This decade marks the start of a new era in athletic recruitment. The newest organization in this field is MyAthleticResume.com.
MyAthleticResume works with local high schools to help get players’ names out, and to help them become aware of the scholarship opportunities that many high school athletes miss out on.
Jim Jungsten, President of MyAthleticResume, came up with the idea to get his son, Alex, an athletic scholarship. Little did he know, the company – which incorporated on Mar. 1 – would turn into something big.
“We sent each coach an e-mail saying, ‘Hey, check (AlexJungsten.com) out,’” Jungsten said. “The very next day, we had 20 phone calls. Our phone was ringing off the hook with coaches saying, ‘My God, this is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. I want to meet your son.’”
Alex, 18, was the first of the, now, 10 athletes using MyAthleticResume’s services. For him, the change in interest from college coaches was astounding.
“I went from a small fish in the sea, to a whale in a pond,” Alex said about the experience.
MyAthleticResume’s other student-athletes include Philip Peterson – Alex’s close friend from Casa Roble High School – as well as Danny and Ronnie Thomas – two highly recruited running backs – and Juan Gamboa – a former high school All-American kicker who was scouted by USC and Washington State.
Philip, 17, wanted a chance to play basketball at the next level.
“I knew I could play in college,” Philip, a 6'6" small forward who's headed going into his freshman year at William Jessup University, said. “I just didn’t know if I’d get the opportunity.”
Philip’s father, Curt, is one of the sales managers at MyAthleticResume.
“As a parent, I’m looking beyond college,” Curt said. “I Understand that the character and the discipline that will be put in him, over the next 4 years, is going to have a huge payoff in the workplace.”
Cindy Thomas, Danny and Ronnie’s mother, is the Vice President of Sales for MyAthleticResume. Her experience in going through the recruiting process – after Ronnie graduated from high school – was a key asset to Jim and the company.
“We try and focus on the academics,” Cindy, who does re-appraisals for her own company, Thomas Appraisals, said. “If they get to go to college and play sports and get a good education, the two are going to build strong character.”
Some major recruitment sites only consist of the top tier talent, and can be too expensive for the average family to afford.
“If you took a football team of 60 kids,” Jim explained. “You’ve got one or two kids, on the team, that are going to get recruited.What happens to the other 58-59?”
Jungsten’s company is not alone in their efforts; one of the most popular online recruitment sites right now is beRecruited.com. BeRecruited was founded in 2000 by Ryan Spoon, and has since amassed over 200,000 student-athletes who use their services.
MyAthleticResume is separating themselves from the competition by donating roughly 10-percent of their profits to charity. Also, 15-percent of costs from each student go towards bolstering local high school athletic programs.The company also helps students build their own, personal website which they own for the remainder of their lives.
It is for this reason that, in just 4 months, the company has nearly 50 student-athletes already interested in marketing themselves through their own website.
“(MyAthleticResume) is not just going for the 100-percent, blue chippers,” Gamboa, who was a kicker for Sacramento State from 2004-08, said. “I’m in a situation where I need to have somebody else help me market myself.”
Coaches these days receive hundreds of tapes and highlight DVDs from prospective athletes. MyAthleticResume attempts to simplify the recruiting process while adding more than just highlight film.
“What I liked about it was that it was very thorough,” BJ Hammer, Whittier College’s head football coach, said. “I don’t think a lot of other (recruiting) sites are worth their money; but this one is the real deal.”
By Aaron Hilton
Follow me on twitter @Way_2_Tall401
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