Parents of athletes are banding together to help other high
school athletes navigate the murky waters of college
recruitment.
For a student athlete planning to go to college and playing
sports, there are many laws and rules to keep track of and contacts
to make. Parents working as advisers with San Benito High School
College Connection have been through the application and
recruitment process at least once.
Parents of athletes are banding together to help other high school athletes navigate the murky waters of college recruitment.
For a student athlete planning to go to college and playing sports, there are many laws and rules to keep track of and contacts to make. Parents working as advisers with San Benito High School College Connection have been through the application and recruitment process at least once.
“We’re just here to help kids any way we can,” said advisor Ruth Nordstrom.
SBHS College Connection formed last summer. The group is a free “resource for student athletes to plan, develop and realize their collegiate aspirations and maximize their potential beyond high school,” according to its Web site.
Getting into college is very competitive, especially for athletes. Parents, along with SBHS officials, realize the school’s coaches and counselors have a lot of students to work with. The SBHS College Connection advisors help pick up the slack by offering their experiences and first-hand knowledge, said Bob Bianchi, one of the group’s organizers and advisors.
“The coaches at San Benito are so busy, they spend so much time with the kids,” he said. “Gathering film, statistics and awards is a huge process. A lot is left to the students and parents.”
Three of Nordstrom’s kids and two of Bianchi’s went on to play sports at college. Both agree they learned nuances of the recruitment process the hard way.
Important aspects of navigating the recruitment web include the various college divisions (such as Division I, II and III) and how students fit into them, and that NCAA rules limit contact between college coaches and high school students to a certain cut off date.
Applying to college can be a headache on its own, but when planning to play a sport, it can be a migraine. Even though a 2.0 grade point average is required to play sports in high school, depending on which college they want to attend, students have to have athletic talent as well as earn good grades, Nordstrom said.
“We try to encourage kids. Athletes have to be better than the average student,” she said. “They have to make sure they have the talent and drive to do it.”
The advisers focus on sports they are familiar with – Nordstrom handles girls water polo and swimming and Bianchi is in charge of football and track.
Although Hollister is a close-knit community, parents involved with SBHS College Connection are trying to avoid conflicts of interest with helping their own children more than others, Bianchi said.
The advice and contact information is provided by parents within the community for free. While there are many organizations who offer the process for a fee, the SBHS College Connection network is free. Parents volunteer their time and local businesses are supporting the group, including the Hollister Rotary Club and South Valley Internet.
“Everything we’ve done has been volunteer or nonprofit driven,” Bianchi said.
The organization’s Web site is a resource for parents to get information about sports, the coaching staff and student-athlete alumni, but it also serves as a recruiting tool for college coaches and recruiters, Bianchi said. Some high school sports have a hard time getting college recruiters to visit their campus. The Internet and e-mail can bring the two a lot closer, he said.
The group’s Web site is www.sbhscollegeconnection.org. To become an adviser or for more information, call Bianchi at 638-2111.
