When I was a senior in high school, I remember visiting my guidance counselor. From 1st grade forward, I always was ahead of the curve in math, able to compute numbers in my head faster than most people my age. Everyone told me how I'd be some math guru somewhere, and I had come to accept that. My conversation with my counselor went almost word-for-word like this:
Counselor: What would you like to do?
Me: Well, I'm good at math and I'd like to make money.
Counselor: Actuarial Sciences is currently the #2 profession in the country - it deals with insurance and risk assessment.
Me: Sounds good! What schools offer it?
Counselor: Illinois State has a great program - the person that heads the department is world-renowned in the field.
Me: Cool!
I visited Illinois State on a beautiful spring day, went on a tour where they told us all the incredible things the school had to offer me, and made my decision to go there. 3.5 GPA, National Honors Society, Illinois State Scholar, affiliated with clubs/sports - I thought I was going to thrive when I went there.
A year later, I had a 1.48 GPA and found myself sitting with my parents and telling them I didn't want to go back. This was not because I was a bad student - Truth be told, I didn't go out and party myself out of the college - it simply wasn't the right learning environment for me and I felt completely overwhelmed by the culture. That's not a shot at the school - I had many friends that thrived there. While everything I learned about the school sounded great when I went on the tour, it didn't line up with my core wants/needs as a student.
I proceeded to go to Harper Community College and had a great experience there, then transferred to Newbury College, where I thrived, finishing with a 3.84 GPA. I don't regret my path, but I do wonder about how it could have been made smoother. What I wish my counselor would have said was "You say you're good at math, but do you have a passion for it?", or "Actuarial Sciences is one of the most lucrative jobs in the country, but the workload it takes to study and pass the tests can be strenuous, take months of studying, and will require more focus/effort than anything you've probably done up to this point. Are you willing to make the commitment?".
I wish he would have asked me about what I wanted to do with my life, what purpose I wanted to feel for whatever job I ended up taking. Not because I would have necessarily have had answers, but because I would have had to think about it and get the gears turning then, instead of having the reality check that I had no idea about what I wanted to do with my life at Illinois State. That was a lesson well learned, but it accounted for $13,000 in loans.
As I moved my way up the collegiate coaching ranks, I began to realize that I wasn't the only one that had this experience. From Junior College to Division III to Division I, there was a lot of selling being done by the schools, and the majority of kids were just letting the schools tell them why they should go there, instead of asking questions and thinking about what THEY wanted from college. Yet most people are shocked when I tell them 1/3 of students transfer from their original institution. My question is this: If we don't let realtors just give us information before we sign a mortgage, or car salesmen give us all the good specs of a car before buying it, why do we let colleges sell their schools to us? Why don't we do a better job of educating kids on how to think about what they want, both on and off the court - and make them find the right fit for them instead of going to the schools that sounds the best?
I've been at my juniors club for a year and a half, and they allowed me to sit with all the families and educate them on the process. The feedback has been so positive - Almost every meeting parents/players are telling me how they had no idea about a lot of the things we discuss, as well as how much more comfortable they are with the process. I help them take their wants/needs and tell them how to search for schools that fit them - with the internet, it's never been easier!
What troubled me was when I started hearing from my families about recruiting agencies contacting them as young as sophomore year, telling them if they hadn't started contacting coaches that "they were way behind". Of course, these agencies would be willing to catch them up - for a fee. These companies are charging anywhere from $700 up to $2,500, and all they're really doing are things that the families could do on their own if they had the knowledge.
With the cooperation of my club (which I'm incredibly thankful for), I've started my Progression Volleyball Consulting with the intention of helping high school athletes find the college that will help them grow to be the best person they can be, the school that gives them the student-athlete balance that they want - all at a fraction of the price that these recruiting agencies are charging. I hope to de-bunk the myths that I feel have been placed by various groups, that players HAVE to play Division I to get financial assistance, that the schools should be recruiting players, instead of players setting the expectations they want and looking for the school that fits that criteria. For the amount of time and money that an athlete invests, they should go somewhere that appreciates them, not just somewhere that will take them in. With 1,500 schools, I have no doubt with the proper research, athletes are capable of finding that place.
I plan on speaking at schools/clubs to talk about the difference between all the options athletes have (NCAA/NJCAA/NAIA/Club/Intramurals), how to start the college search process, and how to separate yourself from the pack when contacting coaches/institutions. I plan on educating families on free resources they can use online to further educate themselves on how to look for schools. I will give athletes and their families an honest one-on-one evaluation on where I feel their athlete has the best opportunity to get the experience they want, as well as edit/create their highlight videos. Again, all at a fraction of the cost of what recruiting agencies are charging families. My goal is to have people not find any college that will take them, but find a school that they feel gives the individual the best chance to reach their full potential both as a student as well as an athlete
I've made the company's Facebook/Twitter pages public this morning, and a website is already in the works. I look forward to speaking at schools/clubs to give them information, as well as hosting seminars and working with families one-on-one. I am based out of Chicago but plan on traveling to anywhere in the country that has schools/clubs interested - if you or someone you know may be interested in what I'm doing, please contact me at ProgressionVBConsulting@gmail.com.
I look forward to helping kids all over the country in their quest to finding the right fit for them! Feel free to contact me with any questions/comments you may have.
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