Student Athlete’s Name: Clark Allen
Hometown: Everett, WA
Grad Year: 2004
College Attending: Asbury College
In the latter part of 2004, as we happily sat through our "umpteenth" ceremony on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, at which our son Clark would receive the National Football Foundation's Scholar-Athlete Award, yet another recognition of both his academic and athletic high school accomplishments, we couldn't know the unthinkable heartbreak that lay ahead. As a 3-year starter and senior captain of his high school team, Clark lived and breathed football! As an invitee to the Nike Football Camp in Oregon, and labeled as one of the Seattle Times' "Players to Watch" in his senior year, Clark had continued to excel in every aspect of his position (inside linebacker), and there was not a doubt in our minds that he would be one of the top recruits to be "courted" from the state of Washington. But months later, after reading every recruiting book we could get our hands on, after making numerous letter and e-mail contacts with colleges throughout the western region, after sending numerous highlights videotapes, and after having done all we knew to do, Clark was the proud recipient of only one invitation for an NCAA Visit (from Portland State), and no scholarship offers. As parents who had used every trick in the book (or so we thought), we were absolutely devastated. To make matters worse, our son Clark, a very talented and skilled student-athlete, felt overlooked and undervalued as a direct result of this unsuccessful recruiting process and subsequently decided to give up football.
Several weeks later, after we had recovered from our own personal disappointment, my husband Brian and I agreed on one thing - we would not allow the same fate to befall our daughter CJ, a talented school, club and ODP athlete now in her sophomore year in high school who lived and breathed the sport of soccer.
One evening in the spring of her junior year, CJ and I decided to attend a presentation sponsored by the high schools in the Seattle area entitled "Recruiting Realities". As CJ and I sat listening to this presentation, our jaws began to drop at what this man was describing - the various difficulties that would be encountered by most student-athletes and their families trying to "go it alone" in the high-powered world of athletic recruiting - had already been experienced by our family! This guy knew what he was talking about! We were now totally engrossed in what he had to say! At the very end of his remarks, he said something along the lines of "I don't work for any recruiting organization, but am knowledgeable about many of them. I will say that there is only one reputable organization that I would recommend to any of those here tonight who are interested. If you are one of those families, please see me afterwards." Needless to say, CJ and I were one of the first people in that line!
That night we filled out a basic information form and then anxiously waited to hear from someone. Within a week, an NCSA representative contacted us by e-mail. Then we received a call that NCSA scouts would be in the area in a week, and wanted to interview CJ for their program.
As soon as we met NCSA representative Terry McCullough that one Saturday morning at a local hotel, we took a distinct liking to him! Warm and engaging, he sat us down and spoke frankly to us about the NCSA organization and about what they could and couldn't do for us. We were impressed that no promises of finding the highest level of collegiate soccer competition were being made, rather Terry placed the emphasis on finding the best possible collegiate "match" for our daughter. We asked some difficult questions and came away with answers that we knew, from our past experiences, were truly the way things were.
Leap forward to the fall of 2006. Brian and I have relocated from the Pacific Northwest and are very happily living in the beautiful state of Maryland, choosing to be close to CJ as she attends the college of her choice. Last August she began her freshman year at Wheeling Jesuit University (WJU) in Wheeling West Virginia. She is, as of this writing, the 3rd leading scorer on the soccer team (as a lowly freshmen), was selected WVIAC Conference Player of the Week in September, and, most importantly, is happier and healthier than we've ever seen her!
This year the WJU women's soccer team is well on its way to another Conference Championship. Last year this highly-successful DII women's soccer team/program racked up a 20-4 record, were Conference Champions, invited to the NCAA Tournament and saw their coach selected as the 2005 Conference Coach of the Year. Not so long ago, back in February of this year, CJ signed her National Letter of Intent to play for this highly-respected university after receiving a very generous financial aid package/offer. This offer, which combined both academic and athletic award monies, amounts to over 90% of this college's total annual tuition/room and board. It is any student-athlete's idea of "a recruiting dream come true"! However, without the representation and support of NCSA, CJ's experience could very well have become "a recruiting nightmare relived"!
It's hard to explain to those outside of our family how much joy our relationship with NCSA has brought into our lives. It's simply impossible to place a price on the success and happiness of one of your children. Both Lisa Meyers, our sport-specific NCSA contact, and Terry McCullough, were there for us every step of the way. They were with us at the beginning, advising and assisting us in developing CJ's NCSA Scouting Report, and helping us field the many e-mails and phone calls we received from college coaches across the country. They stayed the course, as we worked through the various day-to-day communications and NCAA visit arrangements, and then were there for us at the end, helping us consider and negotiate offers from many different schools. CJ was contacted by over 80 schools, was offered "free-rides' at 7, and partial scholarships at most of the others.
This testimony is dedicated to NCSA Scout and our family's advisor, Terry McCullough, who passed away shortly before CJ signed her National Letter of Intent to play for WJU. His last "congratulatory" e-mail to us remains emblazoned in our hearts. Always quick to come to our "rescue" with his gentle counsel, inspirational thoughts, and encouraging words, he touched our lives in a very private and special way. Terry, we will never forget you!