National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA)

Wonderful salespeople but save your money you can do it yourself I learned the hard way

I think the first time I ever posted was asking about
"the value of scouting services" in general and NCSA in particular.

Here is the thread from the wayback machine....with some extremely valuable info.

the value of scouting services


After finding the high school baseball web, I don't think you need any service. This website is invaluable. I wish we had discovered it before we did.

While we don't have any experience with NCSA, I agree with the comments already made.. .there's nothing any scouting service will do for you that you cannot do for yourself. We were also told by a number of college recruiters and coaches that they file anything that comes from scouting services directly in the trash can. Coaches know that scouting services will work for anybody who pays the fee, so what real value do they provide in the recruiting process? Do your own tapes, create your own baseball resume, write your own letters, make your own phone calls - you'll save a lot of money and learn a lot in the process. Keep reading the HSBBW and you'll be fine!

Thank you guys (and girls) very much! It is so easy to get caught up in the emotion of feeling the need to do anything and everything to assist our Sons in helping them to achieve their goals, even foolish things. Thanks for straightening me out!

Please understand that there is a WORLD of difference between "Scouting services" and "Recruiting services"!

They have nothing in common. Scouting services scout and report what they see, Recruiting services try to help players find a college.

Scouting services generally get paid only by people who subscribe to get scouting information on players. Recruiting services get paid by people who are looking for help in finding a college.

Hey PGStaff,

I know who you guys are! Thank you for all you do and the awesome showcase events you run! We will be at your events this year and enjoying every minute of it. You guys are a class act all the way!

Thanks for that clarification PGStaff - it's an important distinction. The problem is that all the "recruiting services" like to refer to themselves as "scouting services" which only adds to the mystique and confusion. For parents - if they're asking for your money, it's a recruiting service and the age old advice of "buyer beware" definitely applies. They will take money from anyone, regardless of your ability or potential. Don't be flattered or impressed, and above all, don't be intimidated when they start telling you your son will go no where without their help - it just isn't true. I just cringe when I hear parents bragging that their son got a letter from "a scout".

quote:

by my3sons: We were also told by a number of college recruiters and coaches that they file anything that comes from scouting services

that is an urban legend which can be debunked at Snopes

it is believable that mass mailings would be ignored, but an good recruiting guy does have contacts


there is a tendancy to "pile on" whenever this subject comes up, however it might be smart to hear what the guy has to say.
I'm not familiar with that company, but I know a couple recruiting service guys who post on a local board. they have an "open mailbox" policy to answer questions & provide info for "do it yourselfers" ... and I've seen alot of happy D.I.Y. PLAYERS and CLIENT PLAYERS helped.

they have lines of communication w/some DI coaches, and a lot of NAIA/DII/DIII/JC coaches. they work all the sports, tho few other sports have the kind of D.I.Y. resources available here.

working with those guys should be just like anyone else you hire ...
if they make wild promises too good to be true and ya hire them anyway, figure your money went toward educating yourself how NOT to screen people working for you.



gotta go now, some Nigerian guy is wiring me a pile of money soon

I am being wired 45 million from Hong Kong today.

Lunch is on me

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US Dollars or RMBI (Yuan)???



cadDAD

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quote:

Originally posted by AcademyDad:
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US Dollars or RMBI (Yuan)???

God Bless you *Handing over a kleenex*

NCSA offers a number of programs to our student-athletes. These programs actually start at the low price of FREE! The reality is that there are several aspects to the recruiting process that will cost money. NCSA is happy to offer both the free education on how to go through the recruiting process as well as our assistance to those student-athletes that qualify. Finding the right college for your child should not be thought of as a payment, but an investment. The average NCSA student athlete receives more than $18,000 per year in financial aid from their prospective college. For more questions about NCSA and our services, please contact us at 312-624-7400 or visit our website at www.ncsasports.org .

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Davidson:
The average NCSA student athlete receives more than $18,000 per year in financial aid from their prospective college.

Is that Financial Aid what they get through filing the FAFSA and Academic Aid, or is it $18,000 of pure baseball grants?

Homerun,
Great question, but I think they handle more sports than baseball. Perhaps the question should be...

Is it $18,000 of pure athletic aid, or is it mixed with academic aid also?

Good point, our interest would be average baseball grant since many other sports are full headcount awards (full scholarships).

Save your money.

I agree. Save your money. Want to get a lot of scholarship money? Invest in ACT or SAT prep courses---or just buy the preparation books. Score high! Soon you'll have letters with mega dollars being offered arriving in your mailbox.

Also, note to Brian Davidson:

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/advertise.htm

quote:

Originally posted by play baseball:
I agree. Save your money. Want to get a lot of scholarship money? Invest in ACT or SAT prep courses---or just buy the preparation books. Score high! Soon you'll have letters with mega dollars being offered arrive in your mailbox.

Also, note to Brian Davidson:

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/advertise.htm

I couldn't agee more. Jr Junior scored the equivelant of 1390 on the PSAT and is taking a prep course now, we are hoping for 1350 plus.
He is also 5'6" and 145lbs.
Where he is an above average singles hitter; we are realists... there will be much more academic money available to him than any part of those 11 baseball schollies.

ALSO pay for some advertising!

I think that in this case Mr. Davidson was strictly trying to defend his company and not advertise it. The OP was a regular here and asked a question about those services in general and Mr Davidson's company specifically. Many chimed in bashing that service type and Mr Davidson was just trying to debunk some of the claims. Yes he added his website for people to examine it themselves so I don't think he was posting to "advertise" the company IMHO.

(I have no Vick in this fight....just adding my two cents on the "advertising" comments)

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No Vicks? Have a dab!

I find it interesting that Mr. Davidson replied to a negative post on this web site when I tried unsuccessfully for over 3 months to request a refund from his company. By the way they say they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. NOT TRUE or they make it impossible to get. We paid over $2000 dollars for absolutely nothing. We did everything. We had a new "Recruiting Coach" every time we turned around. Everything about the service was do it yourself. Sure we got a lot of mail mostly from Division 3 schools that we had no interest in. My son ended up signing with a smaller D-1 that I found after committing to an SEC school and being told they ran out of money. We did all the leg work on all the schools he received offers from. I'm not saying that they have not worked for others, they did not work for us. You can do everything they do yourself for a lot less money. Buyer Beware.

Um...
The first posts in this thread were made about 2.5 years ago. Then Brian Davidson made a post several days ago, and there have since been a number of replies. Unless some post(s) were deleted, I don't see how his post can be seen as anything other than advertising, since it resurrects a very old thread. And of course that reply isn't "so fast". Did I miss a post?