How to Get Noticed by College Football Programs...(con't)
By Doug Brien

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Marketing Strategies: There are a number of ways to market yourself to college programs. Some of these methods vary by which type of college program you are pursuing: Division I, IAA, II, III, NAIA or Junior College. However, most of the methods are universal. Here are the strategies I recommend employing:

" An Honest Assessment: Have a serious and realistic conversation with your high school coach and parents. The most important - and most difficult - thing to do is to determine how much football talent you possess. You need to be realistic about what level you can play. If you have Division II talent, then you will waste your time and reduce your likelihood of playing college football only pursue Division I schools. The smartest move you can make is to determine which level you are suited to play at and pursue those schools. It is fine to still pursue some Division I schools, but definitely have a back-up plan with smaller programs to fall back on.

Deciding to focus on a certain level football program is especially useful if you are pursuing lower division schools. Those schools often look for the kids left over from the Division I process or look at the kids who send them information. Where many Division I schools painfully work their way through hundreds of tapes and letters, lower division schools often look very carefully at the letters and tapes they receive. If you market yourself well to those lower division schools and you have sufficient talent, you will have an excellent chance to play there.

" Attend College Football Summer Camps: The best way for college football coaches to assess your talent and your personality is at their school's summer football camp. This allows the coaches to watch you up close and actually get to know you. For specialists, it is especially important to have the right kind of personality and demeanor. Most coaches want to see a kid that is confident, calm, and hard working. They don't want to see someone who gets rattled easily or seems unsure of himself.

Almost every school has a football camp for high school kids. Once you determine where you want to play, sign up for their camp in the summer. If you cannot afford to attend them all, sign up for your top choice.

Each summer Cal hosts a Kicking, Punting and Long Snapping Camp. This lets the coaching staff get a good look at the high school kids that attend. On the last day of the camp an intense competition is held in Memorial Stadium using stadium noise. The coaches want to see who can perform well in a preassure-filled environment. Last year Cal offered one scholarship and at least two kids the opportunity to walk-on after seeing them perform at camp. Attending a summer camp is by far the best way to get noticed by a school.

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