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  • Sports Scholarships: What You Need to Know

    Sports Scholarships: What You Need to Know

    Sports scholarships aren’t easy to come by. Most student athletes who get a scholarship don’t get a “full ride”. There are other scholarships and bursaries available, but the value and quantity vary from school to school. The best way to find information regarding the institution and what is available, is to contact the school directly. You can call, email or do research online. Many student athletes in Canada consider American Division 1 and 2 schools to have better athletic programs. However the costs are substantially different. Many of the Division 1 and 2 schools in the U.S. cost between $25,000 and $40,000/ year, while many Canadian schools cost between $5,000 and $7,000/ year. The cost of travel for both students and their families, exchange rates and the cost of living can add up. Staying and playing in Canada is often more feasible, financially.

    In 2012-2013 CIS (Canadian Inter-University Sport) schools, which consists of Atlantic University Sport (AUS), Réseau du sport étudiant du Quebec (RSEQ), Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and Canada West Universities Athletics Association (CWUAA), provided $14.6 million in scholarships to student athletes. According the CIS web page the average scholarship awarded covered approximately 51% of tuition and compulsory fees. Of the scholarships awarded 57% went to male student athletes and 43% to female student athletes. The website also points out that scholarships are available in all CIS sports but the largest ones are awarded in basketball, hockey and volleyball.

    Below is a list of CIS Sports for both men and women:

    CIS SPORTS MEN
    Basketball Basketball
    Cross Country Cross Country
    Curling Curling
    Football Field Hockey
    Hockey Hockey
    Soccer Rugby
    Swimming Soccer
    Track and Field Swimming
    Volleyball Track and Field
    Wrestling Volleyball
    Wrestling

    CIS SPORTS WOMEN
    Basketball
    Cross Country
    Curling
    Field Hockey
    Hockey
    Rugby
    Soccer
    Swimming
    Track and Field
    Volleyball
    Wrestling

    Here are a few tips to try in order to have the best chance at securing an athletic scholarship:

    1. Get an early start. Your freshman and sophomore years are building years. In you junior and senior years you should be proactive in the recruitment process.
    2. Know what schools you might like to attend and look into their recruitment and eligibility requirements.
    3. Educate yourself and make sure you are informed.
    4. Make sure you maintain a high GPA so you can remain eligible to play. Academics still matter.
    5. Actively contact coaches at the schools you are interested in. In your email or letter include info like: sports stats, position, awards, your coaches contact information, the name of your high school and the year you will graduate. You may even want to send a video or highlight reel if you have one.
    6. Do research online, send for school brochures and make sure to pick schools that have academic programs you are interested in as well.

    Being knowledgeable about the process can increase your chance at success. It is important to go after what you want. Remember it isn’t your parents, coaches or school’s responsibility to get you a scholarship. If you think you have what it takes, go for it. Apply for all the scholarships and bursaries available to you. Proactively seek recruitment. Keep your grades up and you might be just what a coach is looking for.

  • Canadian and American Sports Scholarships: An Overview

    Canadian and American Sports Scholarships: An Overview

    Are you and school right now and love playing sports? Are you a top team player and want to continue playing sports when you go to college or university? You may want to consider looking into college and university sports scholarships. Sports scholarships can be national or international, and can take you across the world. A sports scholarship is described as “An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport.”[1]

    Sports scholarships are very common in America, with their highly fuelled sports culture. Players from all over the world can be offered scholarships to come and play for American teams, most commonly and most popularly, football and basketball. For Canadian students, sports scholarships can be awarded yearly, and can be renewable up to 4 years, which is the length of an undergraduate degree.[2] Canadian students may have many struggles trying to achieve a scholarship from the States. They must apply for visas, promote themselves, and take American college entry exams.[3] That is why a lot of applicants tend to have recruiting companies like athleticscholarships.net do the heavy groundwork for them.

    In an article in Maclean’s Magazine brings up the fact that most Canadian students forego Canadian athletic scholarships because US scholarships provide more money, opportunity and media exposure.[4] Maclean’s states: “Canadian schools are currently forbidden from offering athletic scholarships that exceed tuition and student fees. The vast majority get much less than this. While tuition in most provinces is over $5,000 a year, the average Canadian sports scholarship is $1,060.”[5] Now that is a hard pill to swallow for most universities trying to encourage their home-grown and trained students to stick around. At times it seems like sports scholarships come down to one thing; money. Sports scholarships can launch careers, but education is always the most important thing to consider. If you are a student who is not excelling in academics but is excelling in sports, you may want to balance yourself out evenly before you make any big commitments to go over-seas for a sports scholarship.

     

    CanScout[6], Canada’s leading sports recruitment agency (in Ontario), lists some very important facts about Recruiting:

    • College coaches lack the resources to recruit and find athletes.
    • If you are an excelling athlete in your high school, you should be receiving mailings from college coaches.
    • “As soon as the NCAA rules allow college coaches to contact prospects, they will begin to call you”
    • Ontario highs school athletes are being overlooked for international scholarships for their coaches lack knowledge of the recruitment process.

    Although some things need to change within Canada for Canadian high school students to gain exposure and just reward, don’t overlook what might be in your own Canadian back yard. You might find that you are more comfortable playing sports in Canada than in the U.S., despite the temptation of money. Check out the article “OF KNIGHTS AND EXCALIBUR COLUMN: Canadian athletic scholarships have value too” by Kyle Dupont.[7] He talks about some misconceptions about Canadian sports scholarships that you might want to look at before you jump into our neighbour’s yard and play the field.

    References:

    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_scholarship

    [2] http://canada.usembassy.gov/educationusacanada/sports-scholarships.html

    [3] http://www.athleticscholarships.net/canada-athletic-scholarships-america.htm

    [4] http://www.macleans.ca/general/an-expensive-fix-to-a-non-existent-problem/

    [5] http://www.macleans.ca/general/an-expensive-fix-to-a-non-existent-problem/

    [6] http://www.canscout.ca/

    [7] http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2013/01/02/of-knights-and-excalibur-column-canadian-athletic-scholarships-have-value-too