Student athletes should start scholarship process early
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POLSON — Like most parents with kids competing in athletics, Wendi Giles thought her kid was really good.
As Shad Giles started his senior season on the Polson tennis team, Wendi really felt like he was playing well enough to earn a college scholarship and decided to do something about it.
After Googling “how to get your student spotted by a scout,” Wendi was directed to the National Collegiate Scouting Association’s site at www.NCSA.org.
After filling out a short profile at the site, it didn’t take long for Wendi to have her suspicion confirmed that Shad was college material. Within one week, Shad was being contacted by a college in Georgia and three weeks later he heard from Lindenwood University in Belleville, Ill. Lindenwood offered Shad a four-year renewable scholarship, which he accepted. He’ll leave to start work on his business degree Aug. 19.
Wendi had no delusions of grandeur of Shad’s tennis ability. She knew he was good – he and his partner Justin Evertz went 22-5 last season, won the divisional tournament and won a couple of matches at the state tournament – but didn’t think he was a superstar. She said most parents believe that college scholarships are only reserved for superstars and state champions, but with more than 1,000 colleges across the nation offering athletic scholarships, this simply isn’t true.
“One hundred parents would love this information,” Wendi said on how easy the website made the recruiting process for somebody that doesn’t always grab the headlines. “Not everyone is going to get to be a state champion and get the chance of being spotted by a college. This (the website) gives them a way better chance.”
Shad actually started the recruiting process very late in his career.
Wendi said that the NCSA recommends that student athletes start building a profile as early as the eighth grade. The profile should include an academic resume, athletic stats and should be posted online. This will save athletes the hassle of sending out hundreds of profiles to colleges across the nation.
The NCSA, which is just one of several college recruiting services, offers free weekly e-mail advice to prospective students and parents.
Wendi said that the scholarship not only helped Shad’s education, it also helped his confidence.
“It really boosted his self esteem. To know that somebody was looking at him and were interested in him and thought he was good enough to be offered a scholarship,” Wendi said.
