Whether it happens to be that long awaited home improvement project, saving for a summer vacation or preparing for retirement, I think we can agree that any worthy project will go through a “launch phase.” This phase consists of a time of dreaming, planning and targeting specific time-lines to hit as you begin to “execute” your plan. The same holds true in the college search for athletes and below are snapshots of general suggestions that might just help you along the way.

Gather Information

Gathering information is critical to the successful organization of any worthy project. Building a college recruiting information base can begin as early as the ninth grade as a family hobby and increasingly grow into a highly organized, disciplined project by the end of the junior year.

Begin by gathering information on the student-athletes colleges of choice including team and coach profiles, statistics, ranking, and academic offerings. Continue to update and maintain individual e-files on these favorite college programs.

Develop your initial college list

This is where the fun begins! You have built an initial knowledge foundation about the college search and you have a pretty good idea of what you are looking for in a college experience. Now it’s time to develop a grouping of institutions that potentially meet that end.

Peterson’s College Search (www.petersons.com/collegesearch) is a great resource where you can input specific information about what you are looking for in a 4 year college experience and up comes a listing of colleges and universities that initially “match.” Investigate both the general and athletic college websites. From there you can begin to put together a more detailed list of coaches and their contact information.

Build your Team

Parents, prospect, high school/club coach, college advisor, guidance counselor and a personal mentor could all be part of your team in the college recruiting process. Each team player will have a specific role to play in order to ensure the prospect’s best chances in navigating the college search with confidence. Advance goals should be set with clarity and purpose that compliment the organizational structure of the recruiting process.

By selecting the team approach, the responsibilities are equally distributed to the area experts. All assignments should be clearly spelled out and communication between the team members should be frequent and consistent. This will help streamline the college quest and assist in avoiding any confusion that could contribute to unclear thinking, misdirection and potentially poor choices.

Define Yourself: The Profile

It is important to streamline your portfolio into a comprehensive and efficient format that stands above the rest. Keep your profile simple, neat and professionally formatted. Make the job of initial evaluation easy for the college coach by highlighting pertinent information including:

• Personal and school contact information
• Academic standing, awards, and test results
• Physical characteristics
• Athletic clubs and level, showcase tournaments, and elite camps
• Athletic Statistics, Records, and Awards
• Mission Statement
• Coach’s Comments

Show your Stuff: The Video

A videotape, DVD or web stream are means of developing a first impression and trust me when I say that first impressions are remembered. Typically, a coach will roughly evaluate a recruit within the first 2 minutes of a video. They need to! Along with the hundreds of profiles, they are also being bombarded with hundreds of videos!

Make your video succinct, professional, and yet attention grabbing. Keep in mind that as individual collegiate sports differ, it is important to communicate with the individual college coaches about their requirements for DVD footage.

Develop your Plan

A knowledgeable consumer will have a clear edge in the pursuit of the attainment of any worthy product. I believe that the same holds true in the college search and I encourage families to make every effort and commitment to organize pertinent information regarding this process and to execute well-designed plans.

Develop timelines that will target general events in the beginning of the college search (making unofficial visits, maintaining your data base, and attending competitions) and continue with more specific events (compiling a video and player profile, communicating with coaches, and making official visits, etc.) as time progresses. This will increase the chances of “hitting targets” throughout the recruiting process.

Similar to a NASA Space Shuttle launch, the beginning phase of any college recruiting plan will be time consuming, demanding and require the greatest effort. That said, once you break free of that “gravity” and you remain persistent with your plan, you will give yourself the best chance in building and maintaining momentum toward your ultimate goal.

Tom Kovic is a former Division I college coach and the current director of Victory Collegiate Consulting, where he provides individual advisement for families on college recruiting. For further information visit: www.victoryrecruiting.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Golden Key Associates) June 4, 2010: Orlando, Fl

Six years after Ida Muorie started the first sports show on Voice America Internet Radio Network, Ida auditions for Oprah’s OWN TV. In 2004, Ida started the first sports talk show on Voice America in a landscape that was dominated by men. According to Campbell Soup Team Mom (mother of Max Starks of Pittsburgh Steelers), Eleanor Starks, “Ida brought a Fresh Spin on Issues Facing Athletes and their Families on the Sportsmavericks Show. The information that Ida’s guest shared was not available to parents on the radio, television or in printed material. Ida helped many parents to bridged the generation gap between their student athelete, while balancing the pursuit of academic excellence and sports participation. The show entertained, educated and motivated parents to participate fully in the academic and athletic life of their student athlete. The show really created a resource on-line for parents and athletes world-wide, and it continues to educated sports professionals and fans about the real lives of our children.”

Pioneering the popularity of Sportsmavericks weekly on the internet, through her upfront style and “ten key principles of courage, determination, teamwork, ambition, persistence, integrity, discipline, community, academic excellence and fairness,” Ida was able to create an audience participation of 100,000 weekly that eventually grew to 500,000 weekly for the network. Among her accomplishments with the Network, Ida became a catalyst to create a new Sports Channel on Voice America talk radio network in 2007. After 2007, Ida expanded her coverage to handle issues of athletes and entertainers, and Ida key focus was to break down the stereotypes. The show launched a global awareness campaign to make the distinction between the issues that elite athletes and professional entertainers share, and to expose those challenges that each share alone in their career pursuits.

To help her global audience better understand the real distinction, Ida sought a diverse group of expert guests, who could share real experiences, and offer workable solutions for parents. To her credit, Ida created a niche market of parents of 16-32 years old athletes and entertainers, that coveted the brand clothing, electronics, automotive, music, jewelry, books, DVD, Ipods and movie markets. For the OWN network, this should lead to many licensing brand opportunities, as Ida brings the only original TV content that targets parents of athletes and entertainers.

The material is positive, stimulating and unscripted. Ida provides cutting edge subject matters that challenge parents to get involoved fully in their child’s academic and celebrity lifestyles. Ida carefully introduces integrity and fairness into the process, when she challenges parents, coaches, academic advisors, agents and talent professionals to worked together to mold a role model. None of the guests answers are trivalized, nor demeaned. Each guest was chosen by Ida personally for their unique expertise, and their ability to recommend realistic solutions to her audience.

Today, the Voice America Sports Channel has grown to over 500,000 weekly guest, and 30 new talk show host from the Who’s Who of Sports and Entertainment. Ida continues to be the featured Host, as she has created over 150 hours of Content. Ida’s shows is featured every Tuesday, Saturday and Monday at 5pm Pacific. Sportsmavericks is broadcast on a 24/7 rotation basis for timezones like Asia, Europe and Russia. Ida’s popularity has expanded to 80 countries.

“On June 26, 2010, Ida’s role model Oprah, will get a chance to critique a ‘Pro’ that brings the real deal to Oprah’s OWN TV network, says Bianca Strauss, a long term Oprah follower, stylist and former model.” ” Ida is a writer, producer, terrific host, that is a triple threat for any nework,” says Sandra Milliner, Actress, Director and member of the Director’s Guild in Hollywood. “It has been Ida’s dream since 2004, to simultaneously broadcast her talk show on television, internet radio and traditional radio, this is very strategic marketing, and an idea whose time has come. Ida feels that the issues facing athletes and entertainers desperately need a bigger stage,” concludes Sandra.

WHAT IDA MUORIE SAYS ABOUT HER NEW SHOW ON OWN NETWORK – Ida Talks

“”We will provide a fresh spin to sports and entertainment, when we take the personal issues that athletes and entertainers face into America’s living rooms for a real dialogue by experts. We will redefine the images of elite athlete and entertainers, and bridge the gap between parents, athletes, entertainers and their lifestyles. Our show will provide the only original TV content that targets parents of athletes and entertainers. The audience will be engaged in straight talk that is spontaneous, interactive and unscripted by experts. The show’s format will explore the challenges of pursuing a careers in sports and entertainment. Our objective is to help families of athletes and entertainers navigate the transition from high school, college to a professional career.”

To see Ida’s Audition tape go to Oprah.com. Browse and Vote. Key Word Ida Muorie. “Do it for the kids?”More information can be found online at the folwoing link. http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=video_details&response_id=2855&promo_id

This new landscape of college athletics did not just appear. It has evolved over time and it has been driven by a business philosophy that is becoming commonplace on college campuses throughout the country.  In many cases, college coaches are seen as CEO’s of small organizations that are expected to produce high results…Regularly.

That said, successful recruitment is an essential skill for the college coaches to hone in order to maximize future team advancement and this is achieved through active cultivation of strong relationships with high school coaches, prospects and their families. College coaches use many tools at their disposal to accomplish their recruiting goals, but they must abide by strict NCAA rules and regulations.

Educate

Education and information are truly powerful tools for families to use in navigating the college search. By developing a foundational base of information related to a new and potentially daunting experience, families and prospects will only increase their awareness about an important life decision that will build confidence and bolster their personal plan for success.

A great way to stay informed about the college search for athletes is to remain updated on all the latest news in college recruiting. A very simple way to do this is to register on Google Alerts for articles pertaining to College Athletics Recruiting. Once registered, you will receive links to articles and information every morning when you fire up your laptop!

Be Proactive

Through the use of telephone, electronic communication, home visits and the offer of official college visits, the college coach will attempt to cultivate a relationship that will hopefully result in matching a prospect with his or her institution in a mutually beneficial recruiting experience.

I encourage each of the student-athletes I advise to do whatever they can to proactively assist college coaches in every area of communication. If prospects are content to sit by the phone for a call from Coach, it’s most likely going to be a long wait. Communication is definitely a two way street, but, at least during the beginning phases of this relationship, it may be a little one sided… And that’s OK!

College coaches are inundated with hundreds of recruiting inquiries and they just don’t have the time to respond “personally” to each e-mail, letter or portfolio they receive. The family who is willing to assist the coaches during the recruiting process and place a premium on initiating contact and following up with any communication from the coaches, will position themselves best for success.

Read the Coach

Successful recruiting takes a grounded approach and a keen understanding of each Coach you communicate with. Develop the ability to “read” the coaches and get a feel for who they are and what they are trying to accomplish in their recruiting effort. I suggest taking an informative approach where parents and prospects “bone up” on the coaches, their program and especially Coach’s philosophy in his/her approach to the college student-athlete experience.

I believe our kids should be looking at the college quest as a “total” opportunity from an academic, athletic and social standpoint, but with the clear understanding that the college Coach they choose will have a direct and significant impact on how their personal values and character will take shape over a 4 year period.

Probe

A productive family recruiting effort will be well planned and impeccably executed. It will involve a team approach that may consist of several “players” including parents, prospect, high school/club coach, college advisor, guidance counselor and personal mentor.

There is no doubt that college coaches want to hear most from the prospects they are recruiting, but the skilled recruiters will expect to field questions from mom and dad as well, who can assist their kids best by “carrying the load” when gathering information about what makes Coach “tick.”

My advice to moms and dads is to prepare well in advance any questions to Coach that may appear “probing” in nature. Don’t ever be anxious to ask the tough questions… But the rule of thumb here is simple: Keep your questions to the point and respectful. Trust me, the coaches will pick-up on your sincerity in a heartbeat.

The college athletic landscape has shifted toward a more “business approach” and so too has the recruiting process. It’s down right competitive out there and the family that grows a greater understanding of college athletics and that which is necessary in planning, launching and committing to a well executed recruiting experience will position themselves strongly. It requires a disciplined and yet flexible approach, where families should have the courage to experience “grey areas” in an effort to separate from the pack and make “impact impressions” on the college coaches they contact.

Tom Kovic is a former Division I college coach and the current director of Victory Collegiate Consulting, where he provides individual advisement for families on college recruiting. Tom is the author of “Reaching for Excellence” An educational guide for college athletics recruiting. For further information visit: www.victoryrecruiting.com.

Don’t worry: you can still go see your favorite team anytime you want, just as long as you get yourself some cheap baseball tickets. You may also be able to afford a ticket for a friend or relative’s birthday. The two of you can go spend a fun day together at your favorite team’s ball park. Just as long as your friend’s as much of a MLB fan as you are, a ticket will be a wonderful gift.

You may also be able to find cheap baseball tickets for the All Stars game, which is on schedule for July 12 this year. If you want your chance to cheer on the National League or American League, you need to make sure you get admission into the Busch Stadium in St. Louis!

Even if you’re a big fan of a popular team like the Yankees or Red Sox, you should still be able to afford admission fees. Yes, some teams are much more expensive to see than others, but there are still some great deals available online. Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy from an outlet or third party seller than directly from the team’s website.

Whether you want season, All Star, or post season cheap baseball tickets, there are many great deals just a few keystrokes away! The more money you save on tickets, the more caps, t-shirts, and other MLB memorabilia you’ll be able to afford while you’re at the game!

Although it’s too early to know which teams are going to make it to the World Series this year, the All-Star Game is scheduled to be held at the Busch Stadium. Those seats are going to be filling up fast as well, as fans of National League teams and American league teams alike cheer for their favorite players.

New York fans are looking forward to attending as many Yankees and Mets games as they can. Red Sox fans are going to be as enthusiastic as ever, and southern Californians are preparing to see the Dodgers and Angels play live. Whether you’re a fan of any of these teams, a Southerner who supports the Braves, or someone who who prefers any other team(s), you should make sure you get your cheap baseball tickets right now

There’s always a chance that a big surprise is awaiting us all. Will an underdog team finally come out on top? Will one of the more popular teams fail this year? Will there be any more controversy surrounding any of the players? Whatever the case may be, you may just see history unfold before your very eyes if you buy cheap baseball tickets and watch every game that you can.

All sorts of cheap baseball tickets can be ordered online. You can find great deals for any game, no matter what your favorite team is. You can also find great deals on the All Star game. Just spend a few minutes looking over all your options and you can find the cheap baseball tickets you’re looking for.