red shirted” for their Freshman year. It also states the “minimum” financial commitment that the University is making to the student.
Remember though that those “commitments” and minimum awards are also contingent on the athlete maintaining certain academic standards.
Several other coaches asked me to repeatedly write “DO NOT RUSH THE PROCESS”.
Not that all of you will pay attention to that statement, but you should. Coaches are people too, and they get just as irritated with pushy people as anyone else. They really don’t like the pushy parent who is badgering them.
The one simple thing I tell all of my clients is this;
Its great to dream and set a goal of playing NCAA hockey. It is great to have a favorite school. Always remember though. No matter how good, or how ready you think you are, you will not play NCAA hockey until the University says you are good enough or ready enough. Unless you are one of the best players in the world, you will not pick the NCAA program you want to play for. They will pick you.
Planning is critical. Do you have a plan?
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
