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If you want a full ride to college, best learn to shoot and = pass
Posted to: News =
Sports
He was an all-state soccer player on one of the area's top teams, = with a=20 grade-point average hovering in the 3.0 range.
Kyle Hartley believed he was the ideal candidate for a full athletic=20 scholarship.
Then the coaches started talking money - and about how little of it = was=20 available.
"Surprising? Yeah, very surprising," said Hartley, a former = Kempsville High=20 School star who wound up accepting a partial scholarship at Old Dominion = University. "Growing up, you have all these visions of grandeur. You = think=20 you're going to get a full ride here or a full ride there. But then you = get=20 there and find out that the full ride is almost unheard of."
Actually, full scholarships get doled out all the time - in football = and=20 basketball. Four years ago, Western Branch High's two-sport star, Ryan = Pond,=20 considered a 100 percent package to play quarterback at Clemson = University,=20 according to his father, Ray. When Pond decided his heart was in playing = baseball, he "settled for" an 80 percent deal from North Carolina = State.
"We didn't realize it was that good until I got around the other = parents,"=20 Ray Pond said. "I heard them talking about 20 percent, 30 percent. I = figured I'd=20 better just keep my mouth shut."
The schools insist that partial offers are simply a matter of making = a little=20 money go a long way.
The revenue-producing football and basketball programs are fat and = happy by=20 comparison. Division I-A football programs can offer 85 full = scholarships - 63=20 in Division I-AA - and many of these coaches insist that's operating at = a bare=20 minimum. Men's basketball gives out 13 full scholarships; women's hoops = give out=20 15.
But in baseball, the NCAA allows schools to award 11.7 scholarships = for=20 rosters that can max out at 35 players. Norfolk State University funds = almost 10=20 baseball scholarships, and coach Claudell Clark said it's a challenge to = spread=20 that over a team that typically numbers in the mid-20s.
"It would be nice to give everyone 100 percent," Clark said. "But = that's just=20 not how this business works."
ODU's Jerry Meyers, who will be entering his fifth season as the = Monarchs'=20 head baseball coach, said he has never awarded a full scholarship.
"And at my two previous D-I stops," the University of South Carolina = and the=20 University of North Carolina- Wilmington, "we didn't give out any, = either," he=20 said.
Meanwhile, Old Dominion wrestling coach Steve Martin has the = equivalent of=20 fewer than 10 full scholarships available to divvy up.
"I had a kid say to me, 'So you get 10 new ones every year, right?' " = Martin=20 said. "And I'm like, 'No, that's 10 for the whole five-year cycle.' For = the most=20 part, these kids coming in are clueless. They have no idea."
Women's athletics aren't immune to the crunch, but without the=20 scholarship-siphoning colossus of football, the problem isn't always as = acute.=20 Division I women's rowing teams, for example, can offer the equivalent = of 20=20 full scholarships; there are 18 more available for outdoor track. In = addition,=20 women's teams in tennis, gymnastics and volleyball are required to = provide full=20 scholarships.
To prevent recruits from thinking they're getting the runaround, = coaches are=20 getting the word out. Brian Bashara, whose son, also named Brian, is a = star=20 shortstop at Maury High School, got the straight scoop when he heard = Virginia=20 Tech baseball coach Peter Hughes lecture some prospects at a showcase = camp.
"They're not selling people a bill of goods," Bashara said. "Some = parents=20 either aren't listening, or they want to deny the truth."
Even elite performers find themselves settling for less. Drew = Courtney of=20 Robinson High School in Fairfax is ranked among the top 20 players in = the=20 country among boys18 and under, and he finished his high school career = having=20 won three state singles titles, four doubles crowns and four team=20 championships.
His reward? A half-scholarship from the University of Virginia, which = he says=20 he was happy to get.
In baseball, a new NCAA rule mandates that schools can offer no less = than a=20 25 percent scholarship. But in many sports, partial deals wind up being = less=20 than $1,000, or maybe the cost of textbooks.
So what are prospective college athletes and their parents to do?
- Keep up those grades. For all of Kyle Hartley's = athletic=20 prowess, his scholarship bid may have suffered because he was not = stronger=20 academically. Colleges typically have considerably more academic aid = available=20 than athletic aid. And while Hartley was an above-average student, his = mother=20 said schools such as the College of William and Mary and the University = of North=20 Carolina backed off because he wasn't exceptional in the classroom.
"If I could tell kids coming up one thing, it would be: Pay attention = to your=20 schoolwork," Shelley Hartley said. "I think it really does make a=20 difference."
- Don't look at a scholarship as the payoff for all = the=20 money you've invested in your child's athletics. According to Virginia = AAU=20 baseball chairman Nelson Adcock, the bill for a travel baseball player = can=20 approach $10,000 a year.
"All the money we spent in baseball and all the traveling, we could = have=20 bought a college," Ray Pond said.
- Continue honing those skills. The amount of aid = you=20 receive as a senior could be significantly greater than the sum you were = awarded=20 as a freshman. ODU men's soccer coach Alan Dawson said he takes care of = his own=20 players first before dealing with newcomers. And Clark said he routinely = bumps=20 up his players' grants as they develop.
Still, the teams' limited resources mean that magic 100 percent = figure is=20 unlikely. Those set on full scholarships should probably start training = to be=20 wide receivers or power forwards.
Otherwise, the money's probably just not there.
Paul White, (757) 418-1447,=20 paul.white@pilotonline.com
Hone=20 the academic skills...
...because isn't that really the point of going to college? Athletics = are=20 great, and I know many universities profit from their strong athletics=20 programs...but you go to college to learn. That's the message that needs = to be=20 broadcast.
Scholarships=20 for sports other than football & basketball
Paul, I appreciate your comments as for some this is an eye opening=20 statement. A lot of the local parents all seem to think that their child = is the=20 next David Wright or Justin Upton and thus will be going to college for = free or=20 signing a huge contract. Rude awakening!!! However, to receive a = scholarship in=20 football or basketball....size plays a major factor and lets face it = ...not all=20 kids grow up to be 7' or 6'5 and 250 pounds. Thus, many are faced with = finding a=20 sport that fits their bodies. May I suggest that you look at the fastest = growing=20 high school sport in America. BOWLING, that's right, bowling! You can be = just=20 about any size to excel in the sport and you can't blame the referees = that you=20 lost the game! Scholarships are offered at the college level, as all of = the MEAC=20 and CIAA schools have money available for women's bowling. ( check their = websites ) Plus, we now have high school bowling at the clu
Do=20 Your Homework
Different states have different educational assistance. Georgia has = the HOPE=20 program which give Georgia state residents lots of financial assistance = for=20 school if they have a GPA at 3.0 (I believe) or above. What does that = mean for=20 Virginia students? Georgia colleges have more athletic scholarship = monies=20 available. My daughter attends a GA college and received a full = scholarship for=20 softball. Every girl on the team received scholarship money and a lot of = it=20 depended on grades. You could be the best athlete on the team, but you = may not=20 get as much scholarhip monies as another player due to grades. My = daughter had=20 both; she was sought after by several colleges, but her grades are what = got her=20 that 100%. But the point is, there are 100% scholarships available for = sports=20 other than football and basketball; you just have to be diligent in = looking and=20 contacting schools. If you are an excellent t
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Sad=20 comment
It's a sad comment about American colleges when a student's athletic = ability=20 is more valued than their academic achievements. There should be more = academic=20 scholarships than athletic ones. No wonder America is falling behind the = rest of=20 the world in the hard sciences: we have our higher education priorties = all=20 screwed up.