We want to congratulate Blake McNamara on signing with Wheelock College. Here is Blake’s recruiting story and interview from after he committed. We wish Blake the best as a Wheelock Wildcat!

1. Share your recruiting story and status (what was the process like?)

On April 29, I committed to Wheelock College. I phoned the coach and infomed him of my decision. The process was exciting. I really enjoyed conversing with College coaches and recruiter (asst. Coaches). I went on several visits to different schools to get a feel for the campus, the coaches, etc. each time my family and I were invited to watch the team play. That piece gave me a real good idea of what type of players the coaches recruit as well as the coaching styles.

2. What school are you going to, and why did you choose them?

I choose Wheelock because their collegiate Basketball program is top notch. What I mean by that is the Coach LeVangie is great, he truly invests himself in each player and took a great deal of time to meet with myself and my family. Coach LeVangie meets with players once per week to check in on their academic load and how it’s going, he looks out for his team and it is a comforting to know he has your back. The campus is nice and right in the heart of Boston, it is in the “Fenway Five” district (5 area colleges in the consortium).

3. How did SportsForce help in the process?

SportsForce was instrumental in getting my video and portfolio out to college coaches. They assisted me every step of the way, with making the video, providing guidelines for my initial and consequent contact with college coaches, offered advice for my college visits and meetings with coaches. SportsForce was great!

4. What advice would you give to other players and parents with the recruiting process?

Get your emails out early to college coaches, contact as many coaches as possible. Some colleges that I added to my list later in the year meant that the deadline to apply to the school had passed. Send emails early and leave enough time to visit the school and apply. Many deadlines for applications are the beginning of Jan or Feb.

5. How excited are you on your future in college?

I am very excited to take my basketball career to the next step and play at the collegiate level. This is something that every boy dreams of and now my dream has come true, with a lot of hard work and help from SportsForce!!!

6. How much money do you anticipate your family saving in college expenses?

I am not exactly sure how much money I saved as a result of basketball but my parents estimate it to be around $35,000 – $40,000 (over the 4 years). The money at Division III does not come directly from athletic funds or scholarships but is rolled into the financial aid package.

7. Would you recommend SportsForce to any other student-athletes? Why?

I would recommend SportsForce to any high school athlete who has the desire to play ball at the collegiate level. They are helpful in a variety of ways and the money you put into the program comes back around, for just under $500 my family is saving an upward of $35,000 and to play ball at the collegiate level……PRICELESS!!!

Over the last five years SportsForce Recruiting has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.

Congratulations to La Costa Canyon Mavericks Boys Lacrosse goalie Eric Sanschagrin who committed to Princeton Lacrosse over the summer. We caught up with Eric and asked him a few questions to see how he made his decision and what he is most looking forward to. See what he had to say in his own words below, and check back later this week for his great advice for other athletes in the recruiting process.

What factors made you decide on Princeton?

– My main priority was to attend a top academic school, regardless of how good the lacrosse team was. Yet, like many aspiring lacrosse players, I had my heart set on playing Division I lacrosse. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to travel back east for school if it was just for athletic pursuits. I’d have rather played MCLA Lacrosse at an excellent academic school out west than at a lower level Division I school where I wouldn’t have fit academically. So, I sent out my emails to coaches whose schools fit my requirements. I emailed every coach or staff member listed on each school’s website. Thankfully, I got some responses and I was fortunate enough to hear from Princeton! Luckily, they were going to be at Under Armour All America tryouts in Ohio which I had already planned to attend. They noted that they would make sure to have their coach watch me while I was there. After a few follow up emails, I visited Princeton unofficially in July and absolutely loved the feel of the campus and the town of Princeton. During my visit I met most of the coaching staff and toured the campus and facilities. The coaching staff is made up of truly amazing individuals and I couldn’t be happier to have them as my future coaches. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to commit in July and I wasted no time in saying yes.

Were there any other schools you were seriously considering?

– No other schools made it past the “We’re interested” or “What camps will you be attending?” emails. I decided against doing a giant summer recruiting tour and only attended three camps/tournaments. This limited which coaches could have seen me. So, I was extremely fortunate to have Princeton make it to two of them. I was interested in the University of Pennsylvania, where my former teammate Reid Tudor is now a Freshman, as well as the other Ivy League Schools. Honestly, I probably would have settled back west if I hadn’t found something I truly loved.

What are you most looking forward to most about playing for the Princeton?

– After recently visiting Princeton for my official visit, I finally got to meet the team for the first time. First off, I’m really excited to learn from Tyler Fiorito (future teammate and goalie) We are both left handed goalies and I cannot think of a more qualified current college player to learn from. He will be a senior for the 2012 season when I’m a freshman. It will be nice to learn from a player whose prep lacrosse path was so different from mine. He entered Princeton as the top recruit in his class while my light summer schedule has left me largely unnoticed by most talent scouts and recruit evaluators. Also, I met my recruiting class while on my official visit and I was impressed by how down to earth our “Class of 2015” truly was. Coach Bates dubbed 2015 the “Unheralded Class” because we aren’t all well-hyped recruits and we have a lot to prove. I can’t wait for more time with the team and the chance to attend the University!

See Eric’s full SportsForce profile here: http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/esanschagrin

SportsForce athlete, Dylan Trent recently signed with the University of Richmond. We were able to catch up with his dad, Mike Trent to get the ins and outs of his recruiting journey as well as some advice for others just beginning. Below is Mike Trent’s take on the recruiting process for Dylan. Also be sure to see Dylan’s highlight video and visit his SportsForce profile here.

The recruiting process for Dylan was a two year work experience for all of us. As a nationally ranked tennis player Dylan has been traveling the national junior tennis circuit for the past five years. Primarily on the west coast. He began researching colleges (and teams) about two years ago. Sending his resume and inquiries to a list of potential colleges. He was actively recruited by Gonzaga, Fresno State, Marquette, Denver, Duquesne, East Carolina State and The University of Richmond this past year.

Dylan selected Richmond based on their academic program (business) and he loved the campus, coach and team, which we found out is very important. Dylan loved playing high school tennis because of the team atmosphere in an individual sport and is looking forward to play at a higher level of tennis for the University of Richmond and competing against players he’s never played before.

My advice to any high school athlete looking to play college sports is to start the process early (sophomore year) and let as many college coached as possible of your interest. Never stop working harder than the last guy a college coach just heard from. Remember that for every available spot on a college team there are at least 50 people trying to secure that spot.

The most beneficial thing we did was the recruiting video with SportsForce. Not every coach has the resources to see all the recruits play in person. By developing the video for Dylan it open a world of opportunity for him.

SportsForce got news this week that Oceanside Softball catcher and SportsForce alum, Tianalia Faasua has accepted a full ride to the University of Northern Colorado. Tialania is part of Division I UNC’s first recruiting class under new coach, Mark Montgomery. Tianalia’s mother, Suluoo Faasua shared the exciting new us:

“ Tianalia’s hard work in the classroom and athletic gifts on the field wards her a full ride DI softball scholarship to University of Northern Colorado. She is a left handed catcher that has a riffle as an arm, throwing at 1.43 seconds to 1st base and 1.83 down to 2^nd”

Tianalia’s mother also shared with us the University of Northern Colorado Softball program’s press release on the new softball recruits:

Montgomery’s first recruiting class includes eight NLIs

Montgomery’s bio | NC softball roster

GREELEY, Colo. – University of Northern Colorado head softball coach Mark Montgomery announced today, the signing of eight players to National Letters of Intent for the 2011-12 season.

Kelci Cheney, Mikayla Duffy, Melissa Marcovecchio, Tianalia Faasua, Nicole Hudson, Kaitlin Flynn, Ashleigh Waterland, and Janelle Lopez have committed to the play for the Bears in the spring of 2012.

Tianalia Faasua, 5-10, Catcher, Oceanside, Calif. (Oceanside High School)
Faasua has lettered in all for her first three years while playing softball for the Pirates … She is also a one-year letter winner in basketball, where she plays center… During her junior years, she batted .365 with 18 RBI and six homeruns … She has also been named to the honor roll the last three years … She plays club softball for the San Diego Breakers … She is set to being her final season as a Pirate in the spring.

“Tianalia is unique because she’s a left-handed catcher,” Montgomery said. “A lot of people don’t think that catcher is a left-handed position, but she will prove any doubter wrong because she has such a strong arm and is so quick behind the plate. She is also a power lefty-hitter and we expect big things from her during her career as a Bear.”

Congratulations to Tianalia and her family! Take a look at Tianalia in action in her SportsForce highlight video below:

Article courtesy: http://www.uncbears.com/sports/sball/2010-11/releases/111610_sballnlirelease

Hopefully you had a chance to read Part I of this article, which highlighted two critical questions to ask yourself as a student-athlete.

1. What type of college experience are you looking for as a student-athlete?

2. What are your key college decision factors?

Here’s the link to Part I in case you missed it.

In Part II you will take steps to realistically evaluate yourself as a student-athlete.

Student-athletes:

Have you ever asked yourself what level of athletics is right for you?

Parents:

Have you ever wondered what level of athletics would be the right fit for your son or daughter? Have you said to yourself “my son / daughter is definitely a DI or DII / DIII athlete?”

Here are some simple ACTION ITEMS you can execute to get a realistic idea of what level of athletics and academics is appropriate for you or your student-athlete.

3. Student-athlete evaluation

A. Talk to your coaches: As a student-athlete, you need to talk to your high school and/or club team coach to express a desire to play college sports and also ask them for an HONEST evaluation of your potential to play at the college level. Also ask what areas need improvement to reach your full potential on and off the field.

B. Talk to your academic counselor: Ask them for an HONEST evaluation of your academic standing and make sure you are on track to play college sports. Also go over the academic guidelines that different colleges are looking for including GPA, SAT and ACT scores.

C. Get tested / evaluated: Attend a combine, camp, showcase or training facility where you will be objectively tested so you can compare your athletic ability and skill level with other athletes and get a clear understanding and measure of your current ability.

D. Get a highlight video: College coaches don’t have the time or budget to travel to many games and evaluate athletes in person. If you provide college coaches a 3 – 5 minute highlight video and resume with all of your athletic and academic information, they can evaluate you quickly and easily. We recommend getting your video and resume online so you can easily email coaches.

Visit the SportsForce website (www.sportsforceonline.com) to view some online profile and highlight video examples from more than 10 different sports including:

football, basketball, softball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, water polo, field hockey and more.

E. Evaluate & research college athletes / teams: Watch college athletes and teams compete in person, on TV, over the Internet. See first-hand what the caliber of play is at the DI, D2, D3, NAIA and junior college level. Visit college sports websites to see the biographies of the athletes and their high school sports statistics, awards and achievements (ex. High School statistics, height / weight, All-State, All-League, All-County).

F. Evaluate and compare yourself to other athletes: Try to realistically evaluate and compare yourself to other student-athletes who are older than you or your same grade level who are getting actively recruited by college recruiters or signed with a college. Ask yourself if you are as good as they are right now athletically and academically? If not, do I have the same potential to reach their ability?

GOAL = To get clear on where you are and what you should focus on to reach your college sports goals.

To accelerate your education on the college sports preparation and recruiting process I recommend signing up for our FREE SportsForce College Sports Recruiting Guide.

* FREE Sign up click HERE

To get access to more advanced college recruiting tips, strategies and advice visit our website and RESOURCES section.

The SportsForce team, which is comprised of former college and professional athletes and coaches, is relentlessly committed to providing an ongoing education to help you best navigate your journey as a student-athlete, parent or coach to reach your potential.

Article courtesy of SportsForce, Home for professional and affordable College Sports Recruiting Tools, Tips, Online Profiles, Highlight Videos and Premium Services.

www.sportsforceonline.com

info@sportsforceonline.com

858.350.5889

Are you looking to feel more confident as you look to prepare for college sports and the recruiting process? At SportsForce we hear many different questions, opinions and stories from student-athletes, parents and coaches all the time.

Here are some of the most common college sports recruiting questions our staff receives:

When do college coaches start recruiting?

What are college coaches looking for?

How can we maximize exposure to college recruiters?

What do we need to do and when do we need to do it?

What about the SAT, ACT, financial aid, NCAA Eligibility Center, etc…

Here are two simple and proven ACTION STEPS you can use today to begin taking control of your sports career and college sports goals.

Step 1: Student-athlete assessment

ACTION ITEMS:

1. Ask yourself “What type of college experience am I looking for?”

Attention student-athletes:

You need to reflect on what type of experience you are looking for. Write your thoughts down in a casual format (bullet points are fine) and be able to verbalize what type of college experience you are looking for.

Attention parents:

We recommend parents asking this question and letting your son or daughter answer this question with no undue pressure. See if your student-athlete can describe the type of experience they are looking for.

GOAL = To get a clear idea of what college experience you want as a student-athlete.

2. What are your key college decision factors?

Create a list of all of the key decision factors and give 1 to 5 points for each decision factor (5 being an extremely important decision factor). We recommend doing this on a spreadsheet and then ranking the potential colleges you are interested in by using this system to create an overall point total for each school.

Potential decision factors including: Academics (Majors offered, career development, alumni), Athletics (level of competition, W/L record, tradition), Social environment, Size of school, Public vs. Private, Cost, Location, Coaching Staff, Intuition (gut feeling, emotional connection)

GOAL = To have a proven ranking and college decision making system to know what potential colleges you are really interested in.

To accelerate your education on the college sports preparation and recruiting process I recommend signing up for our FREE SportsForce College Sports Recruiting Guide.

* FREE Sign up click HERE

To get access to more advanced college recruiting tips, strategies and advice visit our website and RESOURCES section.

The SportsForce team, which is comprised of former college and professional athletes and coaches, is relentlessly committed to providing an ongoing education to help you best navigate your journey as a student-athlete, parent or coach.

Article courtesy of SportsForce, Home for professional and affordable College Sports Recruiting Tools, Tips, Online Profiles, Highlight Videos and Premium Services.

www.sportsforceonline.com

info@sportsforceonline.com

858.350.5889

Ryan Fobes, a SportsForce athlete and second baseman for Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, CA, has accepted an athletic scholarship to play for the University of Sioux Falls Men’s Baseball team. SportsForce caught up with Ryan and asked him a few questions about his recruiting process and ultimate decision to play for the USF Cougars.

What factors made you decide on the University of Sioux Falls?

Sioux Falls is a tightly knit community and one of those towns where ‘everyone knows everyone’. I think attending a University that you can be up close and personal with is important.

Were there any other schools you were seriously considering?

I was seriously considering attending Whittier College. However, I just didn’t get that feeling where you know it’s going to be the right fit like I did with Sioux Falls.

What are you most looking forward to most about playing for the University of Sioux Falls?

I think the team’s chemistry is what has carried the team to a record breaking season this year, along with coaching. The Cougars have a great young coaching staff, who really know the game of baseball. Coaches who teach you the little things about the game are what make you a better ballplayer.

What advice would you give to other student athletes looking to play in college?

Grades. Grades. Grades. You don’t have to be the best player on the field to get a scholarship. Work ethic in the classroom is just as important as on the field.

Congratulations to Ryan for signing with the University of Sioux Falls! Be sure to visit Ryan’s SportsForce profile (http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/rfobes) or check out his highlight video below.

The San Diego Section’s all-time rushing leader will be heading to the Bay Area to play football. Escondido’s Ricky Seale signed his letter of intent to attend Stanford University in the fall, and to play for coach Jim Harbaugh on the football team. Seale’s signing, which took place today at the Escondido High School Learning Center, capped months of speculation as to where Seale would land.

“Thank God, it’s finally all over,” said Seale after putting ink to paper.

Seale was one of four Escondido athletes signing letters of intent on Wednesday, a banner day for the North County school. Tim Zier signed a baseball scholarship with SDSU, while Joe Morton signed to play basketball at Wyoming, and Mala Lemay accepted a softball scholarship from Hawaii.

How close did the Aztecs come to landing Seale?

“It was a 50-50 deal all the way,” said Seale, “but Stanford was always my first choice.”

After the jump, watch video of Seale and Tim Zier answering questions on Signing Day:

Seale didn’t know for sure if he would be admitted into Stanford until late last night, when Harbaugh called his house.

“I was just, Oh My God,” said Seale, “I was actually surprised I got in, but I’ve been working so hard for it so I was really happy it all worked out.”

Seale was receiving pressure from inside his own school and to the west as well. Over at Oceanside, the five Pirates who are coming as a group to play under Brady Hoke were reaching out to Zier, asking him to help recruit Seale to SDSU. Meanwhile, the Pirates were trying to keep mammoth defensive tackle Thomas Molesi in town as well; Molesi said he came “this close” to switching, but instead honored his commitment to Oregon State.

Watch Ricky Seale and Tim Zier answer questions from 619 Sports and the assembled media in Escondido:

Seale finished his prep career with 6,694 yards, averaging 7.9 yards per carry. He will compete for playing time in the Cardinal backfield with another San Diego prep phenom, the former section rushing leader (and state player of the year) Tyler Gaffney.

Zier, meanwhile, is excited to begin a baseball career under Tony Gwynn at San Diego State, but admitted that “football is always in the back of my mind.” Zier teamed with Seale to form a lethal combination the past two years in the Cougars’ backfield.

–Story and video courtesy 619Sports.net

–View Ricky’s full SportsForce profile: http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/rseale

National Signing Day for college football marks the deadline in which the nation’s top talents must make their final decisions in regards to which prestigious college programs they will grant their services to. Possibly facing the toughest decision of their lives, these young men have wisely chosen to take it down to the wire in order to explore all of their college football options. The miscalculation of playing for the wrong coaches or system could cost them a chance to play in the NFL. Due to the significance of these decisions, we at SportsForce are honored to be heavily involved with the college recruiting goals of some of the country’s top student-athletes. Our unique relationship with student-athletes and their families allows us to assist in securing the proper college recruiting exposure for them, while ultimately seeking what is most beneficial to the student-athlete during the college sports recruiting process. So far this year we’ve had the pleasure of covering some of the nation’s most elite football players such as Dillon Baxter [USC], Brennan Clay [Oklahoma], Ricky Seale [Undecided] , Damien Williams [Arizona State] and Kenny Stills [Oklahoma] just to name a few. In a year where college football has been shaken up by a multitude of coaching changes, a little recruiting guidance could go a long way.

With four of the top ten players in the nation undecided on where they will play ball, many of the top college recruiters will be working overtime this year. Plenty of big names are still up for grabs; most recognized is the massive offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson (2), who many believe is the best player in the nation and is expected to head to either Ohio State or Florida. Surely the return of Florida head coach Urban Meyer doesn’t hurt the Gators chances of landing Henderson. Keenan Allen (5), who has been compared to NFL star Ed Reed, is suspected to be a Clemson Tiger on signing day. Owamagbe Odighizuwa (8) is expected to leave Oregon in order to attend The University of Nebraska, while top ranked running back Marcus Lattimore (10) currently looks as if he’ll be staying home in South Carolina and playing for the Gamecocks. Other Notable predictions are Outside Linebacker Christian Jones (20) to stay in Florida to play for the Seminoles and Wide Receiver Markeith Ambles (24) to USC.

Wednesday February 3^rd is when all the college football recruiting speculation and uncertainty will end, but the day should not expire without a few surprises. Anything is possible since this is the last chance for many teams to improve their rosters in order to make a run at next year’s championship game. National Signing Day TV specials should be airing on local channels all across the country, so don’t forget to tune in as some of the most prestigious college football programs fight to the very end for the nation’s top remaining talent.

(#) – National ranking based from Rivals.com

SportsForce athlete, Alysha Isaacson recently committed to the University of Dayton to play softball for the Flyers. Alysha went on an official visit to the school in September and decided to commit after “falling in love with it” according to her mother. The signing period for softball starts November 11th and Alysha will officially sign with Dayton then. Alysha currently plays club ball for Case Batbusters and High School for Hilltop High School. Visit Alysha’s profile on the SportsForce site to see what helped to propel the recruiting process.