3 Easy Ways to Improve Scholarship Opportunities

3 Simple Steps

Student-athletes wanting to participate in college sports can improve their scholarship opportunities by being more aware of what they post on social media accounts, more active when researching colleges, and filling out athletic recruiting questionnaires.

Don't Wait Around

Get involved. Don’t wait around for coaches, scouts or recruiting companies to find you. As an athlete you should be used to being a go-getter and working hard for what you want. This is why being the catalyst to your own recruiting process will give you the control to do what is needed in order to gain the best college opportunities.

Depending on the sport you play and the amount of exposure that you have received, you will either have college athletic programs sending you form letters early in your high school career or not.

Remember that NCAA rules and regulations are enforced and NCAA Division I and Division II coaches must abide by contacting recruits during certain time periods. Dedicated athletes need to make sure they have done all of the necessary recruiting tricks to get their name out there.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Clean-up your social media accounts. Remember to post ONLY appropriate pictures and videos on your wall. Coaches and recruiters will be trolling recruits accounts before they seriously consider athletes; don’t give them reason to dismiss you before they get to know you. If you have a Twitter, Facebook or any other social media accounts make sure that the updates you send out are appropriate, meaning no foul language, no name brand endorsements and especially no smack talking any coaches or teammates (past or present). This is an instant red flag. Think about it, if coaches see that you bad mouth your current coach they will undoubtedly believe that you will cause issues with future coaches and teammates.

Search Out College Athletic Coaches

If you have your mind set on attending a specific college, get online and check out what that school has to offer academically and athletically. Check the number of players on the team and where they hail from- it will give you a good idea of where the coaching staff recruits from. Read up on the coaching staff and accomplishments that they have made. Check into academic features the college is known for; does it offer a major that you are drawn to? What will the typical class sizes be? What are the graduation rates of students that chose that major? Knowing what colleges have to offer will help you to learn what you want and need in college.

Recruiting Questionnaires

The simplest way to get your name on coach’s radar is to fill out recruiting questionnaires.

Questionnaires alert coaching staffs that you are interested in their program. Another advantage student-athletes gain by filling out questionnaires is that they will be informed of upcoming events, camps or games that will be hosted by the college as a way to gain more exposure and have more chances to meet college coaches.

Also, constantly updating your profile on FastPitch Recuits will keep the coaches informed and interested. An untouched profile quickly becomes obsolete.

If you have any questions regarding recruiting or FastPitch Recruits please comment below!

Mental Toughness of the Week

"Whether you think you can or you cant--you're right."
-Henry Ford

Tips to Make Your Life Easier on the ACT

Worried about taking the ACT? It's a little different from the SAT. Here are some tips to help your score:

1. Answer every question. Yes, even the hard ones. You won’t be penalized for guessing like you would if you were taking the SAT.
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3. Start easy. Answer all of the easy questions first, then move on to the difficult ones. Usually, if you answer the questions in order, this is easy to do because they are ranked from easiest to most difficult. However, if you’re one of those people who finds reading the longer passages easier than the shorter passages, start there, where it’s easiest for you.

1. Memorize the directions. During the test, you won’t get extra time to read the directions, so if you take five minutes to figure out what to do, that’s five fewer minutes you’ll have to get points.
2. Don’t doodle. On the answer sheet, that is. The ACT is graded by a machine; if your chicken scratch interferes with the reading mechanism, you could miss out on points. Keep the oval sheet as clean as is possible.

1. Erase completely. Bring two erasers – one for the heavy-duty erasing you may need to do and another clean eraser to fix up your ovals completely. You don’t want erasure marks mucking up your answers and causing you to lose points.
2. Pace yourself. You’ll have a little less than 30 seconds to answer each question, so keep that in mind. Don’t spend three minutes staring off into space or re-reading a longer passage; stay focused.
3. Bring a watch. Archaic, yes, what with your cell phone and all, but since you won’t be able to have your cell phone on you, bring a watch. There’s no guarantee you’ll be testing in a room with a working clock.
4. Reconsider the obvious. If an answer seems too easy, it may just be. Be sure to read every answer choice and select the best possible answer. The obvious choice may be a distraction.
5. Don’t second-guess. If you marked B for question 18, there was probably a good reason for it, so don’t go back and change it, unless you've found information in a later part of the test to disprove your original theory. Statistics prove that your first guess is usually the best one.
6. Come back to a toughie. If you’re stuck between two answer choices, circle the question and come back to it with fresh eyes after you have answered the other questions. Remember you have to pace yourself.
7. Cross-check ovals. Every five questions or so, double-check your answer sheet to make sure you haven’t skipped an oval. There’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a test and realizing you missed filling in a oval somewhere.
8. Bring your own calculator. The test center will not provide you with one, so bring an approved calculator for easier math work. (All the questions can be answered without one, but bring one anyway.)
9. Outline before you write. If you’re taking the essay, be sure to take five out of the thirty minutes and plan before you write. It isn’t a waste of time; the scorers are looking for well-organized essays. The best way to get one is to plan ahead with either an outline or graphic organizer.
10. Practice.You’ve heard it before, but it’s really the truth. Buy an ACT prep book, and answer every single question in it. You’ll gain confidence and a lot of extra points by doing so.

These fifteen tips will make your life easier when you’re taking the ACT. It is a stressful test so follow all of these simple ones to make your test day more relaxing!

If you have any comments or questions please leave them below!

8 Tips to Become a Better Student-Athlete

Trying to get into college is stressful enough but what do you do when you get there? Here are 8 helpful tips on how to be a better student athlete.

1. Your JOB is to be a student athlete. Practice, class, film, weights, eat, study hall …. Wait a minute, I don't have any "me time." How am I supposed to check Facebook, do my laundry, call my mom, and play Xbox? Treat your responsibilities as if they were your-full time job, because they are. Create an hourly planner, and update it daily. Stop scheduling nap times, and use breaks between classes to study and get your work done. If you manage your time during the day, you may just find that you have 15 minutes in the evening to sneak in a game of Halo.

2. Communicate your absences. The key to successfully managing missed classes is to communicate. At the beginning of the semester, let your professors know (in person, by E-mail, or through a letter from the athletic department) the dates you will be missing class to participate in athletics. A week before you miss a specific class, remind the professor, and make a plan for how you will make up the work and obtain the notes. And when you return, make sure your work is handed in at the agreed time. This not only shows your professors you are on top of your studies and schedule, but also creates a better relationship between you and him/her.

3. Avoid "imposter syndrome." Inevitably, there will come a time in your college career when you feel as if you're walking around with a sign on your back that says, "Dumb Jock." You may feel you don't belong in the same class as the "regular" students, either because of your lack of self-confidence or poor treatment by those who (for whatever reason) don't like athletics. Step out of your comfort zone: Make an effort to cultivate friends outside your small circle of teammates and coaches. Remember that each student brings value to the institution in different ways, whether it be musical talent, academic excellence, or athletic ability.

4. Don't be a punch line. We all know him, we've all seen him, and we all know how much of pain he is . . . that guy. And trust us, every team has one. You don't want to be the player who causes your teammates daily grief. Be on time (in the athletic world, being on time means being early). Be prepared, whether it's practice, class, or study hall. If you are perceived as responsible and reliable from the start, when you are late or you do make a mistake (and you will), you will have created a margin for error, a little bit of social capital.

5. Manage your brand. Signing on to be a college athlete automatically projects you into the spotlight, not only on the field but off the field, too. You are the face of your university, and your actions reflect on your institution and your sport, both positively and negatively. Make good decisions, especially when it comes to alcohol and drugs. One bad decision will negatively affect not only you but your team, your family, and your whole athletic department. Understand that as an athlete, it's not just about you anymore; you are part of a greater whole.

6. Make the most of failure. Many college freshmen­—especially student athletes who have the twin demands of challenging athletic competition and heightened academic expectations—experience some kind of difficulty in their first semester. For some, it's a low grade on an exam or paper; for others, it's just feeling lost or overwhelmed in their new surroundings. Resist the temptation to give up. Make a realistic assessment of where you went wrong: Did you spend enough time studying? Did you ask questions in class? Did you visit the professor during office hours for extra help? Then take the steps necessary to correct the problem, right away.

7. Value Plan B. Every college student has dreams. For the ones who are athletes, those dreams usually include competing professionally. That's Plan A, and there's nothing wrong with it. The reality, however, is that fewer than 5 percent of all college athletes compete professionally after graduation. This means that you need to make a Plan B for what happens if your athletic career ends after college-level competition. This does not mean you must drop athletic pursuits altogether; it just means you should pay enough attention to the student part of your student athlete status to be ready for whatever opportunities life presents you after college.

8. Plan for life. It's easy to forget the big picture when your daily life is packed with academics and athletics, but remember to use your resources and build your network. You should aim to take at least two classes from the same professor so that when you need letters of recommendation, you will know a faculty member who can write a strong letter for you instead of a form letter. And create a résumé early. Though most student athletes are intimidated when it comes time to write one, it's good to keep in mind that your athletic experience has taught you many skills that employers value. As an athlete, you have demonstrated that you are goal oriented, work well in teams, communicate, and are organized and disciplined.

If you have any comments or questions please leave them below!

What is an Athlete?

An Athlete rises before the sun to start grinding. She rises without a need for an alarm clock for her desire to succeed is too strong to be defeated by the temptation of sleep.

An Athlete carries herself with confidence. She knows that although she may be failing, she will never fail for she will never give up.

An Athlete feeds herself well. Her body is a temple and she must treat it as such for it is the agent of which her dreams can be achieved.

An Athlete holds herself with pride. She understands that in order to be the greatest she must achieve success in all aspects in her life for there can be no true Champion with no virtue.

An Athlete is strong. She has the mental strength to fall down one hundred times and get up one hundred and one for nothing can defeat her.

An Athlete is fearless. Drenched in blood, sweat, and tears, an athlete knows she has won long before she steps under the lights. She knows nobody has worked as hard as her. It is lonely on the extra mile and few venture to endure the pain and suffering she has. She knows she has won for she is relentless, she will always prevail, she can never be stopped...

Are you an Athlete?

Mental Toughness of the Week

Its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog

-Archie Griffen

10 Things to Consider Before Choosing Your Major

What Is Your Passion?

Too often this basic question is ignored in the college planning and college application process. At times, it can seem as though the people around you have a clearer idea of what major you should choose than you do. The esteem with which your family and friends regard you likely pushes them to insist that you would make a great lawyer or a brilliant physician. What they fail to consider, however, is whether or not the position is right for you, and whether you are working toward your college goals by pursuing this major. If you are bent on painting for a living, then by all means obtain a fine arts degree.

WHAT IS THE EARNING POTENTIAL OF YOUR INTEREST?

Don't disregard factors like salary potential or job opportunity, as they will affect your future, but weight them against your desire and commitment to pursue your passion. Choosing one of the top ten highest paying college majors may seem like a good idea, but it is not your only option for paying the bills. It is also possible to channel your passions into paths that might in the end be more successful. If you aren't so committed to painting or a band that you are willing to regularly bypass your evening meal, consider finding another outlet for your creativity. Writing or teaching majors can offer an individual with a natural artistic ability a chance to use his talents without committing himself to a life littered with unpaid bills and skipped meals.

WHAT SCHOOLS OFFER THIS MAJOR? WHERE ARE THESE SCHOOLS LOCATED?

This question is pragmatic, but important. If you have your heart set on a specific university and a specific major you just might want to ensure that the school of your choice offers a degree within that area. The availability of your chosen major in your preferred geographic area can have a profound impact on your college search. If you have selected a fairly uncommon major and cannot afford to or do not want to relocate, it is important to verify that local universities offer your selection.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

If you choose an uncommon major that requires you to relocate, be sure that you consider all of the expenses involved with this process. If you pursue a degree that is only offered at a few private colleges or even state universities in other states, expect to pay more. Tuition is typically higher out of state, and the living expenses associated with relocating can be a burden. Keeping in mind the difficulties involved in balancing work and college, can you afford to move for a major? Additionally, if you are planning on entering a field that requires an extensive amount of education beyond the first four years, like medicine or law, pursuing such degrees is considerably more expensive and requires a greater amount of commitment on behalf of the student, especially when it comes to funding your education. While financial aid can often help offset costs, your choice in major can play a big role in minimizing student loans.

DETERMINE IN WHAT AREAS OF YOUR LIFE YOU ARE MOST SUCCESSFUL

The areas of your life that you are most successful in may be in stark contrast with your passions, but usually this is not the case. Look at the courses you have taken. Did you excel in any? Did you participate in an advanced placement (AP) program? Teachers can also be good at identifying aptitudes within their students. If you are uncertain about what area you perform the best in, ask one of your teachers. It is likely that they can provide you with valuable ideas and point out a direction that you had not previously considered. Additionally, if you pursue a major that compliments your strengths you are more likely to distinguish yourself within your field. If your major doesn't support your strengths, you will probably find that the curriculum within your area of choice is more difficult than you anticipated, which could make it more difficult for you to succeed.

HOW WILL YOU PAY FOR IT?

There are variations between the scholarship opportunities and the financial aid incentives for different majors. If the amount of financial assistance you need can for whatever reason possibly prevent you from attending college altogether, you may want to consider a major that has financial aid incentives attached. Scholarships and incentives vary by state, but it wouldn't hurt to look into career fields that are in need of people to fill them as there are often grants or other incentives attached for those who pursue a major within the field.

WHAT IS THE WORK LOAD LIKE?

The work load involved with a specific major may be of importance to you if you have to work and attend school at the same time. Some majors are more time consuming than others, especially if the major you have chosen does not compliment your natural abilities. If you are looking for a major with a work load that is light enough to allow you to work and pursue other interests, consult with your guidance counselor either at your high school or at your university to determine which options will be best for you.

TALK TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE OBTAINED THE MAJOR YOU ARE CONSIDERING

If you already have a major in mind that you think is a good fit for you, you might want to consider chatting with someone who obtained a degree in that field. They can probably answer your more specific questions better than a guidance counselor as they have had first hand experience. Additionally, they can provide information about the curriculum, the work load, and tell you about their experience looking for work after graduation. You might find that different degrees have impacted the graduates very differently when they pursued opportunities after graduation. For some, the degree they chose made finding a position easy, for others their degree was their greatest obstacle.

LOOK AT THE CAREER OPTIONS AVAILABLE WITHIN THIS MAJOR

Not all majors are created equal. Yes, they all offer a diploma upon completion, but they don't guarantee a job. When you are choosing a major, it would be wise to check out the job placement statistics of others who have pursued this degree. There is no reason why you should be the guinea pig; if a specific career is your reason for choosing this major, investigate the success of others. If you want to avoid a data entry position, check out all of the opportunities available and your chance at landing one of those positions after graduation.

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

This suggestion is self-explanatory. There are some attractive financial aid incentives or tuition reimbursement programs that are associated with specific majors. If financial aid is one of your primary concerns, look into majors that will help you pay for college. If you choose to take advantage of one of the incentive options, expect that they may require you to commit to working for a couple of years within the specified field.

Also, it is all the more motivation to receive an athletic scholarship. Say you wish to be a doctor or a lawyer which requires extra school. You can save the money for your undergraduate degree and use it towards your graduate studies.

If you have any questions please comment below!