Parents How involved is your gym/coach in the college process?

[Gigi]

Alex worked on the letter and email with me. She wrote the letter, she had another friend who went through the process. So she had some ideas of what she wanted to say. And it has to come from the athlete. There were just so many emails to send - I did the first batch of email - but they were all her words and it was from her. Again I was so impressed how involved she got.
We never got to the arranging appointment stage until several months after the process started. A couple of the Universities started following her on Instagram (which have since deleted her now that she didn't chose them). Some sent back strongly encouraging emails inviting her to camps. She also got a call from one University to come down to the camp. They can call you about camps but not about university. So we knew there was interest. So it was just the feel we got from the universities.
Again, she had narrowed down her list to a few that she really wanted to go to and we really ramped up the communication. One way of course as they can't come back to us. Alex would send new videos of skills every time she upgraded one.

Now she was really interested in 3 - we told 2 of them as they were fairly close together - that we would arrange a trip to come down to both and could they accommodate. They both said yes. All this reply communication was back to our coach. Again they can't talk to you. If they had said no we can't accommodate that sends a pretty strong message they are really not interested. And then we made it happen.

The universities we have dealt with have followed the rules about no communication or anything. We even had one come watch her train. She watched her but never spoke to her. Only the head coach. It was kind of strange. But those are the rules.

Thanks so much!!

 

[Danzasol]

USA gymnastics just presented a very good webinar for gymnasts/parents on college recruiting. It also has good information on acro/tumbling college programs.

 

[Gigi]

I can tell you my experience as Alex recently got a full ride scholarship. At the time Alex was a L10 gymnast but had been hurt during the 2015 competition season.

We started her process before Grade 8. We had set up a youtube account as well as a Facebook page which was strictly for her gymnastics. Plus most of our family live so far from us that it was a good way to keep in touch.

Every time she had something new or a meet we would update it on both channels.

Her coach would send me videos and advised which ones I could post publicly.

We started the emailing schools in May 2016 and she landed her scholarship in Oct 2016. She was entering Grade 9.
We started calls in June 2016 and visits in September 2016.

Our coach was involved - somewhat. He gave content, he spoke to the head coaches/assistant coaches of the schools (as they can't speak to you, its complicated) He arranged our visits to the universities and the ones to our gym. We did the personalized emails, Facebook, youtube, business card, etc. I am an extremely organized person so I kept spreadsheets all sorts of information.

I would say though, after my initial email to the schools, Alex really took over. She made the calls to the schools, she would send the emails. She did a really good job.

We also went to a NCAA seminar where they talked about "getting ready" and the spokesperson said her were right on track.

Hope that helps...

Hi Kit Kat. Sorry to bring back such an old post. I was reading this post again (I have it bookmarked ;-) ), and it sounds like your recruiting process was very quick, from May to October, in the beginning of 9th grade. I am thinking that is probably not the typical, and probably because your daughter is an outstanding gymnast and they need to snatch her up immediately! As I was reading, a question came up in my mind on whether the schools gave you a due date to accept? What if you heard from some schools but not all, or you haven't heard from your top ones yet? How did you decide what schools to contact, and then what schools to accept? Did you cast a wide net or you have a small, focused list? You mentioned proximity to home was one factor, but were there others? My daughter is much older than that and she still doesn't know what school she wants to go to, or what major, so she can't even filter out schools from that. And just curious, this is probably a totally stupid (or taboo ) question.....were you interested in any non-gymnastics schools at all? A school that is so special that you are willing to give up college gymnastics if accepted? But you wouldn't know about admission for non-gymnastics school until senior year.

Finally (last questionS, yay), did you fill out those college surveys right from the beginning or only after a school shows interest? And, there are many coaches on staff, did you contact just the head coach or all coaches and all in one email or separate email to each coach?

Sorry for so many questions...and many, many thanks for sharing your insights.

 

[kitkat]

So to answer your questions.
- no they didn't give a due date. But rather said take all the time you want. Make sure that this is the school you want to come to. If you feel you want to visit any other schools. Go ahead. Cause when you commit we want you committed.
- after she committed we did hear back from a few other schools that were in our scope of schools.
- she never tried for any of the top schools
- We did lots of things to determine which schools were within her scope. Length of distance from home, what the school had to offer (courses, success rates after graduation, student per teacher ratio, dorms, etc. Lots on the school) . what the crime rate was in the city, how big the school itself was, who the head coach was and what did people we know - knew about them. Lots and lots of factors. In the end she had narrowed the list down to about 10 main schools.
- we started wide first, then narrowed it down
- no - non- gymnastics schools was not even an option - she was seeking a gymnastics-academic scholarship
- yes and no on the college surveys - a lot of that stuff is different then Canada. So her scores were not out of 10 as she had previously competed in the Novice HP category. And they asked about GPAs and in G 8 - they do not give you a . number here. Its a 1 - 2 -3 - 4. But not a specific 90% or 80% mark. Not until G9. And we had started our process when she was in G8.
- my first round of emails - was sent to the HC. But I didnt feel I was making any head way - so the second round went to the assistant and CC the HC.
- also did one round of snail mail. I had a post card side business card made for ALex. I sent those to her top choice schools - that gave me another reason to email them - after wards.
- I did the first round of emails for Alex - and then after that it was her. She did the calls herself. Her and I role played for the calls. She then went into her room and made calls - when it got to that stage. I was so proud of her.
- Universities want to hear from the gymnast not the parents. And even now - her school wants to hear from. So she emails the HC with videos, if we are going to come down and watch a meet, say hi. Whatever it maybe. She sends it and I don't even see it.
- another thing - each email should be tailored to the actual school. i.e. mascots, rankings, last year standings, names, etc. I have heard they don't like "shell" emails

Hope this helps. Thank you for the kind words about Alex. It was a fairly quick process - yah us.
But its a lot of work. On both the parents and the gymnast.

Hi Kit Kat. Sorry to bring back such an old post. I was reading this post again (I have it bookmarked ;-) ), and it sounds like your recruiting process was very quick, from May to October, in the beginning of 9th grade. I am thinking that is probably not the typical, and probably because your daughter is an outstanding gymnast and they need to snatch her up immediately! As I was reading, a question came up in my mind on whether the schools gave you a due date to accept? What if you heard from some schools but not all, or you haven't heard from your top ones yet? How did you decide what schools to contact, and then what schools to accept? Did you cast a wide net or you have a small, focused list? You mentioned proximity to home was one factor, but were there others? My daughter is much older than that and she still doesn't know what school she wants to go to, or what major, so she can't even filter out schools from that. And just curious, this is probably a totally stupid (or taboo ) question.....were you interested in any non-gymnastics schools at all? A school that is so special that you are willing to give up college gymnastics if accepted? But you wouldn't know about admission for non-gymnastics school until senior year.

Finally (last questionS, yay), did you fill out those college surveys right from the beginning or only after a school shows interest? And, there are many coaches on staff, did you contact just the head coach or all coaches and all in one email or separate email to each coach?

Sorry for so many questions...and many, many thanks for sharing your insights.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Kit Kat, you are awesome! I have been following these conversations because we are close to this I think (hope?) and your advice is very helpful. DD is entering 9th grade and will be a first year L10 with very strong skills (10.0 start on every event and impressive tumbling and vault). She went to a NCAA showcase event and a regional developmental camp this summer and three D1 schools reached out to her coach saying they were interested in her. But so far that is all it is...it doesn't seem like it really means anything until there is an actual offer. I'm not sure how to proceed from here. DD is in the process of building a web page with current video and she is preparing a cover letter similar to the one you described, but we have not actually called anyone. I hope we are not too late...

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Newbie here

How involved is your gym/owners/coaches involved in the college process for their gymnasts?

My DD is an 11 year old L 7/8. Finished her L6 season with over 38's in 6 out of her 7 meets and a Regional title on beam

I know it's early to think about college but it is her dream and we want to be prepared when the time comes. We came to our current gym a few years ago because most their L10's get college scholarships or walk-on offers. Right now 5 of our L10's have college commitments to D1 (and 1 D2) schools.

Being here now a few years I have heard rumors that it has been the parents that do ALL the work (well obviously beside our gymnasts hard work, lol) They do the videos, set up You Tube channels, set up Bios on external website, send e-mail and videos to college coaches, etc. Since I have been here a few colleges have come to our gym to watch the L9's and 10's train by invitation from our owners.

If you have a high level gymnast or even a college gymnast what has been your experience?

Thanks!

If you want something done right you need to do it yourself. The parents at our gym set up a youtube page, we cut and past from it on our main site. In other words the parents to all the work, (which isn't much). The kids send all letters to colleges. I can tell you first hand that the college coaches want to hear from the kids. the end...

 

[cftmoonlight]

As a coach, I run an Instagram account, and I promote our kids on Facebook, and keep as many NCAA coaches as "friends" on social media. We provide the optionals with a booklet that has timelines, list of schools, sample emails etc. We chat with them about YouTube accounts and what they should post, and such but we expect the gymnasts to do the emails and contacting each individual school themselves.

 

[Gigi]

So to answer your questions.
- no they didn't give a due date. But rather said take all the time you want. Make sure that this is the school you want to come to. If you feel you want to visit any other schools. Go ahead. Cause when you commit we want you committed.
- after she committed we did hear back from a few other schools that were in our scope of schools.
- she never tried for any of the top schools
- We did lots of things to determine which schools were within her scope. Length of distance from home, what the school had to offer (courses, success rates after graduation, student per teacher ratio, dorms, etc. Lots on the school) . what the crime rate was in the city, how big the school itself was, who the head coach was and what did people we know - knew about them. Lots and lots of factors. In the end she had narrowed the list down to about 10 main schools.
- we started wide first, then narrowed it down
- no - non- gymnastics schools was not even an option - she was seeking a gymnastics-academic scholarship
- yes and no on the college surveys - a lot of that stuff is different then Canada. So her scores were not out of 10 as she had previously competed in the Novice HP category. And they asked about GPAs and in G 8 - they do not give you a . number here. Its a 1 - 2 -3 - 4. But not a specific 90% or 80% mark. Not until G9. And we had started our process when she was in G8.
- my first round of emails - was sent to the HC. But I didnt feel I was making any head way - so the second round went to the assistant and CC the HC.
- also did one round of snail mail. I had a post card side business card made for ALex. I sent those to her top choice schools - that gave me another reason to email them - after wards.
- I did the first round of emails for Alex - and then after that it was her. She did the calls herself. Her and I role played for the calls. She then went into her room and made calls - when it got to that stage. I was so proud of her.
- Universities want to hear from the gymnast not the parents. And even now - her school wants to hear from. So she emails the HC with videos, if we are going to come down and watch a meet, say hi. Whatever it maybe. She sends it and I don't even see it.
- another thing - each email should be tailored to the actual school. i.e. mascots, rankings, last year standings, names, etc. I have heard they don't like "shell" emails

Hope this helps. Thank you for the kind words about Alex. It was a fairly quick process - yah us.
But its a lot of work. On both the parents and the gymnast.

Hi. Thanks so much! This is great information and really, really helpful. Even though I have learned a lot from this forum, thanks to everyone, I still feel pretty intimidated by the process. You and Alex did amazing job!

P.S. By your top schools, I meant your top school choices .

Best of luck to Alex's college gymnastics career!

 

[kitkat]

Make sure you have a facebook page just for her gymnastics. Also have a youtube page only for her gymnastics.
Only like - NCAA webpages on both. Comment on their posts using her youtube channel.
Don't like any page other then gymnastics. Upload all her "good" videos. Competition and new skills.
Don't post fails. I always ask Alex coach if this is a postable video. He gives the oK.

I am not up on the new changes that occured this year. But they are now different then when Alex got hers. Make sure you read those.

Focus hard on those gyms that have shown interest. Have her coach call or your daughter call those schools saying you would like to have an unofficial visit. You are going to have to show interest and spend a little visiting to show you are serious.
(Again, new rules so I am not sure about unofficial visit - I thought I read somewhere that your not allowed to meet with the athletic department on a visit until G11. But again I maybe wrong-as I don't need to know the rules anymore as she has hers)
If your daughter calls they can't call you back so leave your coaches number for them to call back. Keep track of what your doing so your not repeating stuff you have already done. Role play with her as she is the one making the calls.

Regardless you have 3 schools interested. Keep the momentum going. Your not too late.

Not sure what school you are looking at but this webpage gives you a pretty good idea if there are spaces available.

http://www.collegegymfans.com/recruits-sp-367083677.html

Good luck - its a long time consuming drawn out process.... but keep at it.

Kit Kat, you are awesome! I have been following these conversations because we are close to this I think (hope?) and your advice is very helpful. DD is entering 9th grade and will be a first year L10 with very strong skills (10.0 start on every event and impressive tumbling and vault). She went to a NCAA showcase event and a regional developmental camp this summer and three D1 schools reached out to her coach saying they were interested in her. But so far that is all it is...it doesn't seem like it really means anything until there is an actual offer. I'm not sure how to proceed from here. DD is in the process of building a web page with current video and she is preparing a cover letter similar to the one you described, but we have not actually called anyone. I hope we are not too late...

 

[amiandjim]

I just wanted to say we had a girl at our gym verbal to a Div 1 school a couple weeks ago and she is going into her senior year! It’s not too late.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Make sure you have a facebook page just for her gymnastics. Also have a youtube page only for her gymnastics.
Only like - NCAA webpages on both. Comment on their posts using her youtube channel.
Don't like any page other then gymnastics. Upload all her "good" videos. Competition and new skills.
Don't post fails. I always ask Alex coach if this is a postable video. He gives the oK.

I am not up on the new changes that occured this year. But they are now different then when Alex got hers. Make sure you read those.

Focus hard on those gyms that have shown interest. Have her coach call or your daughter call those schools saying you would like to have an unofficial visit. You are going to have to show interest and spend a little visiting to show you are serious.
(Again, new rules so I am not sure about unofficial visit - I thought I read somewhere that your not allowed to meet with the athletic department on a visit until G11. But again I maybe wrong-as I don't need to know the rules anymore as she has hers)
If your daughter calls they can't call you back so leave your coaches number for them to call back. Keep track of what your doing so your not repeating stuff you have already done. Role play with her as she is the one making the calls.

Regardless you have 3 schools interested. Keep the momentum going. Your not too late.

Not sure what school you are looking at but this webpage gives you a pretty good idea if there are spaces available.

http://www.collegegymfans.com/recruits-sp-367083677.html

Good luck - its a long time consuming drawn out process.... but keep at it.

Thank you, KitKat!