(PRBuzz.com) March 29, 2013 -- There are times in the lives of student athletes when they need help beyond sports coaching and academic counseling. "Our coaches oftentimes play the role of a mentor," says Coach John Scott, president and CEO of Athletic Quest, an expert team of current and former coaches. Their process involves weaving together a relationship between student athlete, parents, and Athletic Quest coaches -- oftentimes over the course of many years. "This relationship supports the entire family through trust and a connection that never takes a day off," continues Coach Scott. In fact, this mentoring relationship often starts in the freshman or sophomore year of high school and may continue throughout college. In addition to one-on-one mentoring with the student athlete, the coach frequently helps the family prioritize their goals and make college choices.
"Life has lots of lessons," states Coach Scott, "and some of the greatest outcomes involve painful processes. We urge our student athletes to ask for help when it comes to moral character, integrity, and citizenship duties and issues."
Lauren Claypoole attended the smallest high school in Kauai -- which makes her as far away as possible from mainland college sports. Lauren was a high school all-league junior, but had not heard from any college coaches. She was 6'1" and a NCAA Division III level athlete. Here's the problem. No one knew she was out there. "We helped get Lauren ready for college recruiting by mentoring her through this process," comments Coach Scott. "She was off the charts academically and scored so high on ACTs and SATs that it placed her in the top 2% in the nation. As we guided Lauren through this journey, she went from hearing from zero college coaches to being recruited by 198 colleges."
Lauren attended Williams College, a Division III school -- and there are no athletic scholarships. With a cost of $65,000 a year, she received $52,000 without any athletic scholarship money. She asked Athletic Quest for help during her entire college career, and they are helping her get more funding for her sophomore year. When college practice rolled around she found she struggled at the higher level of competition. After a 90-minute conversation with her College Coach mentor, Lauren went from struggling to playing significant minutes for a college program. "The relationship isn't over;" states Coach Scott, "we're with her for the rest of her college career."
Robert Turbin, now a rookie with the Seattle Seahawks, had to raise the bar academically to qualify for NCAA Division I. "We worked closely with him starting at the end of his high school sophomore year, specifically on study habits and how to best prepare for SAT and ACT tests. To his credit, he was diligent and worked hard when he realized how academics impacted his athletic possibilities," reports Coach Scott. Robert received a full athletic scholarship to Utah State; he graduated and is now playing in the NFL.
"We've also worked with a varsity student athlete involved in a hazing incident as a participator, not the victim. He was expelled permanently from his high school and transferred to another school as a sophomore. He had to sit out his junior year due to transfer rules," explains Coach Scott. "We spent a great deal of time determining how to approach this situation and how to best counsel this young man. We had him write a letter of apology to the hazing victim, the school, the state athletic association, and to his new school. Together we addressed what his moral goals were for moving forward as a young man, encouraging him to step up to "be a leader, and not a bleeder.'" In his new school, even though he could not play sports for the next year, he set target goals, wanting to be a good example on and off the practice field. His objective is to be helpful with teammates and classmates, especially those less popular. The response he's getting from the new school's coaches and administrators has been overwhelmingly positive. He's now pulling a 3.85 GPA and working hard and helping others.
Athletic Quest coaches mentored another young man who went through a hazing incident as a junior. He was a successful, legitimate player. During captain practices in baseball...several players would throw balls at him, belittle him and make fun of him. "He was just on the verge of being on suicide watch," says Coach Scott. "Our mentor coach called the team captain (who was also being mentoring by Athletic Quest) and said, 'We have a problem. Is this the kind of captain and leader you are? Do you think this behavior is acceptable from your team?' The team captain responded by saying that he and another captain would hold a team meeting without the coaches. In the meeting they explained that anyone who belittles, incites, makes fun of, or is derogatory towards any other team member or person will not be tolerated, and that 'we as captains will insure that you'll be thrown off the team.'" In a very short time there was a total turnaround in the environment for that once-hazed student athlete and for the entire team.
"We recognize that our Life Mentoring responsibilities include helping the student athlete become a solid, principled citizen within the athletic world and within life in general. Sports are just a vehicle for learning about life and making it better." says Coach Scott.
Athletic Quest can be contacted by visiting www.AthleticQuest.net or by calling 888.803.5157. Call Athletic Quest for a free evaluation ($50.00 value) or to visit with a college coach recruiter.
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