Academic Coaches share tips and secrets at the 2008 Play It Smart Annual Conference

Communication is the Key
Carlos Diaz
Academic Coach
Hillsborough/Tampa, FL

The key action in helping student-athletes and their families work through the FASFA and financial aid process is communication. It is important that this communication is timely, informative, and comprehendible. As with most helping professions such as academic coaching, the key concept is teamwork. Therefore, it is important to identify those currently on your team and those who will become teammates for the process to progress.

Building the Team
Identifying resources and establishing a working relationship with those resources i.e. guidance counselors, guidance resource specialist, computer-lab mangers/teachers, media center personnel, local area public library, school-based administrators, local community colleges and universities is vital. These team-members can help by providing: expertise, internet access for students lacking availability, as well as scheduling and providing on-site/off-site workshops during evenings and weekends.

Workshops and One on One
Gathering essential materials i.e. FASFA worksheets, generic financial applications, and post-secondary institution contact information is the initial step to conducting a large/small group workshop or one on one session. Identifying resources such as state sponsored financial aid programs and helping students and parents understand terminology/requirements is also essential.
Timing
The spring of the 11th grade (junior year) is an excellent time to begin the FASFA and financial aid process. Practicing for the following year and getting an early estimate of potential costs to come relieves anxiety. This can coincide with the finalizing stages of the NCAA Clearinghouse Eligibility application process which is a natural attractor for student-athletes and their parents. The documents which need to be gathered to complete the application process will require time, and FASFA as well as other financial aid applications have specific “drop-dead” dates for submission.

Tips:

• FASFA worksheets are essential to help families prepare for the actual application process and serve as an excellent guide for completing the process especially when the application is to be filed on-line. The FASFA worksheet can be downloaded from www.fafsa.ed.gov.
• "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime." The FASFA will have to be completed annually during a student’s post-secondary academic career. Coach student-athletes and parents to attempt and complete the process themselves.
• Remind student-athletes and parents that combinations of various financial aid sources are possible and may be preferable i. e. athletic, academic, and state-sponsored scholarships, grants, and student loans.
• Prepare to provide clear definitions regarding differences between various financial aid sources i.e. scholarships, grants, and student loans. These options sometimes are confusing to student-athletes and parents.
• Be mindful of the sensitive nature of the financial information being gathered from both a legal and emotional standpoint.

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Additional Financial Aid Strategies for Academic Coaches
Barbara Paskin
Academic Coach/Guidance Counselor
Asbury Park/Asbury Park, NJ

It’s that time of the year – time for students to apply for financial aid via the FAFSA). It’s never too early to begin; in fact the old saying “the early bird catches the worm” definitely applies here!
Financial aid is partially given out on a first-come, first-serve basis, and the sooner you apply, the better the packages, that come in the form of grants, loans, and student work-study, will be. It is suggested that students apply as soon after January 1st as possible.

As academic coaches, we should definitely include a financial aid component to our college preparation and planning. After all, many of our athletes may not attain a Division I or II scholarship. Some of them may play at a Division III school, Junior College, or will be going on to college without plans of playing a sport. Financial Aid may seem like a confusing and sometimes intimidating task, even for the most experienced professional. The following strategies can help simplify the process.

• Tap in to your guidance department to see if and when they are having a financial aid night. Make sure that your players get all the information regarding the event. You can also send your own flyer to parents to encourage them to participate.
• If you prefer to have an information session just for your team and their parents, contact the financial aid office of a local college or university and ask if they can come to your school and do a presentation.
• Usually, your own State Department of Higher Education will offer some type of program that will provide speakers who can present financial aid information. Go to your state’s website and do some research. You should find excellent aid sources and information there. NASFAA (National Association of Financial Aid Administrators) is a nonprofit membership organization that is an excellent resource for financial aid information at their website: www.nasfaa.org
• College Goal Sunday is a free program that gives hands-on help for families to complete the FAFSA. It takes place in numerous locations around the country from January through April. The information changes from state to state. You should refer to the official College Goal Sunday website, www.collegegoalsundayusa.org, for locations and dates throughout your state. We encourage all of our students to participate in College Goal Sunday and also provide a bus for families to take them to the site.
• Have each student apply for a pin on-line at the FAFSA web site, www.fafsa.ed.gov as soon as possible. That way, they will be ready to go when the form becomes available. If you have access to a computer lab, you can have each student register on-line in a matter of minutes. Make sure they each write down their pin and keep a copy in their file. The paper FAFSA should be available in the guidance office by mid-December. I encourage students to do it online if possible.
• As mentioned in a previous best practice section (New Brunswick High, October edition of The Extra Point) have each student-athlete should also establish a College Board account at www.collegeboard.com. There are excellent tools on this site for finding ways to make college affordable. With this account, you can also register on-line for the SAT’s; print your admissions ticket immediately, and get your results much faster.

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Play It Smart with a Financial Aid Information Night
Kyle Williams
Academic Coach
Lawrence North/Indianapolis, IN


In January of each year, we like to hold a Financial Aid / FASFA information night. We invite all senior and junior parents. We like to hold it in January of each year because senior parents cannot fill out the FASFA form until they know their earned income for the previous year. We invite junior parents just so they can have "heads up" and know what to expect for the following year.

During the first part of the meeting we cover items associated with cost to attend college. We compare private vs. public universities, out of state vs. in state, community colleges, junior colleges, etc. We like to break down the costs by tuition, room and board, books and spending money. As part of out Power Point presentation, we list several common websites for families to look at for scholarship opportunities. In addition to this, we have a scholarship list that is sent out to all families every month updating them on possible scholarships their child may be a candidate for. You can have your students sign up on fastweb.com, a scholarship website.

Next we examine state and federal aid. We explain grants vs. scholarships vs. loans. And how working through college is a big part of paying for college. We talk about the Pell Grant, merit and athletic scholarships and grants awarded associated with Indiana specifically. In talking about need based scholarships and grants, this leads up to the importance of filling out the FASFA correctly.

Before a family can complete the FASFA, they will need the parents (and maybe students) income tax returns. The will also need W-2 forms. All social security cards and drivers licenses will be needed as well. One strategy that has worked great for our Play It Smart Financial Aid night is having a financial aid/scholarship representative from a local college/university attend and speak. This person always has current information regarding all the items mentioned above and additional input that parents find very helpful. Good luck and have a great 2009!

*Note: Please See Kyle’s Power Point Presentation on ORBIT in the Best Practice Section under the "FORMS" link.
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Becoming a Bridge to Resources through Building Relationships
Dustin Butcher
Academic Coach,
Wayne High School, Fort Wayne, IN

Coaches, this is the time where you are going to be counted on to answer a few questions: “How do you fill out FAFSA? and “How am I going to pay for college?”. Helping students fill out FAFSA and navigate the financial aid waters is probably one of the more difficult jobs we have.

It can be easy to conduct a study-table, assist anyone on college applications, coordinate Community Service events and setting up College Visits are just an idea or phone call away. Life Skills workshops or one-on-one meetings are pretty manageable, and SAT or ACT registrations can be handled online.

We know that our student-athletes can take on a major role in being responsible in their own college application process however, when it comes to FAFSA, we and they are counting on the parents to pull through. This could definitely throw a wrinkle in the plans. Our student-athletes can prepare themselves in high school for 4 years and all could be very easily damaged because someone failed to complete FAFSA. This is a tough pill to swallow especially if you have invested the time into getting the student-athlete set on the right path.

Here at Wayne High School, I am fortunate enough to work with four solid guidance counselors. If you haven’t developed a positive relationship with your guidance department, you need to start. Whoever the guidance counselor that is in charge of the seniors for that respective year, I regularly try to talk with them about where our athletes are applying to, who’s recruiting them, or when financial aid meetings are coming to Wayne High School or somewhere around the Fort Wayne area.

With tax season lurking, financial aid meetings should be popping up. Pay attention to the announcements and if there are financial aid meetings coming to your school, encourage your kids to come or have their parents come. I know, this is easier said than done. If you have to, call the parents and let them know as well. Our guidance department does multiple things to promote FAFSA and financial aid opportunities, for instance; they send papers home announcing the latest financial aid meetings, multiple announcements during the school day, and a scrolling message on the sign outside Wayne High School.

If your guidance department fails to do this, then you should get the addresses of your athletes and send something home to the parents. As reference earlier look into College Goal Sunday www.collegegoalsundayusa.org. This program is all across the country and is a workshop that covers all aspects of FAFSA. Here in Indiana, College Goal Sunday is February 15.

You may find challenges with your student-athletes and parents not taking advantage of a workshop. There are some tax preparers that will do FAFSA for a small additional fee. This may be another route to take if the parent is unable to make the meetings and wants to avoid FAFSA all together. Additionally, you can always go to the FAFSA website www.fafsa.ed.gov. This is very user friendly and if you do run into any problems, you can easily access the phone number and call someone.

When it comes to FAFSA, you as an academic coach need to be able to identify who the experts are and refer your student-athletes to these professionals when necessary (ex. Guidance department, college financial aid office, etc.). I would encourage you to forge a positive relationship with your guidance department to kick start this referral network. Also, as Mike Scott who presented at the annual Play It Smart conference in July from TCU stated, paying for college is a family affair. We need to emphasize this. This is where you can make a difference. Finally, here are some useful websites for financial aid and FAFSA: www.collegeboard.com & www.finaid.org.

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With major financial support from the NFL and the NFL Players Association, and a broad-coalition of corporations, communities, individuals and organizations, the program has quickly become one of the most comprehensive and effective youth mentoring programs, achieving dramatic results that include:

• 95% of seniors graduating high school, compared to 76% of their peers;



• 80% of seniors enrolling in college compared to 63% of their peers;



• Participants completing more than 55,000 service hours annually;



• Participants earning more than $8 million a year in scholarships; and



• 270-plus graduates earning places among the elite collegiate ranks during the 2008 season on Football Bowl and Championship Subdivision rosters.

Prominent alumni include Ohio State’s Ted Ginn, Jr. (Miami Dolphins), Rutgers’ Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens), California’s Desean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles), Miami’s Leon Williams (Cleveland Browns), LSU’s Craig Davis (San Diego Chargers) and Super Bowl champion Jay Alford, who attended Penn State, and currently plays with the World Champion New York Giants.
Play It Smart builds on the positive peer influences of team sports and a participant's interest in football. The program's academic coaches are trained in a set of guiding principles and a variety of tactics, which are designed to make academic achievement the norm. Working closely with the direct support of a team's head coach and others in the community, academic coaches hold one-on-one goal setting meetings, career and life skills sessions, mandatory study halls, SAT/ACT prep classes, community service projects and other team building events.

ABOUT PLAY IT SMART
Play It Smart is an educational program established in 1998 by The National Football Foundation. The program's mission is to help student-athletes take responsibility for their futures through lessons learned on the playing field, in the classroom, and in service to others. At the heart of the program is a year-round academic coach, an official member of a team's staff, who serves as a direct link to the classroom by helping players and the team set and achieve their academic and personal development goals during the entire school year. Learn more at www.PlayItSmart.org.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME:
With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.