10 Things Parents Can Do to Help Your Teen Play College Sports:

There are dozens of things parents can do to help their children get into college, play college sports and maybe even get a scholarship.

1.        Ask first! Tell your child how proud you are of their accomplishments, and ask if they have given any thought to playing after their high school or club playing career is over. If they say yes, ask if it is OK for you to start looking into colleges and recruiting for them.

2.        Assess your teen’s talent level by asking other people (current coaches, pro scouts, former college athletes). Do not use your opinion unless you are a coach or understand the levels very well. View it as a fact-finding mission to help start the process of narrowing down schools.

3.        Video tape your teen’s games. Have a lot of video available for editing at a future date. (Full section on how to make a good video available in The Making of a Student Athlete.)

4.        Pledge your assistance with sending them to a summer showcase or college camp. Can they count on you for transportation? What about financial support? If you can’t swing the fees needed, contact the camps and showcases and ask about financial aid. Do whatever it takes to make it happen—sometimes asking for help is all you need. A letter of support from their coach can also help.

5.        Offer your help in visiting campuses. Ask if they want to bring a teammate along—this might make the idea of a campus visit more fun. Bring a camera along and take snapshots of the campus. (These might help “jog” the memory when making future decisions.)

6.     Get online. Show that you care about where your child is interested in going by surfing the school's Web site. Read about student life, academics and of course the sports teams. Make sure you know about the schools IT services and other quality-of-life features, like dining services. Bookmark the student-athlete online questionnaire page for future use. If you have schools in mind that your child does not, do an online comparison review so that you can compare apples to oranges, or apples to apples!

7.        Read the rosters! How do the current team players compare to your child? Does it seem like your teen will fit? Who is the coach? Has the program been successful? How long has the coach been at the school? How many assistants do they have? Are they full time?

8.        Take an active roll in financial aid. For each school your teen’s interested in, read the entire financial aid section on school’s Web site and request information to be sent to you. Inquire about nonathletic scholarships that your teen can apply for. If your school sponsors a financial aid night or a college night, make sure you go to it. You need to take control of this part of college. Even if you can’t or chose not to help pay for college, it should be your role to assist your child in financing their education.

9.        Research the coaching staff. The obvious thing is to study the staff bios. But the real sleuth reads online campus and local newspapers to see what the current “air” around the coach is. Plus, reading their quotes gives you more insight into their personality. Googling someone can be helpful, too! For the big-time programs and sports fan “affinity” sites often have active message boards (Rivals.com and Insiders.com) plus streaming audio and video of press conferences and interviews.

10.     Pay attention to timelines. You know your child better than anyone, and if he or she is a procrastinator, you can be of great value by knowing when college applications and financial aid deadlines are. Leave gentle reminders such as a note or e-mail that says “Just a reminder that if you are interested in applying to Specific College, their deadline for applications is in seven days. If you want some assistance, please let me know.” This approach allows the student to make the decision. You are merely there to assist.

Good luck!