On the Radar: Series wrap-up

While this year's senior class at Douglas High is one of the most talent-laden the school has ever had, the simple reality remains that the type of recruiting local athletes will be seeing this year is an anomaly.

Whether it be blue-chip offensive lineman Parker Robertson, slick shooting guard James McLaughlin or three-sport standout Jessica Waggoner, there will be considerable Division I interest directed toward Carson Valley athletes this year.

The fact is that according to the national average, about two student-athletes a year at Douglas have a shot at a college athletic scholarship. The pickings for Division I scholarships are even more slim.

And yet, every year Douglas provides a handful of graduates that find roster spots at the next level.

The secret? Just keep looking.

"The thing is, Division I scholarships are so rare that it takes a very special student-athlete to even be considered for one," Douglas High athletic director Jeff Evans said. "But if you want to play, the chances are out there.

"You have to shop around a little bit, but if you hit up the schools around here, talk to the coaches and see what they have to offer, you have a decent shot at finding a good fit.

"There are a lot of good high school athletes that may not be quite at that Division I level. But there are a whole lot of programs out there that have spots on their rosters for good athletes. If you're a good student on top of that, that knocks you up a couple more levels in college coaches' eyes."

It's a strategy many Douglas athletes have taken in the past few years. Douglas has had about five senior athletes sign for college scholarships in the last two school years, but by comparison, 26 more have gone on to play sports in college.

"You just never know what will happen," Evans said. "What I tell parents a lot of times is that a scholarship may not be there at first. But if they work hard and if the coaches like what they see, they may win a scholarship two or three years into college.

"Even without that, though, just having the chance to continue playing is a great thing."

The idea of an athlete playing so well in high school that coaches just magically appear is a bit contrived. It's a process of open communication with schools, often initiated by the player.

College coaches have many contstraints as to when and how many times they can contact a player. But there is little, if any, regulation as to how many times a player can initiate contact, by phone or e-mail.

"In bigger cities where there are several colleges in a concentrated area, the high school coaches are able to make connections with the local colleges and really sell their athletes," said Stephanie Waggoner, mother to Jessica who is being recruited in volleyball, basketball and track. "You don't get that as much here, because there is only one university in the area.

"We're in a small town and we're not as visible. People think we're from Podunk, Nevada and they don't realize that there is a lot of amazing talent that comes out of here."

Bridging the gap to Carson Valley, then, becomes a process of marketing the student-athlete.

"You hate to use the phrase that you have to shop your child around to these schools, but for lack of a better term that's what you have to do," Evans said. "Get your kid on film. Get your statistics organized. Then start contacting coaches and see what they are looking for."

A simple on-line search produces hundreds of high school recruiting sites that can provide a venue for such information.

"The Web sites are a pretty valuable tool," said Christina Harper, whose daughter, Stephanie, is being recruited in softball. "You can put your video up there and all of your vital statistics. Once you start talking with schools, you can send a link to the coach and that makes it pretty simple."

Some companies specialize in producing professional-quality recruiting videos for aspiring college athletes, but the price doesn't always haul in the expected payoff.

"We saw some places that charge $800 to $1,000 for a video," Harper said. "We found someone to do it for $300. Some people do their own at home.

"It's not quite as professionally done, but it's dong the job we wanted it to do. We're getting feedback from the coaches we sent the video to. As long as they will be able to see your basic mechanics, you should be OK. That's what they are looking for."

Sometimes when a player toughs it out at the junior college level, a four-year school will take notice and give the athlete a shot as a junior.

"There are some kids that mature as athletes a little later," Evans said. "They'll work hard at the two-year level, put on some weight, gain some speed and some more understanding of the game and they become a solid recruit."

Another scenario Evans has seen play out many times is a smaller school will actually call his office looking for able-bodied players.

"They'll just say they need to fill out the roster and they're looking for kids to work hard," Evans said. "It's usually a smaller school, but it's a chance to keep playing. If you really want to play, generally there is a chance for you to do that at the next level."

Even so, the recent influx of talent in Northern Nevada has brought a wealth of recruiters to the area, giving athletes from Douglas High a chance to get noticed.

"There are some tremendous athletes out there at Reno and McQueen, but unfortunately a lot of them don't get noticed," said John Robertson, father of Parker, who has been rated among the top 30 football recruits in the state by Rivals.com. "When there is a top recruit in the area, it's good for everyone. Coaches know what they are looking at, and while they might be there to watch one guy, they see everyone on the field. It's a good thing when there are big recruits at other schools, because they'll play games against Douglas and that brings college coaches to Douglas games."

Robertson said there is another trick to mention to coaches who might be asking about the area.

"Tell them you're near Lake Tahoe," he said. "Northern Nevada is tough to get people out here, but if they know they'd be coming to such a beautiful area, it might give them an extra incentive. You never know."

- Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse - Eligibility here makes you automatically eligible for every level because the NCAA has the highest standards.

- In order to get your test scores (ACT/SAT) sent to the clearinghouse, just enter "9999" as one of your college choices on the test registration form.

- Be realistic. The chances of landing a college scholarship are astronomical. Only about 1 percent of high school seniors nationwide receive a college athletic scholarship. Those lucrative Division scholarships only make it into the hands of 0.02 percent of the senior students athletes across the county.

At a school like Douglas, that works out to about two athletes per year earning a college athletic scholarship out of high school and one athlete every four years earning a Division I scholarship.

- Don't be afraid to market yourself. A vast majority of college-hopefuls get their first break by filling out information forms and returning it to the college. Just because college coaches aren't knocking on your front door doesn't mean they wouldn't be interested in you. They just haven't seen you yet.

- Do your homework. Look into every school you receive information from. A hidden gem just might be waiting out there for you. Fill out a questionnaire for every school that writes to you. This is your first chance to show a coach that you are hungry at the next level. Coaches talk to each other about players they deal with. Don't give any coach a reason to give any negative feedback on you.

- If you really want to keep playing at the next level, keep trying. While scholarships are limited, roster spots are not as much. Opportunities to play sports in college abound. Sometimes it's just a matter of hunting around for the right situation.

- Remember, only 10 percent of colleges in the United States are in the Western Region. If all else fails, look east.