National Scouting Report

Develop the Whole Person Instead of Creating Prima Donnas

This is an epidemic we don’t like to see, but we admit its prevalence — young athletes who, if they don’t get their way, or feel they are being treated unfairly, choose to pack up and move on to what appears to be the next best thing, or they complain and mope around like toddlers who have been told they can’t have another cookie.  Enough already.   

Young athetes should be encouraged to work through issues with their coaches.

Back in the day, if a kid or parent felt the athlete was being mistreated in some way, parents commonly used the occasion as a life-learning, character-building  opportunity.  Athletes then, with fewer choices than today, were forced to tackle their problems head on.  They either played through the hard times or quit, and in most cases quitting was a stigma to be avoided. 

Today, it’s more likely a family will become incensed by the coach and skeedattle with a cursory, ”Let’s get outta here,” all the while ignoring the longer term consequences to their kid.  Honestly, this shoot-from-the-hip thinking is not a responsible solution.  It’s a cruise vacation from reality which can cause intrinsic and harmful fallout to the athlete.   

It’s the Me Syndrome and no one is the better for it.  We like the old way better and call for parents of budding, young athletes to reconsider how they handle the egos of kids whose lives will benefit more from dealing with tough situations and making hard decisions than being protected from the cruel, cruel world.  

No one can dodge crisis.  Everybody encounters it.  The boss gets mad, a co-worker gets jealous, equipment breaks down, supplies run out — these are all things which will happen to everyone sooner than later.  In sports it’s usually much sooner.  Learning various ways to cope with and overcome problems, or crisis managment, allows kids to develop valuable life skills.  Pulling them out of the bull ring too early never allows them to look real fear in the eye, to experience their own vulnerabilities.  They don’t learn to make courageous choices.        

Choices are a part of life.  Choosing to cope with difficult people and learning to thrive in challenging circumstances is far better than throwing up one’s hands as if working with authority figures or insensitive coaches is out of the question.  Better to face the music now and practice how to deal with it than to run into a buzz saw of a boss ten years down the road and not have a clue how to survive.    

Sports teach high school athetes life and character-building lessons.

We see the unsettling results too often as pampered youngsters go on to believe that when life’s obstacles are encountered running away is a more viable option than constructively working through them.  How on earth did we get to this absurd point? 

Every athlete eventually faces his or her share of dilemmas in athletics.  From disagreements about playing time to how they are spoken to or disciplined, these are age-old conundrums.  As a high school athlete in rural Virginia, I vividly recall having to deal with a tough-as-nails coach who seemed determined to break me down.  He was succeeding, too.  When I had had enough and went to my parents for help, my father said, “Son, this is something you need to handle.  We are not there every day.  You are.  We do not know the coach well enough to criticize his decisions from our point of view.  If you want the situation to change, you’ll have to figure it out.” 

That very evening I called the coach and asked for a one-on-one meeting.  We met in his office at the school that night and I poured my heart out to him.  This was not your warm and fuzzy guy, to say the least, so looking him in the eye and pushing myself into uncharted waters was the most uncomfortable thing I had experienced to that point in my life.  There were known risks involved and my parents were unflagging in both their encouragement and determination that I go it alone. 

Regardless of the outcome, I wanted him to know what affect this was having on me and what I was willing to do to make things right.  More hustle.  Less taking my role for granted.  More leadership.  Less moping.  And, after three years of playing for him, he finally opened up and told me his story and why he had made the decisions he had. It was a revelation.  Even if I never played a minute of basketball for him again, I got it.  It wasn’t all about me.     

That conversation changed my life.  I learned nothing about basketball that night, but what I took away with me imbedded in my character.  My father was a wise, wise man.  He knew that this particular encounter and experience would be a watershed moment for me, and it was.  Watershed moments are good.  Kids today need more of that same sort of dousing.  It’s hard, but critically necessary. 

Athletics are all about learning life’s lessons.  Yes, athletes remember the practices, the locker room banter along with the gratifying wins and devastating losses.  But, more than anything, athletes learn how about real life issues such as how to cohesively work with others toward a common goal, how to support one another in disappointing times, how to win with class and lose with grace, and how to work through problems with tough authoritarians.     

If we, as parents and coaches, coddle and protect our kids too much from crises, they miss out on those invaluable lessons which carry them through life, instead thinking that the answers will always be given to them.  We can do better.

30 Years and Counting, NSR Continues Founder’s Legacy  

NSR’s 30-year anniversary of helping high school student-athletes attract the attention, receive evaluations and get recruited by college coaches starts this month as we chronicle the extraordinary legacy created in 1980 by founder Bob Rigney (pictured) and carried on today by the Rigney family. 

Bob Rigney's The Scouting Report was the first of its kind in America.

Dubbed “The Father of High School Scouting Services,” Mr. Rigney’s idea of promoting high school athletes directly to college coaches seemed an innocent hobby in 1980.  Thirty years later, in 2010, the high school scouting service industry is no longer a cottage industry, but instead has become a multi-million dollar viable force in high school and college sports.  

A printer by trade, Mr. Rigney had the seminal idea of promoting his oldest son, Curtis, to college coaches by putting together a profile sheet and then sending it to a few regional college coaches.  The success of his ideas sparked local interest among Curtis’ friends.  Seeing the tremendous response Curtis was receiving, other parents in the area asked Bob to promote their sons to colleges, too.   Scouting Report was born and the rest, as they say, is history.  

Today, the Rigney family continues Bob’s extraordinary legacy.  Son Rusty is the company’s president while daughter Peggy serves as the firm’s chief financial officer.  The company has come a long way from an antique printer in Bob’s basement when Scouting Report was printed each week, placed by hand in binders by the entire family and then mailed to college coaches for a fee.  In a short period of time, coaches around America were subscribers.  As the company grew, Bob re-named the company National Scouting Report to reflect its well-deserved stature among the nation’s college coaches. 

NSR now has modern digs in the Birmingham suburb of Alabaster where a home office staff does everything from A to Z.  A fully high-tech organization with four in-house video editors, Web site designers, college coach liaisons, customer service reps, along with marketing, IT and social media departments, National Scouting Report is the premier high school scouting and college recruiting organization in the world.  Field offices across America and in several foreign countries are owned by licensees who, along with their area scouts, cover every sport played in colleges across the country.  In NSR‘s lifetime, the company has helped to place thousands upon thousands of prep prospects with college athletic programs.

NSR’s strategy is unlike any scouting agency in the world in that professionally trained NSR licensees and area scouts scour the high school and travel or club landscape in search of prospects with the talent, desire, character and grades which uniquely qualify them to become legitimate college recruits.  Our reputation among college coaches everywhere was founded on the promise that we would only enroll and promote student-athletes who had all the qualities necessary to participate at the next level.  That firm commitment has never wavered.   

From its outset NSR has avoided the primary business strategy and practices most other high school scouting organizations operate under which is to fill cubicles with telemarketers, typically called counselors or advisors, who are hired to make blind phone calls to prospects hoping to get a commission by having them “sign” without ever having scouted or evaluated the kids in any justifiable fashion.  At NSR, we call this business model the “Catch and Release Method”  in which prospects are caught and then released to basically be on their own.    

NSR is service oriented and focused.  Once with NSR, prospects are guided through the recruiting process utilizing a variety of time-tested methods which keep clients informed of essential recruiting information.  Personal scouts and home office advisors are constantly on call to assist clients.  We are the real deal.  Bob Rigney would have it no other way.

Cal versus UC-Davis Holds Special Meaning to NSR’s John Bava

Saturday’s grudge match between The University of California (Cal) and The University of California at Davis (UC-Davis) holds special meaning for all of us at National Scouting Report, but espcially for NSR licensee John Bava (N-CA).  Four former NSR prospects, three from UC-Davis and one from Cal, will be on their respective team rosters as the Aggies travel to Berkeley to take on the Bears at Memorial Stadium.  John enrolled and represented all four of these outstanding prospects for NSR. 

Spencer Hagan is a redshirt sophomore at Cal.  The 6’4″ wideout was ranked as the No. 2 receiver in Northern California by ESPN in 2008.  He finished his high school career at Capital Christian High in Sacramento with 145 receptions and 2,629 receiving yards, both all-time school records.  Spencer earned first-team All-State honors as a prep senior by both Rivals and MaxPreps, while also being named second-team All-City by the Sacramento Bee.

Nick Aprile is a redshirt sophomore at UC-Davis.  He is a 6’1″ 210-pound free safety from Escalon High in Fresno.  In 2009, Nick appeared in all 11 games as a reserve defensive back for the Aggies.  He was also the ball handler in the team’s variation of the Wildcat formation.  He rushed for 123 yards and four TDs on 29 carries.  On defense, Nick posted 7 tackles (5 solos, 2 assists) on defense.  

Ian Joseph is an offensive lineman for UC-Davis.  At 6’6″ and 300 pounds, Ian is likely to see action as a true freshman for the Aggies.  At El Dorado High in Placerville, CA, Ian was a three-sport standout, playing football, basketball and track.  He earned All-Pioneer Valley League first-team and Sacramento Bee All-Metro second-team honors as a senior lineman.  He was named his team’s Most Outstanding Lineman and Bleeding Blue awards.  He was also an All-league thrower in the spring, posting personal bests of 50-3 in shot, 141-3 in discus.  On the basketball court, he was voted Most Inspirational. 

Ryan Dimino is one of UC-Davis’ most prized recruits in 2010.  The freshman linebacker’s high school career at Del Campo High in Sacramento made him one of the most recruited prep stars in the state.  He was selected as All-Metro Player of the Year by the Sacramento Bee in 2009, rushing for 2,702 yards and passing for 2,089 more.  Ryan accounted for 47 touchdowns (28 rush, 19 pass).  He ranked 2nd on team with 60 tackles on defense, while adding an interception.  Post season honors include being named Old Spice California Player of the Year, Capital Athletic League MVP and first-team Cal-Hi Sports team.  Ryan’s team at Del Campo won 42 games and two Sac-Joaquin Section titles during his career.  He was a three-time All-CAL honoree and was named to Sacramento Bee All-Decade Team.  Ryan was also a National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete.

NSR’s Service Is More In Demand Than Ever

At NSR, we receive requests from college coaches every day.  With budget shortfalls and the steady decrease in alumni giving and corporate gifts, college CEO’s are putting the pinch on athletic departments to cut expenses, if not corners in ancillary spending.  That’s bad news for coaches, but excellent news for NSR kids who are prime targets for coaches who must comply with NCAA APR minimums and aren’t given unbridled financial freedom.   

Coaches are searching for prospects who can quickly turn complex strategies into action.

The financial scenario typically has more of an impact on minor sports and smaller college athletic programs, NSR is experiencing something akin to an awakening among major college coaches.  Over the past three months, NSR has received a boom in DI requests.  What does this indicate? 

First, the NCAA’s Academic Performance Rate (APR) for major DI sports has coaches looking much harder at grades, test scores and character than ever before.  The greatest athlete is not always the greatest student, to state the obvious.  So coaches, especially those whose presidents and athletic directors are closely scrutinizing their recruiting practices as well as the individual athletes they bring on campus, are having to turn over more stones in search of better academic performing student-athletes. 

Because the average NSR athlete has a  3.0+ GPA, our clients are perfect options for them to evaluate without having to shake the bushes as much out on the road.  Second, athletic game strategies have become so sophisticated over recent years that coaches need to find smarter kids to grasp and quickly put into practice those strategies.  If they can find intelligent yet quality kids, coaches would prefer to have them on the team.  It’s a no-brainer.    

Nearly every college program in America at one time or another has submitted a request for our assistance through the College E-mail Request Form.  But, that’s not surprising.  Having worked with college coaches for 30 years, we are well-known and respected by coaches from NCAA Division I through the community college system.   

Budget shortfalls have created an increased need for NSR's service to college coaches.

• Coaches know that NSR only enrolls student-athletes after pre-qualifying them as college prospects.  We see them perform in most cases, or watch video on them, examine their grades, test scores and statistics, and as often as feasible solicit feedback from their high school and travel coaches pertaining to their ability, attitude and desire.
• Our prospects are not randomly called by people sitting in a phone bank to see if they want to buy their way into the recruiting process with a Web site.  Our scouts do something most other companies fail to do.  We actually scout. 
• We save coaches money on their recruiting budgets by conducting the initial step in the recruiting process for them.  That is, we do the scouting and pre-qualifying which reduces their travel and telephone expenses.
• We provide coaches with prospect video footage in any format which they require.  Our fully-staffed, in-house video department edits the footage into three to six minute highlights so that coaches can conduct their initial evaluations from their offices, homes or while traveling.  And, coaches have full, 24/7 access to our prospects’ videos on our Web site. 
• Coaches are not forced to go through some secret passage with a password or code to get to our prospects.  Our site is easy to navigate.  That said, our clients’ security is extremely important to us.  We do not include prospects’ mailing addresses, email addresses, social security numbers or any other sensitive, personal information on their individual pages.   

Legendary Mississippi State baseball coach Ron Polk, the winningest coach in the history of the Southeastern Conference, gave the keynote addresss to NSR‘s licensees and scouts at the 2010 NSR National Meeting held in Birmingham, AL.  Faced with a room full of attendees, Coach Polk treated the group with a myriad of stories and recruiting lessons learned in a Hall of Fame career.   

Coach Polk addressed NSR's scouts and signed books at their National Meeting.

 After taking a number of digs at NSR’s Robert Cagle, a former Ole Miss football player who introduced him, Coach Polk spoke for an hour on the importance of identifying prospects who not only have the ability to play college athletics, but to home in on those who have good grades and character.   Talking about parents, Coach Polk emphasized that once a program begins recruiting a prospect that parents should allow the coach and recruit to develop a relationship.  He also recounted various stories from his illustrious career tying his cojent points to NSR‘s mission of identifying and promoting qualified high school student-athletes to college athletic programs nationwide.  

Coach Polk’s message, mixing heart felt tales with humor rang true with NSR scouts which had gathered in Birmingham, AL.  Following his speech, Coach Polk took time to sign his most recent book for every scout.   

In July 2009, Coach Polk was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009 and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1995.  He retired from Mississippi State in 2008 after his 29th season there leaving him seventh all-time in NCAA career head coaching wins. He was a head coach for a total of 35 years.  Coach Polk’s career record was 1,373-700 for a .622 winning percentage.  His teams appeared in eight NCAA College World Series, won five SEC championships and made 23 Regional appearances.

Coach Polk earned three National Coach of the Year awards.  In 35 years as a college baseball coach, Polk’s programs produced 35 All-Americans and more than 75 All-SEC performers, with 21 former players competing in the major leagues.  He was a member of the coaching staff for the USA National Baseball Team seven times, twice as head coach.  Two teams he led represented the United States in the Olympic Games.

One of Three Major Problems Being Scrutinized

The NCAA is going after three major topics of concern with changes expected soon.

The NCAA‘s upcoming proposal which, if adopted, will dictate that Division I institutions delve deeper into incoming student-athletes’ academic records and require poorer students in football and basketball (men’s and women’s) to take summer school classes prior to full-time enrollment.  At NSR, we support this proposal as a positive step by the NCAA on behalf of student-athletes.  

The measure would force colleges to get more proactively involved with the student-athlete population on the front end of their college experience.  This has been missing, to a degree, and needed correcting. 

As things currently stand, 0nce approved for admittance, most freshmen and transfer students are put on the fast track to college life, or so it seems.  With various and sundry issues at hand, not the least of which is the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR), which penalizes athletic programs for those athletes who do not take specific steps toward earning a degree, the new rule makes perfect sense.     

Specifically, it calls for academically at-risk freshmen and transfer student-athletes to take nine hours and pass six before being permitted to take on a full load of classes in the fall.  The plan has the expectations of helping borderline students to get a head start on meeting NCAA academic guidelines which, again, call for student-athletes to make progress toward earning a college degree throughout their college, athletic careers.  It is also believed that the new rule will help freshmen and transfers to become more acclimated to college campuses, their coaches and the academic settings of their schools.  A pilot program run by the University of North Carolina at Asheville has proven to successfu. 

We believe that this proposal addresses an endemic problem, one which too frequently derails newcomers’ academic foundations.  This proactive approach should save a number of “bubble” athletes whose academic history demonstrates the potential need for intervention, guidelines and personal guidance. 

But, for all the recognizable good news, there’s bad news, too, depending on the perspective, of course.  For DI coaches, this tactic could serve as an early wash out of some recruits ill-fitted for college academics prior to becoming their being established as full-time students.  If that occurs, the coach’s APR would not presumably be effected as opposed to their flunking out after their full-time enrollment status begins.

Football and basketball at the Division I level have recently come under scrutiny from all sides.  Improper agent activities are being discussed by pertinent parties and agencies.  Men’s basketball’s one-and-done rule will apparently be reconsidered under NCAA’s new president, Dr. Mark Emmert, that is if he can convince the NBA to shift their current policy.  And, now this.  It is likely that we can anticipate a number of rules changes in all these categories in the near future.  From our side, those changes cannot come soon enough.

There Is a Way, But It’s On You 

If you are a high school athlete who has put your sport waaaaay in front of your grades for waaaaay too long, but you want to play college sports so badly it hurts, it’s time to face reality — good grades are absolutely necessary if you have any hope of reaching the next level and make no mistake, it’s on you to make it happen.  

Improving study habits includes learning how to isolate yourself from distractions.

Want proof?  The NCAA recently released findings which showed fewer and fewer college coaches are taking the risk of recruiting prospects who are borderline academically.  If that’s you, or your kid, things need to change and we have some answers for you which will get you back on track…if you put in the work. 

Still with us?  Great.  Here are the things you will have to do:

1. Prioritize…NOW.  Make up your mind that grades deserve the same attention as your sport.  That’s right…just as important.  How many hours a week do you put into practicing and playing your sport?  Really, add up the hours.  Now, look at your core classes.  That’s probably about four hours sitting in class, leaving you about six or so hours every week of studying you’ll need to do.  That’s not all that bad, right?  At first, it may seem impossible to think about putting in that much time studying, but if you are indeed serious, that’s where you start.   
2. $!  Yes, money.  A’s and B’s in your core classes are worth real dollars, academic dollars.  The more A’s and B’s you earn, the more money (and it is FREE money) you will make toward paying for your college education.  Don’t settle for less.  Let the school pay you instead of you paying them.  Make sense?
3. Help!  Anyone who makes good grades has help.  No one does it alone.  Parents, friends, classmates, teachers…they can all be excellent support for you as you head down this new path.  Don’t hesitate to talk to them about your academic goals and ask for their help every step of the way.  Time to swell up and be somebody.  Jump on in.  It won’t hurt. 
4. Flex time.  As an athlete, studying at home isn’t always practical.  Circumstances may dictate that you be flexible when you study.  During lunch, on the bus trip, before or after the game, match or meet.  It’s one of the major challeges which you will have to cope with and overcome.  It’s part of the academic game. 
5. Isolate.  For somebody who has no clue how to study properly in the first place (that’s you), getting comfortable studying alone can be rough.  Get over it.  All distractions must go.  TV…off.  Cell phone…off.  Texts…no way.  To do this the right way, you have to put yourself in the right environment, and that way is ALONE with your books and class notes.  
   

   Improvement may come slowly at first, but it will come if you are persistent.

6. Pay attention!  In your core classes, most everything you see on quizes and tests will have happened in class.  When your teacher starts class, focus, listen and take notes.  Ask questions when you are confused.  You know, like a real student.  Perhaps nothing is more critical to making good marks than how you conduct yourself in that 40 to 90 minutes you spend engaged with your teacher.  You will find that your grades will immediately improve just by taking detailed notes and reviewing them before being tested.          
7. Hunker down.  Mental toughness will give you another bump in grades.  What do you do before practice?  You get mentally prepared.  Academics are no different.  There is a mindset which you must adopt.  When you are heading into class, get into it.   When you study at home, get into it.  Don’t allow the other stuff which has always prevented you from succeeding to get in your way.  Good grades, like a stellar game, match or meet, happen because…you mentally get into it.       
8. Become the book.  Don’t even think about leaving your books in your locker when you head home.  There is no way to get better academically if your books are locked up where you can’t get to them.  Class notes can take you only so far.  You need backup and your books have your back.  Further, the only way to get something valuable from your books is to do the things above which give you a realistic chance to improve your grades.  You cannot get better grades unless you study.  Plain and simple.
9. Practice.  Studying and improving your study habits is exactly like practicing your sport.  Really.  You have become a better athlete because…you practiced…and practiced…and practiced.  Right?  Then, it follows that you will be a better student if you practice the techniques necessary to improve.  Right?  Here’s the problem:  you are already a good athlete and your patience may run thin when as a student you are not excellent at it right away.  Like athletics, it takes some practice, dedicated practice.  Evaluate, week-to-week, how you did.  Good or not so good, bump it up a notch the next week.  It will come.  
   

   Asking for help is a key part of being a good student.

10.   Drive.  When you step on the field, court, mat or track, you are driven to excel.  It’s essential that you take the very same approach to your studies.  Each day is an opportunity to take a step closer to reaching your objectives.  Assume nothing.  Stay involved.  Look forward.  Push yourself ahead. 
11.   Win.  If you have read this far, you’re probably on the verge of making a key decision.  Will I commit to this?  If you do, do it to win.  Go all out, not halfway.  Don’t allow yourself to slip back into old habits which got you into this predicament in the first place.  Momentum comes with little wins.  Listening.  Taking good notes.  Nightly home studying.  Asking for help.  Preparing well each day.  Settling only for the win.   

In the fall of 2005, sophomore Paige Hoffman was wondering what she would do if not recruited to play college volleyball.  After all, her older sister, Lauren, was a senior and one of the best outside hitters in their league, yet she was getting zero attention from coaches.  Making matters bleaker was the fact that Cathedral Catholic High in Encinitas, California had a very good volleyball program and still no college coaches were anywhere to be seen, much less beating her door down.  

Paige was recruited mostly by NCAA DI programs before deciding on DII Seattle Pacific.

When NSR area scout Dwight Castimore (San Diego) strode into the Cathedral gym to scout a volleyball match, he had no idea that within a few days both sisters would be under his wing in pursuit of their dreams to play in college.  Their mother, Trish, convinced that she and her girls needed the help of professionals, enrolled Lauren and Paige and from that point on their hopes rested on the shoulders of NSR and Dwight.

The six-foot Lauren had hoped to be noticed and picked up by a major DI program.  However, getting involved in the recruiting process so late meant that most of the country’s top teams had already secured commitments for her class. Nonetheless, she got plenty of notice from smaller programs and two full-ride offers from mid-major Division I schools, Loyola of Baltimore and Manhattan (NY).  But the prospect of traveling the length of the country to play was unappealing to Lauren, so she opted not to play in college. 

By signing on with NSR as a sophomore, Paige had the luxury of seeing which level of volleyball she could expect to play in college by gauging the questionnaires she was receiving from college coaches.  “After starting with NSR, I began getting questionnaires from everywhere,” Paige said.  At six-two, Paige got interest from about 50 colleges ranging from the Ivy League to the Atlantic 10.  “Nothing really felt right to me, so when I didn’t respond to them, most of those opportunities went away.” 

She did, though, decide that a big school wasn’t for her.  Paige told Dwight that she was more interested in going to a smaller school.  That’s when Dwight picked the phone up and called the head volleyball coach at Seattle Pacific University from the highly competitive NCAA DII Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  Once Head Coach Chris Johnson saw Paige’s NSR online video, he contacted her.  “He wanted her right away,” said Dwight.

Accepting the only official visit which she would take as a senior, Paige drove the 20-hour trip north, a tad out of her original 6-hour limit.  The wintertime climate in the Seattle area was a shock after having rarely ventured out of Southern California, but two things swayed her.  “First, is it absolutely beautiful here.  It is like being on vacation nine months of the year.  And, the team dynamics were incredible which is so very important to me.  The people here were so nice and the girls on the team were so kind to me.  Driving home I decided I would go to Seattle Pacific.”  

Seattle Paciific's beauty and team dynamics were the right fit for Paige.

Paige has never regretted her decision.  “I love it here.  It is the perfect school for me.  If it weren’t for NSR and Dwight, this would have never happened.  And, financially, my parents pay less for me to  go to SPU than they did for me to attend high school,” she laughed.  With a total student body enrollment of 4,000, the school’s low student-to-teacher ration fits right into Paige’s needs. 

“Every one of my professors knows me by name.  They are so helpful here, always open to helping me with anything I need,” she said.  Obviously it has paid off.  Paige has been on the Dean’s List each semester since her arrival to maintain her academic scholarship.  That, along with “two small loans” and her athletic award, which increases this year, makes college very affordable for her family.  She currently maintains a 3.6 GPA and plans to earn her MBA upon graduating two quarters early next year. 

Paige has made her mark on the school in other ways as well.  This past year SPU’s athletic department heads selected Paige as one of two student-athletes to represent the school at the NCAA Division II Leadership Academy held in Portland.  The conclave occurs only every few years bringing outstanding DII student-athletes together to discuss leadership and its impact on their teams, schools, communities and conferences.  Paige returned to help lead SPU’s Student-athlete Advisory Committee.  She along with respresentatives from every SPU sport, meet regularly to organize and spearhead volunteer efforts around the Seattle area.   

And, what about this year’s team?  “I think we will have a great team.  It is a really good mix of veteran players and newcomers.”  Paige was no slouch her sophomore season.  One of just two Falcons to play in all 113 games, she hit at a .252 clip (10th in the conference) with 180 kills, and had 69 blocks which tied for the second-highest total on the team.  With a career-best 9’10″ approach touch, there’s no reason to think her stats will suffer anytime soon.

Courtney Found Her Grove in the Spring of 2010

Courtney Davis’ senior year playing softball for Erskine College (SC) didn’t appear to be anything special during fall and winter workouts, but when the 2009-2010 season started in February something interesting started to happen.  Courtney’s inconsistent bat came alive and stayed that way through a record-breaking year.  

Courtney led Division II in home runs for most of the past season.

The Flying Fleet’s four-year starter at first base, Courtney came to Erskine through NSR of Western North Carolina and Area Scout Alan Parham.  “We enrolled Courtney with NSR when she was heading into her sophomore year at Erwin High in Asheville.  She was an excellent all-around athlete with tremendous upside in softball.  She was already nearly 5’10” then and could crush the ball,” said Parham, an eight-year veteran scout for NSR.

The three-sport star athlete at Erwin managed to play volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter and softball in the spring and summer.  She received over 100 questionnaires from college coaches during her high school career.  “Courtney was a physical specimen and on film she demonstrated her athleticism and ability to get the bat head through the strike zone with a lot of speed,” said Parham.  “When any college coach sees a six-foot kid on video repeatedly hitting the ball against the outfield fence, they’re going to be impressed.  And, because Courtney was a 4.0 student, she was contacted by programs at every level of college softball.” 

In the end, even after receiving initial interest from some of the top softball programs in the nation, it took Courtney one visit to tiny Erskine, located in the remote town of Due West, South Carolina, to convince her that she wanted to attend a small school.  “There was something very intimate about Erskine which touched me from the start.  The excellent academic reputation and Head Coach Alleen Hawkins were all I needed to make my decision,” Courtney recently said.

Hawkins, a veteran softball coach who guided both Furman and the University of Georgia programs from their infancy to contenders had decided to leave the high-pressure lifestyle of DI sports and settled with her husband and three daughters in rural South Carolina.  It just so happened that Erskine College was few miles down the road from her house and needed a softball coach.  Seven years later Hawkins celebrated her 600^th career coaching win during Davis’ junior season.  

Alleen Hawkins was a significant influence on Courtney's life and career at tiny Erskine College.

“This would have never happened for me without Coach Hawkins,” said Courtney.  “She would not allow me to fail as a softball player, a student or a person.  I owe so much of my success to her persistence and belief in me.”    

In her final go-around with the team, Courtney led Erskine with a .381 batting average while setting a new school single-season home run record with 19.  She also set a new career home run record with 43 home runs.  She led the team in hits with 48 and drove in a team-high 44 runs.  In a double header with Pfeiffer University, Courtney hit three home runs.  When her season ended, Courtney led the nation in home runs at the NCAA Division II level and was named Conference Carolinas Player of the Year as well as 2^nd Team Southeast All-Region by the National Softball Coaches Association.  Coach Hawkins said, “Courtney had a memorable senior season by setting two school records and was huge reason for our team’s success this year.”

When asked about her connection to NSR, Courtney said, “Going to Erskine is because my scout, Alan Parham, told me that he knew of a small school in South Carolina that would test me academically and athletically, and that if I would go down there for one visit, that it could change my life.  He was right.  I enjoyed every minute of my time there and will always be grateful to Alan and NSR for connecting me with the very best college for me.  Had my parents decided not to put me with NSR, I would hate to see what my life would have been like.”

Working with high school student-athletes to help them find the college and athletic program right for them is what we at NSR do every day.  If you are not being connected to colleges and coaches, and if you want more attention and opportunities, contact us today.

by NSR founder Bob Rigney, edited by Alan Parham

College Coaches are Evaluating Freshmen and Sophomores

Being a good, or even great, high school athlete is no guarantee that you will be recruited for college athletics.  If colleges don’t identify you early as a prospect there is a good chance that you could be overlooked.  Our very best advice:  To maximize your recruiting opportunities, start the exposure process when you are a freshman or sophomore.  

College coaches evaluate freshmen and sophomore prospects every day.

Because of the competition for athletic scholarships, college coaches must scout and evaluate players over the course of several years to ensure they are making the best choices when it comes time to offer scholarships.  Therefore, it’s important for you to assess your situation now and determine the best way to grab the attention of college coaches and keep them interested throughout your high school career.

Here are a few things which can affect your future as a legitimate college prospect:

• Playing at a small school
• Playing behind an established star recruit
• Playing on a team with a poor won-loss record
• Playing out of position
• Playing for an unsophisticated coach
• Changing teams (high school or club)
• Injury
• Receiving little or no help from your coaches in promoting you
• Being unaware of how the recruiting process works
• Taking advice from people who are not intimately involved in college recruiting

Every year millions of high school student-athletes participate in sports.  Many of them play on club and travel teams. So, college coaches have a lot of good prospects from which to choose.   What does all this mean to you?  It means that you have to make your own opportunities or you could be left behind.   It means being smart, diligent and aggressively fighting for what you want.  And, it means learning to think like college coaches think.  If you were a college coach, what things you would look for in choosing a future player?  And, how would you find those players?  Is what you are doing today getting the results you need to compete for a scholarship offer? 

All college coaches have lists of potential prospects.  They separate these prospects by position, in most sports, and then rate them.  Some stay on the lists while others are dropped.  It is an ongoing process.  But, how do you get on these lists in the first place?  And, how can you get on as many lists as possible? 

Scouting services, like NSR, offer you the best opportunities to be noticed, evaluated and recruited.

Time and again at NSR we have watched prospects and parents learn this lesson the hard way.  That is, they wait for college coaches to find them, expect their high school or club coaches to do the work for them, heed the counsel of people detached from college recruiting, and/or expect to be recruited because they play club or travel sports.  All those methods are inadequate in today’s real world of college recruiting.  In the end, it is up to you to secure your status as a future prospect.  You have four choices to accomplish this goal:

• Promote yourself to a few coaches.  About 10% of all self-promoted prospects receive scholarship offers.
• Depend on your coaches to promote you to a few colleges.  About 20% of these prospects receive scholarship offers.
• Hire a scouting firm to professionally promote you to as many colleges as possible on an ongoing basis with the ability to edit, produce and distribute your video footage quickly upon a college coach’s request.  This significantly improves your chances of being noticed, evaluated and recruited.  Note:  At NSR, over 90% of our prospects receive scholarship offers.

Promoting good student-athletes to colleges is what NSR has successfully done for 30 years.  No other scouting firm in the world can lay claim to this uninterrupted history of service.  But, you ask, how does enrolling with NSR offer  such an substantial advantage? 

• We have the ability to contact every college coach in your sport in America with the touch of a button. 
• We know how to aggressively and continually promote your credentials and properly describe your potential and abilities.
• We are extremely thorough in our promotions which include constant scouting reports, periodic updates and professionally edited videos delivered monthly to every coach in your sport in America. 

Many scouting services will promise results, but their promotional efforts are not comprehensive enough to produce the activity and interest from college coaches which will in turn put you in a position to choose from among a number of options and offers.  You deserve a service which constantly communicates, and makes available, your personal profile and video to college coaches 24/7.  You deserve, and should have, the flexibility to reach out to the specific schools which you have identified as right for you.  This is not possible by simply posting your profile on an Internet site.  This is also impossible with only one targeted or wide-range promotional push.   These are the limitations most recruiting organizations put on their unknowing clients.  This is not true exposure.  However, with NSR you get it all.  We provide everything you could conceivably require to put you in the prime position to be recognized, evaluated and recruited.

Whatever you decide to do to establish yourself as a prospect, do it now.  Do not wait.  You will not get a second chance to be recruited and if you delay you are likely going to lose out on a once in a lifetime opportunity which could alter the course of your life and propel you to unforeseen accomplishments.

Editor’s note:  Bob Rigney is a legend in high school and college recruiting, having started the high school scouting industry in 1980 from his basement in Birmingham, Alabama.  Now retired, Mr. Rigney still contributes to NSR’s Web site, blogs and other educational materials by lending his insights and vast recruiting experience.