5 Changes to AMP Up Your College Recruiting Presence

1. Start Dialing: In this day and age of social networking, texting, email, Facebook, Twitter, it is unbelievably easy to communicate with the world without ever actually speaking. It’s no secret that college coaches like to recruit talented athletes who have displayed success on the field and in the classroom, but other traits they love are maturity and confidence. Your ability to communicate with college coaches on the phone and in person will go a long way in determining if you are recruited over another athlete with similar skill. You can call NCAA coaches at any age and anytime, so start dialing!

1. Make tough decisions: What colleges you apply to and ultimately attend may be the first of several important decisions you have to make this year. Have you heard the saying “time is money”? Well it’s true with junior golf too. Channel your energy for situations that will get you to where you want to be. Make those tough decisions confidently!

2. Be prepared for roadblocks: To succeed in the recruiting process, you will need a unique set of skills (academic, athletic, social, work ethic, desire, attitude) that other recruits do not have. Some families get locked in to a small list of “dream” schools, and they focus all their energy on those schools with the assumption that one of them will work out. There are so many factors to the recruiting process and many things you cannot control, so it is important to expand your list of colleges where you can potentially play and where your skills may be needed. If you get a “no” from five college coaches, move on to the sixth, seventh and eighth school on your list. Be prepared for the roadblocks and the unexpected!

3. “Respect…. People!”: It is important to treat everyone you meet in life with respect including parents, teachers, high school coaches, instructors and so forth. You never know what role someone may play in your life and contribute to your success. You never know how the recruiting process is going to play out. You may have to place a last-minute phone call to a college coach who was recruiting you 8 months ago because other opportunities did not work out as planned, so respect ….people!

4. You are as much a part of the process as the college coach is: Arguably, the most common misconception is that high school athletes don’t have any say in the recruiting process. Most think they have to wait for college coaches to choose them and make them an offer. The harder you work in school, the harder you work in practice, the harder you work to identify what colleges might be a good fit and the harder you work to contact those coaches directly will increase your ability to choose what colleges accept you. ForeCollegeGolf can help you package your skills and find colleges where you are more desired and a better fit. You will have more offers, and ideally, you will decide where you attend college. So know that you have power and use it wisely!

Mike Smith is the Founder & CEO of ForeCollegeGolf and specializes in assisting junior golfers & their families through the college recruiting process. Email him @ mike.smith@forecollegegolf.com

The Keys to an Effective Resume

During today's college recruiting process, it’s more important than ever to provide the right information to Coaches and to do it strategically at the right time.

Each year, college coaches across the country are inundated with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of emails and resumes. It’s important to remember that recruiting tactics differ greatly from program to program.

The vast majority of collegiate golf programs have a staff of one, the head coach, and many Division III and NAIA schools have a head coach who advises both the Men’s and Women’s programs! In contrast, many top programs in the country have large staffs consisting of directors of golf, head coaches, associate coaches, and assistant coaches who share different duties in the recruiting process. College assistants help offset the additional athletic duties of the head coach but still take on the obligations of sorting through the countless numbers of resumes, swing videos, trackman reports, transcripts, referral emails, and everything else they receive.

The bottom line is, college coaches simply don't have time to look at each and every detail on your resume. For this exact reason, it is crucial that you arrange your resume in the format they are looking for with the necessary information they will need to qualify you as a potential recruit.

Here's a list of things they will look for and below you will find a sample resume for formatting purposes:

• Graduation year

• Tournament finishes and scores

• Personal Photo or Headshot

• Junior Golf Scoreboard or WAGR Golf Ranking

• Personal references, Instructor Contact Info, other points of contact

• Academic profile (GPA, test scores & transcripts) and which parts

• Community involvement

• Leadership roles (sport or non-sport)

• Fitness / other sport involvement

• Swing video

• Personal goal, motivation, or vision

Keep in mind: A well-written golf resume provides college coaches a quick and clear understanding of your ability to contribute, athletically and academically, to their respective golf program as a Freshman.

So, is your golf resume ready for college coaches? Take a look below at ForeCollegeGolf’s sample resume.

High school coaches, instructors, and other personal references serve as great recommendations. Attaching a recommendation letter to your resume could go a long way in impressing Coaches and grabbing their attention.

Additionally, your recruiting profile should also include an original cover letter addressed (individually) to each college coach. As you can see from the above image, all of your resume content should fit on one printed page and be neatly organized. Thus, giving college coaches the ability to quickly see your information, and qualify you on the spot.

While a few individual tournaments can be left out, the bulk of your recent tournament scores, good or bad, should be included on your resume. Upcoming tournaments should always be included. This way Coaches can see where you will be playing and be sure to follow your scores/progress and have an opportunity to come watch you play.

We hope this clears up some of the questions and confusion around what a proper resume or CV should look like! Please don’t hesitate to reach out for more information.

Mike Smith is the Founder & CEO of ForeCollegeGolf and specializes in assisting junior golfers & their families through the college recruiting process. Email him @ mike.smith@forecollegegolf.com

#sampleresume #resumebuilding #collegegolfrecruiting #collegerecruiting #golfrecruiting #collegegolf #juniorgolfhelp #juniorgolfexperts

"TEAM" Approach

It is widely understood in the sports world that a team’s culture can have a big impact on how the team functions and performs. How team members think, feel, and behave are all influenced by the environment in which they practice, prepare and compete.

One of the most important areas I focus on in my work with junior golfers and their individual “teams” involves helping them create an organizational culture that is positive and exemplifies high performance. Developing a healthy team culture is as important in the junior golf world as it is in the rest of the sports world and even in the business world. So, what is team culture and why is it so important?

Team culture is the expression of a team’s values, attitudes, and goals about sports, competition, and relationships. Having a defined culture effectively “puts a stake in the ground” and establishes what is acceptable behavior on a team and what is not. The culture creates the atmosphere that establishes every aspect of a team’s experience.

At ForeCollegeGolf, we believe a team culture is comprised of three essential factors that support all team functions and performance: Values, Attitudes, and Goals.

I define Values as “a person’s judgment of what is important in life”. Types of values that should be considered:

-Work Ethic

-Focus

-Teamwork

-Trust

-Humility

-Self-Respect

Attitudes are defined as “the way a person thinks and feels about something”. Types of attitudes (or mindsets) that are helpful in golf:

-Growth Mindset

-Process, not outcome

-Embrace challenge

-Experiment & Explore

-Mistakes/failures are positive

-Grind/Never give up!

I define Goals as “a person's ambitions or efforts; an aim or desired result.” Goals that are useful for team building:

-Unconditional support

-Clear & consistent communication

-” Plan our work, then work our plan”

-Process Focused

-Respond positively to adversity

-Always 100% prepared

A team that works together will share a strong vision and will continuously search for ways to improve. The team approach is especially fulfilling when teams are unconditionally supportive, purposefully focused, and high performing. In order to work together and create the highest performing and most successful teams, I encourage junior golfers to clearly define their TEAM, create a strong culture and embrace all forthcoming challenges.

Fairways & Greens,

Coach Mike

Mike is the owner of ForeCollegeGolf, a college consulting business which aims to ease the tension of college recruiting to help educate players, their families and coaches about junior golf, college golf and the college recruiting process.

Website – www.forecollegegolf.com

Instagram - @forecollegegolf

“Stepping out of Bounds”

As individuals, we’ve been brought up and have learned over time that feeling uncomfortable is bad. Society says, do what makes you most “comfortable”. Stay in your lane. Don’t try anything out of the ordinary. As golfers, we’ve experienced most of the same. “Hit fairways and greens and you’ll have a successful round.” However, think for a second … How many of your great rounds, and I mean really great, did you hit 14 fairways and 18 greens? Most likely, the answer is none! At some point, you probably ended up in a greenside bunker after a poor approach and had to manage a miraculous up and down. You could have even found yourself behind a tree in the rough where you had to carve that beautiful cut 7-iron to the front of the green. The point is, golf is a game of imperfection and so is the recruiting process. No matter the day, we are going to have our mishits and misfires!

So, you have the choice... Will you use your imagination and play the miraculous shot on the 18th hole in order to save par and win the tournament or will you punch out to the fairway? This is the same question I ask my players during the recruiting process, will you be ordinary like everyone else or will you differentiate yourself from the pack?

So, what is our "comfort zone" exactly? Why is it that we tend to get comfortable with the familiar and into our routines, but when we're introduced to new and interesting things, the feelings of excitement fade so quickly? Finally, what benefit do we derive from breaking out of our comfort zone, and how do we do it? Answering those questions is a tall order, but it's not too hard to do. Let's get started.

Put simply, your comfort zone is a space where your activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes risk and stress. It provides a state of mental security. You benefit in obvious ways: regular happiness, low anxiety, and reduced stress.

However, I’m a big believer of what some psychologists call “optimal anxiety”. Optimal anxiety is that feeling somewhere between totally over anxious and completely relaxed but ALWAYS out of your comfort zone! Optimal anxiety is that place where your mental productivity and performance reach their peak.

So how can you step out of you comfort zone in the recruiting process?

• Do the research – Google.com. Not much more needs to be said, team bio’s, scoring averages, practice facilities, upcoming tournament schedules, recruiting questionnaires and much more can be found online at your fingertips so make sure you’re prepared for the process before it happens.

• Make Dials – instead of trying to make a difference behind a desk or a computer screen, pick up the phone and start to dial coaches. Just remember a 15-20% response rate is normal so set your expectations early and often.

• Introduce Yourself – don’t try to do too much on the first call. A simple introductory call of 5-10min will do just fine. Go slow, be patient and tell the coach who you are.

• Set the meeting agenda- most often players just “go with the flow” of the visit, phone call or messaging conversation. I encourage you to thank them for their time, tell them you have some questions for them, ask them if they have any questions for you and set a purpose for the call or meeting.

• Be Open, Honest and Vulnerable – Too often, players get caught up in the moment and forget to be themselves. Understanding nerves and other thoughts can get in the way, make sure to do your best to give each coach your “real story” and not try to impress too much.

• Ask the REAL Questions – I see far too often, that players “drag out” the recruiting process and are left with little or few options. Most likely, this is because they were too afraid or timid to ask the real questions upfront. It’s not unreasonable to ask about roster spots, scholarship money, future recruits, or travel schedules. Stay curious!

• Always leave with a clear purpose – It’s important that at the end of the recruiting cycle with a particular coach, if you feel like you’ve turned over most of the stones and asked many of the right questions to always make sure there is a clear future. It’s far too common that I ask recruits, “Ok so what’s the next step with “so-and-so University?” and they come back with a resounding “I’m not sure”. Instead, ask the coach at the end of each unofficial visit, meeting, phone call or email, “What’s our next step?” or “Do you think it would make sense to talk again soon?”

What do you really gain when you're willing to step outside of your comfort zone? Use the above strategies when interacting with coaches and beginning to build relationships with them. Not only will you leave with a sense of personal achievement, but you will also make a unique impression on each and every coach that you come across. So, wave your comfort zone bye-bye and begin today on a journey to better!

Best of luck on the recruiting trail!

Mike Smith is the Founder & CEO of ForeCollegeGolf and specializes in assisting junior golfers & their families through the college recruiting process. Email him @ mike.smith@forecollegegolf.com