Harvey Rubin is a College Advisor to parents searching for help navigating the college selection process for their student athlete, as well as helping student athletes identify the “right” colleges for them to Earn A College Uniform and then advising how to achieve their goals. Earn A College Uniform is not about “placement” or talent measurement; it is about understanding the differences of the unique schools and the opportunities for a student athlete to succeed in making a manageable list from the 1300+ colleges and universities to be able to visit and ultimately choose the school “right” for them and their family..
Once the games are done, it is time for the marketing and matchmaking. The top recruits are contacted by the coaches who are trying to sell their programs to the players and hoping to make a match. In almost all cases, we make sure the players know about the schools and it is a matter of presentation, expression of interest and building chemistry. Similarly, for the players not seen as top recruits, it is also time to market and make your own selections. Take a tour to visit many campuses in a geographic area during the summer and narrow the list of potential schools to a list preferred schools and campuses. Then contact the coaches at your preferred schools with an “eloquent email” and ask them to review your video, transcript and scores.
Or, you can contact us. We offer a fee-based service to match you with the schools you are interested in (and helping you to make that list) and the coaches at those schools for them to evaluate your video, transcript and scores to find the match that is “right.” We are not a recruiting or scouting service by any means – we are college advisers concentrating on student athletes interested to Earn A College Uniform based on the process we have had success with our Academic Basketball Club grassroots program – over the last 12 years, almost every player completing our program has earned offers of college uniforms. We have relationships with coaches at all levels with an emphasis and preference for the top academic schools in the country (and Canada) which helps us to know about the schools, about the students at the schools and the success the graduates have in getting jobs upon graduation – so it is not about placement or talent evaluation, rather it is about helping to figure out which is the “right” school to attend college. We also have long-standing relationships with coaches at most of the boarding schools in New England, New York and New Jersey which is a very good option to consider for many families as the benefits of boarding schools and post grad years go far beyond athletics and help students in many more ways than most people consider. Following the advice of many satisfied families, we are “bottling the formula” and offering it to you so you can Earn A College Uniform.
The importance of ABC’s will never diminish. For the “Rising Senior” Student-Athlete, in addition to the ABC’s, the STUV’s take on a level of importance which demands proper preparation and performance. As a Student-Athlete begins the recruitment process, and families being their search for the “right” college or university, the first things they will hear from college coaches are their request for STUV’s (but in the reverse order): Video, Upcoming schedule, high school Transcript and Scores (SAT and/or ACT).
For an eloquent email, I propose the following and ask you to take on the challenge of all working together to improve my draft (please email me your proposed improvements and I will assemble a better email and share it with you):
All you have to do is choose which college or university is the “right” one. With over 1300 (in basketball) to choose from, 341 at the D1 level, 290 in D2 and over 400 in D3 – plus almost 300 more in NAIA and a growing number of programs competing at other levels – there are a lot of options. We have identified 130 “high academic” schools which are non-BCS (the super-major top ranked) schools. It is this list at which we seek to match players and coaches. And in almost every case, the first thing the coaches will say, after introductions and pleasantries, is “can you please send me your video, upcoming schedule, transcript and scores”. You can prepare for that. But figuring out which schools to contact?
The resources for college information is plentiful in guidebooks, specially published magazines and annual reviews, and online databases and reviews. The key is matching the players and coaches. College coaches find players though direct communications received form the players, referrals from high school and aau coaches, seeing videos online, from scouting services which they pay a lot of money to receive exclusive and non-public reports, referrals from current players or friends, seeing players at tournaments, camps, and showcases. The decisions on which players to recruit are usually made by the end of the summer of a player’s Junior year – when they become “Rising Seniors” and are most often at the school’s camp, a national camp, a top national AAU tournament and at the largest academic showcases: All-Academic Camp at Babson, Academic superbowl, Hoop Group Academic Elite camps, High Academic Showcase and Academic Basketball Camp.
Harvey Rubin began what has become the Academic Basketball Club seventeen years ago and has developed a program measuring success with the growth and development of the players each year. The path began with the re-establishment of a travel program in the City of Stamford and progressed into grassroots and has led to relationships with several hundred college coaches as it was realized, the ultimate goal of the student-athlete playing grassroots basketball is to Earn A College Uniform and continue playing as they continue their education.
The newest element to help players Earn A College Uniform is our Video For Coaches giving college coaches a chance to watch video from the top high academic camps and showcases in addition to the highlight videos and full game videos sent to coaches by the players. Coaches can now get the full game video from the Academic Basketball Camp, All-Academic Camp at Babson, both High Academic Showcases et al. Coaches: please email harvey@academicbasketball.com for details and to get the video.
All Juniors: Please take the SAT or ACT test three times before the end of your Junior year so the coaches will know what your best score, or what is close to it, is and whether you can be accepted at their respective school.
With the tournaments and camps over it is time to ask: “What are the next steps in my quest to Earn A College Uniform?” Take the time now to prepare your tools:
1.Write an eloquent email or letter.
2. Pick out your best full game which will showcase your ability and not have any negatives visible.
3. Produce a highlight video to attract the attention of the coaches.
4. Study for the upcoming SAT/ACT tests in the fall so you can increase your scores.
5.Begin working on your Common App essays while you have free time. These essays may very well make the difference between you getting accepted at a highly selective school and being deferred on your ED application. Or in the case of the top-level schools, being accepted in any of the periods.
6. Visit the schools you are interested in to build your list of schools you want to go to.
The Fine Print is essential: all services are in compliance with NCAA Regulation 12.3.3.1 Talent Evaluation Services and Agents. A prospective student-athlete may allow a scouting service or agent to distribute personal information (e.g., high school academics and athletics records, physical statistics) to member institutions without jeopardizing his or her eligibility, provided the fee paid to such an agent is not based on placing the prospective student-athlete in a collegiate institution as a recipient of institutional financial aid. As such, our services are advisement only and do not include any action to solicit or arrange for financial aid on the behalf of the student-athlet.