Perhaps your son or daughter is interested in getting a sports scholarship. Maybe it’s close to the time when they’ll be graduating high school. Or maybe your kids are involved in youth sports and you’re wondering if there’s such a thing as youth scholarships.
Here’s a little run down on what scholarships are, who qualifies for them, and what you need to know before you pursue scholarships for your kids.
What is an athletic scholarship?
First, let’s talk about scholarships the way most people think of them: collegiate athletic scholarships. A collegiate scholarship is an amount of financial aid awarded to a student-athlete from the college athletic department. These scholarships are awarded based on the student’s athletic abilities and their potential contribution to the team. A coach decides who receives scholarships and how much they are awarded.
What kind of scholarships are there?
There are two types of athletic collegiate scholarships: full and partial. Some collegiate teams only offer full ride scholarships (called head count sports) and others offer both full and partial scholarships (known as equivalency sports). Head count sports offer full scholarships to a limited number of players on the team. Equivalency sports can offer full scholarships and can also divide full scholarships into partial scholarships and give the athletic scholarships to more members of the team.
Who qualifies for a scholarship?
Your child could earn a full or partial athletic scholarship but it depends on several things: your sport, your athletic abilities, your potential at the school, and the availability of scholarship money on the team.
"What about youth scholarships?"
Youth scholarships are different from collegiate scholarships. These scholarships are available to help youth who wouldn't normally have access to funds to play a sport. Most of these scholarships are given by generous benefactors as well as corporations and companies who have come alongside their communities to help build and grow the youth programs. Background or academics have little to do with qualification.
Who Qualifies for youth sports scholarships?
The qualifications are generally simple. Most youth sports scholarships are funded on a first-come-first-serve basis. So, it’s best to apply early before funds run out. Despite this, many times more aid can be given if the funds are depleted. Usually, it depends on who is behind the scholarship as well as the demand for the sport to find the right balance of scholarship available.
Do certain qualifications make my child a better fit for a youth scholarship?
There may be times when scholarship applications are high and there are more kids applying for the scholarship than funds available at the moment. This is when factors such as hardship, family burden, illness, or loss of income can significantly affect the chance for one kid to receive a scholarship over another.
Having said that, my deep desire is to let every kid who wants to play, get to play.
This is all basic scholarship information and of course there are many details that go into the specifics of each scholarship. But, I’m here to help you understand the essentials of what a scholarship is.
And my ultimate goal is to help as many students as possible get these scholarships!
At EAT Sports Foundation, we are all about giving back to the community. We are about giving to those who need a helping hand. We are about giving opportunities to kids to play sports who think there isn’t any way for them to play!
I am privileged to be in a situation where I can finally give your kids the very thing I needed and wanted when I was a kid. I know the need, I know the desire, and we at EAT Sports Foundation are ready for your kids to play today.
You can apply for a youth scholarship here.
- Coach T