COLORADO FEVER ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO INCREASE YOUR CHILD'S CHANCES IN
GETTING A COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCHOLARSHIP

By Coach Keith Howard

During my years of coaching, I have spoken to many parents concerning what steps to take in helping their child obtain a college basketball scholarship.    I personally believe that an athletic scholarship has less to do with athletics and more to do with obtaining a free education.  Unfortunately, when speaking with these parents, I am often met with the response that they didn't know this information.  They are also unaware of how much money they could potentially spend and how much time it could actually take doing all the things necessary to even get college coaches knowing that their child even exists.  Many of these parents have suggested that I do a seminar.  However, I felt it easier to provide this information on our website, free of charge, to anyone who needs it.

Please understand that I do not claim to be an authority on this matter.  However, I can speak from personal experience; learning from the mistakes and lessons I have learn in attempting to get my own child a basketball scholarship and working with the kids in the Colorado Fever Athletic Association.  Along the way, I have spoken to a number of high school and college coaches who have added their insight to this matter.  I will briefly describe some of the lessons I have learned.

Don't Expect Them To Come Knocking
One of the biggest mistakes parents make is believing that their kid is good enough that college coaches will come looking for them.  These parents often sit home waiting for letters to suddenly end up in their mailbox because they believe their kid is the best player on their team, in their conference and maybe in the state.  This may or may not be true, but it doesn't mean that colleges coaches will automatically find them.  Some of you may even know some kids who you saw play in high school and knew they were going to a big program.  However, you find out later that they ended up in a Juco (junior college).  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with playing for a Juco.  This is a great opportunity for some kids.  However, some of these kids could have at least played DII ball.

Well, what should you do?  You need to be proactive in contacting schools.  The NCAA has a lot of rules and regulations that you need to be aware of.  You need to become abreast of this information or find a coach or a program like the Colorado Fever that can help you.  The Colorado Fever provides all of this information for its parents to help them better prepare for this journey.  One thing to remember is that you are able to contact college coaches as early and as many times as you want.  However, the NCAA prohibits colleges coaches from contacting players until the second semester of their junior year in high school.  However, don't think that because they can't contact you, they are not paying attention.  Believe me they are (if your kid interests them.)  This is why the NCAA has reclassified a recruit to include 7th grade and up.  (Yes, it starts in middle school.)   When contacting college coaches, remember to ALWAYS give your child's graduation year.  This lets them know at what point they are able to contact you.

It Doesn't Have to be Division I
Many parents are realistic and don't believe their kid is good enough to get a scholarship to play for the Jayhawks or the Longhorns and give up on the process of pursuing a basketball scholarship for their child.  This is a huge mistake.  There are far more Division II, Division III and junior colleges than there are Division I schools.  These lower level schools looking to gives kids like yours money to play basketball at their school.  Remember, the ultimate goal is to get your child a free education or at least a huge discount.

You "Gotta" Travel
One of the disheartening things I have heard in talking to college coaches around the country is that many of them don't believe that there is superior talent here in Colorado.  This is the reason that there are not many college viewing tournaments here in our state.  The tournaments that are here are primarily attended by in-state schools.  Unfortunately, there are only so many scholarships to those schools available.  You may have heard of some players getting scholarships to out-of-state schools.  Many times, this is a result of these players playing on club teams that take their teams to these out-of-state tournaments.  This is exactly what the Colorado Fever stresses with their players and parents. Each summer we take our top teams to these types of tournaments to be seen by college coaches.  If your child is in program that does not travel to these tournaments, then you are lessening your chances of obtain a basketball scholarship.  Also remember, they must be COLLEGE VIEWING tournaments.  Some tournaments are out-of-state but are not NCAA certified.  This is not necessary for teams at younger ages.  However, for sophomore and juniors in high school, this is vital.

Personal Experience - I made the mistake of waiting until the summer before my daughter's senior year in high school to place her on a traveling club team.  She hadn't gotten any college letters and had started on varsity since her sophomore year.  I had always chosen to have her participate in the high school's summer program.  She traveled to Nebraska for a tournament with her club team and the following week, I began receiving letters in the mail from colleges interested in her.

Film, Film, Film!
More times than not, college coaches will not be able to travel to Colorado to see your child play.  Also, even in the college viewing tournaments, assistant coaches are normally the coaches that go looking for talent.  Most likely you will not see Coach K from Duke or Coach Pat Summit from Tennessee at these tournaments.  But you may see a Duke or Tennessee assistant coach there.  If they are interested, they will request tape for the head coach to view.  Also you may want to send tape to a school that was not in attendance or may not have had a chance to see your child play.  (Note:  Attending colleges at these games normally do not see every game or every team.)

Another mistake parents make is solely depending on their high school coach to supply film of the games.  Unfortunately, there are problems associated with this.  First, some high school coaches are not thrilled with supplying their game tape.  They may even think that your child is not deserving of game tape because they have no chance in getting a scholarship.  Secondly, these tapes are not "player specific."  You need tape that solely concentrates on your child.  Therefore, it is imperative that YOU begin filming your child's high school games; making sure you keep the camera on your child at all times.  You should then create a short video highlighting your child's best moments.  Don't bog down your tape with needless game footage that shows your child on the bench.  Coaches don't like looking through tape trying to find your child.  Also, showing other players the team may make the coach interested in them instead of your child.  Our club provides assistance to our parents in producing there custom videos for college coaches.

Your Money and Your Time
One thing I didn't expect in helping my daughter was the amount of money and time needed.  There was a decent amount of money and time needed in traveling out-of-state, paying club fees, hotel, food, phone calls, letters, emails, etc.  You must be prepared to go the extra mile for your child.  For example, skier Lindsey Vonn's parents moved to Colorado just to help her become a better skier.  You must be prepared to perform your own sacrifice for your child's future.

Feeder Programs
I personally have mixed feelings concerning feeder programs.  My mixed feelings are mainly based on the participation of the corresponding high schools.  I do know of some excellent feeder programs.  These programs are highly supported by their high schools.  They provide gym time for the teams and often the high school head coaches or assistant coaches get involved.  Sometimes, this is difficult because the feeder season often coincides with the high school regular season.

I have also seen a lot of really bad feeder programs.  These programs are left to fend for themselves with no support from the high schools.  The coaches of these programs eventually become frustrated and leave.  If you have seen a program that has had numerous changes in the coaching staff, chances are there is no support from the high school and therefore, no benefit for your child.

Remember, when choosing a feeder program, the main purpose is to get your child familiar with playing with players that they will be playing with in high school and in very FEW instances learning the high school's offenses and defenses.  This DOES NOT increase their chances in making the high school team and doesn't necessarily help your child in their college aspirations; unless the feeder teams also operates like a club team.  There are some feeder programs that do just that and these programs are great.  Based on feedback I received from many high school coaches, they will have their tryouts and will choose the best players regardless of whether they participated on their feeder team.  Most of them couldn't tell me any of the kids names who were on their feeder team.  Although, some coaches were aware of some of the top players in the area and all of them were on some of the top club teams in the area.  Just do your homework before committing to a feeder team versus a club team.

High School Programs
This is a very tough subject to grasp for many parents because it sometimes involves tough decisions.  I will start by saying this:

• As a parent, you want your kid to get a college basketball scholarship so you won't have to pay for it. 

• A high school coach wants to win a state title that will increase their marketability.

Often these two goals clash!  As I mentioned previously, in order to better your chances in getting your child a college scholarship, you have to travel to college viewing tournaments.  These tournaments occur in the off season for both high schools and colleges.  Unfortunately, some of the really good high school coaches have an off-season program that they want their kids to participate in.  This gives their team more cohesiveness that will help them perform better for the next season.  Often this involves playing in local non-college viewing tournaments.

The problem occurs when a parent wants to have their kid play on a club team during the off-season that can better their kid's chances in getting a scholarship.  However, their high school coach may see this as the player not really dedicating themselves to team.  Some coaches have even refused to play players that didn't participate in off-season training to play on a club team. 

I must admit that I totally understand the mentality of the high school coach.  If I were a high school coach, I most likely would have the same mentality.  However, I would attempt to get my kids some exposure out-of-state in my program.  I do know of some high school programs that do exactly that.  If your school doesn't, then it is best to begin weighing your child's chances for a future beyond four years of high school.  It is possible to obtain a basketball scholarship without tremendous high school stats.  However, having good stats is helpful.  I suggest that if things aren't going as you expected, to have a talk with the high school coach and address your concerns.  He or she may agree to letting your child participate on a club team while at the same time participating in a few of their programs as well.

Don't Wait, The Time is Now
The Colorado Fever begins taking its teams to college viewing beginning in the 6th grade.  We recently had an experience with our 8th grade girls team where I was approached by a tournament official about our team.  We were one of the youngest teams at this college viewing tournament and I was told that one Division One college in particular was taking a lot of notes on our players. (Remember, it going to be another 3 years before they can officially talk to our girls.)

Don't wait until high school to begin having your child participate in these types of events.  Often times, by the beginning of your child's senior year, colleges have a pretty good idea of who they will be offering scholarships to.  They normally have a couple of scholarships left to offer to new seniors they have seen.  Many of the players they have already offered scholarships to where players they have been following for years.  However, it is never to late.  I found that out.  It is just that your options are limited at that point.

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