Much like Zinch connects students to admission officers, the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) connects students with collegiate coaches to find the right school and athletic program for every high school athlete. With over 8 million athletes and 40,000 college coaches you might be the best player in your district, but college coaches aren’t always going to know about you. A liaison is needed, and that’s where NCSA comes in. Want to get started now? Talk to an NCSA Collegiate Scout any time just by giving them a call.

A student creates a scouting profile on NCSA’s website and college coaches can access these profiles depending on what they’re looking for. Find out more about the company and what they’re all about by checking out this video below.

beRecruited.com is a high school athlete’s dream. A one-stop site where you can connect with college coaches who are looking for their next star player; beRecruited will give students the opportunity to prepare for the sports recruiting process and come out of it without any regrets. With 18 sports represented, college coaches can search student profiles and learn more about student athletes through images, videos and stats and determine if they’re a good fit for their program. Kinda like a Zinch for athletic recruiting.

Need a little more help to ensure you’re ready for college recruitment? beRecruited even has a Resource Center where you can check out ways to choose the right program, learn more about grade requirements and even get training tips depending on which sport you play. For example, check out this training video with a workout idea for Volleyball players:

Each program and coach has different criteria they are looking for in potential members to their team. Here’s a list, in no particular order, of some characteristics the majority of coaches look for in recruits:

Athletic Success: Obviously, coaches pay close attention to your athletic performance. Past results are indicative of a recruit’s talent and ability to compete and contribute in the NCAA atmosphere. In studying meet results, each coach attempts to fill the needs of his or her team and will certainly look to fill team weaknesses first. View athletes who have reached success and made a commitment after using beRecruited.com.

Potential: Many coaches are attracted more to a prospective athlete’s potential than his or her achievements. In addition to looking at a recruit’s top performances, coaches also track yearly progress in an attempt to assess development and potential. Coaches want to see that in the course of four collegiate years his or her recruits will improve and remain enthused and dedicated to their program.

Versatility: Athletes capable competing and contributing in several events or positions are more attractive than those who are less versatile. Versatility is more highly prized by smaller teams that struggle to fill all their teams’ needs. Larger teams are able to be more selective and recruit more specialized athletes.

Leadership: Coaches seek talented athletes and leaders. Leaders are not necessarily the best athlete; they are, however, important ingredients to a team’s success. Team captains are highly regarded for their leadership, dedication, and ability to motivate. Coaches recruit prospective athletes who exude such traits.

Work Ethic/Dedication: Coaches desire recruits with strong, consistent work ethics. A dedicated athlete is not only bound to improve and contribute, he/she will motivate others to train and compete with more intensity. Dedication and hard work are obviously important ingredients for success in any sport.

Academics: Coaches seek recruits that are motivated in the classroom as well as on the field. Recruits must meet the academic requirements of a particular college or university. Furthermore, a coach wants to be sure that each recruit will remain academically eligible throughout his college-career.

* This post was written by beRecruited.com. If you’re a student athlete, you should definitely check them out!

College-bound student-athletes often struggle to effectively market themselves academically and athletically. Even talented and attractive student-athletes encounter difficulties in promoting their abilities. Two student-athletes of the same academic and athletic caliber might be separated by a strong initiative for successful self-marketing.

There are a variety of online networks and recruiting services that can assist with you getting recruited. Getting in touch with college coaches is only a few clicks away when creating and using a beRecruited.com account! At beRecruited.com, you are able to find the colleges and universities that might be the right fit for you.

A Few Tips on Marketing Your Athletic Ability

Email Coaches: Gather the email addresses of coaches and inform them of your interest and athletic and academic ability. If a coach does not respond, be sure to send a follow-up email. Many coaches will send (via mail) an inquiry form; be sure to complete and return the form immediately. Start relationships with these coaches, but be careful to stay within the guidelines of NCAA regulations.

Champion Your Successes: Inform the coaches of more than just your athletic achievements; alert them of any progress you have made in the classroom as well. Also, between two comparable recruits, a coach will find the one demonstrating marked improvement most appealing. Remember to constantly update coaches of recent results.

Use Your Current Coach: Having your club or school coach contact collegiate coaches is an excellent way to convey your interest and provide him/her with another useful source of information.

Recruiting Trips: Recruiting trips provide excellent opportunities for you to learn about a particular school and for that school to learn about you. Be attentive, aware, and interested. Be sure to interact with the coach and to reiterate your interest in his school and his program. If you are looking for a list of questions, click here. Also, don’t forget to ask the coach if he has any questions for you!

Register with beRecruited.com: With over 25,000 collegiate coaches from Divisions I, II, and III, beRecruited.com does the marketing for you!

But Mike Green certainly seems to be on his way to dethroning  Niklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom(a Detroit Red Wings’ defenceman and captain) has won the NHL’s award most esteemed by blue-liners, the Norris Trophy, 3 years in a row and 6 times overall. The trophy is named after former Red Wings owner James E.Norris( I’ll leave you to your own conspiracy theories, but I’m going to stick to the facts) and has been awarded 52 times.

By this time in the season, even if you don’t live in the Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic viewing region, you can’t deny that the 2nd ranked team(at posting time) in the Eastern Conference is on fire. And for you non hockey fans/sports statisticians, that would be the Washington Capitals.

Leading the team is… Well yeah, it’s Alex Ovechkin, but that goes without saying. I was actually starting to shift back to the whole Mike Green thing I started with.

Last year, #52 led the league in goals by D-men and was part of the first Caps team to make it to the playoffs since 2003. This year, things haven’t slowed down a bit. Keeping his goal-leading spot from last year, Green has certainly earned that $20 million/4 yr. deal, he and the almighty GMGM (general manager George McPhee) worked out back on July 1st. Continue Reading »

OK, so Michael Phelps (the dude with the type of bling that no G-Unit or Three 6 Mafia member could even dream of getting their hands on) likes to occasionally participate in ganja-related activities.  Does that make him a bad role model?  Well, yes; kids probably shouldn’t follow his example, no matter how fun he made it seem.  But does it make him a bad person?  No - far from it.  The guy made a mistake.  EVERYBODY does it (make mistakes I mean, not smoke pot).  Tons of celebrities partake in the mary jane (especially athletes - Josh Howard and Lamar Odom ring a bell?).  The only thing is that most of them don’t get caught (and if you don’t believe there are many celebrities - maybe even several of YOUR favorite people - who like to grass it up every once in a while, you’re way naive).   Continue Reading »

Earlier this week brand-spanking new President Barack Obama was asked in an interview who he thinks is the best basketball player on the planet. Since Obama grew up playing ball and still laces up occasionally today, his opinion on this argument definitely counts (at least it does more so than his predecessor’s). When asked the question, Obama answered “Kobe Bryant is the best player in the world.” Mr. President also added that Kobe is “basically unstoppable when his game is on.” When the freaking president of the United States of America proclaims you the best at anything, it’s kickass. But when he chooses one side of a critical debate that has been raging on for over two years, it’s almost inconceivable (seriously, I can imagine that short bald dude from The Princess Bride shouting “inconceivable” right now). Maybe he can pass some law ending the debate and declaring Kobe as the one and only. Or even if he can’t (which he really can’t - it’s just wishful thinking on my part), his own personal presidential proclamation is enough for me. When asked for a response to Obama’s little declaration, KB24 simply said “it’s a great honor.” Short, but it says everything. So that heated debate has been settled - that is, if you trust the judgment of the leader of the free world. There is one lingering question though: Has anyone told LeBron yet? Continue Reading »

After the conspicuous absence of Gossip Girl from last week’s programming, the show delivered this Monday: with fan favorites (Now that his pesky evil uncle is gone, Chuck can stop pretending to be A Morally Upstanding Fellow and can instead revel in his louche decadence), quality Blair time and bit characters that while probably disappear without warning next week (I suspect that Ms. Carr will soon join the Countess and Aaron Rose in GG B-character purgatory).

To fill it’s quota of weekly bitchiness, the writers had Blair continue in her quest to bring down displaced Midwestern teacher Ms. Carr –the only teacher who has ever had the cojones to give Blair Bear a B in her entire educational career- with her usual tactics, namely malicious gossip. In the beginning of the episode, Blair is cheesed off by the fact that she has, OMG, detention (Which the faithful Dorota completes as Blair fumes and paces around like Stalin planning an invasion of Poland) and ponders how best to show Ms. Carr Her Place. Continue Reading »

Why must officials ruin what could have been an amazing game? I recorded the game, and forced myself to watch the pitiful officiating of Super Bowl XLIII. And here is what I realized replay, after replay, after replay…

First, I will begin with the ”awesome play” by James Harrison to end the first half. Before any Steeler fan rejoices that play ever again, watch the replay. Firstly, the refs could have easily called a holding penalty on Deshea Townsend (#26) for holding Kurt Warner all the way down the sideline. But, every single one of them should be fired for not calling the blatantly obvious block from behind by LaMarr Woodley (#56). This play clearly changed how the rest of the game was played, and the halftime score should have been Pittsburgh 10 Arizona 7. Continue Reading »

That was one of the greatest games I’ve ever watched. I think I had nine heart attacks watching it, and when the Fitz ran that ball for a TD some chick honestly had to give me CPR. Which was really kinda dangerous cause the dude who brought the nachos had just given me open heart surgery after that unruly safety. 

But oh, my god…when The-God-Formerly-Known-As-Santonio caught the bullet blessed by Ben, that moment became the single most joyous moment of my life. That moment was greater then the moment my brother was born, when Obama became president, and when the Dunken Donuts re-opened down the street. Combined. If people actually hadn’t been using the couch at the party, I would have burned it. Seriously, I was in such a frenzy that if I had found one of those crappy 1990’s Acuras chillin on the street, I would have flipped it, on my own. And that still wouldn’t even come close to the miracle the Steelers pulled off today.

If you missed the game, then you’re like one of two people in all of America. I’m not going to sum it up for you. Just go look up the play-by-play somewhere else. Call up Madden or something. This game was a once in a lifetime experience. It’s like golfing on the moon with a giant slurpee in one hand, and Angelina Jolie in the other.

My Steelers are amazing. They had the toughest schedule in all of the NFL over the last thirteen years, and they’re still the champs. Which just proves all the rumors true: Big Ben is really a prehistoric diesel powered Mammoth with an arm forged in Mordor, and James Harrison actually the man-child made between Hercules and Chuck Norris.

About the only thing that could be greater then the Steelers having their six-pack of Superbowl rings is Santonio Holmes becoming the official elected mayor of the world. Which is actually kinda feasable right now. Seriously, even Simon would vote for him.