Should i do football

Learn more about how to use camps, combines, showcases and more in your recruiting. Oftentimes, we see families get stuck in a holding pattern in their recruiting, which leaves them wondering if they are on the right track and questioning if they really know how to get recruited for football.

There are plenty of ways families can keep their recruiting moving forward when they reach this point:. For most athletes, the goal of the football recruiting process is to get a scholarship offer. NCAA D1 football is deemed a headcount sport, which means that every scholarship given must be a full ride.

For every other division level, including NAIA, coaches can break up their scholarship money however they want, usually giving the most to the top athletes or specific positions. Learn more about the different types of offers in our College Recruiting Guide. Most families want to know tips for negotiating a better scholarship offer.

The best bargaining tool an athlete has: offers from other schools. Coaches do not want to lose recruits to other institutions—especially rival schools.

Ideally, athletes want to have serious recruiting interest from five schools to negotiate the best offer. To learn more about scholarship negotiation, visit our college recruiting guide.

To formalize a scholarship offer and make it legally binding, the athlete needs to sign with the school. By signing this document, an athlete agrees to compete at the school for one year, and the school is promising to provide the recruit with the agreed upon scholarship for that one year. And now the recruiting journey is over! Insider tip: Despite the impact that coronavirus had on college sports , as of June 1, , the NCAA resumed its regular recruiting rules and activity!

Coaches are actively working to fill their rosters, so student-athletes should be proactive in reaching out to coaches. Read up on how the extra year of eligibility granted to athletes who were most affected by the pandemic in will impact future recruiting classes. Women's Sports. Coed Sports. Quick Links What does it take to get recruited to play college football? When does recruiting start for football? The importance of star ratings in football. How does the new red shirt rule impact football recruiting?

Level set your talent and expectations. Research schools and create a target list. Contact coaches on your target list. Attend football recruiting events. Manage the recruiting process. Scholarship offers and negotiations. Related Articles What are the benefits of high school football rankings? Some football pants include pads that snap into place or fit into pockets within the pants.

Other pants are shells that are pulled over the pads. Shoulder pads. Football shoulder pads should have a hard plastic shell with thick padding. Different leagues have different rules about the type of shoes and cleats non-detachable or detachable players can use. Check with your coach and consult your league's guidelines about which types of shoes are allowed. All football leagues require players to use a mouthguard. Get one with a keeper strap that attaches it securely to the facemask. Athletic supporter with cup.

A cup helps male athletes avoid testicular injuries. Additional gear. Other items that you might want to consider include: padded neck rolls forearm pads padded or non-padded gloves "flak jackets" that protect the ribcage and abdomen If you need to wear glasses on the field, be sure they're made of shatterproof glass or plastic.

Safe Football Training Your coach should emphasize safe, fair play at practices and games. The coach and athletic trainer, if possible should be at all practices and games and: Limit the amount of contact during practices. Insist that players follow the current safety rules on tackling. Not allow helmet-to-helmet or helmet-to-body contact. Insist all players use the right protective gear, particularly a helmet that fits well and is in good condition.

He's expressed an interest in playing college ball, and that's great he's 10, next week he could want to be Eddie Van Halen. He's asked for my help, but I make sure he knows that he is in control, not me.

If he tells me "Dad, enough," then I back off. That hasn't happened yet, but that's not the point. He needs to know if it does happen, I will listen. Both last season's coach and my son's new coach have welcomed parent involvement overall, but also have been clear that, on the field, our kids are now their kids. The coaches are in charge. You want to work on catching the ball, tackling, running routes with your kid?

Do it outside practice or game. Sure, you can sneak little tips in during a water break—my son always checks in and asks if he did this or that right. But you can't do it when the coach is coaching. Here's another thing about letting the coaches coach—be careful not to contradict what they are doing.

If I'm going over something with my son and he tells me they do it differently, then I learn how they do it and that's what we practice. Finally, control yourself. Again, you think it's simple but something happens to a great many parents—moms as well as dads—when a game starts. They start out cheering and the next thing you know they sound like that obnoxious fan two rows behind you at an NFL game, screaming at the refs, the coaches, the kids and other parents.

Because that's all your kids want to hear. They want you to cheer. They don't need you screaming about a missed tackle. They'll probably beat themselves up without your help. If you need to be more involved, get more involved by coaching or becoming a team parent.

This is, to me, a dicey issue because it's really easy to screw it up. Many parents will assume that getting your kid in shape is much like getting yourself in shape. However, their bodies—even teenagers—respond to certain exercises much differently than adults. Bramel cautions parents to ease into it. In my experience, coaches suggest keeping it real simple. Stretching exercises, sit-ups, push-ups and jogging to build endurance.

Coach Serrette feels the same way about not going overboard. Core exercises are key as well, something that I learned watching players train under Travelle Gaines several years ago in California. People spend all this time working body parts but you need to do more things that work your entire body. Keep in mind that your child will be working out multiple times a week with their team. So once the season starts, I make sure my son cuts back to an easy routine of sit-ups and push-ups a few times a week and I make sure he listens to his body.

With football, the mentality is to play through pain, but for a child that can be dangerous. If it hurts, you have to give it attention this goes for conditioning as well as in-season injuries.

Bramel also suggests that before you start any regimen, you speak with your child's doctor for advice. I would add that you should talk to their coaches as well. Remember, these are resources and they will have practical experience that can help you avoid mistakes.

You are about to spend an awful lot of time as your child plays football. If they fall in love with it, you could be doing this for years on end. So it's natural to wonder where it's all leading. Can my child play in high school? If they're good enough, could college ball be a possibility? Will they play in junior college?

Division II? Maybe even FBS? As I have said several times in this piece, it may seem crazy to you, but I see parents and kids get carried away all the time. One thing Coach Serrette does is send his parents a little reality check in the form of a link to an NCAA study which lists the percentages of high school athletes in several sports who make it to the collegiate and pro levels.

I was surprised to get this but realized that for many parents, there isn't always a guidepost on where this could all lead. What is pretty common knowledge given my line of work is not always obvious to other parents.

Coach Serrette doesn't do this to discourage parents or kids, but to give them a realistic idea of what they face. Do not shoot for the pros, shoot for college. Using football to get an education is certainly attainable for many players according to Coach Serrette. I think the goal should always be to play to get that money for college because THAT is truly doable. Like everything else, it's important to go into this with both your and your child's eyes wide open.

Not every child becomes the next Drew Brees , or even Danny Amendola. Many children can use football to help further their education. This is a critical question, maybe the most critical because it combines a lot of what we've already talked about. If you're like me, you may not be spoiled for choice. We didn't have many teams within a reasonable distance from where we live in Queens. We lucked into what I feel is a great organization in the Queens Falcons.

If you have a choice—and hopefully you do—you need to research those choices as thoroughly as possible. Search for the organization's website most have them now. Call and talk to the president of the group. Talk to the coaches your child will play under. Attend a practice or two.

Many teams will allow a child to try out for a practice or two to see if they want to really play. I assure you that a lot of kids will know the moment they get hit whether this is the sport for them. Even though we were really looking at just one team, I did all the above.

I read everything on the website. I emailed the Falcons' president. I talked to the coaches. We went to check out the practice. Think hard about what you're looking for in a team, how much practice you feel comfortable with, the personality of the coaches, the personality of the kids—heck, the personality of the other parents.

Other parents, by the way, are an excellent resource. While your child is talking to his potential teammates and watching drills, chat with the other parents. More often than not, they are very friendly and happy to tell you what the score is with the team you are looking at. Even if you do all of the above, you could very well decide to sign up and, midway through the season, decide that this isn't the league for you and your child.

That's fine. You can always continue the search the next offseason, now armed with an even better idea of what you're looking for.