Prep Schools come in all sorts of shapes and forms. When choosing the correct prep school for you, please consider all options, then narrow down your list. This is an important decision, because you are looking for the school that will give you the best opportunity to 1. Qualify, 2. Improve, and 3. Get Recruited. The goal for those that go to a prep schools is to recieve a full scholarship to a 4 year college. Do your homework and ask around. Is it possible at this school?
1. When it comes to qualifying, get in contact with the school's principal, coaches, and counselor. Find out if they know NCAA rules and regulations regarding qualification. See if they can put together a tentative schedule that will give you the classes you need to qualify as soon as possible. If they can't, cross the school off your list. Prep schools should have employees at multiple positions that understand NCAA guidelines. If the key people don't know the rules, how can you trust them to help you out? There also needs to be a connection between the school and the basketball program. You need to be at a place where everyone including teachers and coaches are all on the same page. If your 'prep school' contracts you out to other schools, run for the hills, because your best interest is not at the heart of that program.
2. Look at the track record of the coach(es) you will be playing for. How many players have they developed? Call a couple of players who ended up at multiple levels of college athletics, and see if they believe the coaches helped them get better. Don't only call the major successes, call the last couple of players on the bench as well to get a more well rounded idea of what it is like at that school. Have your parents call a couple of parents as well about the school to see if they were satisfied with what went on. If all checks out, keep that school on your list.
3. Finally, you should check to see if you will have opportunities to be recruited by coaches all over the country. How well do the school's coaches promote their players? What is the school's placement rate for student-athletes moving on to 4 year schools? It should be around 90% or higher, or that school should drop off your list as well. Find out how many players went to a JUCO after their prep year. If there are many, then there is a chance you will waste your time at that prep as well. Finally, call some people who have been around basketball for a while, and ask about the reputation of the school and the coach. If a coach at the school you are considering playing at has a very negative reputation, remember that there is usually a reason for all reputations. People get reputations for a reason. They usually earn them. If the coach or school has a overwhelmingly negative reputation, cross that school off of your list as well. You need to be around people who care about you and your future first and foremost. Make sure your school of choice is surrounded with those types of people. Stay away from the users who only use you to promote their program or school. Those people don't care about you at all. They only care about the image you bring to them and their program.
My best suggestion is to consider multiple schools, and make a ranking grid with your parents. Rate each school based on the three above categories. Go with the one that grades out the highest. Good luck with your search!
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