College recruiting can be overwhelming

Theresa Rush had dreamed of running track for Villanova since she was in seventh grade. She even e-mailed Villanova coach Gina Procaccio to find out what times she would need to run to earn a spot on her squad.

When it was time for college, the 2006 Valley Stream North graduate and the state 1,500-meter champion ignored letters from other top track programs and sprinted to Villanova.

But like many athletes who embark on the recruiting process, Rush now believes she committed herself to Villanova too quickly.

There are 7.5 million high school athletes nationwide, according to the National Federation of High School Associations. Those who are recruited to play at the college level are asked to make decisions that many are not prepared to make.

"I should've kept my options open,'' Rush said. "It was a perfect fit academically and athletically, but maybe it didn't match my personality in general.''

Rush said she was satisfied with her education and athletic career at Villanova - she graduated cum laude with a degree in criminal justice in May - but she expressed remorse about choosing based on her longtime aspiration, rather than careful consideration.

"[Villanova] is a very conservative school,'' Rush said. "Very faith- and religion-based. And people can be kind of plastic and image-oriented, not too open-minded or as eccentric a group as I would have liked.

"I can be pretty liberal and quirky. But in spite of this, I still had a great college experience and met a great group of supportive people. I learned who I really was.''

Now, she has advice for young athletes who fixate on a dream school. "Before taking calls, narrow down your schools,'' she said. "Decide on five or 10 schools to look at.''

This advice is echoed by many former high school athletes, including 2006 Calhoun graduate Dan Stein, who played lacrosse at Hofstra. "The most confusing part was choosing which school to pick,'' he said. "I didn't really get all of the recruiting trips I could've went on.''

Stein did not make an official visit to another campus before picking Hofstra, which he still believes was the right choice.

Jennifer McKenna, a volleyball player who graduated from East Islip in 2006, transferred from SUNY Cortland to Adelphi after just one semester. She says the school and program were not what she originally envisioned because she wasn't under the impression that her height would be detrimental.

The 5-4 McKenna is short for a volleyball player and would have battled for playing time, though that became a moot point when she decided not to play two weeks before the beginning of preseason training. During the spring, she transferred and was given a scholarship to play at Adelphi in the fall of her sophomore year.

"You can't really listen to everything those who are recruiting you say,'' McKenna, 22, said. "The team and coaches change. It really makes a difference to know what they expect of you when you get there.''

Recruiting 101 for high school students

The Rules

Understanding the NCAA's complex system of rules for recruiting can be challenging for students. Although athletes may contact college coaches at any time, each division and sport has a different set of rules for when coaches may contact athletes.

Visiting schools also is regulated. Many programs offer an official visit, in which the program pays for all expenses. Students are allowed one official visit per school and may go on a total of five official visits. However, official visits may not be made before the end of a student's junior year.

Another option is the unofficial visit in which the student must pay all expenses. Students are allowed an unlimited number of unofficial visits.

Students can find out more about these rules from the NCAA's website (ncaa.com), as well as through coaches and guidance counselors.

Getting noticed

With the exception of blue-chip players, student-athletes have to battle for recognition.

Adelphi assistant volleyball coach and recruiting coordinator William Corrao advises athletes to be aggressive in contacting college coaches.

"Get your name out there,'' he said. "The first phone call is important. Being recognized by the school is a difficult task.''

Another option is recruiting websites such as BeRecruited.com, which allows athletes and college coaches to make free profiles in hopes of matching up with college athletic programs.

Some athletes and parents pay $1,000 and up for recruiting services such as National Scouting Report, which boasts a 90-percent success rate in placing clients. "It's a Catch-22 for a kid to be lucky enough to get noticed,'' said Patrick Hughes, the area director of NSR for Long Island. "Not everyone is that lucky.''

Showcases, which give athletes a chance to display their skills in front of college coaches at a regional or national level, may not yield the hoped-for results.

"Kids get 10 swings, a few ground balls," said Adelphi baseball coach Dominic Scala, a former Yankees bullpen coach. "You can't see everything. Kids get duped out of a lot of money. Ask someone to be honest if you go.''

Sometimes, Stein says, getting noticed is just about playing well when the right eyeballs are in the stands.

"You never know who's watching,'' he said, "especially at these camps and tournaments.''

Finances

Fewer than 35 percent of college athletes receive athletic aid, according to a 2003 NCAA report. In some sports, less than 1 percent of all high school athletes receive scholarships.

That makes finances another part of the equation, which can be problematic because most teenagers are unfamiliar with handling finances and uncomfortable discussing them with adults.

"I actually felt awkward asking what scholarships they were going to offer me,'' former Valley Stream North track star Theresa Rush said. "I knew that I needed a full ride to go to a school like Villanova, but to get to that point in the conversation was hard.''

Grades

Succeeding in the high school classroom can play a huge role in helping students land scholarships.

Adelphi's Corrao said recruiting students with good grades is always easier. His school offers merit-based athletic scholarships in addition to traditional academic scholarships. ''Academic aid makes athletic aid that much easier to give,'' Corrao said. They are students first, then athletes.

The JUCO option

Nassau CC football coach Jermaine Miles says junior college provides a good fallback plan for students in less-than-ideal circumstances. "If you don't have to go to junior college, I wouldn't recommend it,'' Miles said. "But by the time [students] graduate, the level of academics has increased.''