Just the other day a report came out regarding the happening of the University of Minnesota and their athletic department over the past several years. It was hoping to find more sexual harassment issues and overspending by the previous leadership. It didn't find any sexual harassment issues but it did find that the several staff members spent money on things they "shouldn't have" according to the report.
Most people will look at the numbers that the athletic department has spent and say those numbers ridiculous and they didn't have to spend that much. I just want to put some things into perspective and let everyone know how much spending is done at the high major D1 level.
First thing I'll talk about is working with boosters. The idea behind fundraising for college athletics is that you have to spend money to make money. Athletic department staff CAN NOT go to Chipotle to meet with a perspective booster. They have to a go to a nice restaurant or steak house. Why? That is where the boosters normally eat. You HAVE to get a $100 bottle of wine because that is what the booster drinks. The hope is that those staff members can seal the deal at some point in order for that specific person to donate a significant amount of money to the department. Imagine if the development department has five dinners with the same booster in order to "seal the deal." That might cost the athletic department well over a $1,000. It's not like the staff member is going to say, "Sorry, we can't pay for your alcohol, it's against school policy." That's bad business.
While I worked at West Virginia there are many instances of overspending by the athletic department. During the Big East Tournament in New York City, the program stayed in The Roosevelt Hotel for four days. On top of the players, coaches, and support staff were taken care of, many people in the athletic department came as well. Essentially as a paid vacation. All of their meals and accommodations were taken care of. We were eating breakfast one morning, at the hotel, and they didn't have something that was pretty common for breakfast and this is what was said, "We are paying $40 per person for breakfast, you better go find it...and quickly." There was about 40 people eating that morning. And that was the norm for the three mornings we ate breakfast there. Yep...that's $4800 in three days, just for breakfast.
I'll take another example during my second year at West Virginia. The team played in the Sweet 16 in Phoenix, AZ vs. Xavier. The athletic department got a charter flight for the trip. The team, coaches, support staff as well as their families (kids included) made the trip. The band, the cheerleaders, and just about half of the athletic staff (and their spouses) that weren't associated with a specific team. We basically took over a hotel and had two or three charter buses for the whole crew. The NCAA only pays for the players and coaches. Again, a paid vacation for many of the people on the trip.
Now onto the football bowl system. I could easily write a whole blog on this but I'll try to be short. Teams will usually travel to the game a week in advance in order to get acclimated to the weather they are playing in. Just think about that a second. The whole football and support staff get a charter flight to a specific destination and then stay in a hotel for a week. The team and the support staff is around 150 people (that might be low). The really nice hotel they stay in costs $150 per night. Let's say that's 75 rooms for six nights at $150 for a total of roughly $67,500 just for the football team. If the game is in a nice location more members of the athletic department will come along with their spouses. The coaching staffs' spouses and kids will travel as well as the cheerleaders and the band. That's another charter flight and another set of hotel rooms at the same cost. That's a total of $135,000 in hotel costs for the week.
At Minnesota the athletes and staff get $40 per day for meals on away trips. Imagine if everyone got that amount. Each person gets $240 and you have roughly 250 people on the trip. That's another $60,000 right there. We can even lower that to $50,000. Can't forget about the charter flights for all those people too. That's probably close to $300,000, $150,000 of it completely unnecessary.
Last thing I'll talk about in regards to the bowl game is how it's set up as far as tickets go. Each school is required to sell a certain amount of tickets for the game. If the school doesn't sell ALL of those tickets they are "forced" to buy them and give them back to the bowl. The bowl then says the tickets will go to "local charities." When I was at WVU, the football team made the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. The school sold around 10,000 tickets of their 17,500 allotment. They were forced to pay for those extra 7,500 tickets. Those extra tickets cost around $80-$100 each. Another unnecessary and significant expense for the athletic department.
I could probably go on and on about this stuff. Most people don't know about this stuff. Last thing, when I was in college we got $17 per day from the athletic department for meals for the whole day. We generally didn't stay at hotels that had a free breakfast. It wasn't ideal but we were fortunate enough to have a coach that did a lot of fundraising to help us get good meals whenever we were on the road. And that is one of the big differences between big time D1 and D3.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Travel Basketball at the Highest Level and Perks of it
Here is a link to a great article regarding to travel basketball (mostly known as AAU). Has some great quotes from some prominent people in the travel basketball circuit.
Sunday Special: AAU basketball a necessary step
They mention one particular player in the article and the amount of gear he has gotten from participating in a few of these events. Naturally, I took a look and here are some photos. He played at a few Nike events and one adidas event.
Before taking a look at the photos, people will ask how is all this free gear not a NCAA violation. The kids all get the gear, wear it, and then buy it. How much does "used" gear cost? The shoe companies determine that they probably cost anywhere from $25 to $50. The kids wear them, "give the gear back," and then "pay" for it. My guess is their AAU team probably "pays" for the gear and nothing actually comes out of the kid and his family's pocket.
The reason I know this because a few years ago a friend of mine coached at a high school tournament sponsored by one of the shoe companies. When the kids got to their hotel room there was a huge duffel bag full of stuff for each kid. The package included sneakers, socks, a backpack, and a jacket. One of the players posted on social media what they got. The news spread the state association. The state association said the kids had to "give the items back." The kids then "gave" the items back then paid $25 for the "used" items.
Without further waiting, here are links to the photos:
Nike Global Games
Nike Skills Academy
Adidas Gauntlet
Sunday Special: AAU basketball a necessary step
They mention one particular player in the article and the amount of gear he has gotten from participating in a few of these events. Naturally, I took a look and here are some photos. He played at a few Nike events and one adidas event.
Before taking a look at the photos, people will ask how is all this free gear not a NCAA violation. The kids all get the gear, wear it, and then buy it. How much does "used" gear cost? The shoe companies determine that they probably cost anywhere from $25 to $50. The kids wear them, "give the gear back," and then "pay" for it. My guess is their AAU team probably "pays" for the gear and nothing actually comes out of the kid and his family's pocket.
The reason I know this because a few years ago a friend of mine coached at a high school tournament sponsored by one of the shoe companies. When the kids got to their hotel room there was a huge duffel bag full of stuff for each kid. The package included sneakers, socks, a backpack, and a jacket. One of the players posted on social media what they got. The news spread the state association. The state association said the kids had to "give the items back." The kids then "gave" the items back then paid $25 for the "used" items.
Without further waiting, here are links to the photos:
Nike Global Games
Nike Skills Academy
Adidas Gauntlet
Monday, June 29, 2015
Making the Adjustment to College Hoops
I've talked about transfers before and now I'm going to talk about some of the best ways to fit in once you get on campus at your respective college or university. I think this is the toughest part of adjusting from being a high school star to generally playing no role or a complimentary role on your new team.
At the high major level you'll see most recruits arrive on campus not too long after they graduate from high school. Summer school has different sessions and it depends on when you graduate when you can get on campus. The longer you are there, the more comfortable you will be with how things work.
It's a different world and the coaches that were extremely nice to you during the recruiting process don't seem to be the same person that recruited you. Why? Coaches are trying to push your buttons and see what exactly pushes you to get better. It isn't all fun and games. The strength coach will test your physical and mental limits and force you to become a better athlete. Be honest with coaches and trainers. You'll deal with soreness and being uncomfortable more than you've ever experienced. You'll have to get through things mentally that you never imagined that you'd have to.
There are some mid-major schools that get their guys on campus during the summer but it isn't quite as prominent as it is at the high major level. The mid-major level all the the way to D3, players are arriving once school starts. There are different rules at each level that I'll talk about what players need to do.
D1 and D2 programs are all allowed to have workouts with their players during the fall. The workouts can consist of eight total hours (two on floor and six in weight room) during each "preseason" week. During this time, players HAVE to soak in a lot of information. Each program is different but some will "babysit" you in those first couple of months and others will let you figure it out.
The biggest thing for everyone is to listen to your coaches. They might be doing a bunch of things completely different than you did in high school. The language will be different and you'll have to get use to it quickly if you want to contribute right away. Kelly Oubre and Cliff Alexander from Kansas saw this firsthand this year. Bill Self said they weren't ready to contribute because they didn't understand what it took to play at that level.
Another thing to keep in mind at the D1 and D2 level is that coaches can only work with their players for a total of 20 hours per week during the season. That is supposed to include practice, games, weight training, and film sessions. Games are supposed to count as three hours (that was the rule when I was at WVU). Shoot-a-arounds also counted as an hour, regardless of how long they actually were. Athletes are also forced to take one day off during the week. So, coaches are supposed to figure out how to get 20 hours of work into six days. Not easy considering all the things that the athletes need to do in order to reach their potential.
At the D3 level, coaches can't be in the gym with the players until October 15. What that means, you are on your own until practice officially starts. Yes, coaches will set up times to have open gym but they can't watch (although most figure out ways to watch a little bit here or there). Coaches then have one month to "mold" freshmen or newcomers to get what they are looking for before games begin. Most programs will have "voluntary" workouts in the weight room as well. There is nothing voluntary about them. Especially as a freshman, if you aren't in the weight room, you will lag behind.
At the D3 level, there are no rules as far as time used during the week. So, coaches could have you for 30-40 hours a week if they really wanted to. Athletes at D3 are also mandated to have a day off during the week but there is no limitation on how many hours coaches can work with players.
Regardless of how many hours coaches can work with you, you have to being willing to work on your game on your own. Most colleges will give their athletes a little preference to getting into the gym at weird hours, so make sure you get in the gym or the weight room on your own. Many colleges have a shooting gun as well. The shooting machine should become your boyfriend or girlfriend. If there is one thing that can get you on the floor, shooting is definitely one of them.
Last thing to keep in mind when getting onto a college campus is that you are a freshman. What that means is that you are on the lowest part of the totem pole. Things will not come easy like they did in high school or AAU. Playing time is determined by a lot of things and none of those include your accolades from high school.
Freshmen don't play unless they are better than upperclassmen. Freshmen have a steep learning curve. Freshmen are 18 or 19 years old, upperclassmen are 21 or 22 years old. There is a big physical difference. One thing players and parents don't want to hear is this. How many incoming freshmen started and/or played significant varsity minutes as a freshman in high school? Not many, so what makes people think a freshmen can come in right away to compete and thrive against guys or girls four or fives years older than them?
Things aren't always fun for people that don't play. Most incoming freshmen have played significant minutes since they can remember, so when they don't play they decide to transfer to decide to quit. Playing college basketball mirrors life. There will be ups and downs. Hopefully, the downs make you appreciate the ups way more.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Fixing HS Basketball
Yesterday I went on a rant in regards to AAU basketball and how to fix it. Today, it's fixing the high school game. There are so many issues in regards to high school basketball, the biggest of which is making the rules universal for ALL states. Having different rules in different states is beyond ridiculous. The reason there are different rules is because a certain coach stretched the rules that they did have and now the state association didn't want to deal with it, so they made a rule.
First thing first, either have a shot clock or don't. I love the shot clock and would prefer that the high school level should have it. It forces players and coaches to make quick decisions. Detractors will talk about how athletes will take over. Well, basketball is an athletic game. It will also force coaches to get more creative to find ways to get great shots. It'll be a bunch of bad basketball with a bunch of bad shots. And there isn't this now? Bad basketball is being played regardless if there is a shot clock or not. Last thing is, it makes the game universal globally. We might not go with a :24 shot clock but getting it to a :30 or :35 makes the game more universal and I think that should be the ultimate goal.
I believe Minnesota is the only state that has halves instead of quarters. I love the idea. Every other state has four eight minute quarters. Minnesota has 18 minutes halves. It also gives players four more game minutes by moving to 18 minute halves. It would definitely change the way many coaches coach. Although, I wouldn't mind going to four 10 minute quarters. It is how the game is played internationally and I again would love to have the game universal.
Something that I would like to see is giving program more time to practice BEFORE games start during the season. I'll use my Dad as an example. He has over a month before he plays his first game and fills in some gaps with some scrimmages. In Minnesota, we could potentially have less than ten days to have tryouts and then practice in anticipation of their first game. That's just terrible for the kids and as we know, adults always put the kids first.
The last thing I want to talk about is universal rules when it comes to having contact with the athletes. Certain states allow full access to the players ALL THE TIME and others have major restrictions. I have a friend who coaches in Virginia and he started workouts with his players a week and a half after his season ended. My Dad is a coach in New York and he has access to his players all the time with the exception of the two weeks before tryouts/practice starts. Here in Minnesota, we can only work with our players in June and July.
Again, I want the rules universal. I think it would be great to have full access to your kids in both June and July. I also think that coaches should be able to use a week in both April and October to potentially coach/install different things for their players.
First thing first, either have a shot clock or don't. I love the shot clock and would prefer that the high school level should have it. It forces players and coaches to make quick decisions. Detractors will talk about how athletes will take over. Well, basketball is an athletic game. It will also force coaches to get more creative to find ways to get great shots. It'll be a bunch of bad basketball with a bunch of bad shots. And there isn't this now? Bad basketball is being played regardless if there is a shot clock or not. Last thing is, it makes the game universal globally. We might not go with a :24 shot clock but getting it to a :30 or :35 makes the game more universal and I think that should be the ultimate goal.
I believe Minnesota is the only state that has halves instead of quarters. I love the idea. Every other state has four eight minute quarters. Minnesota has 18 minutes halves. It also gives players four more game minutes by moving to 18 minute halves. It would definitely change the way many coaches coach. Although, I wouldn't mind going to four 10 minute quarters. It is how the game is played internationally and I again would love to have the game universal.
Something that I would like to see is giving program more time to practice BEFORE games start during the season. I'll use my Dad as an example. He has over a month before he plays his first game and fills in some gaps with some scrimmages. In Minnesota, we could potentially have less than ten days to have tryouts and then practice in anticipation of their first game. That's just terrible for the kids and as we know, adults always put the kids first.
The last thing I want to talk about is universal rules when it comes to having contact with the athletes. Certain states allow full access to the players ALL THE TIME and others have major restrictions. I have a friend who coaches in Virginia and he started workouts with his players a week and a half after his season ended. My Dad is a coach in New York and he has access to his players all the time with the exception of the two weeks before tryouts/practice starts. Here in Minnesota, we can only work with our players in June and July.
Again, I want the rules universal. I think it would be great to have full access to your kids in both June and July. I also think that coaches should be able to use a week in both April and October to potentially coach/install different things for their players.
I am sure there are other things that we can fix in high school basketball. Making the game similar in all states and then hopefully following all the FIBA rules would make the game better.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
The Fix Is In: How To Fix AAU
Let it be known, I had a great experience playing AAU basketball and loved every minute of it. I'm sure there are lot of kids who feel the same way as I did. With that being said, there needs to be some reform and some type of control to get the non-sense out. There is just too many people trying to take advantage of the system and the kids are the ones that get the wrong of the stick. And as we know, adults ALWAYS make it about themselv...the kids.
Don't let kids play AAU until after they have completed middle school. I understand there is a market for it and some coaches do a great job with kids BUT they should be playing another sport during the spring and potentially the summer. If you have want to have a team consisting of kids that just completed middle school and they are playing in a few tournaments for the summer, that works. It becomes overload for the kids and a lot of times it becomes too much for the family to be traveling all over the place to play games. The kids' bodies are still developing and for them to play as many games as NBA players do from the winter to the summer, can't be good for their bodies.
How many AAU programs actually charge the bare minimum for a kid to participate? I know there are quite a few expenses to play including gym time, uniforms, and tournament entry fees but that doesn't add up to $1000. By charging more, the programs are making money thus not making it about the kids. By doing this, the system becomes a business model not a service model. When adults have a business model, they tend to screw it up for the kids.
Create a model of consistency with each tournament. Kids should be playing with their age group or above it. There shouldn't be kids who have already graduated high school playing during the spring and summer. They've had their time to shine, now let others take advantage of that opportunity. If they created more 18U and 19U tournaments, I'd be fine with it. Just don't allow a 2015 kid play against a bunch of 2016/2017's all spring and summer.
Rosters must be sent in a three weeks in advance. If roster has anything wrong with it then the team AND coach are banned from that particular tournament. If it happens again, it is reported to the NCAA and that coach's certification is taken away for 12 months. I know it potentially takes away opportunity from kids but the coaches have to get this right. It also takes away from the potential "free agent market" that we see at the MN AAU State Tournament every year (I know it happens elsewhere as well).
To go along with get the rosters correct, give the kids an opportunity to only play on two different teams throughout the spring and summer. I understand that there are times when there is an off weekend and you have the opportunity to play with some high school teammates but there shouldn't be any jumping from team to team EVERY weekend.
AAU directors need to make a stand. If one of their coaches gets ejected from a game, they are done for that particular tournament. If it happens again, they will not be coaching in that program for the rest of the year. How many high school coaches get ejected from games? Not very many because they understand how much it hurts their team. It happens a lot more in AAU and can potentially cost the kids a chance to play more games because the coach has made it all about themselves. I don't think AAU directors want to be coaching 30 games a weekend.
Stop charging high school coaches to get into tournaments. They are there watching their kids play. They are making an investment into their program. The least a tournament could do is let them in for free.
Do not charge college coaches for "recruiting packets." The college coaches are the reason why the kids are playing in the first place (for 95% of the kids). Get as many as you can into the door and give the kids as many opportunities as you can for them to be seen. It's not that big of an expense for a tournament director to print off a bunch. Make it simple, each college program gets one packet per tournament.
To go along with recruiting packets, give college coaches their own section to sit in EVERY tournament. Coaches shouldn't be having conversations with kids and their families during tournament play. I witnessed two different D3 coaches talking to kids directly in front of me this weekend while the kids were still in the tournament. That's a clear violation and shouldn't happen. They can talk AFTER the kid's tournament is over.
The NCAA needs to make a limit on how many events are certified during the open period. There are just too many events and it ends up costing many kids an opportunity to be seen by college coaches. Limit the number to 75 (or less) tournaments throughout the country. Then have an NCAA representative at each. That rep will then have an all access pass to the tournament to roam free and see what college coaches are doing to gain an advantage.
In the past the NCAA has brought a few of their reps to tournaments that I have been at. The two (both female) that came to a tournament in Vegas a few years ago essentially flirted with the college coaches the whole time and didn't do anything that I saw. Now, they could be doing something behind the scenes to scope out some issues but it clearly wasn't enough.
The NCAA would say that it costs too much for their organization to have that many reps as well as fly them all over the country to evaluate what is going on at each tournament. We all know that is not true with the money they make from the Final Four. They don't have to be full time employees, they just have to be able to work during the April and July recruiting periods. College coaches shouldn't know who the people are and won't be able to manipulate them in any way.
Like with so many things there are few people that are screwing it up for everyone else. 90-95% of the people are doing things the right way but we tend to focus on the people that aren't.
I'm sure there is more things to put out there but I believe this is a start.
Don't let kids play AAU until after they have completed middle school. I understand there is a market for it and some coaches do a great job with kids BUT they should be playing another sport during the spring and potentially the summer. If you have want to have a team consisting of kids that just completed middle school and they are playing in a few tournaments for the summer, that works. It becomes overload for the kids and a lot of times it becomes too much for the family to be traveling all over the place to play games. The kids' bodies are still developing and for them to play as many games as NBA players do from the winter to the summer, can't be good for their bodies.
How many AAU programs actually charge the bare minimum for a kid to participate? I know there are quite a few expenses to play including gym time, uniforms, and tournament entry fees but that doesn't add up to $1000. By charging more, the programs are making money thus not making it about the kids. By doing this, the system becomes a business model not a service model. When adults have a business model, they tend to screw it up for the kids.
Create a model of consistency with each tournament. Kids should be playing with their age group or above it. There shouldn't be kids who have already graduated high school playing during the spring and summer. They've had their time to shine, now let others take advantage of that opportunity. If they created more 18U and 19U tournaments, I'd be fine with it. Just don't allow a 2015 kid play against a bunch of 2016/2017's all spring and summer.
Rosters must be sent in a three weeks in advance. If roster has anything wrong with it then the team AND coach are banned from that particular tournament. If it happens again, it is reported to the NCAA and that coach's certification is taken away for 12 months. I know it potentially takes away opportunity from kids but the coaches have to get this right. It also takes away from the potential "free agent market" that we see at the MN AAU State Tournament every year (I know it happens elsewhere as well).
To go along with get the rosters correct, give the kids an opportunity to only play on two different teams throughout the spring and summer. I understand that there are times when there is an off weekend and you have the opportunity to play with some high school teammates but there shouldn't be any jumping from team to team EVERY weekend.
AAU directors need to make a stand. If one of their coaches gets ejected from a game, they are done for that particular tournament. If it happens again, they will not be coaching in that program for the rest of the year. How many high school coaches get ejected from games? Not very many because they understand how much it hurts their team. It happens a lot more in AAU and can potentially cost the kids a chance to play more games because the coach has made it all about themselves. I don't think AAU directors want to be coaching 30 games a weekend.
Stop charging high school coaches to get into tournaments. They are there watching their kids play. They are making an investment into their program. The least a tournament could do is let them in for free.
Do not charge college coaches for "recruiting packets." The college coaches are the reason why the kids are playing in the first place (for 95% of the kids). Get as many as you can into the door and give the kids as many opportunities as you can for them to be seen. It's not that big of an expense for a tournament director to print off a bunch. Make it simple, each college program gets one packet per tournament.
To go along with recruiting packets, give college coaches their own section to sit in EVERY tournament. Coaches shouldn't be having conversations with kids and their families during tournament play. I witnessed two different D3 coaches talking to kids directly in front of me this weekend while the kids were still in the tournament. That's a clear violation and shouldn't happen. They can talk AFTER the kid's tournament is over.
The NCAA needs to make a limit on how many events are certified during the open period. There are just too many events and it ends up costing many kids an opportunity to be seen by college coaches. Limit the number to 75 (or less) tournaments throughout the country. Then have an NCAA representative at each. That rep will then have an all access pass to the tournament to roam free and see what college coaches are doing to gain an advantage.
In the past the NCAA has brought a few of their reps to tournaments that I have been at. The two (both female) that came to a tournament in Vegas a few years ago essentially flirted with the college coaches the whole time and didn't do anything that I saw. Now, they could be doing something behind the scenes to scope out some issues but it clearly wasn't enough.
The NCAA would say that it costs too much for their organization to have that many reps as well as fly them all over the country to evaluate what is going on at each tournament. We all know that is not true with the money they make from the Final Four. They don't have to be full time employees, they just have to be able to work during the April and July recruiting periods. College coaches shouldn't know who the people are and won't be able to manipulate them in any way.
Like with so many things there are few people that are screwing it up for everyone else. 90-95% of the people are doing things the right way but we tend to focus on the people that aren't.
I'm sure there is more things to put out there but I believe this is a start.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Recruiting Rules
Most HS athletes and parents have no idea what the rules are as far as when and how Division One college coaches can contact their son or daughter. I am talking strictly in regards to basketball and their recruiting rules. The rules are a little bit different for every sport, so I'll be specific to just basketball. I'll go down the list of what is allowed for each year an athlete is in school.
Athletes can take unofficial visits at any point of time in high school. Athletes can take as many unofficial visits as they want or need to take (aka unlimited). An unofficial visit is when the athlete and their family provide the arrangements for the athlete to visit the school, aka the family pays for everything including travel expenses, food, etc.
Athletes are also allowed to contact coaches as much as they want. They can call or text a coach or coaches as much as they want. A coach can not return the call or text at any point (in their freshmen or sophomore year) or it's a violation.
As a freshmen, athletes can only receive a questionnaire and a camp brochure. So, if you hear that a freshman was invited to a school's camp then it usually means that the athlete received a camp brochure in the mail. Coaches are NOT allowed to a make a phone call or text message the athlete directly.
As a sophomore, the same rules apply as a freshmen. There are two legitimate differences is that once June 15th hits, coaches can have unlimited contact (calls and texts) with the athlete. Coaches can also send recruiting material in the mail once the June 15th date is hit. For most athletes, it's June 15th AFTER their sophomore year but some states haven't completed school by that date but it could be during their sophomore year if school is still in session.
If a college coach REALLY wants to talk to an athlete during their freshmen or sophomore year there are ways around this rule. The way to get around it is to contact the high school or AAU coach on the phone. The athlete just happens to "be around" when the call happens and is allowed to talk to the coaches because the call is not directly with the athlete.
As a junior, contact with coaches is unlimited. Once January 1 hits of this year, athletes are allowed to take official visits to a university. It is not always the case, but that option is available if the athlete AND the university want it. An official visit is when the university pays for all the expenses for a visit.
As a senior, this is usually the time that athletes take their official visits (after Jan. 1 of junior year is an option but most, if not all, are done during senior year). You only get FIVE official visits before choosing a school. If an athlete's school list is at seven schools, they can only make five official visits and the other two visits have to be unofficial.
Coaches are now allowed to make home visits with athletes and their families starting in the spring of their junior year (after January 1). They can meet with the athlete at school or at their home. This is considered a contact. Coaches are only allowed to have a total of seven contacts and evaluations (just watching the player play but no talking) anyway they want.
Freshmen - 7 Evaluations
Sophomore - 7 Evaluations
Junior - 7 Total with both Contacts and Evaluations (Contacts can start Jan. 1)
Senior - 7 Total between Contacts and Evaluations (any combination of the two)
Division One college coaches only get 130 "days" per academic year to go out and recruit. That means they have less than 20 recruits they are recruiting in ALL classes in order for all players to get seven contacts and evaluations. If a coaching staff comes and sees you seven times in one calendar year then they REALLY want you. Even if they see you and/or meet with you more than twice, you have to think you are considered a priority for that particular program. Not all schools can be as selective in their recruiting as Kentucky or Duke.
In closing, know the rules regarding coaches contacting athletes. You don't want to be a part of a NCAA investigation and you don't want to put your eligibility in jeopardy.
Athletes can take unofficial visits at any point of time in high school. Athletes can take as many unofficial visits as they want or need to take (aka unlimited). An unofficial visit is when the athlete and their family provide the arrangements for the athlete to visit the school, aka the family pays for everything including travel expenses, food, etc.
Athletes are also allowed to contact coaches as much as they want. They can call or text a coach or coaches as much as they want. A coach can not return the call or text at any point (in their freshmen or sophomore year) or it's a violation.
As a freshmen, athletes can only receive a questionnaire and a camp brochure. So, if you hear that a freshman was invited to a school's camp then it usually means that the athlete received a camp brochure in the mail. Coaches are NOT allowed to a make a phone call or text message the athlete directly.
As a sophomore, the same rules apply as a freshmen. There are two legitimate differences is that once June 15th hits, coaches can have unlimited contact (calls and texts) with the athlete. Coaches can also send recruiting material in the mail once the June 15th date is hit. For most athletes, it's June 15th AFTER their sophomore year but some states haven't completed school by that date but it could be during their sophomore year if school is still in session.
If a college coach REALLY wants to talk to an athlete during their freshmen or sophomore year there are ways around this rule. The way to get around it is to contact the high school or AAU coach on the phone. The athlete just happens to "be around" when the call happens and is allowed to talk to the coaches because the call is not directly with the athlete.
As a junior, contact with coaches is unlimited. Once January 1 hits of this year, athletes are allowed to take official visits to a university. It is not always the case, but that option is available if the athlete AND the university want it. An official visit is when the university pays for all the expenses for a visit.
As a senior, this is usually the time that athletes take their official visits (after Jan. 1 of junior year is an option but most, if not all, are done during senior year). You only get FIVE official visits before choosing a school. If an athlete's school list is at seven schools, they can only make five official visits and the other two visits have to be unofficial.
Coaches are now allowed to make home visits with athletes and their families starting in the spring of their junior year (after January 1). They can meet with the athlete at school or at their home. This is considered a contact. Coaches are only allowed to have a total of seven contacts and evaluations (just watching the player play but no talking) anyway they want.
Freshmen - 7 Evaluations
Sophomore - 7 Evaluations
Junior - 7 Total with both Contacts and Evaluations (Contacts can start Jan. 1)
Senior - 7 Total between Contacts and Evaluations (any combination of the two)
Division One college coaches only get 130 "days" per academic year to go out and recruit. That means they have less than 20 recruits they are recruiting in ALL classes in order for all players to get seven contacts and evaluations. If a coaching staff comes and sees you seven times in one calendar year then they REALLY want you. Even if they see you and/or meet with you more than twice, you have to think you are considered a priority for that particular program. Not all schools can be as selective in their recruiting as Kentucky or Duke.
In closing, know the rules regarding coaches contacting athletes. You don't want to be a part of a NCAA investigation and you don't want to put your eligibility in jeopardy.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Bad Scheduling Leads to Bad Basketball at HS/AAU levels
Most states have different restrictions when it comes to practice starting, when games start, how many games you can play, etc. Every place is a little different and I want to look into how some states do it completely wrong. I say they do it wrong and they'll say everyone is in the same situation so there is no advantage. It's not advantageous for the coaches AND the kids.
In Minnesota, we have approximately two weeks (sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more) of practice before our first game. Puts coaches and players at a huge disadvantage if the coach was hired after July. Coaches only have access to coach in June and July for the offseason. They can have open gym throughout the offseason but can't specifically work the kids during those open gyms.
Minnesota is actually somewhat similar to the AAU season. Two weeks of limited practice and then play games. It rarely gives the coaches and the kids an opportunity to learn about each other and to install some sort of offense and defense in order for everyone to be on the same page.
The third week is generally the live period. So college coaches are seeing coaches and players still trying to figure each other out. It just doesn't make sense. Wouldn't it be great for the college coaches to see the the kids and their teams at their best or close to it? Wouldn't it be great if the live period for college coaches got moved to the end of April and the beginning of May? More times for teams to practice together and get on the same page. Those first couple of weekends of play are usually nothing but bad basketball. In bad basketball, how exactly do college coaches evaluate properly?
One top of bad basketball, kids generally don't get a break that their body needs. All basketball players should take a week off between their high school and AAU seasons. Their body AND mind need it.
So what do we need to do to fix these issues?
In high school, I think it's a simple solution. Give the teams more times to practice before playing their first game, which would mean taking away a few games. Imagine if all coaches had three to four weeks to practice before their first game. The games would be better and the kids would be more prepared. Two weeks isn't enough time to install man offense, zone offense, man defense, zone defense, press, how to handle different presses, and everything else. Another option is to give schools two different scrimmage dates where schools can scrimmage each other and go through a bunch of different situations that they'll see over the first couple of weeks of the season.
In AAU, give each player a complete week off after the high school season. All teams have to have at least 8-10 practices before playing in their first tournament. An idea that would be good for all is to have teams play single games against each other at a neutral site. It's basically essentially scrimmaging against each other but also forces teams to play against other teams as work on the same things HS teams have to work on. Wouldn't it be fun if the sneaker company teams would play each other as well as other teams?
All in all, two weeks isn't enough time for high school and AAU to have the kids be where they should be. It's a huge disservice to the kids and isn't all of this "all about the kids?"
In Minnesota, we have approximately two weeks (sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more) of practice before our first game. Puts coaches and players at a huge disadvantage if the coach was hired after July. Coaches only have access to coach in June and July for the offseason. They can have open gym throughout the offseason but can't specifically work the kids during those open gyms.
Minnesota is actually somewhat similar to the AAU season. Two weeks of limited practice and then play games. It rarely gives the coaches and the kids an opportunity to learn about each other and to install some sort of offense and defense in order for everyone to be on the same page.
The third week is generally the live period. So college coaches are seeing coaches and players still trying to figure each other out. It just doesn't make sense. Wouldn't it be great for the college coaches to see the the kids and their teams at their best or close to it? Wouldn't it be great if the live period for college coaches got moved to the end of April and the beginning of May? More times for teams to practice together and get on the same page. Those first couple of weekends of play are usually nothing but bad basketball. In bad basketball, how exactly do college coaches evaluate properly?
One top of bad basketball, kids generally don't get a break that their body needs. All basketball players should take a week off between their high school and AAU seasons. Their body AND mind need it.
So what do we need to do to fix these issues?
In high school, I think it's a simple solution. Give the teams more times to practice before playing their first game, which would mean taking away a few games. Imagine if all coaches had three to four weeks to practice before their first game. The games would be better and the kids would be more prepared. Two weeks isn't enough time to install man offense, zone offense, man defense, zone defense, press, how to handle different presses, and everything else. Another option is to give schools two different scrimmage dates where schools can scrimmage each other and go through a bunch of different situations that they'll see over the first couple of weeks of the season.
In AAU, give each player a complete week off after the high school season. All teams have to have at least 8-10 practices before playing in their first tournament. An idea that would be good for all is to have teams play single games against each other at a neutral site. It's basically essentially scrimmaging against each other but also forces teams to play against other teams as work on the same things HS teams have to work on. Wouldn't it be fun if the sneaker company teams would play each other as well as other teams?
All in all, two weeks isn't enough time for high school and AAU to have the kids be where they should be. It's a huge disservice to the kids and isn't all of this "all about the kids?"
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