Look through the presentation for tips on how to apply for an American sports scholarship

1.  Students from over 36 Countries and 22 States
 Upper School - Boarding begins in 9th Grade
 Approximately 465 Boys and Girls in Upper School
 200 Residential and 265 Day / Local Students
 100% Placement to respected Universities World-wide
 22 Advance Placement Classes / University Prep Curriculum
 Over 80 Student Leadership Positions and Clubs
 Athletic Teams – Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Lacrosse,
Swimming, Track, and three Sports Academies
 Diverse Fine Arts Offerings
 Visit us at www.darlingtonschool.org

2. College Experience & Promotion
Over 225 different College Campuses Visited in 8 years
 Builds relationships with admission and college coaches
 Experience variety of colleges & train with or play college
teams
College Promotion Methods
 College Planning Meetings with Staff
 Player profiles, Highlight Videos
 Guidance with NCAA Rules
 College Visits Attended by Staff
 Phone Calls – Staff/Player/College
 Roster Inserts at Events and Emails

3. Alumni - College Placements
 Fall 2014 will have over 95 College
Players
 2 professional MLS players
 10’ Class-9 Div. I, 2 Div. II
 11’ Class-10 Div. I, 2 Div. II and 1 Div.
III
 12’ Class 10 NCAA Div. I – 2 NCAA
Div. II (over $1.5)
 13’ Clas –10 NCAA Div. I, 2 –Div. II
over $2.6 in Scholarships
 14’ Class – 8 NCAA Div. I – Cal-
Poly, Georgia Southern..

4. Start the Process Early
 9th grade academic performances are on permanent
records – Do not sacrifice any time!
 Imperative your academics start strong
 No “correct or incorrect” time-line for the recruiting
process… You just have to constantly be working…
 Top level programs work 2-3 years in advance of
graduation (always put Graduation Year)
 Recruiting calendar for girls is advanced by 6 -12
months than boys’ recruiting time-line

5. Start identifying attributes you
will be looking for in a college
 Location – near beach or mountains? Near home/ relatives. Pick 6
states to live in…
 Academic reputation and offerings – “What do you want to be when you
grow up?”
 Size – Small where professors know you? Or large, city-like universities
of 10,000++
 Social – Greek Life?.. Suitcase College?.. Close to Urban Entertainment,
Big College Football etc..
 Reputation for Job Placement and/or Post-Graduate opportunities (to be
competitive in today’s job-market a masters degree is a plus)
 Student Population – “Girls to Guys Ratio”, Undergrad v Grad.,
Commuters? Culture?
 Leadership and Extra-curricular activities and opportunities
 Facilities – Academic, Residential, and Athletic
 Athletics- Conference / Schedule & Coaching Staff (note-last on list)

7. Basics
 NCAA in NO way governs a player or a parent on how
or when they communicate with college coaches
 BE PROFESSIONAL and OVER COMMUNICATE!!
 PLAYERS – can Call and EMAIL college coaches as
often as they need
 Per NCAA rules, coaches cannot call parents or players
back unless they are seniors or you are “requesting
information about camp”

8. Emails
• Cc: coaches and parents (so everyone knows how much your are
working through the process)
• Attach your player profile, make sure coaches’ emails and youtube
videos are active links
• Research the college’s website for “recent news”, names of players,
recent results/stories
• Use specific “business or law school name” to show extra levels of
investigation into the school… dig deeper into website
• Make triple sure to use the correct coaches’ name and school names
throughout the email
• Subject Line – “Joe Smith, Grad. 2012 GK at Darlington Soccer
Academy” Jersey #1
• EMAIL a minimum of 10 -15 coaches prior to events to give them your
schedule, jersey # etc.. Make schedules an active Google Calendar link
• In emails, you can request a time and number for you to contact the
coach(s)

9. Player Profile Page
• Include Graduation year, NCAA Eligibility Number,
academics (SAT / ACT / GPA), contact information,
jersey # and position, leadership, and soccer
accomplishments/events
• Two photos - player head shot and an action picture on
profile
• Display upcoming tournaments and events (use
hyperlinks/logos for events) with schedules
• Use logos for ODP, US Club, Events – to draw the coach’s
attention to major areas

10. College Visits
• Visit a wide variety of schools that fit your criteria (unlimited “un-official
visits”)
• Understand the Admissions Officers’ impression is just as
important! Take advantage of School Fairs and time with them
• An “Official Visit” is anytime the school pays for travel expenses
(airfare, food, hotel). After first day of senior year so, these usually
occur after you have committed
• You can take up to 5 “Official Visits” and they have to occur after the
1st day of Senior Year
• Be on time. Dress neatly. Be attentive and prepared with questions.
– FIRST IMPRESSIONS!!
• Know facts about the university – Program History, Players, Mascot,
Names of Buildings
• Ask current players “if you had it to do all over again, would you
come here?”, “How is Coach?”
• Send Coaches and Admissions Officer!! a hand-written thank you
note for their time, call them routinely, communicate!

11. Coaches Watching You Play at
Events
• College coaches can watch/evaluate prospective student seven
times during academic calendar
• Evaluations are unlimited during summer and winter breaks
in the academic calendar
• Coaches are not allowed to hold a conversation with you or
your parents at tournaments. They will be cordial, but short
with you.
• Your professionalism is being evaluated the moment you
arrive at the fields, warm-ups etc., to the moment you depart
from the fields (sportsmanship)
• Make sure you show physical play, competitiveness, and
technical / pure speed.
• Send a thank you note to the coach if you see them at your
game. How many kids do that?

12. Collect Information and use
Technology
• www.collegesearch.com www.collegechoice.com
www.naviance.com for criteria searches
• www.thesportsource.com www.soccerincollege.com
www.captainu.com online presence
• www.ncaa.org for NCAA registration (senior year),
resources, eligibility center, and recruiting rules
• www.facebook.com – Great way to find current students
and alumni
• Publications: The College Board’s College Handbook,
Peterson’s Competitive Colleges, Newsweek..