How to Ask the Tough Questions to a College Coach
This is one topic with which many parents (and some club coaches) struggle when it comes time to seal the deal for a potential collegiate opportunity. Remember the ground rules where athletic money from a coach and/or athletic director is only available for NCAA Division I and Division II schools. All NCAA coaches can help with placement of your application for academic and grant money from your chosen university or college. Additionally, they should be willing to help you connect with your institution’s financial aid office so that you can receive an early indication of what your family can expect to be paying to attend and play for the school.
The questions to ask boil down to three simple themes : What is the whole picture for my son/daughter's class, how many total scholarships will be available, and where your son/daughter ranks on the coach's depth chart.
As for questions to open the discussion, the easiest question to act as an ice-breaker is typically, “What does your funding look like for the Class of 201x recruits?” Let’s spend some time going over what a sample exchange might be and some follow-up questions for the newbie parent or coach.
The college coach will likely respond with an initial answer such as “Well, we have three graduating seniors and one junior who we do not think is returning next season due to her major.” This is your opportunity to narrow down on the number of scholarships available so you might want to ask “Is the program fully funded for next season and how many scholarships will be available?” The fully funded question is important as it tells you how many scholarships across the team are awarded. The second half of this question narrows the discussion to what is the pool for your child and what the coach might have already committed to other players.
The coach might respond with “We have 3.5 scholarships coming free but we will use 0.75 of those to cap off three rising juniors who are expected to be starters for next season.” As with most schools, all of the money becoming available is not plowed directly back into the freshman class as awards for existing roster players might be increased during their collegiate careers.
So, you now know that 2.75 scholarships are available and you should know how many freshman recruits are coming into the class along with your son or daughter. Now is the time to ask the ultimate question. “Based on the recruiting class, where do you see my son/daughter in the scholarship pool?”
Say there are eight incoming recruits with 2.75 scholarships available. Anything between 0.25 (25% for a more average player, limited playing time first year) and 0.50 (50%, significant minutes expected at some point during season) would be a reasonable offers. Once the discussion starts narrowing down these numbers, you can move into academic awards (perhaps another 25% to 50% of tuition for excellent grades or SAT/ACT results) and financial aid for the family.
As for the side questions, most coaches will guarantee a scholarship for the year that a player is injured, but more than a year might be difficult. All agreements and discussions should be captured in writing, via e-mails with the coach, to be sure that there are no misunderstandings between the parties. Remember that there is no such thing as a "four year ride" and each year, the player's contract is "renewed" and reviewed with the institution.
