This SECOND EDITION of "So, You Want to be a College Athlete" guides aspiring high school student athletes (and their parents) through the maze of becoming a recruited collegiate athlete by using a simple, well-defined, step-by-step process for analyzing, selecting, and pursuing the college that is best for them -- their right-fit school. It discusses participating in college athletics, the NCAA and how it governs being recruited, college entrance exams, finances and scholarships, college selection, student-athlete resumes, contacting coaches, interviewing with coaches, and many, many other helpful topics. This edition FULLY INCORPORATES the contents of Plappert's sister publication "Interviewing with College Coaches," which continues to be offered on a stand-alone basis. This is a MUST-HAVE handbook for the promising student-athlete.
About the Author: Jim Plappert is acutely aware of the needs and concerns of the up-and-coming student-athlete. As the founder of Max-StARS, a college selection consulting firm (www.maxstars4u.com), he works with student-athletes every day. He has seen firsthand how overwhelming the process can be to those who are completely new to it and the missteps taken by those who did not have the guidance and the tools to balance the emotions of the decision with the facts of the situation. Since his college days, Jim has stayed actively involved with his four children, starting in community recreational sports with coaching and then in various booster clubs. Jim is also involved with regional and national tournament management as the Tournament Director for EventHockey, and he is the umpire assignor for many field hockey venues in the Philadelphia area. Jim received his secondary schooling at the Mercersburg Academy, has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University, and earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. He spent twenty years in industrial sales & marketing and general management. Additionally, in 1989, Jim founded a recruiting and consulting firm and spent another twenty years both managing it and personally helping people maximize their potential as candidates for the business world while helping his client companies find the best possible employees to meet their ongoing organizational needs. As a recruiter, Jim also developed excellent networking skills and used that talent to talk with the "brightest and the best" coaches, players, and parents with regard to the college student-athlete selection process and, ultimately, how to counsel the student-athlete to succeed in those efforts.