Category Archives: Uncategorized

Is There A Secret To Getting A Scholarship?

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SECRETS REVEALED to getting a scholarship. Ha ha!

There are no real secrets. However, this is something that NCSA, BeRecruited, NSR and others don’t want you to know.

The REALITY, It’s just hard work and determination with a plan of action that gets scholarships. Here is a link to how I assist athletes in getting scholarships. It’s not rocket science, but there are certain things that need to be done.

http://www.shawnmosqueda.com/?page_id=340

You may be asking, “Why would Shawn tell me this? Isn’t he afraid I will do this on my own and not use his services?’

Nope! I’m telling you this to help. I know I can’t be everywhere helping everyone. I want you to understand, you can do this. If you need my help, I am always here for you. I am more than a scout. I am a consultant. A helper. A motivator. For me it is about helping. It’s not about the money.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Connections

Connections: Do You Need Someone With Connections To Get A Scholarship?

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CONNECTIONS:

Do connections help? Sure. As long as the coach needs an athlete like you. Just because someone has connections does not mean you are an instant shoe in.

We are so used to seeing everything from our little place here in the northwest, we forget that these college coaches are scouring the ENTIRE United States for athletes that fit their needs.

Hopefully the person that is selling you on the idea of how connected they are…1) aren’t telling that to every other athlete that plays your position 2) knows every college coach in the United States 3) Knows the right coaches that actually need your talent when you graduate.

The best advice on “connections”, contact as many coaches as you can and use the one device that has the most connections, your phone/email. An athlete that persistently contacts coaches every day for weeks on end until the athlete reaches the coach, guess what, it says something. It says a lot about that athlete.

Don’t fall for slick sales pitches to get you to sign up for another “service” promising you success that you really already have the power to do yourself.

The question I have received is, “How many relationships, “connections” do you have with college coaches?”

Honestly, that is not what gets an athlete recruited. If a coach likes me, it may give an athlete a chance for a work out, but that is not what determines whether an athlete gets recruited. What gets an athlete recruited is the athlete.

On the other hand, what happens if the coach does not like me, for whatever reason? Then, my athletes may never get a shot at being evaluated by that coach. What if that college is the one college you wanted to play for? Then I would have ruined that chance to play there.

So my goal is to help every one of my athletes get a scholarship. Not because I have connections. But because the athlete peaked the interest of the coach with the right tools, followed up with the coach, got on campus for a workout and earned the scholarship opportunity.

In the recruiting process, coaches want to see responsible, driven, and organized athletes contacting them. (Not to mention an athlete needs to be able to play at the college level meeting the benchmark requirements.)

I have struggled a little with how much I personally should be involved directly with college coaches. Sure, I could buddy up with coaches and develop deep personal relationships, but as a scout, my job is to locate athletes that meet college athletic requirements, have high GPA’s, and the right character. PERIOD. I want to be as unbiased as possible.

My job is to assist the athletes and their families in the recruiting process. Make sure they have their skills videos, game footage, highlight film, a scouting report, transcripts and everything else in place to contact college coaches.

Private workouts, unofficial and official visits are key to getting a scholarship. First you need to reach out to coaches and develop rapport, a relationship, with the coach. The highlight film, skills video and scouting report are to peak the interest of the coach. An athlete needs to be contacting the coach via phone, email and text to get on campus. That is essential in the recruiting process.

Working out with a coach will give them 10x’s more information about you as an athlete than watching dozens of games. Every coach has their own evaluation methods.

Not sure how to get the recruiting process started? For the do-it-yourselfers, go to my website and read the checklist. For others that want a more hands on approach, contact me. 208-691-8511

Club Travel Teams

How To Select A Travel/Club Team

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TRAVELING TEAMS, which one is best? Choose the club/travel team that is best for your athlete.  Some club coaches are so consumed with being the #1 club to play for, they forget that the most important reason to play is to develop your skills.  If your athlete has to play a different position then what they are known for or want to specialize in and have to wait behind other “better” players because the coach is more concerned about winning…move on.

I coached park/rec for years.  IT IS our responsibility to develop these athletes!  Winning is wonderful, but in these early years (pre-college), winning and losing are important in the development process.  To be able to take a player that is behind and help them develop over the course of a season, is rewarding.  A coach that wants to cherry pick players in the name of having the best team, tells me a couple things about the coach.  Especially with travel teams.

The coach:

1) Does not want to take the time to develop players. The coach would prefer work with players that require the least amount of work.

2) Is more concerned about winning. Believe it or not losing teaches valuable lessons in composure, teamwork, and character development.

3) Is concerned about their ego. To be the best by selecting only the best players allows the coach to feel like they are the best even though, they contributed little to the development of the players.

4) Is concerned about their pocketbook. Now they “can” charge more for athletes to be part of their “special” team and guess what? It’s going to cost you more in traveling expenses because now they want to travel all over the “world” to show off their special team.  When a team has cherry picked ALL the best players in their region, who will be their real competition?  Not local teams, because all the best players are on this special team.  So now you will HAVE to travel to find any real competition.

5) They are more interested in instant gratification and may have a shorter temper with these athletes when they do not perform to their standard, even though they have done little to develop that athlete.

BUT…what about exposure tournaments? Shouldn’t I select the club that goes to the most college exposure tournaments?

College exposure tournaments are the new buzz in club/travel teams (they are BIG business).  A travel team that focuses heavily on exposure tournaments as their selling point and DO NOT have a comprehensive plan of action leading up to those tournaments to get the attention of coaches, is pointless!    Let me say that again.  If the travel team is selling you on how valuable these tournaments are, but are not doing the pre-marketing required to get the attention of college coaches for your athlete, they are wasting your time and money.

Have you seen how many athletes are at those tournaments? In reality, college coaches go to these tournaments to watch a list of athletes they ALREADY know about. Coaches don’t show up because they have nothing better to do than to evaluate every single athlete.

Exposure tournaments, when done right, will work in your favor. But just showing up at a tournament does not guarantee your athlete will be seen. You need to have an ongoing dialogue with college coaches that will want to see your athlete at the tournaments.  And that takes months of prior work.

These club/travel team coaches are not college coaches recruiting and paying your athlete through scholarships. And they are not professional coaches paying/recruiting players to perform at the highest level.  THEIR JOB SHOULD BE TO DEVELOP PLAYERS in both winning and losing situations, preparing them for the next level.


How do players verbally commit to schools so early in the process?

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In the past several years, players, parents and coaches have all witnessed a number of significant changes with how the recruiting process works throughout many of the different sports fields. The most obvious change has been the timing of when players commit to schools. Many will verbally commit before the athlete completes their junior year in high school. While this is not true for all recruits, it has become common enough to explore further. How does this happen so early?

NCAA rules allow prospects to visit campuses at their own expense anytime. These campus tours are referred to as unofficial visits and can occur even when the prospect is very young (8th, ninth and 10th grades for example). The main benefit to an athlete making an unofficial visit is the opportunity to meet with the coach. NCAA rules allow coaches to meet with prospects on campus during unofficial visits regardless of the prospect’s age or year in school. This face-to-face meeting is a great way to learn more about the school and golf program, the coach, his interest in recruiting you and how the recruiting process will unfold.

Once in 11th grade, recruits will receive letters and emails from coaches who are interested in recruiting them. This is the first opportunity for Division I coaches to make any contact with a prospect other than sending a one-time generic questionnaire. Phone calls and text messages from Division I coaches can also occur at the coach’s discretion once the prospect begins their junior year of high school.  This is a major rules change that will go into effect August 1, 2014.  Prospects and their parents, however, are allowed to call coaches anytime. This is a key step in making arrangements to meet with a coach during an unofficial visit. Although Division I coaches cannot initiate or return calls prior to September 1 of the prospect’s junior year, they do like prospects to call them to schedule a campus visit.  This is especially true in cases where the prospect is a good fit in their athletic program. In other words, do your homework first before calling a coach. Make sure the prospect has the necessary academic and athletic qualifications to attend the school.

An Athlete should arrange several unofficial visits during his sophomore year in high school. Every prospect should ultimately visit the school(s) they are interested in attending. This cannot be over emphasized considering what they learn during these visits will influence and affect where they decide to spend four years of their life. During these visits, coaches can offer prospects roster positions and/or scholarships but only in a verbal manner. Official signings occur first in mid-November during the prospect’s senior year in high school. The key is to be proactive and arrange the unofficial visits, especially if letters, emails, calls and text messages are being received from the school during the prospect’s junior year. (New rule goes into effect August 1, 2014).

A word of caution for anyone who is interested in making an early verbal commitment: THINGS CHANGE! While you may think a school is right for you, what will happen if the coach leaves or your game improves to a level where you could play for a better team? Be slow and careful to make the right decision. Once you give the coach your word, make sure it is final. This is what you should expect from the coach as well.

I NEVER recommend a verbal commit.  But, if it is the school that you absolutely want to go to, and you have the skills, then commit, but only there is NO OTHER college you would EVER go to.  Because the coach could get fired, resign, or move on, your scholarship is with the school, not the coach.