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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Results For Recruits

College Coaches Network guides coaches, athletes and parents through the recruiting process and connects them with colleges nationwide.
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Tony Severino might know more about big-time college recruiting than any high school coach in America. As head football coach of perennial powerhouse and defending Missouri State Champion Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Coach Severino has compiled a record of 236-55-1 with six state championships over 25 years. With such a successful, high-profile program, Severino has seen literally hundreds of his players advance to play at the college level. From the 2007 team alone, 17 players have gone on to college ball.

The level of success that Severino has achieved, however, can lead to pressure from players and parents to secure scholarship offers: not just for blue-chip recruits, but for players that might get overlooked by recruiters.

To help achieve better recruiting results for all of Rockhurst’s players, Coach Severino has turned to the Internet and a new online recruiting service – College Coaches Network, or CCN. “I became one of the first high school coaches to go with CCN,” said Severino. “They’re incredibly helpful for coaches, players and parents. It really has made my life as a football coach a lot easier.”

College Coaches Network’s mission is to provide results for more recruits by connecting athletes, parents and high school coaches with college recruiters coast-to-coast. Their services, which include athlete profiles, educational resources for athletes and parents and video exchange capabilities, essentially act as an extension of a high school coaching staff to assist in the recruiting process. In short, they give more high school players a chance to play at a collegiate level that best suits their ability and potential.

“Having a tool that helps educate athletes and parents about opportunities beyond Division I is a great benefit for coaches,” said Chris Smith, who is Vice President of Sales at CCN. “Coaches can use CCN to direct parents and kids to their appropriate level of talent. If they’re fortunate enough for that to be D-I, that’s great. But D-II, D-III and NAIA colleges also offer scholarships and they have roster spots to fill, too.”

As a former Parade High School All-American and 4-year letterman at fullback at Notre Dame, Smith has been through the recruiting process personally as a player and also as a parent. His son Brian, a highly recruited high school standout, has followed in his father’s footsteps as a second-year starter at outside linebacker for the Irish. “My son and I have both experienced the high-pressure world of college recruiting and we understand the challenges it can present,” said Smith. “Our job here at College Coaches Network is to help coaches, athletes and parents meet those challenges.”

The CCN service is built around providing recruiters with player profiles, video highlights and extensive game footage. Athletes can create and post their own “Real Profile + Video” which has their complete athletic and academic resume plus up to 2 1/2 hours of video that becomes available to college coaches and recruiters nationwide. In addition, through CCN’s “Media Library” feature, coaches can upload game footage that can be directed to specific recruiters or exchanged with other teams like traditional film exchange but without the hassle. “We’re always hearing from high school coaches that CCN is the best and easiest-to-use game exchange service and also from college coaches that we are the best online recruiting service available today,” according to Chris Smith. “And we’re continually refining and upgrading the CCN service to make it even more valuable to coaches in years to come.”

One of the biggest benefits of the CCN service is how it can help high school coaches deal with parents of recruits. “As all coaches know,” said Chris Smith, “it is common for parents to have unrealistic expectations. CCN helps coaches by educating parents about the recruiting process from A to Z and also by taking the pressure off the coach to market athletes to colleges.” In particular, CCN’s “Recruiting U” service on their web site is a comprehensive educational tool for players and parents to learn about all aspects of recruiting and help them build a successful recruiting campaign. Issues including the economics of college recruiting and scholarships, marketing to colleges, eligibility and finding the right fit are covered in detail.

For a coach with many talented prospects such as Tony Severino, CCN can relieve the stress of dealing day to day with parents. “The CCN service helps in the coaches’ relationship with parents,” according to Severino. “It takes a great deal of pressure off a coach because the player’s evaluation is directly in the hands of the college coach. Plus, it’s a great way to showcase not just the superstar but also kids that can play at D-II, D-III and NAIA schools. It’s a great service.”

Can College Coaches Network guarantee a coach that every student athlete that uses its service will get a scholarship offer? No, but they can assure you, your athletes and their parents that CCN will be using the most sophisticated recruiting tools available today to increase your players chances of being noticed by recruiters and landing a spot on a collegiate roster.


Recruiting Pro

Randy Rodgers’ specialty is taking top Texas talent to the next level. As a recognized expert in Texas football, Rodgers’ job is to help colleges evaluate the hundreds of high school players from the Lone Star State that will advance to NCAA and NAIA squads. Every year, he consults with over 60 D-I schools and helps them tap into the Texas talent pool.

Why, then, has Randy Rodgers Recruiting teamed up with College Coaches Network? Simply put, to create more opportunities for Texas’ athletes. “Many Sub-Division I and NAIA programs have scholarships and they need the Texas talent, but they don’t have the budget to visit Texas, so they aren’t actively able to recruit the state,” said Rodgers. “By partnering with College Coaches Network, we’re able to help high school coaches do a more effective job of marketing their players to these schools and increase the national exposure of their players.”

In addition to being able to post their athlete profiles including stats, academic standing and video highlights, Texas high school players who register with CCN will have their profile and film evaluated by Randy Rodgers Recruiting and be added to their Sub-D I scouting report, which is distributed at no charge to over 500 college programs.

Rodgers, who has served as recruiting coordinator at the University of Texas and the University of Illinois, views his association with CCN as a win-win for Texas athletes and non-D I colleges. “CCN gives schools across the country access to profiles of Texas players that they normally would not have,” according to Rodgers. “That’s good for these schools and it also will create many more opportunities for Texas athletes to advance to the next level.”

For More Information: 866-426-3883 • www.collegecoaches.net






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