Table Of Contents. Table Of Contents 1. About The Publisher 4. About The Author 5. The Top 3 Takeaways From This Book 6

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2 Table Of Contents Table Of Contents 1 About The Publisher 4 About The Author 5 The Top 3 Takeaways From This Book 6 Your High School Recruiting Plan 10 Academic Achievement For An Ivy League Recruit 19 Selecting Football Camps & Combines 24 Creating A Highlight Tape 30 Additional Parts Of An Athlete's College Application 34 The Ivy League Recruiting Visit 38 Ivy League Likely Letters 42 Which College Recruitment Program Is Right For Me? 46 College Athlete Life 53.

3 Copyright 2010-Present. Hyperink Inc. The standard legal stuff: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from Hyperink Inc., except for brief excerpts in reviews or analysis. Our note: Please don't make copies of this book. We work hard to provide the highest quality content possible - and we share a lot of it for free on our sites - but these books are how we support our authors and the whole enterprise. You're welcome to borrow (reasonable) pieces of it as needed, as long as you give us credit. Thanks! The Hyperink Team Disclaimer This ebook provides information that you read and use at your own risk. We do not take responsibility for any misfortune that may happen, either directly or indirectly, from reading and applying the information contained and/or referenced in this ebook. Thanks for understanding. Good luck! 2

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5 $25 About The Publisher Hyperink is the easiest way for anyone to publish a beautiful, high-quality book. We work closely with subject matter experts to create each book. We cover topics ranging from higher education to job recruiting, from Android apps marketing to barefoot running. If you have interesting knowledge that people are willing to pay for, especially if you've already produced content on the topic, please reach out to us! There's no writing required and it's a unique opportunity to build your own brand and earn royalties. Hyperink is based in SF and actively hiring people who want to shape publishing's future. us if you'd like to meet our team! 4

6 About The Author Scott Britton graduated from Princeton in 2010 where he served as a Co-Captain of the Varsity Football Team. He graduated with a B.A. in Political Economy, and published a senior thesis examining the effectiveness of referendum voting on stadium finance. During his 4-year football career, he earned All-Ivy distinction, Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors, and amassed over 150 tackles as a linebacker. His senior year, he was Awarded the Henry T. Tank Towns Award presented annually to the senior football player who has actively mentored younger athletes, demonstrated great devotion to Princeton, and made contributions to the community at large to bring honor to Princeton football. After college, Scott moved to New York City to work for an internet startup founded by a fellow Princetonian. He has since left and moved on to start his own internet company which focuses on creating social media productivity tools. In his spare time, Scott can be found at the gym, watching a game with friends, or running through Central Park. Edited by Andrea Sy 5

7 The Top 3 Takeaways From This Book 6

8 Ivy League Football: The Basics If you re going to talk the talk, you re gonna have to walk the walk. The classic albeit cliché statement is what best epitomizes college athletic recruiting, especially when it comes to football. You ve probably picked up this book because you are interested in learning more about Ivy League football recruiting. In all honesty, Ivy League recruiting isn t as complicated as many people think. It s definitely about planning your athletic career well and balancing that out with good grades. This book will further expound on this idea and give serve as a comprehensive guide for you as you navigate the admissions process. There are three key points each reader should take away from this book. 1: If you have what it takes, then go for it. First off, if you have the potential AND the opportunity to play in the Ivy League, by all means, go for it. It won t be easy, but most things in life that are worth pursuing aren t. I d be lying if I told you that having achieving success on the field and in the classroom at an Ivy League institution was an easy task, but the benefits and personal growth you receive from this experience more than make up for it. I loved my college experience and have walked away a better man. I strongly recommend that any student who has the opportunity to play football in the Ivy League take full advantage of it. 2: Do your best in school and on the field. You must focus on school and your sport (in this case, football). While balancing two very time-consuming things can be quite the challenge for any student, strategic planning throughout all four years of high school can guarantee academic and athletic succes. I can t say that getting into an Ivy League school to play football was on my mind the first two years of high school. I was fortunate that I always tried to do my best in school, because academics play an enormous role into getting recruited by these schools. Regardless of what stage in the game you re in, from here on out do the best you can in the classroom. I hope you ve already been doing that on the field! I will give some more thorough pointers on how to balance these two things within the framework of the Ivy League recruiting 7

9 process throughout the rest of the book. 3: Know the coaches and players of the team you re considering. When it comes down to choosing which school to go to, think about which one is the best fit for YOU. Many people will try to coax you in one direction or another. Ultimately, I found interacting with the players and coaches on official visits was the best way to determine which school was the best personal fit. For me, I engaged in gaining an understanding of what Ivy League football was all about the summer before my junior year of high school when I attended the Princeton football camp. From that point on, until the moment I gave Princeton the nod, it was a continuous learning process that took place on phone calls, s, and visits. This was an extremely important exercise for me and ultimately enabled me to feel very good about my decision. Of course, this doesn t answer the burning question on every potential athlete s mind when considering recruiting: What does the other side want? How can I get the Ivy League coaches to take notice of me? 1: It s all about the Highlight tape The number one thing that I can t stress enough is the importance of a highlight and game tapes (which will be explained in much more detail later on.) The best way to get noticed is to make great tape. As any coach will tell you, the beauty of tape is that it does not lie! This is why coaches see it as the most effective medium to assess your abilities. I ll cover how to effectively make a highlight tape in a later chapter. 2. Get those A s! For a football player who wants to play in the Ivy League, a strong academic career might just be the extra umph that pushes you over the tipping point. Getting good grades and scoring big on their Academic Index (a formula that will be better explained later) can in some cases be just as important as excelling on the field. Very seldomly does someone who is not a great student on paper make it past the admissions office regardless of how great of player they are. Take this into account and from here on it get it done in the classroom! 3. Performance at face value 8

10 Great tape is important, but there are other ways to catch a coach s eye. Recruits want to see how you present and conduct yourself as an individual. Football camps over the summer and combines are great places to show off your skills, both on the field and face to face. At each of these events, potential recruits should be in peak condition and demonstrate genuine character with recruiters. Attending these events definitely isn t necessary, but with heavy competition for 30 spots each year, taking advantage of every chance you have to impress can make the difference. Throughout this book I will discuss each of the highlights mentioned above, as well as delve deeper into other details, steps, and tips that will help anyone interested in a football career at an ivy league start of on the right foot in their recruiting process. Through personal stories and antidotes, my experience aims to guide you through each of the lessons I gained through triumphs, as well as learned from mistakes. 9

11 Your High School Recruiting Plan 10

12 Freshman Year: Laying The Groundwork Chapter Highlights: The Four Year Plan to the Ivy League Start Early, Study Hard, and Focus on your Sport The Importance of Studying Film to refine your technique How relationships with your high school coaches can help you in the future It never hurts to plan early and to plan well. Four years may seem like a long time for a high school freshman, but if your sights are set on the Ivy League, you need to develop your game plan early. What I hope to impart is that there are things you can be doing each year to improve your chances of playing at an Ivy League institution. Although during your freshman and sophomore year it may seem like you re preparing for a distant future, it s a great time to start laying the groundwork for a successful academic and athletic future. The early days of high school can be a daunting experience. This can be especially true in terms of balancing academic, athletic, and extracurricular commitments. It s important that you manage expectations and focus on doing the best you can. It s not the end of the world if you don t get a lot of playing time on your varsity football team. I didn t and spent the entire season on the 9th grade team. Just focus on doing your best in the classroom and on the field. Pick the Right Classes: Work Hard and Play Hard Regardless if you re an athlete or not, the classes you take and grades you receive are important for getting into an Ivy League University, even early on in high school. Depending on what system your school follows, GPA and Class Ranking are key determinants for admissions offices. Bottom line: the better your grades are and the more challenging your coursework is, the higher your chances are of getting into your dream school. Jeff Ward, the Bowdoin College Director of Athletics, has some good advice: When you re picking classes, do it thoughtfully. You should make sure that your class selection is challenging without being overwhelming. If you take five AP classes and get C s in all of 11

13 challenging without being overwhelming. If you take five AP classes and get C s in all of them, that s not going to help. The flip side is being mindful of what the NCAA requirements are for the core curriculum for your classes. Ward is talking about the academic eligibility requirements that you must fulfill if want to play Division I or II sports. The NCAA requires that you complete 16 core classes in order to be eligible to participate in D1 athletics (14 for D2) or receive an athletic scholarship during your first college year. You need to know that the Ivy League does not offer athletic scholarships, but schools are often able to offer equivalent financial-aid packages on an as-needed basis. This varies case to case depending upon your household income. More information can be found here: 12

14 Sophomore Year: Moving Forward As a sophomore the things you want to stress are not very different than as a freshman. Again, it s important to focus on getting good grades at the highest level of courses you can handle. I highly recommend taking the PSAT to get yourself ready for future college entrance exams. It s important to find out early on whether your school has a class rank system and whether they factor in course difficulty (Honors, AP etc) into the equation. Make sure you consider class ranking during your course selection, as the Ivy League definitely takes this into account for the admission process. I took about 3 honors courses during my sophomore year and it helped my eventual class rank. As a young player trying to find the field, take advantage of every opportunity to showcase your abilities. Don t be shy about trying to get noticed. I got the chance to play during my sophomore year and playing against better competition early on helped me bring my game to the next level. Try to find ways to get yourself in the mix with the older guys. There is no better way to better prepare yourself for playing at a higher level than practicing against the best competition. Weight-lifting and speed training are really important and definitely improve your performance. Starting freshman year, we had to lift about three times a week and ran twice a week through summer. Kids should focus on getting stronger, faster AND more limber. Flexibility often takes a back seat when guys are trying to get stronger and faster. Make flexibility a priority by warming up properly and stretching after every run and lift. Being limber will not only help prevent injuries, but can also improve your speed and strength training results. As you wrap sophomore year up, I highly encourage thinking about schools and even visiting a football camp or two that summer just to feel out the campuses and coaches. In fact, I went to the Princeton camp before my junior year just so I could see the campus and get a sense of what the coaching staff is like. Getting to know the coaches, players, and facilities definitely helped me get a better sense of what the program had to offer. 13

15 Junior Year: Bulking Up Your Highlight Tape Junior Year. You re more than halfway done with high school. As college becomes closer to a reality, there are two things that should be on the top of your list: academics and athletics surprise, surprise. If you haven t taken the PSAT yet, make sure you sign up to take it in October. Focusing on your SATs (or ACTs) is definitely a must if you re shooting for the Ivy Leagues. In my opinion, focusing on your class rank and GPA is just about as important as polishing your skills as a football player if you want to improve your chances of playing in the Ivy League. In many cases, your class rank or GPA at the end of your junior year will be what coaches bring to the admissions offices. So it s really important you do the best you can this year. Crunch time! On the field, junior year is also the most important year to bulk up your resume. Your junior highlight tape will lay the foundation for your recruiting process. I ll go into greater depth on the highlight tape later, but the best advice I can give is to make plays and when you do, make sure they re on tape. Once you ve made your junior season tape, you need to make sure you get it in the hands of every coach you d be potentially interested in playing for. In my personal experience, it was relatively easy for me to find the addresses, and work addresses of the coaches on the school s website. From there, I sent a package to each coach that included a highlight tape (or in your case, a highlight DVD) and a written profile with personal stats and academic information. Nowadays, I ve heard many coaches prefer all of this via with a YouTube link. Make sure to include the relevant information either way (especially academic information!). It s important to note that most D1 and D2 coaches don t send recruiting materials until September 1st of your junior year. Don t expect anything before that. Also, keep in mind that it may take some time for a coach to provide you feedback. They are bombarded by recruiting tapes and often won t get to yours right away. 14

16 During the summer after junior year, it s a good idea to attend college camps and combines just so that you can showcase some of your skills on the field. Coaches like getting a look at guys in person that they ve watched on tape. Just make sure you re in good shape when they see you. Make sure you re prepared to do basic tests like the 40 yard dash, short shuttle, the long jump, vertical jump and benchpress. Big universities and Ivy Leagues schools usually have camps and there are a ton of great combines out there. Many are invite-only such as Nike and Under Armor, but some combines anyone can attend. 15

17 Senior Year: Last Chance To Shine Senior year is the final push to put yourself in the best position to find your way to an Ivy League school. According many to professional recruiters, you should take the SAT (or ACT) twice by the time the first semester of senior year rolls around. I actually took the SAT three times and ended up increasing my score each time. Here are other things you have to consider: meet with your coaches and guidance counselors to narrow down the list of schools. These talks are incredibly crucial and you want to do as much research on the schools that have been on your mind. Get good recommendations and lots of help in piecing together the common application. If a school is interested in you, they will most likely invite you to take an official visit after your senior season. These are great ways to get the feel of both the team and school s culture. Visit a class and ask your potential teammates a ton of questions. These are the best ways to decide which is the best fit for you. Building Relationships with your Coaches You ve watched the tape. You ve stayed on top of your classes. You ve done the SATs (or ACTs). You ve done all your homework in terms of getting recruited to play at an Ivy League institution. Now, what else can you do? Perhaps one of the best sources for guidance and advice is your high school coach. The reason why you have to build these relationships with your coach and the rest of the training staff is because they re your TEACHERS and they call the shots on game day. They re also someone who every coach at the next level will speak to when they re recruiting you. College coaches will have all sorts of questions for your coach. Is he a hard worker? What are his strengths as a player? Is he a better offensive or defensive player? Making a good impression on your high school coach is an extremely important thing to do during your high school career. Ultimately, the best way to do this is work hard, play your best, and be respectful of your coaches and teammates. 16

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