Athletes learn to manage their time effectively.

       Middle school is the first time a student-athlete has to deal with the challenge of balancing the demands of schoolwork and the demands of athletics. As he becomes more serious about sports, his top priority must be on receiving a good education. Parents and coaches can use the child’s participation in sports as incentive. By setting firm rules for participating in athletics, parents and coaches can require the child to make his best efforts in the classroom before he is granted the opportunity to walk onto the field.  Though most schools mandate a required grade-point average for participating in sports, my parents reinforced this system by setting requirements higher than the school’s established standards. Each parent requires a different level of academic achievement. For some parents, a 3.8 grade-point average might be the cutoff for participating in sports. For others, a 2.5 grade-point average is sufficient. My job is not to counsel parents, coaches, and athletes on the importance of academia, but simply to show them that athletics can be used to strengthen time management and academic goals, whatever they might be. My parents used this incentive to great success. I was not a “natural” student, and my interests were not in academia. But were it not for sports, my grades would have suffered. The threat of having sports taken away from me was too much, and I kept my grades high because my parents made it a condition of walking onto the field.  Recognizing that education is a priority is not enough.  Even a child who genuinely desires to succeed in school and in sports will face difficulties because knowing how to balance competing demands on one’s time is an acquired skill.

Where do college coaches find talent?

The myth is this: College coaches discover talent their junior or
senior year by attending camps, combines, showcases,
tournaments, and high school games.

The reality is this: College coaches depend on verified information
from reliable sources, and they purchase lists of
prospects as young as seventh grade. Most coaches
attend tournaments, games, and camps with lists
of student-athletes they intend to evaluate, not
with hopes of discovering random prospects.

Learn how to Connect with Coaches

You may have to turn up your volume a bit!

As a child, every February marked a sad time in my life. The calendar in my family’s kitchen was only one page away from March, which marked the end of hockey season. At the conclusion of my third grade season I wrote a poem in which I compared the season ending to losing my best friend. I loved to play hockey with all my soul, but little did I know that my “best friend” would literally shape the rest of my life.

I was seven years old when I declared that I wanted to play ice hockey. Fortunately, my parents were extremely supportive of my mission however many of the local coaches were not. One of the only girls in Illinois to lace up skates (the kind without toe picks) I faced ridicule and was cut from several teams that I was very qualified to play for. I remember walking into the rink for tryouts with my head held high, even though the coach had already told me he would never allow a girl on his team. I was determined not to listen to the naysayers, not to mention that tryouts gave me more ice time to play the sport I loved. And always, in the back of my mind a voice told me that if I was good enough, and if I worked hard enough, I would prove everyone wrong. I loved to play hockey in spite of, or maybe because of, all the people who told me I shouldn’t. A shy girl in school and social settings, I made my mark on the ice.

Had I listened to any of the coaches who thought I was better suited for ballet flats, I probably would have had a nice life. I would have gone to college, found a job, made some friends. Thankfully I tuned those coaches out and doors began to open. I was an above average student but my academics were not remarkable, yet I skated my way through the admissions department at several Ivy League institutions and chose to attend Yale University. I have traveled through most of Western Europe and played professionally in Switzerland. I don’t just have friends I have a tight band of teammates who are more like sisters, as well as a wonderful husband who I met on the ice. When my playing career ended, my experiences sparked the interest of employers which led to interviews, which led to jobs, which led to a career with the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA). My degree and athletic experience got me in the door with NCSA but it is the intangible lessons and skills learned from competition and adversity that empowered me to rapidly advance to an executive level position.

Hockey has not only enhanced my life, it has defined it, and I’m sure someday my children’s lives will be shaped by sports in ways I cannot even begin to imagine. Through NCSA I have the opportunity to work closely with girls to help them reach their own athletic and life potential. Girls today are blessed with many opportunities to compete in sport, and I am certain the world will reap the benefits of a new generation of talented, motivated, team oriented women. With the proper focus and guidance girls can turn what was once considered a pass time into so much more.

Once I take a minute to reflect on the impact that athletics has had on my life, I can’t even being to imagine what my life would be without it. I played several sports growing up in a small town in Maine and found that this competition was my ticket to making friends and seeing the world beyond the state lines. I was fortunate enough to play on several travel soccer teams that competed in top-notch tournaments all over the Northeast. These experiences taught me so much about commitment and dedication, as well as the willingness to leave my comfort zone and take risks to achieve my goals. It was scary at times wandering into the unknown of competing at higher level ODP camps, regional tournaments, and summer camps. I learned that my hard work and skill would be my ticket to success in any of these arenas, and that with that success I would begin to earn respect and form friendships. I ultimately made connections with people all over the Northeast, many of whom are some of my closest friends today. This network consists of former teammates, coaches, and competitors who would be there to help at the drop of a hat if I needed anything. They taught me about teamwork, communication, leadership, toughness in the face of adversity, and overall personal character.

I feel so grateful for these connections and for the many experiences, the victories and the losses, that I have shared with all of these people throughout my athletic career. The lessons that you learn and the people that you meet through athletics stay with you for the rest of your life. I know I draw from many of my own experiences every single day. “Athletes Wanted” is an inspirational, educational read for anyone who has shared in these athletic experiences or anyone who hopes to in their future.