The Ins and Outs of Earning a Sports Scholarship

By S.C. Torrington
Most parents ponder their young child’s athletic ability the first time their daughter slams a homer over the fence or their son makes a three-point shot, all net. And, the parents who have chauffeured, cheered, and bankrolled their teenager through a successful decade of sports, at some point, just might begin to wonder if their child is good enough to earn a college sports scholarship.
| "It's a bit of a stretch to say that all first-team high school athletes—even very talented kids in top-ranked programs—are likely to receive athletic scholarships to college. Here at Johns Hopkins, we only have two sports in which we award scholarships at all: men's and women's lacrosse,” says Dennis O’Shea, Johns Hopkins University spokesperson.
O’Shea continues, “In those sports, the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] allows, at most, the equivalent of a little over a dozen athletic scholarships per team. Now, those can be spread out over a larger number of students, so that some can receive a half-scholarship or whatever. But even so, here at the home of one of the top men's lacrosse programs in the country, every year maybe half the players on our team are playing without any athletic scholarship assistance at all.”
So, should you give up all hope for a scholarship for your child? Perhaps with a lot of planning and effort, you may find success in your search.
The Search for Funding
“It’s a combination of academics, athletics, and work ethic,” says Linda Caccavalla, of qualifying for a sports scholarship. Caccavalla is a Perry Hall High School varsity basketball coach as well as a Perry Hall Silver Bullets AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] coach.
According to her, the NCAA has made changes this year. For instance, if a student plans to enter college in 2008 or after and compete as an NCAA student-athlete, he or she will need to have successfully completed 16 core courses in high school in the following breakdown:
four years of English,
three years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher),
two years of natural/physical science (one must be a lab science),
one year of additional English, math, or science,
two years of social studies, and
four years of additional core courses (from any area listed above, or from foreign language, non doctrinal religion, or philosophy).
It is important that students check to make sure the courses they are taking are on their high school’s list of NCAA-approved courses. Each high school has its own individualized list, which may be viewed on the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse website.
The changes are part of the NCAA’s overall effort to strengthen intercollegiate athletics by ensuring that student-athletes are succeeding academically as well as athletically and are making steady progress toward earning a college degree.
In addition, an SAT or ACT score is also considered when determining a student’s eligibility.
So, don’t let your teen neglect his or her studies in favor of practicing lay-ups. The stereotype of the “big, dumb jock” winning a full scholarship to the college of his dreams is just that—a dream.
This is why it’s important that the child work on academics and love the sport, says Caccavalla, adding that, if the student doesn’t do the work in high school, he or she is most likely not going to succeed in college. Parents can guide, support and research, but the work ultimately is on the child.
All high school student-athletes wishing to compete in college must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center.
Do the Math
Caccavalla further explains that each NCAA college or university is a member of either Division I, Division II, or Division III. Each division has its own rules, and only Division I and Division II allow any athletic scholarships.
According to O’Shea, a Division III college may only provide need-based financial aid.
He also adds that, at Johns Hopkins, the men's and women's lacrosse teams are in Division I, but the rest of the athletic program is in Division III.
O’Shea further explains the situation at Hopkins, “In all our other sports—football, basketball, baseball, swimming, and many more, where we are very successful—we give no athletic scholarships at all. That's because in those sports, we are part of the NCAA's Division III. Division III schools all agree on a common philosophy: Financial aid should be determined by a family's financial need, not by the student's ability to throw a pass or sink a jump shot.”
“There are more than 400 Division III colleges and universities, including some of the best academic schools in the country. There are just over 320 Division I schools, and some of them (such as the Ivy League schools) don't award athletic scholarships either,” adds O’Shea. “So the opportunities for athletic scholarships are really fairly limited."
Sobering words, yes, but there are some things you can do if you are still determined to tap into what funding is available.
“Parents should consider working toward a scholarship when their child is in ninth grade,” recommends Caccavalla.
“The best and worst thing about scholarships is that there is bias. The college scholarship is awarded based solely on the evaluation of the person providing the scholarship. The job of the parent is to provide the opportunities for their child to be seen by the colleges that their child wishes to attend,” says Caccavalla.
In fact, she adds that the only way the colleges are coming to see your blue chip player is if he or she does the following: receives additional instruction by playing at a summer sports camp, is in an AAU program, writes letters to the college, and supplies a video.
“Colleges are watching your children at AAU events in basketball or summer camps that are hosted by neutral sites when they are 12 and up, but will not speak with anyone until they are 15,” says Caccavalla. “They’ll hang around, send information. You will see them more if your child is very talented at a young age. But the restrictions are set by NCAA and AIAW [Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women] guidelines and can be found in the NCAA Clearinghouse booklet in your high school guidance office and online. If a college breaks a rule and is prosecuted, their school is penalized. Sometimes it can cost the college coach his or her job.”
“The key to earning a scholarship when you are not going Division I is to write the coach and send a video.” recommends Caccavalla—the school might not have the recruitment money to find you, so you need to recruit the school.
Caccavalla also suggests that the student approach high school teachers and coaches for letters of recommendation.
She says, “There are many coaches who will coach your child, but they want to win and don’t get involved in recruitment work unless they’re contacted. It’s important for the player, parent, and high school coach to contact the college. So choose your coach wisely.”
“Let the coach instruct the team and send recommendations to the colleges that he or she thinks the athlete can play. Also, send letters to the colleges that the student athlete wishes to attend. You do this because, if the college that the student wishes to attend isn’t interested in that athlete, you need to direct your athlete to other sources of the same caliber.”
“The counselor and teachers can help by making sure the paperwork is completed on time. The high school athlete should go to his or her counselor to pick up the NCAA Clearinghouse form and have it completed before July 1 at the end of his or her junior year,” says Caccavalla. “In senior year, the teachers should be given pre-stamped envelopes and the names of the people to whom these recommendations need to be written.”
“The parents should videotape their child’s games, send their child to camp, fill out necessary college paperwork, and place their child on a team such as an AAU team,” she continues. “This will improve the athlete’s ability, as well as improve visibility. Videotaping helps coaches see the athlete in the privacy of their own viewing. College coaches cannot be everywhere and their budget is minimal, so working together is important.”
Caccavalla notes that, in this day of video it is much easier to record and send a tape to a college. Actually, DVDs work best for the coach on the road with a laptop. Many services will provide evaluations and recruit of a college for you. If you don’t want to do the work, you can pay them but, cautions Caccavalla, at no time do they give you the scholarship. They just let the colleges know about you.
“Many talented athletes, due to academics, over-parent involvement, lack of high school coach recruiting skills, lack of playing AAU ball and going to camps, are now playing in the local parks or community colleges,” says Caccavalla. “So it’s very important that the high school coaches, parents, counselors, and teachers work together. But it’s more important that the child works for the sport he or she loves. Otherwise, parents will burn out their child and no college play or scholarship will happen.” BC

For more information about the NCAA Clearinghouse, go online to www.collegesportsscholarships.com/ncaaclearinghouse.htm
©Baltimore's Child – April 2008.