Athletic Scholarships for High School Athletes

[Benton]

When I was a sports editor I used to work with parents putting together highlight packages. When you're out in the sticks, you don't get a lot of college scouts coming out to watch a girls soccer game or a volleyball match. Many of those kids did get invited to go play college sports, but most of them ended up getting academic scholarships instead of athletic. One kid broke every basketball record at his high school and gained a little sizzle several years ago with a shot in the NCAA tournament. Same thing — he got recruited by a dozen or so colleges, but his free ride didn't come basketball, it came from a good GPA.

I volunteer with some youth leagues and even in youth sports parents start talking about joining this travel team or that one based off college coaches that work with the club. I always tell them they'd serve their child better if they encourage better study habits and reward the kid for getting straight A's as much as they do scoring a goal.