Have you ever been in a boat late at night, trying to find your way back
to the dock and you can' t even see the shore? You know it is there,
but it seems so distant and you get a huge knot in your chest for fear
that you may run into some unknown object and become stranded, or sink.
For most of us setting out to get that coveted college scholarship can
be a lot like that. Now turn this analogy around and imagine that you
are the Special Teams Coordinator for a college football program and you
are given the task of finding and recruiting the best available kicker
you can find and you know that your job may depend on how well that new
kicker performs during gut check moments when the game is on the line.
You, the coach/recruiter may also feel like a boat in a large dark ocean
looking for signs of a savior on the shoreline you can't see. Your
looking for a light tower to guide you through the treacherous waters.
As a student/athlete who desires to be that light tower guiding that
coach to find you instead of any of the other thousands of guys he could
discover, you need to start as early as possible to build your tower
and enable it to shine brightly.
Besides the obvious, developing your skills to make yourself
competitive at a top level among your peers, you must find ways to help
them see you. You must become not only visible, but stand out brightly
along side your fellow competitors. it is well documented that only
about 1-2 % of high school athletes get those coveted scholarships, but
that does not mean that it is too difficult to try. In fact, doing
things the right way, and starting those right things early on, with a
plan, will increase your odds dramatically.
Some kids today are getting offers before they even reach high school.
This article is not about, or for those lucky few. This is for the
typical student-athlete who may be good enough to play college sports,
but needs to get discovered first. Let's start at the beginning for that
typical prospect to be.
Freshman year. while most kids are just glad to be on a team, you are
not most kids. You are different because you have a dream. When Magic
Johnson was asked how he got to be so good at an early age he responded
that most kids he knew would pick up a basketball when there was a game.
He was different because as a young kid he would go to the courts so
early no one else was up yet. He would imagine himself in a very big game
in the future and he would play full court basketball while imagining
other players all around him. He always won his game and was always the
hero. He concluded you need great imagination to go along with a great
dream.
Step 1:
Build your Light Tower
Go to camps that give you quality instruction. Don't choose a college or
university camp just yet, but find a great camp that will enable you to
refine your skills. There are many such camps to choose from but be
certain the camp you choose has a very low teacher-student ratio and
that it is not a camp that is primarily taught by college kids, but by
qualified experienced adult instructors.
One to check out is the Kicking at the Lake Camp which offers a 6-1
student/teacher ratio. Also Check out the Top Tier All American Camp,
which has more to offer than most all other camps.
Most camps are for the primary purpose of getting discovered by the
college putting on the camp, or colleges if it is conducted
independently of a college.
If this is your intent, as a freshman or rising freshman, then this is
fine, but generally speaking these camps do a lot less teaching and a
lot more evaluation activities. There is nothing wrong with being
evaluated as a freshman so long as you are there for that reason and
that the evaluation is designed to compare you with only other freshman.
In fact I recommend it as this is a great way to learn to perform under
real pressure.
One such camp that does evaluations that are based on empiracle data is the National Camp Series camps (nationalcampseries.com).
They use a carefully designed mathematical system called the KIX system
which was developed by measuring kickers, punters, and long snappers
from all over the U.S. and Canada, using the exact same standardized
testing plan. Within seconds of inputting the campers results into their
web site the camper is automatically ranked nationally with others from
the same graduation year. This takes the human judgement factor out of
the evaluation that permeates all other similar camps. Human judgement
is often influenced by the judge's profit motives.
The Top Tier All American Camps (see www.TopTierAllAmerican.com )
offers an National Camp Series Evaluation, then quality instruction in
the afternoon, followed by an opportunity on the 2nd day to be further
tested to see if you qualify to be placed on an All American Watch List
for the upcoming season.
Some Final thoughts on Dreams and Fears:
True success is not an accident. True success starts with a dream. Realizing your dream is the ultimate reward. Fear is a powerful force that crushes your confidence which destroys
your ability to achieve your dream. Fear changes your approach to life,
promoting you to not take chances. Fear is the enemy of your dream.
Know your fears and overwhelm them with reckless abandon. Make your
dream your passion and your mission. Fears will no longer exist.
John Lennon wrote "...all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life."
- Tom Feely
www.Feelyathletics.com
www.TopTierAllAmerican.com
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