1. Choosing a college for the wrong reasons. When you visit a school on a recruiting trip, it is set up as a sales trip from the coach’s perspective. When you arrive in the fall you often find a football program and campus that feels much different than the “hyped” up one you saw on your visit.
2. Not matching your academic goals. You must match the college that you will be playing at with your academic goals in mind. Will you be able to succeed academically there? Even though you got in, are strong enough of a student? Do they have the major you really want or are you settling because of a scholarship?
3. Not getting along with the coach. You must choose the program and school, never the coaching staff. There is a good chance statistically that if you stay all four to five years, you will see a coaching change at the head coach level and multiple assistant coach changes. The coach that also recruited you is the “salesman” and not the true coach that person is at practice and during games.
4. Choosing the wrong athletic level of competition. Even if the college gave you a scholarship, are you good enough to play there? Will you have to sit on the bench and be a practice player for a few years before you get a realistic chance to start? Or could you have accepted a scholarship from a smaller division and played immediately?
5. Financial Aid changes. Coaches can pull athletic scholarships no matter what you hear to the contrary. Even if you only have a 50% or are a walk-on, can you afford to keep paying to play without having to get a job while you try to compete for a larger scholarship?

Preventing athletic failure in college starts with your high school recruiting. By doing a personal assessment of your recruiting goals and wishes you can better match colleges that fit an athletic profile that will better guarantee success.

What were they thinking? As of this writing Marion Jones sits in jail for lying about her use of steroids, after having been stripped of her Olympic gold medals for using steroids. Former All Pro Denver Bronco, Lyle Alzado died before his time. Chris Benoit will be remembered more for murdering his family and killing himself, than he will for his wrestling career.

It is our position the greatest football training aids are heart and drive, used properly, they can help you develop better football skills than steroids.

Let’s consider 5′7 165lbs. Rudy Reuttiger, too small to play big time college ball. He had few football skills and even less talent. November 8, 1975, after 2 years of playing on the practice squad, Rudy finally played two downs for Notre Dame. Utilizing his heart and desire, Rudy registered one sack and is currently the last player to be carried off the field by his team mates.

What made Rudy a Notre Dame legend? Why is there a movie about Rudy’s college career?

Rudy used heart and drive to earn his place in Notre Dame folk lore. Developing his football skills, he fulfilled his dream of running through the tunnel onto the field of Fighting Irish.

Today’s young football players face more pressure than ever before, to break the starting line up and try to win the ” Holy Grail” a college scholarship. They also have more football training aids and available to develop football skills. Football training equipment today include training videos, articles on the net and football equipment all designed to help players develop their football talent. There summer football training camps, advanced work out techniques and better gym equipment. It is our sincere hope today’s players use these football training advantages, not steroids, to advance their football careers.

Athleticism can be developed by practicing speed and agility drills. Strength can be increased by a regimented work out program done in the gym. Check with your coaches and trainers, they can give you a strength conditioning program designed specifically for you. These are football training techniques that can improve your on field performance with out risking your life.

Many games are won or lost in the 4th quarter, fourth quarter conditioning drills separate the winners from second best. Running and wind sprints should be part of your football conditioning program. Jogging exercises the heart as an organ, wind sprints work it as a muscle. Combined these will be the football drills used to keep you in condition for the 4th quarter.

The challenge is this, if an undersized and dyslexic Rudy Reuttiger can accomplish all that he did, given his limitations, what can you do with your all of your athletic skills?

What football training aids will you use to develop your football talents, heart, desire and hard work, or steroids?

There are many positions in which a student can play in college football.

The quarterback is usually the leader of a football team. He is expected to be well-rounded player: he must be good at making plays and passes, as well as avoiding (or resisting) the defenders on the other team. Running backs either block incoming rushers or run with the ball once it is passed to them. Halfbacks typically try to avoid contact with the defense in running plays while the bigger fullbacks try to run through the defense to make a score. Wide receivers, as indicated by their name, are players who distance themselves as far as they can from the opposite team in order to catch passes from their teammates. Linemen are positioned opposite the defense, and they block the rushers from coming in hoping to tackle the quarterback. The tight end players are a hybrid of linemen and wide receivers. The block players on the other team, but also receive passes depending on the play.

Defensive linemen are tasked to block whoever has the ball on the offensive team. They also need to get through the linemen, and so are the biggest players on the team. Linebackers follow players who have managed to escape the defensive linemen, or else guard wide receivers hoping to make a score. Defensive backs are positioned at the back of the team and are literally the last line of defense.

For high school students talented in football hoping to avail of a college scholarship, information on football recruiting is crucial to success. D1Athletes is an online community wherein athletes and coaches alike can share and exchange information about subjects such as football recruiting and college football. D1Athletes offers them a place to build an online presence and gain important public exposure. To learn more, visit D1Athletes.com began playing American college football. College football remains extremely popular today among students, alumni, and other fans of the sport.