D3baseball.com Daily Dose

With the 2010 season underway, I start a new series of Clearing the Bases. With just a few games in the books I want to address the two polls.

There are two polls that come out during the season one is what can be called the coaches and media polls. The coaches poll is run by the ABCA and Collegiate Baseball. Along with a preseason poll, the poll ranks the top 30 teams. The first poll of the season is released in late March and five more polls are issued every other week with a final poll at the end of the season. A panel of coaches votes on the pollThere The media poll is run by the NCBWA and D3baseball.com. Starting in the last week of February, through the Championship round, the Top 25 is issued weekly with a one week hiatus over D-III regional Playoff weekend. The Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 SIDs and media members from across the country.

The preseason polls for each come out at different times. The ABCA/CB poll comes out just before the new year and the Top 25 comes out in mid January. I cannot tell you about the how the preseason coaches poll is created but I know about the Top 25. It is as the statement about the poll above. We have a representative sample of SIDs and D3baseball contributors from every region. We target three ballots from SIDs and the media from each region. I do monitor the poll as the ballots arrive and once the number of ballots reaches about half of the 25, the poll changes little after each additional ballot.

Both polls do as well as a predictor of the future. Last season, both polls had St. Thomas in the bottom half of their respective poll. If you look at the number of teams that remained in the poll at the end of the year, the numbers are comparable, no matter which final poll you use for comparison.

The one thing to remember in the end is that none of these polls are used to determine who plays for the Championship. The path to that top ranking lies entirely on what happens on the field.

Boiling down Division III into a few bullet points isn’t easy, and it hasn’t gotten easier as the division has grown. But Division III has been attempting to define itself in a way that can be easily communicated to those on the outside. After a Division II identity statement process ended up with the fairly meaningless “I chose Division II” mantra and D-II wrapped itself in a lot of the things Division III holds dear, it became important to take control of the message.

To us here at D3sports.com, Division III is the highest form of purely amateur athletics in the U.S. It’s where students — note, not “student-athletes” — play for love of the game. Division III competitors get no special treatment, no scholarships, no special privileges, no separate dining halls, no dorms to themselves. They don’t get preferred treatment from their professors; in fact, it’s far more likely they get treated more harshly from teachers who believe they don’t belong in the school.

But distilling that opinion, plus the opinions of hundreds of other Division III true believers, down into a form that can be easily shared and understood, isn’t easy. Here’s how Division III is positioning itself:

“Follow your passions and discover your potential.

“The college experience is a time of learning and growth – a chance to follow passions and develop potential. For student-athletes in Division III, all of this happens most importantly in the classroom and through earning an academic degree. The Division III experience provides for passionate participation in a competitive athletic environment, where student-athletes push themselves to excellence and build upon their academic success with new challenges and life skills. And student-athletes are encouraged to pursue the full spectrum of opportunities available during their time in college. In this way, Division III provides an integrated environment for student-athletes to take responsibility for their own paths, follow their passions and find their potential through a comprehensive learning experience.”

What’s your take?

For more, here’s the NCAA News article on the unveiling.

By Tom Kovic

The dictionary definition of persistence is: Continuing in spite of opposition; Enduring, lasting or recurrent. In a nutshell, I feel strongly that a persistent effort in every aspect of the college search for athletes will, in the end, give prospects and their families the greatest chance at success.

I work with athletes throughout the country in assisting them in putting their plans together for the college search. From place kickers in Southern California to midfield lacrosse players from Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, the one common thread that helps weave my college quest plans for the families I work with is the necessity to embrace persistence as a critical tool in the recruiting arsenal from start to finish.

Competition in the college quest for athletes has increased dramatically during the past 15 years. Whether you are looking for an athletic scholarship or attempting to gain assistance in admission to an academically select, non-scholarship institution, it is important to plan strategically and have the courage to approach this challenge in ways you might think are contrary to your current thinking.

As a former college coach, I valued greatly the importance of effective recruiting in an attempt to grow my program to the next level. I certainly desired a team that could win championships, but I grew to appreciate more, the importance of attracting athletes who brought a high level of personal integrity to the table. I was after potential “strong links” in an already worthy and dedicated team chain.

Some believe a persistent approach in college recruiting will be viewed by college coaches as a “pushy” attempt to get on the radar. It could come across this way if your approach is not well planned and carefully executed. The rule of thumb here is simple: Coaches want to hear from prospects and considering the tight latitude they have in communicating with prospects, coaches’ welcome and encourage kids to drop them an e-mail or pick up the phone and call.

Prospects and families should avoid calling coaches just to say “hello.” I always encourage the students I advise to orchestrate their communication with coaches in a way that will advance the relationship and maintain momentum in the recruiting process. It needs to have “grip.”

Whether you are sharing information with Coach about a sensational game you had over the weekend, or your math score on the SAT that jumped 30 points, give Coach something that will grab his attention and make your personal profile shine a little brighter.
Maintaining a persistent approach in the college recruiting process is a very broad concept. Below are just a few examples where exercising a persistent approach will assist athletes navigate the college search with more confidence:

• Initiate primary contact with college coaches. For example: Develop a personal profile and attach it to a well constructed introductory e-mail.
• The recruiting process is a journey that requires constant effort where “follow-up” in every communication is essential.
• Coaches are bound to very strict contact rules as it applies to recruiting. Prospects and families on the other hand, have very little restrictions when it comes to initiating contact with coaches. Get the ball rolling.
• If you plan to initiate a phone call to a college coach, it may take you up to 10 try’s before you connect. Do not get frustrated!
• If you plan to attend a showcase or tournament where several coaches on your “A” list of schools will be in attendance, don’t “hope” they will be evaluating you… Let them know you will be there and encourage them to observe you.
• If you happen to be a senior and you are a bit behind in the college search, cultivate a relationship with the coaches and always be sincere in your interest in their institution. You will position yourself best when you reach the point in asking Coach if you can take take that overnight visit to campus and spend time with the team.

Maintaining a persistent and diligent approach in college recruiting can be both frustrating and daunting. In most cases, it takes courage, mental toughness and the ability to develop thick skin! What seems tremendously unfamiliar in the beginning stages of developing this habit will become more comfortable with practice and time and soon you will realize that coaches are educators, moms, dads and just plain, regular people. They “know the score” and only want the best for prospects as they move forward in the college search.

Tom Kovic is the current director of Victory Collegiate Consulting, where he provides individual advisement for families on college recruiting. He is the author of “Reaching for Excellence” An educational guide for college athletics recruiting. Kovic delivers college recruiting presentations nationwide and he is a regular contributor to several online magazines and professional organizations. For further information visit: www.victoryrecruiting.com