When 'sports recruiters' come knocking

It was too much money for the father of six, so Scandridge typed up three pages of information about Chris and his activities and faxed them to 50 colleges himself. Within a week, 17 schools responded by mail and by phone. Chris was a hot commodity.

But after months of searching, Chris ultimately chose a school where he could pursue his lifelong dream of being a pilot - even though it meant forfeiting his football ambitions.

"It's important for kids to understand that the world is made up of more than one thing," his father says.

The amount of money students were paying for what he considers to be mediocre service prompted Scandridge to launch his own Web company, TopJock.net, three years ago.

The site is still a work in progress, but Scandridge is eager to educate students about the entire process of college admissions - which he says is anything but glitz and glamour.

The site gives student-athletes their own e-mail addresses and personal Web pages. Students then e-mail coaches a link to their site, which includes vital statistics, personal and academic information, and a videotaped introduction to footage of the athlete in action.

The total price for this service comes to between $500 and $800, less than half the amount most companies charge.

"Our system is for the self-motivated, self-disciplined, proactive students," Scandridge says. "This isn't just about getting financial aid. We actually school our kids, once they're in contact with coaches, on how to stay in contact and how to ... try to make this an educational experience."

Monica Wojcik isn't interested in fame. As the star New England runner sweeps past screaming teammates around the last turn of her mile-long race, her eye is on one thing: the finish line. As she crosses, she breaks into a bashful smile.

"I did it," Monica says breathlessly as she approaches her coach, sweat beading its way across her forehead. "That's my best time all season."

Not only did the Brookline (Mass.) High School senior just run the mile in less than 5-1/2 minutes, she is also a national merit finalist with a perfect SAT score, a painter, tutor, pianist, and the author of her own cookbook.

Monica has exactly what many colleges are looking for, so why aren't any coaches sitting next to her mother on the bleachers?

It can be a daunting task to attract the attention of coaches. That's why many high school athletes hire "sports recruiters" - consultants who compile a profile to market them to colleges.

Monica, however, decided to conduct her own search for schools where she can balance her interests in distance running and biology or chemistry. She narrowed her choices down to four: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and Yale.

Many student-athletes overlook that first step - whittling potential schools down to a manageable pool - and make the mistake of searching for the right sports team without giving enough thought to academics, says Wayne Mazzoni, head baseball coach at Teikyo Post University in Waterbury, Conn., and author of "Athletic Recruiting and Scholarship Guide."

"About 75 percent of athletes drop off [the team] by their senior year in college," he says. "If a kid in high school picks a college just because a coach calls, but then they get hurt or realize they're at the wrong school, what's their recourse?"

Monica says she is confident she will have a better college experience than if she had used a recruiter.

"You should go where the college accepts you for who you are, not because you found the better advertiser," she says. "If I wasn't accepted at Harvard, I would be disappointed, but that would mean it wasn't right for me."

Monica has already been accepted at Harvard and MIT. As she waits to hear from the other two schools, she's starting to weigh her choices. She's been in close contact with the coach from MIT, but Harvard has yet to return her messages.

"Maybe I'll go to a Division I school [like Harvard, with a more competitive team] where the coach doesn't even talk to me, but I might be happier at MIT, where they're Division III, and much more interested," she says.

But track isn't everything.

"I'm not planning on being an Olympic runner, so the academic side becomes more important. It's going to come down to where I feel more comfortable."

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