We hear this all the time: "I emailed a coach and he didn't respond. He must not be interested."

This couldn't be further from the truth. Of course, it's possible that the coach will ultimately decide that you're not right for his team.

But how could he possibly know that after just one email -- especially if you've done the background work to find schools that are a good fit academically and athletically?

On this podcast, we talk about when you should finally dismiss a college from your list -- when you you can say with certainty that, "This is not the college for me. I'm going to focus on the rest of my list instead." Click below to listen:

"Dear Coach -- I would really like to go to your college because it seems like a good college for me..."

Gasp! College coaches get impersonal emails like this all the time. The coach and college names aren't even there. And there are no details showing why the school is a good fit for the writer. The text has clearly been copied and pasted time and again. What happens to it? It gets trashed immediately.

Instead of wasting your time with emails that do you no good, a few minutes spent customizing your email for each college can make a huge difference.

College sports scholarships are a popular conversation topic. Probably as a result, many of the realities get mired in myths and misconceptions. Discussions surrounding scholarships vary widely, but there are three particularly common myths and one recurring pitfall that athletes encounter time and again. On this episode of our podcast, we debunk the myths, talk about how to avoid the pitfall, and reveal what the college scholarship landscape really looks like.

3 Sport Scholarship Myths

• The Myth of Many - NCAA scholarship limits are extremely strict. The NCAA sets a maximum number of scholarships that teams in a given sport can have.


• The Myth of the Full Ride - There are very few full scholarships. Most college teams split their scholarships among a number of athletes.


• The Myth of Full Funding - Not only are teams limited in the number of scholarships that the NCAA allows them to have, many can't afford that many anyhow.

1 Pitfall

And here's the pitfall: college athletic scholarships are dangerous. Why? They often cloud people's judgment and lead them to make bad decisions.

Here's the great thing about summer: there's no homework.

This plays to your advantage in a number of ways. An extra hour sitting by the pool? No worries. A college recruiting camp where you eat, breathe and sleep sports for a week? Ideal.

It's also a great opportunity to focus in on your recruiting status, fine-tune your list of schools, and make sure that you're on the radar of the college coaches on your list.

A couple weeks back, we released our big study "What College Coaches Think About Recruiting." One of the most encouraging things we found is that college coaches are very concerned about players finding the right "fit" -- colleges that offer the right balance of athletics and academics.

It's great that coaches want this for athletes, but it's also in the college coach's best interest. In this episode of our radio show, we discuss why, for their own sake, college coaches want you to find the right school -- even if, in the end, it's not theirs.

Okay, you spent all this time, energy, and money getting to a big showcase tournament. The goal was to get seen by college coaches. Now the tournament is over. Did you accomplish what you set out to do? There were definitely coaches on the sidelines, but were the right ones watching? And if so, what did they think? We tackle the post-tournament blues (and confusion) on this week's episode of Radio CaptainU.

This is the transcript from Radio CaptainU: The Real Differences Between DI, DII, and DIII.

We've got an interesting topic on task for today we’re gonna talk a little about the different divisions. Division one, division two and division three. This kind of came out of an interview, a newspaper interview I was doing earlier today a little about what are the differences between those divisions and how do people end up making some of the most common mistakes that in terms of how they think about D1, D2 and D3.

So that’s what up on the table today, on the podcast, hope you enjoy it. Hope you're enjoying CaptainU. We’ve seen a lot of really good recruiting outcomes in the last few weeks. A lot of people are getting in touch with college coaches. That’s really exciting for us to see.

Certainly if you have any questions feel free to email us at info(at)CaptainU.com. You can also request new features or ask questions for future podcast by emailing us at that info(at)CaptainU.com email address.

Okay so onward with today’s topic D1, D2 and D3. So what are the real differences? Now the first thing that we have to do when discussing this particular topic, is we have to dispel the number one myth and that is that D1, D2 and D3 correspond directly with the quality of the play in the particular division.

In other words a lot of people seem to think that division one by virtue of being number one is best, D2 would be second best and D3 would be third best or awful by some accounts. But really that’s not the case, and so we’re gonna talk about what those designations actually mean to them and one thing that we’ve actually joked about for a while here at CaptainU is changing the whole D1, D2, D3 system and making it more like NCAA red NCAA blue, NCAA green. You know some color designation that makes it a little less like of a hierarchy than you see with D1, D2 and D3. So the first thing that you need to just get out of your mind is the idea that D1 is the best and D3 is the worst.

Alright so the second thing, the second thing to really take into consideration is what are the real differences between these three divisions and they really fall into kind of two categories.

The first is of course scholarships and this gets a lot of attention because athletic scholarships are a pretty hot topic, a pretty neat thing, you know something that people really like to discuss a lot.

Division one and two teams have scholarships, athletic scholarships. Division three teams don’t have scholarships athletic scholarships. However an interesting statistic that you should know is that the average division three athlete is receiving on average more financial aid through a variety of grant programs, loans, various awards than the average division one player. That’s a pretty fascinating statistic. As far as scholarships in division one go just because a team is allowed scholarships doesn’t mean it has all the scholarships that it is allotted.

The NCAA allows a certain number of scholarships per team and not every team necessarily has fully funded all of those scholarships. So you may be allowed ten scholarships for a given team and a given sport. But the athletic department may only have enough money to fund three or four in many cases and indeed this is the case. Many teams, many Division I teams while they are allowed to have scholarships don’t have the full allotment funded. So that’s another thing to take into consideration.

So of the two main issues that are the real differences between the Divisions, scholarships is certainly one. And the second one is the time commitment. And this is something that really should not be overlooked because it really gets to the core of what it is that you want your college experience to be like. Athletics in Division I should be considered basically a full time job. Athletes spend five, six hours a day doing various activities associated with the team whether that’s lifting weights, doing fitness work, going to the trainer practicing, traveling to games, playing in games. And they do this year round.

By contrast in Division III for example, the time commitment is much less. Now during the season it’s no doubt very intense in division three but the off season is much more restricted. The NCAA has very clearly restricted the amount of time that division three athletes can spend with their team.

And the effect that this has is that it dramatically changes the kind of college experience that you have. So if you’re playing sports in Division III, you will find that you have more time to pursue other college activities. Whether that may be student government newspapers or other student groups. And this is certainly something that a lot of people like to have. They like to broaden their horizons a bit when they get to school. Of course there are athletes who really want to go to school and focus on playing sports and going to school and for them Division I maybe a better bet.

So the bottom line is, before you just say reflexively that you want to play Division I because it’s the best, forget about that myth, that idea that Division I is necessarily the best, because to be quite frank, many, there are many top Division II and Division III teams that could beat many division one teams. It‘s not necessarily the rule and certainly the best D1 teams are usually the best teams in the country. But the quality in D3 and D2 is very high.

So first off all, drop the myth, forget the myth that D1 is necessarily the best, and also take into the consideration the real issue, the scholarships issue as well as the time commitment and then you’ll have a more realistic sense of what the whole D1, D2, D3 hierarchy is actually about.

How do you actually know if you've made a college team? It may seem trivial and obvious, but actually knowing what to do, what questions to ask, and when to ask them, can be tricky. For all the answers, listen to this week's episode of Radio CaptainU.

College Roster Sports & Athletic Scholarships: Transcript

So the question on the docket today is how do you know if you have made a college team? We've gotten a lot of questions about this. How do I actually know if and when college coaches decided that I'm going to be on the roster? So, over the next few minutes we're going to discuss that in a little bit of detail. As you'll see, it's not that complicated. So, again, the question is how do I know if I've made a college team. And the first thing to think about really is what the absolute goal is of recruiting. What are you actually trying to accomplish? And surprisingly, though it may seem simple, there's a lot of confusion about this topic.

At the end of the day, what you're really trying to accomplish in the recruiting process is to be guaranteed a spot on a college roster. It's not just to get onto a team and play in college, which of course is sort of the ultimate goal. It's to be guaranteed a spot on the college team before you show up on campus. You want to know that when you arrive on campus in the fall that you will be on the college team. There are a lot of people, unfortunately, who overlook this and just kind of assume or think or hope that they're going to be on the team, and then they arrive on campus only to find out that they have to go through tryouts of some sort. That can be really frustrating and more often than not is not the successful route.

Unfortunately, at walk-on tryouts, walk-on tryouts are a real roll of the dice. There are typically a lot of players, the coaches don't have much time or patience, and they often only give you a couple hours to show your stuff. By any measure, that's not a very effective or adequate tryout, but that's unfortunately how things go. A couple friends of mine, actually, went that route and were unlucky-- they didn't get to play. They didn't make the team. And the sad thing about that is really they should have and had they known really back then what they should have done, I'm quite certain that they would have made a college team.

So, returning to the key point here, you want to be guaranteed a spot on the college roster when you arrive on campus. You want to know when you decide, when you send in your check to go to school there or sign a national letter of intent or verbally commit, you want to be absolutely convinced that you are going to be given a spot on the roster. So, the question is, of course, how do you know? How do you know if you're going to be guaranteed a spot on the roster? Well, surprisingly, the answer is very simple.

In fact, it's so simple that it can be encapsulated in one word: ASK. Ask the question. Ask college coaches whether you will be on the team if you come to their college. And ask if there's scholarships money available for you. How exactly does this question sound? It can be as simple as, "If I come play for you, will there be soccer scholarships available for me?" Of course, there are some NCAA scholarship limits, so you need to know what the situation is for your specific sport.

Amazingly, all too many kids fail to ask this simple question. And I think I know why. I think it's because college coaches can be a little intimidating, so asking them big questions, even though they may be simple, can be very intimidating, can be a difficult thing. But what you should do is in an email or over the phone, ask the college coach exactly what I've been saying to this point: If I come to school there, will I be guaranteed a spot on the roster? That's all you have to do. If the coach says yes, that's wonderful. If the coach says no, that's not the answer, obviously, you were looking for, but the good thing is that you can now focus on the other colleges, those that actually did say that you will make, you will be guaranteed a spot on the roster.

Of course, there's a third answer, it's kind of the in between answer; "I need more information," is what a coach may say, in which case you need to respond, "what information do you need?" Does he need recommendations from your coaches? Does he need to see you play a little bit more? In all likelihood, it's the latter, so you need to find ways for him to see you play.

The best way to do that, of course, is through a camp during the summer. That gives you a long, extended opportunity to show him what you're really capable of. So, if he says I need to see you play more, ask him, "Where are you planning to be this summer?" Or, if you can't go to a camp, "What tournaments are you planning to be at?" and see if you can make your travel plans, your tournament plans coincide with his. So, to recap, how do you know if you're on the college team, if you're going to make the college team? You ask. You ask the question. Well, that's it for this episode of Radio CaptainU. I hope you found it informative, useful, and helpful. Thanks again, and talk to you soon.

by Avi - Spring is in the air and everyone's been asking about NCAA unofficial visits. For me, the unofficial visit I took to Wesleyan made all the difference. On this episode of our Radio Show, I'll explain why unofficial visits are so absurdly worthwhile, and what you should do when you get to campus. Click below to listen:

by Avi - Everyone says, "I want to play Division I." Why? What is Division I really? In this episode of the show, we dispel the myths about the Divisions and reveal the true differences between the divisions and their college sports recruiting programs. Click below to listen:

Learn more about: NCAA Division I recruiting; NCAA Division II recruiting; and NCAA Division III recruiting

Transcript: The Real Differences Between Division I, Division II, and Division III

We've got an interesting topic on task for today. We’re gonna talk a little about the different divisions. Division one, division two and division three. This kind of came out of an interview, a newspaper interview I was doing earlier today a little about what are the differences between those divisions and how do people end up making some of the most common mistakes that in terms of how they think about D1, D2 and D3.

So that’s what up on the table today, on the podcast, hope you enjoy it. Hope you're enjoying CaptainU. We’ve seen a lot of really good recruiting outcomes in the last few weeks. A lot of people are getting in touch with college coaches. That’s really exciting for us to see.

Certainly if you have any questions feel free to email us at info(at)CaptainU.com you can also request new features or ask questions for future podcast by emailing us at that info(at)CaptainU.com email address.

Okay so onward with today’s topic D1, D2 and D3. So what are the real differences? Now the first thing that we have to do when discussing this particular topic, is we have to dispel the number one myth and that is that D1, D2 and D3 correspond directly with the quality of the play in the particular division.

In other words a lot of people seem to think that division one by virtue of being number one is best, D2 would be second best and D3 would be third best or awful by some accounts. But really that’s not the case, and so we’re gonna talk about what those designations actually mean to them and one thing that we’ve actually joked about for a while here at CaptainU is changing the whole D1, D2, D3 system and making it more like NCAA red NCAA blue, NCAA green. You know some color designation that makes it a little less like of a hierarchy than you see with D1, D2 and D3. So the first thing that you need to just get out of your mind is the idea that D1 is the best and D3 is the worst.

Read the whole transcript

The majority of information available for high school athletes in college guidance offices focuses on eligibility, getting through the NCAA Eligibility Center (aka Clearinghouse), and athletic scholarships. What’s usually missing is a clear strategy on how to navigate the nuances of the recruiting process -- challenges that go well beyond eligibility. That's what CaptainU provides: a counselor for school athletes.

We set out to remedy that; to provide college guidance counselors with resources that make a difference for their athletes. In this special episode of Radio CaptainU, we discuss our Guide for College Counselors, our free report for college guidance counselors.

Other topics you might find interesting: college athlete recruiting, college sports scholarships, and NCAA Clearinghouse

by Avi - With National Signing Day behind us, recruiting is heating up for the Classes of 2010 and 2011. Now is the time for sophomores and juniors to start to place themselves squarely on a coach's radar by developing an NCAA recruiting schedule.

In this episode of the show, we discuss simple but powerful steps that 2010s and 2011s should take to assert themselves and make sure that when Signing Day comes around next time, they have a spot on a college team. Click below to listen:

It's one thing to write a college baseball coach. It's a completely different thing to get his eyebrows to perk up; to get him to say to himself, "This is someone I need to keep an eye on." A lot of emails show up in a college coach's inbox. In this episode of the show, we explore two great ways to get a coach's attention because, after all, writing to college baseball coaches is important.

Click below to listen

There are a few things you need to keep in mind when emailing a college baseball coach. First of all, consider the time of year, day, week, etc. Baseball is a spring/summer sport, which means that coaches are bound to be busy during these seasons. Calling or writing a letter to a baseball coach at, say, 5:00 P.M. on a spring Friday, when the coach might have a game, probably isn't the best idea. On the other hand, writing a message on an autumnal Monday morning is an excellent strategy.

Remember, too, that coaches get a ton of emails, regardless of time of year. Sometimes your email can get lost in the fray, and a coach won't respond. That does not mean you should stop trying. All it means is that every email you send should be unique, and should accurately indicate your interest to the coach. That way, when your email receives the attention it deserves, a coach will remember you.

by Avi - 1 response from a college coach for every 10 emails sent?! No contact for weeks after a big tournament?! Phone calls and snail mail that go unreturned?! Are college coaches the most inconsiderate people around? What's going on here? On the Radio Show this week, we talk about why college coaches are often so unresponsive. Click below to listen:

by Avi - It's so easy to go to a tournament thinking, "College coaches are going to be there. They'll see me." Too bad. It just ain't so.

Even at a tournament where college coaches are swarming all over the place, the odds of getting seen by the right coach, at a moment when you do something outstanding are really slim. On this episode of our podcast, we talk about how to beat the odds. Click below to listen:

It seems like every college coach these days wants you to come to his college recruiting camp. It's flattering, no doubt, but how do you choose which camps to go to? We explore that question and more on the latest episode of our non-Emmy Award Winning radio show.

Note: if you have trouble listening, give this a try.

"College coaches are recruiting athletes, not parents," famously quipped a college coach. But let's face it, parents play a central role in the recruiting process. How do you find the right balance? We explore that question on Radio CaptainU.

If you have trouble listening with the widget above, give this a try.

Pumpkin pie? Cranberry sauce? Recruiting? What should I do for the Thanksgiving tournaments that are coming up? Other than stuffing yourself with turkey in some distant city, how do you make the most of these showcases?

Have a question that you want discussed over the air? Send it to info@CaptainU.com

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How much sway do college coaches have? Can they get you admitted to a college? We run down the myths and realities of college admissions and college sports in our weekly radio show.

Have a question that you want discussed over the air? Send it to info@CaptainU.com

Note: if you have trouble listening with the widget above, give this a try.

This week on our recruiting radio show we talk about the keys of planning and having a successful college recruiting visit. We also run down this week's additions to THE CaptainU LIST 2009 of committed athletes. Lots of athletes are committing, which is great news. Don't sweat it if you're not there yet. Just stay focused and follow the advice on your CaptainU Dashboard.

Learn more about NCAA unofficial visits and NCAA official visits.

Okay, so you're a senior right now and are starting to feel a bit worried about making a college team. What to do? This week's episode of Radio CaptainU will help you get started. We also run down this week's addition to THE LIST 2009 of committed athletes and profile some hot new tools that will soon debut on CaptainU.

Have a question that you want discussed over the air? Send them to info@CaptainU.com

A great piece of advice: don't be afraid to embark on NCAA unofficial visits. They can be just as helpful as NCAA official visits.

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On our weekly radio show, this week we tackle questions about the role of club coaches and college counselors at your high school. How can you get the most out of them...even when your college counselors aren't that good. Click below for 7 minutes of recruiting bliss, insight, and discussion.

Got questions that you want answered over the air? Send them to info@CaptainU.com.

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How do you find out if coaches want you? And how do you know if there’s a scholarship to be had? Answers to this question and others from CaptainU users on our weekly radio show. Listen here and enter recruiting bliss:

Got questions that you want answered over the air? Send them to info@CaptainU.com.

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Recruiting over the airwaves? Oh yes. At long last. A dedicated radio show to answer your college athlete recruiting questions.

Listen to it here:

Why start a radio show about recruiting?! Well, it all began on a dark and stormy night. We were at our office, pounding away on our keyboards, answering questions about recruiting. Mike's fingers were flying so fast, the keyboard was starting to smoke. Mike got to question number 235,756,456 and thought to himself, "I already answered this question!" And then, FLASH! Like a bolt of lightning, it hit him: a recruiting radio show!!! Mike and Avi played rock, paper, scissors (best out of 11) for the honor of hosting the show and Avi won. And so it began...

Origins of radio show legends aside, we get tons of questions each week about recruiting, how to deal with the process, how to deal with little nuances in the process, and so on.

Typically, we respond to these one at a time by email. But we figured, it's time to start sharing the love. So many people deal with the same challenges in the recruiting process, that it only makes sense to share our answers out in the open with everyone. Our philosophy is that the more people know about the recruiting process, the less painful it will be for everyone.

The show is a work in progress, though we're all huge fans of the show CarTalk (and not just because of the article above in which we make the claim that learning the recruiting process is like learning to drive a car.) So here's how it works. Each week, we'll select a handful of the questions we get by email and answer them on the air. If people like the show and the format, we'll build out our technical capabilities so we can start answering questions live over the air. We'll keep the show short and sweet -- 10 minutes at the max.

Send your questions to info@CaptainU.com.

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