Ryan Allen

Now is the time that is most crucial for players to become routine regimented, both on the field and in the classroom. 

Whether you are a high school or college athlete, your first priority is always your class work. 

Once the season starts, however, it becomes very difficult to put class work first. 

Time management is key - make sure you are completing assignments when they’re due and staying on top of things. 

It will only get more difficult to balance as the semester progresses, so put yourself in a good position for success at the start!

If you don’t understand something in a class, get help EARLY by talking to your professors or instructors or work with a tutor.   

Don’t be afraid to ask for help!  Better to do that than be standing on the sidewalk as the bus pulls away with the rest of the team for a weekend series!

It is also extremely important for all players at this time to become very aware of their bodies and the habits that will allow them to perform at optimal level, (e.g. getting plenty of rest, eating good meals, doing daily body maintenance work). 

Taking care of business now will put you in good position to start the season and continuing to be disciplined and focused will help you through the ups & downs during the season.

Good luck to you!

With the early signing period having passed

Now, with that being said, this article is for those of you, who like me, were not able to sign with a school in November and are still looking for that right opportunity. 

I remember the feeling that I had when the early signing period of my senior year had passed and I had not received many calls or offers from schools that I had hoped to hear from. 

I found it extremely frustrating to see kids that I was convinced I was better than – signing with Division I schools – while I was left wondering and waiting.   

For whatever reason they got called and you did not – it’s happened and now nothing will be able to change that. 

I know it’s hard not to, but I can tell you that continuing to wonder why they got calls and you didn’t will not help your frustration.

But, what you can do is focus on YOU and put YOURSELF in the best position possible to continue participating in your sport after high school graduation.   

Reach out to schools to gauge their interest in you as an athlete and as a student.

If they won’t knock down your door, then you go knock down theirs. 

Don’t be afraid of a little rejection, most schools will do it in a very respectful (and even helpful) manner. 

For those of you finding yourself still looking for a place to play, I want to wish you the best of luck. 

Don’t let one little bump in the road derail your entire path - Keep pushing and finding ways to make it happen!

Rick Allen, Founder of Informed Athlete and former DI Compliance Director, shares insight into the Transfer Process including the types of transfers and the NCAA rules that an athlete must follow in order to successfully move to another school and be eligible to play.   

When an athlete is being recruited, the last thing he/she wants to think about is transferring.  However, it’s important to be aware of the NCAA rules before you sign with or walk-on at a school because decisions made can have a huge impact on what happens should you later have to go through the transfer process. 

Please note:  This product bundle includes the actual audio file plus a PDF transcript.  After payment is processed, you’ll receive an email with the download link for both items.  If you have any questions, please call Informed Athlete at 918-994-7272.  

I think it is important for each individual to have a specific set of goals in purposes towards their sport, and what they hope to achieve.  In order for us to achieve what we want to in sport, or anything in life, we must know how we are going to achieve it.  It is important to focus on the moment at hand on a consistent basis to achieve long-term goals and purposes. 

If we want to establish a fun environment in sport, we must find a way to make sure that we are providing a fun environment on a daily basis.  The same goes for any other objective that we seek to achieve.  We cannot simply say that we want to establish a purpose on the first day of practice, and then put it in the back of our minds for a few weeks.  We must make a conscious effort to let our actions correlate with what we want to accomplish.  Our daily activities become our habits, and it is our job to make sure that our daily habits reflect our values and beliefs. 

To me, two of the many purposes of sport are discipline and determination.  I believe that these two aspects are exactly how we all achieve our goals.  Certainly, there are differing circumstances with each individual which can lead to, or prevent, success.  But, in examining the things that are within each individual’s control, discipline and determination are constants. 

As stated by my professor and Sports Psychologist, Dr. Richard McGuire, almost nothing done in sports is instinctual.  But, all athletes train tirelessly to try and make their actions seem as though they are instinctual.  A pitcher does not have a natural instinct to cover first base when a ground ball is hit to his first baseman.  But through repetitive practice and training, we make it become as instinctual as we possibly can.

It can be easy for each and every athlete to only focus on what they want to accomplish one year, two years, or even three years down the road.  But, in order for each athlete to achieve what they want to in that time span, they must first set a series of attainable short-term goals that will allow them to build up to their ultimate goal. 

In talking about short-term goals, I believe that one can even benefit from setting daily goals.  This includes wanting to get something accomplished on each day and at every practice. 

If you are a baseball pitcher, don’t be satisfied with improving your pick off move by the end of the week.  Improve your pick off move today, and then improve it again tomorrow.  By the end of the week, your pick off move will be that much better than if you had put off a goal that could be accomplished immediately. 

In making our habits and actions as instinctual as we possibly can, we put ourselves in position to react and adjust to anything that is thrown our way. 

Failure is a part of sport, and a part of life.  All of us will encounter it many times.  When failure occurs, we must find our own way to get back into a successful mindset. 

The way that we can quickly reacquire the feeling of success is by trusting in our routine and letting that push us through our failures and setbacks.  But, in order to rely on our routine, we must first establish one.  It must be one that we trust and believe in to put us in the best position to succeed.  The rollercoaster of emotions that occur in sport can be difficult to overcome if we try to react separately to each situation.  But, in creating a constant, positive reaction to failure, we establish consistent success.

For all of us, talking about doing a task is much easier than actually doing that task. 

We can all talk about what we want to accomplish with sport.  But, none of that will carry any weight unless we are willing to take the necessary steps to put it into action.  In order to accomplish our goals we must allow ourselves to not only become creatures of habit, but creatures of positive habit.  By that, I mean that we must become regimented in habits that will allow us to fulfill our established goals and purposes.

Each year, parents spend thousands of dollars on lessons, equipment, competitive sports teams, and travel in the hopes that their child will be noticed by college athletic recruiters and offered a scholarship. 

Their journey is often complicated by making costly mistakes due, in many cases, to not knowing or understanding the NCAA rules. 

If you are going through the recruiting process or plan to be soon, this book could save you hours of time and THOUSANDS of dollars. 

Decisions made during the recruiting process can have HUGE and lasting impact both emotionally and financially later on. This book provides real-life advice and experiences that are typical of the many situations you will encounter if you are actively pursuing an athletic scholarship. 

In this book, you will learn how soon you should get started in the recruiting process, what you should do if you’re not getting recruiting interest, what to look for and questions to ask on your campus visits, what academic requirements are needed to be eligible for an athletic scholarship, what to do if things don’t work out and you need to transfer to another school, and what you should know BEFORE you go through the recruiting process.

For over 20 years, I was Director of NCAA Compliance at 2 major universities: The University of Illinois and Oklahoma State University. In addition, I have walked in parents’ shoes when our son was recruited and accepted a college baseball scholarship at a Division I school. 

Some of the stories I share are based on situations I’ve encountered throughout my years on campus. Some of these stories include mistakes that were made in our own son’s recruitment process despite my years of NCAA experience and expertise.

Note:  Price includes shipping.

Congratulations to those prospects who have committed to a school and will have the opportunity to sign a National Letter of Intent with their NCAA Division I or II future school starting November 9. 

Here are some NLI general reminders and points to keep in mind:

Signing the National Letter of Intent commits the athlete to attend the school they sign with for one full academic year in exchange for receiving an athletic scholarship.  If an athlete withdraws from school before completing one academic year, they might incur penalties upon transfer to another school, unless the school they signed with releases them.  (This release is different than a release to speak with other schools about a transfer – two separate processes.)

The NLI must be accompanied by a financial aid agreement from the school the prospect will sign with. If both documents are not signed, the NLI will not be valid.  Be sure to confirm that the financial aid agreement reflects the same amount of athletic scholarship that was offered during the recruiting process.

Coaches are not permitted to deliver the National Letter of Intent in person.  Also, coaches are not permitted to be present when the prospect signs the NLI.  The family of a prospect will sometimes ask if the coach can be present so they can get a picture together when their son or daughter signs the NLI.  This is ok for Junior Colleges or NAIA schools, but not for NCAA coaches.

The financial aid agreement commits the school to provide an athletic scholarship to the athlete for one academic year.  Athletes must be notified by July 1st each year whether their athletic scholarship will be renewed for the same amount, increased, decreased, or cancelled for the upcoming academic year.  If an athlete’s scholarship is reduced or cancelled, the athlete must be notified by the school that a hearing opportunity is available to them.

Prospects who are planning to play both football and another sport at the college level (applies to both Division I and II) should not sign with their school until the football signing period in February.  A number of years ago, some schools tried to get an advantage by having football recruits sign in other sports during the November signing period.  That loophole was closed, and now football players or true dual-sport athletes who sign in November will be ineligible for practice and competition in football during their freshman year, and will forfeit a season of competition.

It’s permissible to “double sign” with an NCAA school and a Junior College.  That’s somewhat common since some players want to “lock in” with an NCAA program, but also may want to attend Junior College to have an opportunity to be drafted after freshman year.  (The Junior College signing date for baseball is January 15.)

Players who sign with an NCAA school, but start out at a junior college, need to keep in mind that the National Letter of Intent that they signed with the NCAA school remains binding on them until they graduate from the Junior College.  Athletes who sign with NCAA school A, but change their mind and want to attend NCAA school B after junior college, will still be bound to NCAA school A if they want to transfer before completing their Associates degree.  The other option is to obtain a complete release from the National Letter of Intent.

If you’re interested in individual assistance with questions about recruiting, eligibility, financial aid, or transfer rules, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or 918-994-7272.

Ryan Allen

So fall drills have started, and lo and behold, the coach/coaches aren’t quite what they seemed to be when they were recruiting you to their school.

Unfortunately, this seems to happen fairly often.  I was a fortunate one that did not have horror stories to tell once I stepped on campus.  A few of my former teammates from high school and Connie Mack ball were not so lucky.

I’d like to be able to tell players that there is a magic fix to the problem, but unfortunately, that’s not a realistic option.

The best option available in this situation is to try and use this for mental toughness and experience in working with someone you don’t see eye-to-eye with.  It’s a tough situation, but like any tough situation, it can be used to benefit you later on down the road.

Even though the waters are rough with this particular coach, don’t hesitate to open the lines of communication if you feel that you are not on the same page with your coach.  If this is done in a respectful and confident manner, odds are that the coach will have a greater respect for you because of it.

In some cases, the best option may be for you to transfer away.  Again the best way for this to be done is respectfully (Remember, those coaches still have control over what school you transfer to).

For those reading this, I hope you don’t have to encounter something like this.  But, for the ones that are/will go through this, I hope this can provide you with some help.

Ryan Allen

If you are a high school baseball player (or any athlete) who hopes to receive a college athletic scholarship, the most important thing you can do is get your name out there.  Playing in front of coaches gives yourself a better shot to put your name in that coach’s head. 

Some kids are fortunate enough to have coaches find them, but there are many out there who need to be proactive and take the initiative.  It is important for a young player to put forth the effort not only on the ball field, but in selling himself to college coaches. Even though baseball is not in season, the fall and winter months are crucial periods for high school baseball players who want to play at the next level.  This is when many colleges have “showcase camps” to evaluate high school players. 

In my opinion, Perfect Game USA has great showcase events that are highly organized.   They usually have good attendance from many coaches across the US, as well as pro scouts, if that’s your goal. 

These showcases are very helpful and beneficial to any young baseball player in search of a college scholarship, as they give you a chance to display your abilities in front of a number of college coaches (coaches at D-1 schools, many junior colleges and schools from other divisions will attend). 

While these showcases are not guaranteed to get you a scholarship offer to a high Division 1 school (although it does happen), there are many other doors that can be opened by attending one of these camps. 

When should you start attending these showcase camps?  The earlier the better!

Don’t be content with just going along for the ride.

Make the decision harder on your coaches by showing that you are a viable option to contribute right away.

For this to properly happen, you must first believe that you belong at that level.

Probably the best words I received going into my freshman year at the University of Missouri were given to me by my coach from Connie Mack ball.

“Just remember, they wouldn’t have recruited you if they didn’t believe you could help them get to Omaha,” he told me.

This was important for someone like me to remember since I had grown up in the Big 12 region and playing at that level was a dream come true.  I was so thankful for the chance to make that dream happen that I almost got caught up in the idea that they had done me some kind of favor by letting me come play for them.

While it is important for a young player to be gracious in any opportunities given to him or her, it is just as vital for that player to realize the value that they bring to the team.

Any player who is able to come to grips with this fact, will be on track to realizing their full potential as an athlete, and as a teammate.

“Hi Rick,  I can testify to the fact that the recruiting process was a path with unexpected twists and turns and it was comforting to have you alongside to help navigate.  I can’t imagine any parent trying to go it alone.”

                                                                                  Parent of a Division I Volleyball Player

                                                                                                            Parent of a 4-4 baseball transfer

I am the parent of a Division 1 college baseball player and have had the pleasure of talking to Ryan in person, by phone and by email. Ryan Allen is the real deal who has been a Division 1 baseball player and knows the questions to ask and is a tremendous mentor to both athletes and their parents.  Through his college baseball career Ryan learned so much and has no problem conversing with adults by telling them the truth and not candy coating it.  My wife and I only wish we knew Ryan before our journey began because it would have helped us tremendously.  Since he is only a few years older than your son a bond can form between them and they can experience the process with someone that has been there – from falling in love with your first school and not pursuing other avenues (which our son did and regrets) to moving to a Division II for his senior year. 

                                                                                                 Parent of a 4-2-4 transfer baseball player.

In addition, September 1 is the date when high school football seniors can begin to receive recruiting phone calls from Division I coaches.  The coaches are limited to one call per week until the contact period in late November, and then there is no limit on how often coaches can call football prospects during a contact period.  During other recruiting periods, football coaches are restricted to one call per week.

Prospects are permitted to send e-mails to coaches prior to September 1 of the junior year, and we encourage you to do so, to let the coaches know of your interest in their program, and to provide them with information such as your team’s schedule and to provide updates on your academic and athletic performance.  Just be aware that the coaches are not allowed to respond to your e-mails until September 1 of your junior year.

Similarly, it’s fine for prospects to call NCAA coaches prior to the date when it is permissible for the coaches to initiate recruiting calls to prospects.  The coaches can talk to you if they answer the phone when you have placed the call.  However, if you don’t reach them directly, they will not be able to return your call, so you may want to continue trying to reach them on a regular basis until you are able to reach them directly.

Don’t be shy about contacting coaches to let them know of your interest, especially if you’re going to be playing in a game, combine, or showcase event near their campus.  If you let them know of your interest, they may be able to set aside an hour or so to come evaluate you while you’re in their area.

For more on the permissible dates for phone calls and other recruiting information, sign up to receive our monthly newsletter and a monthly recruiting calendar with important dates including ACT/SAT test dates.

For more information on Informed Athlete’s services, please call us at 918-994-7272.

In this discussion with Rick Allen, Donnie talks about how he handled multiple obstacles from not being chosen for his high school team to being cut from the travel squad the day his college team was leaving for the NCAA Regionals – to ultimately end up drafted in the 10th Round of the MLB draft. 

Donnie is currently playing at the Triple AAA level for the Cleveland Indians.

We guarantee that this is a story that will inspire you no matter what your dreams…

Please note:  This product is a PDF transcript.  After payment is processed, you’ll receive an email with the download link .  If you have any questions, please call Informed Athlete at 918-994-7272.