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YOUR HIGH SCHOOL WANTS YOU!
THE RECRUITMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ATHLETES

We've all heard of the highly prized athlete coming out of high school that is being recruited by untold numbers of high profile colleges. What you don't know is that the recruitment part starts way earlier than everyone expects or thinks. It actually starts while the athlete is in Elementary School!
Just as we've heard of the big man on campus, in reality, the process starts at a ridiculous age when somebody's son/daughter shows an amazing ability in any sport. We're not just talking about football and basketball. No, my fellow parents, we're talking about all sports and it is now reached epidemic proportions in both men's and women's sports.

Examples are proven in every magazine and scouting service magazine about how there is a grade schooler in 7th or 8th grade that is being touted as the next "one". Read that last sentence very slowly. 7th or 8th Grade!
Greg Oden was being scouted as far back as 8th grade and when he made his decision to go to Ohio State starting in the fall of 2006, no less than 100 college programs from around the country had contacted him, his coach or his family at least once. Oden, a 7 foot player with all the tools, and had it not been for the age restriction in the NBA, we certainly would have seen him there as a sure fire first round pick.
But wait, you say, certainly that's not happening in my area. Wrong Virginia, time to wake up and smell the coffee. Right here in South Jersey the process has been going strong for years. How many times have we seen athletes enroll at one high school only to transfer before they graduate? How often have we seen athletes suddenly appear at a local high school from around the country if not the world? Just because he is 6'11" and "happened" to be in the area to further his education means nothing. How often have we seen athletes travel 45 minutes to an hour away just to get an education? I might have been born at night but it wasn't last night.
But it is now happening on the girls' side as well. We are seeing girls in basketball, field hockey, crew and softball, being recruited to play at a certain school because of the tradition of winning, thereby furthering their chances of getting a college scholarship. Let's face it; you have a better chance of going to college as an athlete if the team you play on wins. It is a sad but true fact of life. Winning breeds winning and the more you win; the more

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