This book was written for parents and high school students who want to earn scholarships for Track & Field and Cross Country. It is a step-by-step guide and peek behind the curtain of collegiate recruiting. - Discover the insider secrets of the college recruiting game! - Learn to start a bidding war which leads to more, and better scholarship offers! - Know the most common mistakes and how to avoid them during the recruiting process. - Discover the best ways to reach out to coaches who haven't reached out first. - Know what to say when coaches ask what other schools are being considered. - Understand what coaches REALLY want to know and why they are asking specific questions. - Find out what intangibles matter to coaches and how they evaluate them in a recruit. - Discover the criteria by which coaches evaluate talent and base their scholarship offers.
Coach Vince Bingham Vince Bingham returned to Lindenwood University in 2016 after spending three seasons as assistant track coach at Northern Illinois University. Bingham's athletes broke 16 school records in three years, and qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in six events. Prior to Northern Illinois, Bingham served as head coach at Neosho County Community College (NCCC) in Chanute, Kansas. As the head coach at NCCC in 2012-13, Bingham led the Panthers to a stellar season in both indoor and outdoor competition. NCCC brought home seven All-Americans from the NJCAA national meet in March, and followed that up with 11 individual All-Americans at the outdoor national championships. As a team, Bingham's Panthers placed ninth on the women's side and eighth in the final men's standings. Prior to working at NCCC, Bingham spent time as a head coach at Missouri Baptist, and as an assistant coach at Kansas University, Southern Illinois University, University of Missouri, Lincoln University, and Lindenwood University. Bingham served as the Director of Track Operations at Kansas from 2009 to 2011. During his two years in Lawrence, he not only helped with the day-to-day operations, but also assisted in helping the Jayhawks place in the top 25 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. His recruiting efforts also lifted the once-unranked Kansas to the 2013 NCAA national outdoor title. Bingham also found plenty of success as the head coach at Missouri Baptist. In 2006, he led the Spartans to NAIA national titles at both the indoor and outdoor meets that year. His team also set eight NAIA national records at the 2006 indoor meet and saw 18 of its 21 athletes earn All-American status. At the 2006 outdoor meet, Missouri Baptist took home eight individual titles. In total, Bingham's athletes brought home 78 All-American honors on both the men's and women's sides to help him net the NAIA National Track & Field Coach of the Year Award in 2006. He has coached seven Olympians: Nickeisha Anderson (Jamaica, 2008), Ibrahim Bashir (Kuwait, 2004), Brittany Borman (United States, 2012 & 2016), Nikki Holder (Canada, 2012 & 2012), Randy Lewis (Grenada, 2004 & 2008), Lanece Clark (Bahamas, 2016; 4x400), and John Ampoham (Ghana, 2016; javelin). Bingham currently serves the Ozark Youth Association as USATF Executive Board Member, USATF Youth Vice Chair, and AAU Youth Chair. Bingham was inducted into the Missouri High School Cross Country/Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 2015.
