Need some advice on recruiting.

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DartMarcus

New User
My name is Mark and I will turn 17 in April. I am from St.Petersburg, Russia and I am going to play college tennis starting fall 2010. My best tennis achievements are: career high ranking of No. 22 in Russia, No. 2 in St.Petersburg (in june 2009) and TOP 250 in Tennis Europe in my age group. Have been the prize winner of more than 10 all-russian tournaments. The Semifinalist of TE Tournament in Pajulahti, Finland in marth 2009. Have got no ITF ranking though.
My SAT scores are: M 690, CR 480, WR 620. I will also get my TOEFL scores in about a week.
I have been in touch with many coaches of D1, D2 and NAIA schools, but have not made a final decision where to go so far.
Anybody can advice a good D1 school, where I will be good enough to be part of the team?
My family can not afford to pay more than $8,000 for college.
The best I found so far is about $5,000 per year.
I'd like to get a full scholarship, if it is possible.
Any advice is welcome :)
 
The-Lengend said:
What do you Know about the United States? would you like to play more indoors or outdoors? Do you like Warm weather or cold weather? Do you want to play on a very competitive team?
Are you a good doubles player?

I can help narrow down your search with these questions
Click to expand...
Thanks for answering!
I know pretty much a lot about United States :)
I enjoy playing indoors more, because we usually have only 2 months in Russia when the weather allows us play outdoors :rolleyes:, but it is ok for me to play on any surface.
I prefer warm weather for sure. I would not like to live in a place like St.Petersburg where it is often cold and raining.
I want to play for a strong tennis team, that will help me to continue improving.
As for doubles, I am not very good, but have been showing some signs of improvement lately. :)
 
DartMarcus said:
My name is Mark and I will turn 17 in April. I am from St.Petersburg, Russia and I am going to play college tennis starting fall 2010. My best tennis achievements are: career high ranking of No. 22 in Russia, No. 2 in St.Petersburg (in june 2009) and TOP 250 in Tennis Europe in my age group. Have been the prize winner of more than 10 all-russian tournaments. The Semifinalist of TE Tournament in Pajulahti, Finland in marth 2009. Have got no ITF ranking though.
My SAT scores are: M 690, CR 480, WR 620. I will also get my TOEFL scores in about a week.
I have been in touch with many coaches of D1, D2 and NAIA schools, but have not made a final decision where to go so far.
Anybody can advice a good D1 school, where I will be good enough to be part of the team?
My family can not afford to pay more than $8,000 for college.
The best I found so far is about $5,000 per year.
I'd like to get a full scholarship, if it is possible.
Any advice is welcome :)
Click to expand...

A couple of things.... hurry up! Signing day, for Juniors is April 7 or there abouts (for starting in August). You need to be firming up offers real soon. Otherwise, you'll get leftovers for a possible January start. Worse case, you'll have to wait another year.

Go to www.collegeboard.com and look for the "college search" button. It will take you about 15 minutes. Put in the variables of what you're looking for and able to do.

Lastly, get the "div 1" crap out of your head. Div 1 means nothing. Go to the school you like, can excel at, play at, get academic scholarships at, to the school that will appreciate you. Look at both Div 1 and Div 2. Your academics and test scores will likely land you as much academic scholarship $$$ as your tennis scholarships will. So keep that in mind. Div 3 schools don't offer athletic scholarships, but the academic scholarships are so sweet, it equals out.

When you do your search on Collegeboard, you will notice that the universities are divided into regions. Consider focusing on a region where you will be comfortable with the weather, culture, etc. You need to have a list of top 10 schools immediately.

If you don't have a recruiting.net membership yet, get one. Get your profile going. Log into it & go looking at the men's teams often.
 
im from ukraine, you definitely need to come down to southwest. Arizona and Cali are amazing for weather(you can play tennis all 12 month outside in perfect weather) and party life. Stay away from texas hahaha
 
Thanks everyone! I think I would prefer great climate to playing indoors. I don't think i could get into a very strong team, because my tennis stats are mostly worse than those of top players.
I am looking at any school, not only D1, but i think that it is possible to get a full scholarship only in D1 schools. And also I am likely to miss deadline for applying to academic scholarship, right?
I will probably make a video and get TOEFL score until the end of the month, so hopefully getting enough time for making final decision where to go.
I have already had a look at many schools from D1 and D2, so now I am in touch with many coaches.
I will try to post a link for my tennis video, when it is done, so that you guys could evaluate my tennis level.
I like the idea coming to southwest :)
 
DartMarcus said:
Thanks everyone! I think I would prefer great climate to playing indoors. I don't think i could get into a very strong team, because my tennis stats are mostly worse than those of top players.
I am looking at any school, not only D1, but i think that it is possible to get a full scholarship only in D1 schools. And also I am likely to miss deadline for applying to academic scholarship, right?
I will probably make a video and get TOEFL score until the end of the month, so hopefully getting enough time for making final decision where to go.
I have already had a look at many schools from D1 and D2, so now I am in touch with many coaches.
I will try to post a link for my tennis video, when it is done, so that you guys could evaluate my tennis level.
I like the idea coming to southwest :)
Click to expand...
Highly unlikely that you'll get a full scholarship at a D1 school. My son was the class of 2009. I am aware of only 2 full-ride scholarships out of >3,000 Americans.

You're thinking backwards still. Too many erroneously suffer from the "gotta go to D1" mentality. Thus, the teams are heavy -- 10 to 15 players. There are only 4.5 scholarships. You do the math. With 10 on the team, the average is less than 50% scholarship. Freshmen often get the least %. Again, go where you will be appreciated, can compete & not sit on the bench, a school that offers your degree choice. Have you done your collegeboard.com search yet? What did those results suggest?
 
tennismom42 said:
Highly unlikely that you'll get a full scholarship at a D1 school. My son was the class of 2009. I am aware of only 2 full-ride scholarships out of >3,000 Americans.

You're thinking backwards still. Too many erroneously suffer from the "gotta go to D1" mentality. Thus, the teams are heavy -- 10 to 15 players. There are only 4.5 scholarships. You do the math. With 10 on the team, the average is less than 50% scholarship. Freshmen often get the least %. Again, go where you will be appreciated, can compete & not sit on the bench, a school that offers your degree choice. Have you done your collegeboard.com search yet? What did those results suggest?
Click to expand...

I see. I think I will go to some not strong D1 team or a decent D2 team. I am also thinking about playing in NAIA.
I have done some search before. There were lots of search results for my choice. So I e-mailed most of coaches.
I have just got a letter from Lincoln Memorial Uni mens tennis team coach. He says that combining academic and sport scholarship, I could get close to full scholarship.
There are some other colleges pretty much interested in me, like Barry, St Peters, Austin Peay, Presbetarian, Young Harris, Hawaii Pacific, Brigham Young, Catawba, Union, Tiffin, Walsh, Montana State, Post, Binghampton, Davis and Elkins, Adelphi, UA Fort Smith, U of San Francisco, Appalachian State...
Any info about these colleges will be appreciated. :)
 
I can somewhat vouch for Hawaii Pacific. I've seen some of the guys on the team practice/play on a number of occasions. Although I don't know them personally they look like a cool group of guys. Very strong team. If your looking to improve your game all the while playing a competitive schedule I'd say look into HPU (Hawaii Pacific). For a DII team they are good. What are they? Within the top 5 in the nation or so?
 
paulnw said:
I can somewhat vouch for Hawaii Pacific. I've seen some of the guys on the team practice/play on a number of occasions. Although I don't know them personally they look like a cool group of guys. Very strong team. If your looking to improve your game all the while playing a competitive schedule I'd say look into HPU (Hawaii Pacific). For a DII team they are good. What are they? Within the top 5 in the nation or so?
Click to expand...
Yeah, it seems like a very strong team. Maybe I'll go there if they like my resume and a video.
I have just got my TOEFL iBT score which is pretty good: 93.
As for video, I have made a one, but without points and serving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJHOkeNp8Mc
Have a look at and give some advice please.
I will soon also upload a video with me serving and playing points.
 
Hi Marcus - To be frank, I think your video is too long. I don't think any coach will watch the whole thing. Your groundstroke mechanics look clean and reliable, but you only need 30 seconds to see that. If you are going to send in a video that long, most of it should be of you playing a match.
 
the shorter the better. you want to highlight your competitiveness/fight. this are intangibles that coaches like to see.


pac10s.com
 
Hi Marcus,

Another school to think about is Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We have nice tennis facilities, great weather, obviously near the beach, tuition is relatively cheap, still have 2 scholarships available, and have a strong mens tennis team. Currently we are 7-0 overall and 2-0 in our conference (Big South).

We have several international players on our roster already. Dimitry Vlaskin is from Moscow, do you know him?

The athletic department's website is www.goccusports.com. From there you can fill-out an athlete's questionnaire and get contact information for the head coach, Chris Powers.

Best of Luck,

John
 
DartMarcus said:
There are some other colleges pretty much interested in me, like Barry, St Peters, Austin Peay, Presbetarian, Young Harris, Hawaii Pacific, Brigham Young, Catawba, Union, Tiffin, Walsh, Montana State, Post, Binghampton, Davis and Elkins, Adelphi, UA Fort Smith, U of San Francisco, Appalachian State...
Any info about these colleges will be appreciated. :)
Click to expand...

University of San Francisco is a real nice school in a beautiful city. Big Russian population and they even have a hill called "Russian Hill". Down side...cost of living is very high. Good luck!
 
Thank you guys!
Unfortunately I have just got e-mail for University of SF mens tennis coach, that they are already full for next year.
@Slim Pickens, I have tried contacting this school, but have not got any response yet. :(
I actually don't know Dmitry Vlaskin, maybe because he is not in the same age group as me.
 
Their schedule at the moment is a rather hectic one, so it may take Chris a few days to get back in touch with you. Even if they are traveling, he will still check email regularly. Understand that he gets lots of calls like this and be prepared to promote yourself both academically and athletically. Try the contacts below and you may have better luck:

Campus Telephone/Extension - 843-349-2661
E-mail - cpowers@coastal.edu

Best WIshes,

John
 
DartMarcus

You've got Young Harris on your list of schools interested in you and here's what I know about them. First of all they had been a 2 year or junior college up until a year or two ago. The men's tennis team was just started back up this year after about a 10 year lay off. They are competing as a junior college this year and will make the jump to D2 next season. 4 of the top 20 ranked D2 schools are located in this state and the conferences they play in are stacked with more ranked teams. I don't know which conference Young Harris is going to be affiliated with. Have not met the men's coach there so I can't comment on him one way or the other. They demolished the courts that were on campus in order to expand either student housing or education space due to the new 4 year status. So they will be building a new tennis facility. Private school with a good sports budget, I know the women's players recently got everything free except for rackets. School is isolated in the rural North Georgia Mountains. Not much to do outside of tennis unless you like outdoor activities: hiking, kayaking, etc or get involved in fraternity or other student organizations, Small student population so those who like it there are usually outgoing and very social. The school is known now for its baseball program, but years ago it was known for having a strong men's tennis program and I expect it will again.

Good luck
 
alb1 said:
DartMarcus

You've got Young Harris on your list of schools interested in you and here's what I know about them. First of all they had been a 2 year or junior college up until a year or two ago. The men's tennis team was just started back up this year after about a 10 year lay off. They are competing as a junior college this year and will make the jump to D2 next season. 4 of the top 20 ranked D2 schools are located in this state and the conferences they play in are stacked with more ranked teams. I don't know which conference Young Harris is going to be affiliated with. Have not met the men's coach there so I can't comment on him one way or the other. They demolished the courts that were on campus in order to expand either student housing or education space due to the new 4 year status. So they will be building a new tennis facility. Private school with a good sports budget, I know the women's players recently got everything free except for rackets. School is isolated in the rural North Georgia Mountains. Not much to do outside of tennis unless you like outdoor activities: hiking, kayaking, etc or get involved in fraternity or other student organizations, Small student population so those who like it there are usually outgoing and very social. The school is known now for its baseball program, but years ago it was known for having a strong men's tennis program and I expect it will again.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info btw aswell I have also been looking at them.
Does anyone know anything about the following colleges : Colby-Sawyer, Wartburg, Notre Dame College (OH), Saint Mary's (MS), Roger Williams and SUNY Cobleskill.
Thanks
 
alb1 said:
DartMarcus

You've got Young Harris on your list of schools interested in you and here's what I know about them. First of all they had been a 2 year or junior college up until a year or two ago. The men's tennis team was just started back up this year after about a 10 year lay off. They are competing as a junior college this year and will make the jump to D2 next season. 4 of the top 20 ranked D2 schools are located in this state and the conferences they play in are stacked with more ranked teams. I don't know which conference Young Harris is going to be affiliated with. Have not met the men's coach there so I can't comment on him one way or the other. They demolished the courts that were on campus in order to expand either student housing or education space due to the new 4 year status. So they will be building a new tennis facility. Private school with a good sports budget, I know the women's players recently got everything free except for rackets. School is isolated in the rural North Georgia Mountains. Not much to do outside of tennis unless you like outdoor activities: hiking, kayaking, etc or get involved in fraternity or other student organizations, Small student population so those who like it there are usually outgoing and very social. The school is known now for its baseball program, but years ago it was known for having a strong men's tennis program and I expect it will again.

Good luck
Click to expand...
It sounds like a great school, but I just got e-mail from their mens team head coach, who told me that he had left YHC and is now a head coach of College of Coastal Georgia. :confused:
Anything you could tell me about University of West Alabama, University of St.Francis, University of Sioux Falls, Ohio Dominican, Union College KY?
Also where can I find the list of unranked D1 schools?
 
DartMarcus said:
It sounds like a great school, but I just got e-mail from their mens team head coach, who told me that he had left YHC and is now a head coach of College of Coastal Georgia. :confused:
Anything you could tell me about University of West Alabama, University of St.Francis, University of Sioux Falls, Ohio Dominican, Union College KY?
Also where can I find the list of unranked D1 schools?
Click to expand...

Wow, I try to keep up with the schools here in Georgia, didn't know that Coastal Georgia was starting up a program. Sorry I don't know any info on the schools you've listed. For a list of schools go to tennisrecruiting.net>click on the men's teams link on the left> all the D1 conferences and schools should come up> you can see D2,NAIA, etc by clicking on the links at the top of the D1 page.

Good luck
 
Union College has a good tennis program top 10 in NAIA and have been for the past few years They recently beat a Division 1 School. The downside is there isn't a lot to do around here unless you enjoy outdoor activities
 
DartMarcus said:
It sounds like a great school, but I just got e-mail from their mens team head coach, who told me that he had left YHC and is now a head coach of College of Coastal Georgia. :confused:
Anything you could tell me about University of West Alabama, University of St.Francis, University of Sioux Falls, Ohio Dominican, Union College KY?
Also where can I find the list of unranked D1 schools?
Click to expand...

University of Sioux Falls?? The weather would be close to Russia. Not as cold or as long but still cold longer winters. Get to the West Coast. How about the Junior Colleges if you have to?? Tons of JC's in California with big tennis programs.
 
Thanks everyone.
I have sent e-mails to almost every d1,d2 or naia school like a month ago, but still have not got any answer from 60% of these schools.
Do you know other ways to connect with coach, other than e-mails, phone or questionaires?
Thanks, Mark.
 
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