The following is a guest post by Rex Grayner, President/Founder of Student-Athlete Showcase, LLC

Let’s face it, moms and dads: Saving $100,000 (or more) for Junior’s college education is not a realistic possibility for most of us.

Even if your 529 plan hasn’t tanked, or if you have the money stuffed under your mattress right now, how can most of us write that kind of check in this unpredictable economic climate? The solution may be in the right arm of your varsity pitcher or the left foot of your midfielder.

Attention high school athletes: If your dream is to play at the college level, and you want to help mom and dad with this nightmarish bill, there’s likely a home (and money) for you – if you have the right game plan.

Only 5% of America’s high school varsity athletes ever don a college uniform; 95% never play beyond high school. But, competing for these opportunities has become serious business in light of rising college expenses and more competitive scholarship requirements.

In the past 15 years, college recruiting has changed dramatically, much in part to the advances in recruiting technology, video and the internet. The old adage “if I’m good enough, they’ll find me” is long gone. College coaches have tighter budgets, more rigorous admissions standards and their jobs are on the line virtually every year, so the emphasis on winning now is more prevalent than ever.

It used to be that an athlete’s senior year was the most significant season. Nowadays, despite efforts by the NCAA to strictly regulate when a college coach can begin courting a student-athlete, coaches have discovered ways to evaluate athletes and develop relationships with prospects well before the junior year. As a result, prospects are verbally accepting scholarship offers, in many cases, before the coach is even permitted to pick up the phone and call them.

So, if you’re a parent of an athlete who aspires to compete at the collegiate level and (just maybe) get a chunk of that education paid for, here are four keys to your recruiting success:

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By Alex Lontayo – SportsForce co-founder

Baseball is an amazing game. For as long as I can remember, it has been an integral part of my life. I’m reminded of all that is has done for me everyday. I have pics of myself holding a ball before I was able to sit up unassisted or pics of myself dragging a bat before I was able to walk. The game was taught to me at an early age and helped me grow as a person. With the buzz about Parkview Little League’s run at the World Series (http://www.parkviewlittleleague.com/), I’ve found myself really looking back at my days back in little league and all the game offered me throughout my life. All of the opportunities I have been blessed with were through baseball. I see the passion that they play with and the camaraderie they have and it really hits home. That’s what you’d expect when they’ve been a TEAM for over 7 years. For most of those kids that’s half of their life. That’s when I really reflect on my life and what baseball brought me.

You see back in the day (no I won’t mention the long walks to school 10 miles away in the snow as most stories seem to go when sentences start that way), we were that team. Our team had been together for years and we were finally coming into our own. The problem with us was we didn’t complete the journey as they did. What we did do, was STAY friends from that time forward. Our group of guys went onto to play Pony, High School, College, Professional, even had a guy reach the big leagues. Those times directed us along the paths that we took. Each of us still live in the same area and, of course, still remain close friends. In fact, most of us would take a friend label as a slap in the face, since we’re all more like brothers. Having brothers like that because of a game we loved is special. I’m sure there are stories all over the world about the friendships that were created from amateur sports. You never seem to let those times go. With all of the great people that I have been blessed with in my life because of baseball, there’s a deep reflection of what these kids will face in the coming years.

Teammates possibly going to different schools, guys not making the jump to the next level, whatever the circumstances, there will come a time when the next level will not be realistic. That is something that no player who loves the game ever wants to hear. The reality of the game is a tough pill to swallow. I truly believe that is a driving factor in the minds of all the SportsForce team. We’ve all been faced with that reality whether it was the high school to college process or the AA to AAA jump in professional baseball. There are times in your life that having the insight and experience there to help you, can drive your decision making in a manner that will better suit your long term goals. I know looking back; I wish I had more information about the process by friends who had been there. I’m not saying that my career would have turned out any differently, but I know the journey could have.

I can only hope that these young ballplayers will be guided the right way. I am a firm believer that you “always have a chance, when you put the uniform on.” You just never know. I’ve played against the David Eckstein’s of the world who wouldn’t let their size be a roadblock to their long term goals. I see a lot of that in these kids. I’m actually motivated more in my life because of what they’re doing. I look back at all my brothers, even sisters that I’ve played against and truly thank them for all of the memories. I hope every player in every sport that aspires for something greater gets that opportunity. Watching these kids play the game with passion and without a care in the world is special. I know there’s a great community rallying behind their every pitch and every swing. I know I am. Win or lose, these kids have succeeded. I hope they go on with their lives and keep these friendships to reflect upon when they’re my age, but give back to the game in any way they can. That way someday, the next group will experience it all again, with all of it made possible because baseball is an amazing game…

SportsForce Website Launch Plan in Final Phase

The SportsForce Blog has been a little MIA lately as the team has been putting all of our efforts into getting the main site up and running to increase our reach to athletes everywhere and help drive their sports careers forward.

The SportsForce team has been working around the clock adding athletes to the site. Almost every athlete has a full profile including athletic and academic information, and a video –which is no easy task to add over one hundred athletes in a short period of time, but the team was up for the challenge.

Here’s a recent girls basketball profile we completed for a rising senior that is getting actively recruited a few different colleges on the west coast.

Ariana Elegado – Guard – Class of 2010 – La Jolla Country Day School – San Diego, CA

Here are some more feature athlete profiles per sport to check out:

Boys Basketball- Jvonte Brooks

Baseball – Geoff Rocha

Girls Basketball – Ariana Elegado

Football – John Stephens

Boys Lacrosse – Alex Pardieu

Girls Lacrosse – Tarrah Lynch

Softball – Alex Miller

Girls Volleyball – Laura Plumb

The team has also been working hard making all the pages look the best, be helpful and of course fix some little bugs that may be there. Stay tuned for the site to be fully launched very, very soon!

SportsForce Partners With Premier Classic Soccer Tournament

This past weekend SportsForce partnered with 16^th Annual San Diego Premiere Classic . The tournament was held at several different fields throughout San Diego. Over 200 teams turned out for the tournament which offered play for both Boys and Girls U9-19 in Silver and Gold levels.

SportsForce filmed some of the top Men’s U18 teams including the Del Mar Sharks 92 Premier, Arsenal FC, PQ Premier Red, SE Cosmos (Texas) and the United FC Black. SportsForce also caught the top action out of the Girls Division, where the SoCal Blues Defeated the San Diego United FC 3-0 in the finals of the U16 Gold Division.

For complete results of the tournament, visit https://www.gotsport.com/events/?EventID=5583.

SportsForce Set to Conduct Baseball Combine Workout For Rising Seniors in San Diego

SportsForce will be conducting a baseball combine this coming weekend at East Lake High School in Chula Vista, CA. The combine video workout is ideal for student-athletes that are interested in putting together a skills video to market themselves to colleges around the country.

The SportsForce combine model allows an athlete to be professionally video taped and measure while performing sports specific skills that college coaches require to better evaluate potential prospects . The SportsForce baseball combine workout includes the 60-yard sprint, pitching, catching, hitting and fielding stations.

Here’s an example of a combine workout video that has been integrated with our new SportsForce athlete profile system.

Geoff Rocha – Catcher – Class of 2009 – Cathedral Catholic

College coaches from top programs around the country including Cal, Stanford, Harvard, Florida, and Boston College descended on Del Mar’s Polo Fields this past weekend to witness the top soccer players from around the country and beyond compete in the 2009 Surf Cup. The Surf Cup is the premier location for college soccer recruiting all year. While coaches aren’t allowed to talk to players or parents at the tournament and vice versa, the athletes do all the talking with their play on the field.

College Coach Communication

It is a standard procedure for athletes who are going to be playing Surf Cup to send an email to their prospective school’s coach ,complete with their Surf Cup schedule, schedule for the remainder of the summer, and a video, if they have one. The coach is allowed to respond to this initial communication at will, but is banned from talking to the athlete or their parents at the event itself. If the coach likes what they see, they will follow up with the player. If the coach views the athlete as a potential recruit, they might ask for transcripts for review, ask for further game video, or ask them to make a visit to the school. It is important to note that none of the follow up will happen unless the athlete makes the effort to contact those coaches of those schools they are interested in attending.

Coach’s Presence

Everywhere you turned at the 2009 Surf Cup you ran into a different college coach, each one decked out head to toe in their school’s gear. A stroll in between fields would seem to reveal that there were more coaches than players. At any one time, there might have been 25 coaches watching one game. Can you imagine the pressure? The coach from your dream school sits there scrutinizing your every move. If you’re not the first one to a loose ball or you miss a pass even by just a couple inches, that coach does not hesitate to furiously write some sort of comment next to your name.

The worst part? They all sit in a neat little row armed with their easy flip, portable chairs, drawstring backpacks, and yellow notepads. The Duke coach who is sitting directly adjacent to the Georgia coach is looking very quizzical. The UCLA coach who sits in between the Michigan and Cal coaches is sneaking a peek of his rival’s notes. The Syracuse coach is minding her own business but scribing what seems to be a novel on one of her players of interest. All of this is going on while these 16-18 year old kids are trying to make a play for their team.

While it seems impossible for any one of these players to focus on the field, JP Scatterday of the U19 Mustang Ajax told me that it is easy for him to zone in. Because the field is so big and the action is so intense, he finds it easy to stay focused and is usually surprised when he finds out the number of coaches that were watching his game. The amount of composure these teenagers are able to display despite such overwhelming pressure is impressive.

The Action

Accompanying the perennial powerhouse club teams of Southern California (San Diego Surf, So Cal Blues, So Cal Real, West Coast FC, Irvine Strikers, So Cal United, and Slammers FC) were teams from all over the country and all over the world. Aside from the continued dominance of the Southern California teams across the board, the Northern California teams had the next best showing. While Southern California teams won 3 of the divisions and had a presence in 8 of the 12 finals, Northern California teams won 4 of the 5 divisions in which they had teams in the finals. The best international showing goes to the Vancouver Whitecaps of Canada. Their Girl’s U19 team made it to the finals of the super division while their Men’s U19 team was able to advance to the semifinals.

XKSanDiego.com

For more on this weekend’s Surf Cup including results, pictures, articles and more, visit San Diego’s one stop shop for soccer news at www.xksandiego.com. Complete coverage of events, tournaments, and teams from around the San Diego area year round can be found at xksandiego.com.

SportsForce was able to capture some awesome footage, get plenty of quality interviews, and increase awareness of our brand throughout the soccer community. All in all it was a great event and one that SportsForce hopes to do more with in the future.

SportsForce Set to Host Website Launch Party

SportsForce is hosting a launch party August 6^th at The Local, sports bar and eatery – in downtown San Diego. We’ve invited friends, family, coaches and sports enthusiasts that are interested in getting a sneak peek at the new website and some of its key features.

Everyone in the office and some out of office are busy getting the site ready to launch. In order to get the site ready to launch we are busy polishing up and uploading videos, finalizing copy for different sections of the site and implementing HTML designs for different pages. I’m not sure the average person understands how much goes into preparing to launch a sports portal where you are combining professionally produced video, certified profiles, editorial content, events and more.

If you happen to read this before we launch you will be able to see our landing page with our demo video at www.sportsforceonline.com.

San Diego Surf Cup Offers College Soccer Coaches a Recruiting Paradise

The second weekend of the San Diego Surf Cup Soccer Tournament saw some of the top U15 – U19 Boys and Girls teams in the world. SportsForce was in attendance to talk to club team coaches, college coaches, film some of the game action and enjoy world class level soccer. It was Surf Cup’s 29^th year which had 650 teams apply to play with only 350 available slots. The tournament was held at the San Diego Polo Fields which is arguably the best venue in the nation for aspiring soccer players to garner attention from colleges and gain tremendous exposure to hundreds of coaches at one event.

The Surf Cup tournament is split into two levels of skill within each age division. The Super and Gold, with the Super bracket offering a slightly higher caliber of play.

The previous weekend of Surf Cup play was dedicated for U15 and below age groups and was dominated by Southern California teams. This weekend was a different story as many teams from all over the country ended up winning their respective divisions.

Girls Results:

Winning the Girls U16 Super division was the Mustang SC Rampage team out of Danville, CA and Oregon Rush Nike team won the Gold division for the U16 division. In the U17 Girls Super division, the SoCal Blues took top honors. The Neusport FC Green from Las Vegas finished at the top for the U17 Girls Gold division. Southern California team, Real SoCal White won the U19 Super Division. The Sonoma County Alliance took first for the U19 Gold.

Boys Results:

For the Boys, the CDA Academy from Sacramento, CA won the championship for the U16 Super division. Players SC of Las Vegas won the U16 Gold division. Real SoCal White dominated again, this time for the boys U17 Super. The Gilbert Arsenal premier team of Gilbert, AZ took the top honors for the U17 Gold division. Pachuca USA international, from Chevy Chase Maryland, won the championships for the U19 Super division, while the Santa Clara Sporting 91 took the honors for the U19 Gold division.

The Surf Cup showcased an extremely high level of soccer and Congratulations to all the winners and those invited to play!

The Starz Cup Wraps Up A Busy Summer of Lacrosse

SportsForce was at the Starz Cup Lacrosse Finals this weekend in San Diego, CA. We had the opportunity to film parts of both the girls and boys elite championship games. The Laxdawgs Brown won the Boys Elite Cup, while the Quad City Elite took top honors for the Girls Elite division.

The Starz Lacrosse Club is an elite program created to provide additional instruction and competition to select players. Designed to compliment local middle and high school programs, Starz takes the best players, male and female, and provides the opportunity to compete at the elite level with some of the best coaches in the sport today! The Starz look for players who have a passion for the game, want to compete at a higher level, and/or have thoughts of continuing their lacrosse careers beyond high school.

SportsForce is even busier than usual as we prepare to launch our site very soon. As usual we have a ton of events coming up on the calendar as well as finalizing some clients’ final products. Though many of our team members were in the office on Friday working hard, the 4^th of July provided a nice break for the team and chance to recharge and continue to move forward.

Fox Sports en Espanol sportscaster Adrian Garcia Marquez Stops In

Fox Sports en Espanol and the San Diego Chargers Radio Network en Espanol sportscaster Adrian Garcia Marquez was in the office this week to talk sports, the future of SportsForce and more.

New Addition to SportsForce Street Team Ronan Galvin

SportsForce is still growing as a company as we get closer to our site launch. This week SportsForce added Ronan Galvin to our street team. Ronan said of his experience so far, “SportsForce is a unique atmosphere wth like-minded people all working to help create the next big thing in high school sports. The Sports Development Intern is an ideal position because I get to research the sports I love and be in an environment of a small business.” With a background in football and basketball, we are excited to have him as an addition.

“Old Yeller” Swings by Office

Integral SportsForce Video Production Partner, Ken Heshler stopped by the office to check up on our equipment and outfit us with some new editing equipment to make our workflow even faster. Ken was also sure to share some stories of precarious shooting conditions in the early days of SportsForce. We’ve come a long way!

SportsForce’s Tom Antl Visits University of Louisville Athletics Department

SportsForce’s Tom Antl was visiting with the University of Louisville Athletics Department this past week. Though the trip was to visit a friend, Tom always on task, was sure to check out the program and even snap a pic of their pristine women’s lacrosse field.

Sara Fraschetti, Girls Lacrosse Coach, Stops In To Check In

Our own adviser for girls lacrosse, Sara Fraschetti stopped in this week to talk about the future of SportsForce and girls lacrosse. Sara graduated from La Costa Canyon High School (Carlsbad, CA) in 2001 when the Girls Lacrosse team seized their first California State Girls Lacrosse Championship. She went on to play at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as attack and center for three years where she helped the team earn three of their seven consecutive Club Division-I National Championship Titles. Sara returns for her third year as the La Costa Canyon High School Girls Varsity Lacrosse Assistant Coach. Sara helped lead the team to a 23-0 record in 2008 and 2nd consecutive CIF Championship (San Diego section).

Things are back to full speed with the holiday weekend behind us. Be sure to stay posted!

SportsForce at the San Diego All-CIF Awards

SportsForce started the week at the San Diego All-CIF awards at the San Diego Hall of Champions, which honored top Spring athletes including some SportsForce alumni. The awards ceremony honored a series of SportsForce profiled athletes. Profiled SportsForce athletes who were honored included the following baseball players, Noah Murray an infielder from Steele Canyon, Alex Murren of Romona, a standout outfielder and Dillion Haupt of MiraMesa who was named to the second All-CIF team for his performance as catcher this season.

Dillon Haupt – Baseball Recruiting Video from Sports Force on Vimeo.

Softball standouts Alex Miller of West Hills and Alysha Isaacson were named to first and second All-CIF teams respectively. Miller is an outfielder and Isaacson a left-handed pitcher. Catcher Bri Austin also of West Hills and outfielders Kaitlin McGinley, Valhalla Jr. and Katie Schumacher, Scripps Ranch Jr. were named to the All-CIF second team for softball as well. Girls Lacrosse stars and SportsForce alums Alanna Parker of Monte Vista Sr, who signed a scholarship to Davidson in the fall and Sammy Slattery Carlsbad Sr. were named to the first All-CIF team.

Kaitlin McGinley – OF – Softball Skills Video – 2010 – San Diego Renegades from Sports Force on Vimeo.

Earlier this season SportsForce had the pleasure of filming the following CIF Players of the Year: Myles Muagututia, of Francis Park for Boys Volleyball, Zach Leslie, Point Loma for Boys Tennis, Bobby Braun of Coronado for Boys Lacrosse and Jackie Candelaria of the CIF Champion La Costa Canyon for Girls Lacrosse team.

Football Skills Camp in Orange County Features Top NFL players

Aside from catching up with our San Diego area athletes, SportsForce was in Orange County for the Sage Hill Football Skills Camp on Saturday. SportsForce was able to get some great footage on some talented high school football players as well as conduct in depth on field interviews with some NFL players. In attendance were Kirk Morrison – Oakland Raiders – LB, Kevin O’Connell – NE Patriots – QB, Freddie Kieaho – Ind. Colts – LB, Robert Ortiz – NE Patriots – WR to name a few. We asked them about their transition from high school to college football, what the college recruiting process was like for them, what advice they have for high school athletes and more. Keep posted for a video interview to follow.

Boys Lax Players Head East for Nike Blue Chip Camp

SportsForce also finished working with some of the top Lacrosse Players in San Diego who are on their way to the east coast for the Nike Blue Chip Lacrosse Camp.

Coming up this week SportsForce will be at the Baseball College Coaches Camp, and holding down the fort in the office testing out our soon to be launched site as well.

Stay Posted!

SportsForce was at the 2009 Breitbard All-CIF awards held at the Hall of Champions in San Diego, CA June 22, 2009. Former Padres Pitcher and 1976 Cy Young Award Winner Randy Jones was the keynote speaker, and honorees had the pleasure of receiving their awards from him.

Awards were given out to members of the first and second teams in baseball, softball, boys track and field, girls track and field, boys swimming, girls swimming, boys volleyball, boys tennis, boys golf, gymnastics, boys lacrosse and girls lacrosse. The “First” and “Second Team” recognition was decided by a media panel with input from coaches. The honorees came from several high schools through out the region, with no one school dominating the awards. Some of the schools with top athletes were: Mission Hills, Rancho Buena Vista, Poway, Mt. Carmel, Steele Canyon, Scripps Ranch and Escondido to name a few.

Player of the year honors for baseball went to Steven Packard of Mission Hills. Laura Winter of Rancho Bernardo nabbed the top honor for softball. Mac Fleet of University City was the top athlete in Boys Track and also the top athlete for the 1600M. Sammy Silva of Our Lady of Peace was the Athlete of the Year for Girls Track and the top competitor in the 1600M. Spencer Didio of Carlsbad was named the top performer in 100 Butterfly as well as the Athlete of the Year for Boys Swimming. Jessica Schmitt of Torrey Pines was named Athlete of the Year for Girls Swimming, as well as the top performer in the 200IM.

Myles Muagututia of Francis Parker was honored as Player of the Year for Boys Volleyball. The top honoree for Boys Tennis was singles player Zach Leslie of Point Loma. Top finisher and Boys Golf Player of the Year was awarded to Steven Kearney of La Costa Canyon. Gymnastics Athlete of the Year and All-Around Top Competitor is Tina Wilhem of Mt. Carmel. Bobby Braun of Coronado was named the Player of the Year for Boys Lacrosse. Jackie Candelaria of La Costa Canyon took the honors for Girls Lacrosse.

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The SportsForce Week in Review will keep you informed on what’s going on in high school and club / travel team sports this week, what events SportsForce is attending, what we are working towards, and maybe what our favorite lunch of the week was. Check in every week to catch up with the SportsForce team.

June 15-21

SportsForce has been very busy this past week as with every week. As we expand the number of people on the SportsForce team we are powering faster towards the launch of our new site and locking down the Southern California sports market. On Tuesday, SportsForce was lucky enough to be invited to the Connect Sport Innovators Capital Forum at the HardRock Hotel in downtown San Diego. CEO Andrew Beinbrink was able to present to a room of startups and investors and share the SportsForce vision . For more info on the event and the Connect Sport Innovators visit http://www.connect.org//programs/sports-innovators/forum/ .

This Week in Sports:

SportsForce was at the annual SDSU high school Passing League Tournament this weekend, where the SDSU football coaching staff hosted over 30 teams. Some of the top teams in the tournament were: Oceanside High School (Oceanside, CA), Brophy Prep (Phoenix, AZ), La Quinta (Orange County, CA), La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, CA). Look for the Justin Robinson’s recap of the event to come in a later post.

SportsForce was a video production partner for the 39th annual California Baseball Coaches Association North – South Series at San Diego State University both Friday and Saturday. This three game series featured more than 40 of California’s top rising senior baseball players. With over 20 college coaches including coaches from UCLA, CAL, Fresno State, SDSU, USD, Long Beach State and about 10 Major League scouts in attendance the competition was strong. Over the years, more than 100 participants in the showcase have reached the major leagues. For more info on the event visit http://www.eteamz.com/cbca/ .

The North-South Series was played at San Diego State University on June 20 and 21. A doubleheader was held on Saturday and a single game on Sunday morning. The showcase is run by experienced high school coaches who have done this for over 20 years. There is no cost to the players other than bringing two baseballs with them to be used during the workout sessions. Players have been observed by over 100 pro and college scouts during these workouts.

SportsForce was at the MaxPreps Summer Series Basketball tournament. Following our blog on summer camps, the series shows there are many options to develop your game over the summer. The action was quick and talent great with many great Southern California club teams. Over 15 club teams participated in the two-day tournament.

Lots of action this past weekend and more in the coming week. There is no off-season for SportsForce! Coming up this week is the Baseball National Prospects Camp and the Cal Cup.

With the 2009 NCAA College World Series in full swing, it’s time to take a look at where some of the key players from each team came from and what paths they took to get to college baseball. All of the players listed are their team’s top pitchers and hitters statistically.

Arizona State

P Mike Leake – Leake attended Fallbrook High School in suburban San Diego. Leake quickly garnered the attention of local coaches and scouts, making the varsity team his freshman year and contributing immediately. Leake eventually would be named first team All-State in both his junior and senior seasons and was named the number 11 prospect in the west by TeamOneBaseball.com. Leake also garnered national attention when his summer ball team, the San Diego Sharks, won the 2003 USA baseball tournament. Leake was drafted out of high school in the 7^th round of the 2006 draft by Oakland, but elected to attend ASU instead, where he became one of the premier pitchers in ASU history and set numerous Pac-10 records as well. He was picked 8^th overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2009 draft.

OF Jason Kipnis – Kipnis attended Glenbrook North High School in Joliet, Illinois, where he played baseball and football and earned All-Conference honors in both sports. Kipnis was also named All-State in baseball his senior year. Kipnis went to Kentucky his freshman year before transferring to ASU for his sophomore season. Kipnis was drafted by the Padres in the 4^th round in 2008, but elected to return to school. Kipnis was selected in the 2^nd round by the Indians in the 2009 draft. He was not drafted out of high school.

Arkansas

1B Andy Wilkins – Wilkins attended Broken Arrow High School in Oklahoma, where he was a two-time Louisville Slugger High School All-American and two-time All-State selection. Baseball America ranked Wilkins the number 11 prospect in the state of Oklahoma, despite his numbers being worthy of a number one ranking. Wilkins was selected out of high school in the 25^th round by the Texas Rangers in 2007. He will be eligible to be selected in 2010 out of college.

P Dallas Keuchel – Keuchel attended Bishop Kelly High School in Oklahoma where he won two state championships and was twice named pitcher of the year. A three year started, Keuchel was also the quarterback of the football team, where he was named an All 5A East Region selection. Despite his accomplishments, Keuchel was not drafted out of high school. Keuchel became the ace of the Arkansas staff and was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 7^th round of the 2009 draft.

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