Should a college recruit tell a coach if they have a learning disability?

I recently talked to the dad of an athlete who had withdrawn from her university (where she had an athletic scholarship) because the coursework got to be too much for her and she was struggling in her classes.

He told me his daughter was diagnosed with an education-impacting disability (or learning disability) in high school and did well academically at that level with proper accommodations.  However, during the college recruiting process, they did not inform the coaches about her need for assistance.

This is very common because athletes and sometimes their parents think it makes them look weak and therefore, don’t want to share such information with a college coach.  You can imagine what their reasoning is:

  • Will the coach view me differently because of my disability?
  • Will they withdraw their scholarship offer?
  • Will they try to force me to transfer to another college after I’m already a member of their team?

It’s understandable that families wrestle with such questions. But if you’re in this situation or know of someone who is, here are a couple of things to consider.

  • When making a campus visit, be sure to stop in or, better yet, schedule time with the Academic and Student Support Services offices to ask about services offered for learning disabilities.
  • Be honest and up front with the coaching staff during the recruiting process.  While you might find out that, yes, they do appear to be showing reduced interest and might withdraw their scholarship offer, would it not be better to find out the character of the coaches and their true concern for your athlete during the recruiting process rather than after the athlete has started their college career at that college?

If you have questions regarding recruiting visits and how to approach a coach about potential accommodations for learning disabilities and other recruiting issues, call Informed Athlete at 913-766-1235 to schedule a consult.  All consultations are private and confidential.

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Additional NCAA Official Visit Opportunities

As of October of 2017, prospects who have completed high school can now take an additional set of 5 official visits to NCAA Division I universities, even if they already took 5 official visits while they were in high school. 

There are restrictions for athletes currently enrolled in another 4-year college, and for junior college athletes if they were not a “Qualifier,” based on their high school record.

However, this is an opportunity for athletes who delayed their initial college enrollment or for junior college athletes who were academic “Qualifiers” coming out of high school to take additional official visits to NCAA Division I universities.

If you have any questions about the official visit rules, contact us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.

Another resource that you might be interested in is our “Informed Athlete’s Comprehensive Guide to Campus Visits” to help make the most of your recruiting experience.

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A Parent’s Story About NCAA Recruiting & Transfer Process

We’re sharing a story from an Informed Athlete client.  His story is not an uncommon one; in fact, you might be facing a similar situation.

His story illustrates how easy it is to make mistakes when you don’t know what questions to ask or what things to look for when talking with college coaches or visiting campus.

“Rick Allen and Informed Athlete is an invaluable resource to athletes and their parents for the D1 Baseball recruiting, transferring and signing process.

I only wish that we knew of Rick and his company when our son was in high school going through the recruiting process.  Our son turned down scholarship offers from several schools to play at his “dream school.” 

What we did not know was that D1 baseball only has 11.7 scholarships to give to 27 members of their 35 man baseball roster.  That meant that 8 players on the roster were not “on money.”

We were ignorant and did not know that this meant those players (along with any walk-ons), could be cut from the team after fall practice and not count against the 35 man roster. In other words, the 27 players on money counted against the roster in the Spring so they were very unlikely to get cut no matter what for that year.

Of course, our dream school did not tell us this.  Worse yet, since they had officially recruited my son,  he could not simply  transfer to another D1 school that wanted him without sitting out a year.

Rick Allen guided us through the transfer from his D1 school to a JUCO program and helped us navigate very difficult and confusing rules on how that transfer had to occur if my son was going to transfer back to a D1 program after a year in JUCO. 

Without his help and guidance, I am confident that my son’s career would be in serious jeopardy, if not over completely.  Instead, he is thriving at his new D1 program.

College athletics is BIG BUSINESS that makes BIG MONEY. Do not let your son get caught in a numbers game or be put on the shelf like a commodity until the players in front of him move on. 

Rick Allen can guide you step by step on every decision so you are armed with the knowledge to ask the right questions of your recruiting coach and program.

Do not risk your son’s career or trust that D1 programs have his best interest in mind.  It’s all about the money, so get informed today by the best in the business. 

Thank you Rick!!!!!   Finally, someone with knowledge that we could trust and rely upon for the advice we needed.”

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