Advocates for Athletes March 2014
Advocates 4 Athletes, LLC


In the past, I have shared letters of testimonials from parents of A4A athletes but this month I want to share one from one of our Division I athletes already in college on an athletic scholarship.

We are very proud of this young lady. When we first started the process she really did not know where she wanted to go to college. But  as we do with all our athletes, I urged her to keep an open mind while we researched schools that might be the best fit for her.....as I truly believe that there is a "best fit" school out there for every athlete. Looks like we found it!

 This is also a good read for high school seniors who will be headed off to college next year, a good example of what to expect with sports and school. Here is what she had to say:


Hey Steve!

Well it's been a full swim season and almost a full school year for me here at Duquesne. CRAZY.  I just wanted to give you an update on how it's going! I know you're busy with other rising college kids, but I thought I'd share some success with you, seeing as I would not be here if it weren't for all your help and encouragement.  
Currently, I am training in off-season.  We finished our season about 2 and a half weeks ago, at our Conference meet in Ohio. I had an amazing meet.  I finaled in 2 of my 3 events, and came in 6th in my 100 breast, picking up a Winter National time standard and just missing the school record. Our Freshman class as a whole greatly impacted the success of the team in the overall final results of the meet, boosting us up a ton from where the team finished last year. Not only did I swim above and beyond what I have ever expected, but I had SO much fun with all my teammates, coaches, and all the parents that came out to support.  Being part of a Division I program really pushes you to achieve goals that seemed previously out of reach. I could not be happier with the choice I made with this program.  

As for the academic side, I struggled a bit first semester, with the heavy course load and training full time, plus adjusting to life away from home, but finished strong with a 3.3 GPA. After my first semester, I ended up deciding to change my major from Athletic Training to Integrated Marketing Communication.  After getting advice from coaches, older teammates, our team academic advisor, and considering my own interests, I ultimately decided that AT wasn't for me, and stumbled upon this major. I am currently taking classes for it and seem to like it! We'll see how the next few semesters go, but I'm pretty sure I'll end up sticking with this one.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that all our research and meetings paid off.  I've met some really amazing people, and can't believe I only have 3 more years here.  

Hope all is well with you, your family, and your student-athletes! Thanks again for everything!

Best,
Lilly Nelson
Sequoia High School
Class of 2013

As always thanks for all the kind words, support and referrals. We are still not advertising - all our clients come from referrals, so if you have an aspiring student athlete or know of one, please pass on the A4A name. There is no better athletic recruiting guidance than A4A.

 

 
Steve
 
Steve Britschgi
President

 

Steve

What We Do

A4A logo jpeg


Advocates for Athletes (A4A) is a local, hands-on consulting and coaching business created to help educate and guide student athletes and their families through the college recruiting process, with the ultimate goal of obtaining a college athletic scholarship and/or admittance to a school of their choice because of their sport.   

Please visit our website to lean more about our services and program @ www.advocates4athletes.com.




From the Desk of: Michael Perez, QWERTY Education Services
 

 

What Are You looking For From A Tutor?

The first time a student or family has the thought "We should hire a tutor" generally occurs because a student is struggling in a particular academic subject. Over the years however, at least with the sort of service that we provide, we have found that the role of a tutor can reach beyond basic assistance in a particular topic. These may not be the first things that come to mind for the average family that is seeking services, but once you think about them, they make perfect sense.

Tutoring and the family system: A tutor can be a welcome resource even if teachers and family are available for assistance, and especially when they are not. The tutor can be an important adjunct to the family system, allowing parents with limited time or emotional energy to focus their interactions with the child on other areas which only they can best provide. Parents often report important gains beyond the academic goals.

Not all tutors are alike: Depending on where you find them, tutors may be teachers-in-training who seek more instructional experience, classroom teachers who seek to supplement their regular income, retired teachers who want to maintain some involvement in their work, full-time tutors with specialties in a variety of areas, etc. Each type has its own merits.

Throughout history, private tutors have been highly valued as the basis of or as a supplement to an education. Tutoring has been a critical part of the formula for success for many students in our local schools, whether or not that student has an identified learning problem.

QWERTY Education Services has been working with Peninsula students for over thirty years and brings teaching experience, advanced training, and expert credentials to our work with students, families, and schools.

A tutor can be a mentor who guides even the most capable students to:

  • broaden, deepen, or focus ideas about the content of their work

     

  • enhance the expression of those ideas in oral and written form

     

  • utilize resources (books, computers, teachers, family, peers, etc.) most effectively

     

  • tackle difficult, discouraging, or uninteresting tasks with greater enthusiasm

     

  • evaluate and develop their own participation in the learning process, including understanding educational strengths and weaknesses and managing time effectively

     

  • respond to concerns about social interactions and personal matters which may be interfering with the ability to put their best foot forward in their schoolwork

     

  • face the many often small but important decisions in their lives which can either clarify values and build character or, alternately, muddle priorities and erode integrity
 

                        (http://www.qwertyed.com).

 

 

 

 

 Where are the A4A Athletes

going to College?

 

Here is a partial list.

   Colleges

 

The U.S. Naval Academy 

Providence University

Princeton University(2)                                

UCLA

Tulane University

Loyola Marymount University(2)

Lewis and Clark University(2)

Dominican University(2)

Western State College  of Colorado       

U.C. Berkeley

Texas Christian University

Brown University

University of Utah

Cal Poly Pomona

Claremont Mudd Scripps

Georgetown University(2)

Carroll College

Chaminade University

Kenyon College

U.C. Merced

U.C. Davis

Carnegie Mellon University(2)

Pomona Pitzer University(3)

Duquesne University

Southern Illinois University

Fresno State

University of Redlands (2)

Notre Dame De Namur University

University of San Diego

University of Colorado at Boulder

Colorado College(2)

Cal State East Bay University

Washington State University

Trinity College (Conn)

Leslie University

Willamette

Rochester Polytechnic Institute

Cal State Dominguez Hills

 

 

  
From the Desk of: Beatrice Schultz
Westface College Planning
A must read for all parents with college bound student athletes!

  

  

It's March! 

We've officially dived into spring, and if you are a senior, it's decision time!  The time has arrived to weigh your college options and finalize your college funding plan.

 

Remind your student to keep an eye out for award letters, some of which are now sent via e-mail.  As award letters come flooding in, your student needs to make sense of all the offers presented to them.   

  

 

Check out Westface College Planning's latest blog  to understand what "out-of-pocket" cost means and the best tactics for evaluating the cost of attendance for each college plus a lot more.

 

Be sure you are taking all the steps necessary to put your college financial plan into action!  

 

To learn how we can help call us at 650-587-1559 or visit us at  

http://westfacecollegeplanning.com/.

 

 

 

 

Beatrice Schultz, CFP� College & Retirement Financial Planning
Westface College Planning

990 Industrial Road, Ste 112, San Carlos, CA 94070
Phone: 
650-587-1559 |Fax: 650-681-0093
www.WestfaceCollegePlanning.com | www.WestfaceFinancial.com
Facebook: Westface College Planning | Twitter: @WestfaceCollege
Connect with me on LinkedIn
 | Review us at Yelp
Listen to my weekly radio show College Smart Radio-Tackling the Runaway Costs of College

College Planning Services offered through Westface College Planning
Insurance Services offered through Westface Financial and Insurance Services - Lic #OF35251 
Financial Planning and Investment Advisory Services are available through separate agreement with Westface Financial Advisory


  From the NCAA:
Probability of Going Pro

Note: These percentages are based on estimated data and should be considered approximations of the actual

 

 

 

 

Recruiting Question

of The Month

 

 

                                         Why choose Advocates for Athletes?

 

 I love when people ask that question. The answer is easy.

1) We create a personalized plan for each athlete based upon a combination of what that athlete and their family wants and needs and what is realistic for that athlete.

2) We are local and meet one-on-one with our athletes getting to know them so we can better find the "best college fit" for each.

3) Through extensive questioning and research A4A and the athletes put together a target list of schools that are ones the athlete wants to go to.    

4) Because of our focused goal setting techniques, A4A athletes are performing better in their sport and in the classroom.

5) We are sincere, we care and we are honest. Our end goal is to see the athlete flourishing in a college of their choice.  

6) Because of our success rate. 100% of our athletes that follow the A4A process are going on to participate in their sport in college.

7) We do not advertise, our business comes from referrals...    

  

 

 

 

Testimonials

 

Steve,

  
Thank you for all your guidance and help in assisting my son find his way on to a college campus with a ball in his and a scholarship in his bank account!!
  
Your attention to detail and your true desire to help him made the world of difference in his life. While Zayn is a smart, strong, quite young man who is silently confident your guidance and coaching helped him to openly and willingly be confident to speak highly of himself, sell himself, and take ownership of his achievements. These are enhanced skills he will take with him throughout the rest of his life.
  
Your willingness to meet him near his school and job and accommodate his very busy schedule was appreciated.  Also your efforts of continuing to check in and make sure he was on track was one of the keys to his success.
Zayn achieved his dream of transferring to a university that would afford him the academic excellence he demanded as well as be a part of a system were he could be a key contributor.
  
I have to also thank you for all the talks you had with me and your prompt communication throughout the who process. I was often unsettled and concerned about his future and you never gave off a negative or discouraging message.
  
Your faith in Zayn and his abilities academically and athletically will never be taken for granted or forgotten. 
  
I am envious of your position to help families and student athletes achieve their dreams because I know there is a demand for this. I am now your advocate! I will do anything I can to help you if you ever need it... and will recommend you to everyone I know going through "the process".
  
Wishing you continued success,
Susan Kirkendoll
Mother of Zayn, Carroll College, Fall 2013
 

 

*********

Dear Steve,

 

I am so grateful to you for giving our daughter Rachel  the confidence to go after UCLA.  She is going down for orientation this week and she is still thrilled with her choice.  This last weekend at a swim competition, it was fun to share with another swim parent the value you added to the college search experience.  Without your assistance, I don't believe we  would have found the complete match in both school and team.  

 

Thank you again,
Alicia Owen,
Mother of Rachel- UCLA, Fall 2013

               ***********************************

 

Steve:

 

Conner and I wanted to send you our hearty thank you's for all your help with Conner's college application/positioning, and more importantly, for the enormous role you played in the successful results he had in his process! As you know, he used this process to finalize his choice (he got into his first two; and decided not to apply to any more, with glee), to finalize the size/division of school to go to, to develop relationships with coaches at several division levels, and to narrow down his search to the school that really hit him in all the right places.

 

The steps you helped him through, as well as your personal involvement, were spot on. Conner may be one of the more stubborn humans on the planet, but he followed through really well on this. He succeeded in the early application process in getting great coach support (along with good grades and exceptional SAT's), and being completely done with the madness of college admissions at about the same time most of his friends were just starting with the frenzy. He is extremely excited about both school and baseball at Lewis & Clark. We recommend anyone thinking about college and athletics, at D1, D2, or D3 levels, to talk with you as we have an extremely high level of trust in you and in the process you took Conner through. It helped in a broader way than just the nightmare of the college application process, and as a parent I have huge appreciation for that.
  
All the best-I am happy to talk to any perspective clients about the good work you do.
  
Best, Bob
  
Robert A. Sick
Managing Director
White Oak Capital, LLC

www.whiteoakcapitalllc.com

 
  
  ***************
  
"A4A was a godsend to our Student Athlete.   Steve provided invaluable guidance on the recruiting process, advice throughout and the all-important ongoing check-ins with our son. We had no idea how long and how difficult the journey of getting recruited to a Division 1 football program would be. Steve and A4A helped us objectively evaluate our son's potential and match his goals to achievable results.
  
You definitely need an "Advocate" in your corner during the recruiting process - and they don't get any better than Steve and A4A. We can't thank you enough for being there for us day or night, and making it all happen.  The end result of all of the hard work is that our son, Shane, committed to play Defensive End at the United States Naval Academy. We are all very happy with this result and highly recommend A4A!" 

 

Steve and Tammy Artim

 *************** 

"We wanted to take the time and let all of you know how grateful we are to have spent the past year working with A4A.

 

Steve, never would I have imagined that a word, "Process" would ring so true in regard to helping our daughter navigate the NCAA/Academic institutions.

 

As a result of A4A's extensive knowledge, patience and understanding, our daughter Lilly will be attending and swimming at a division one school in the fall of 2013!

 

Your knowledge and guidance created a low stress, less worry atmosphere in our household thus allowing our family to enjoy the college journey. The consistent support and advice you provided to our daughter along the way has made her more confident and smart about her choices. The experience has taught all of us that patience, persistence and following the "Process" pays off in the end.

 

Thank you for believing in our daughter and for providing such a valuable and knowledgeable service."

 

All the very best,

 

Robin and John Nelson

Redwood City, Ca

Parents of Lilly,  Duquesne University, Fall 2013

 

***************

"Navigating the student athlete college recruiting path can be a daunting and confusing process. We were fortunate to have A4A's services to help with this process for our daughter who plays soccer. Steve was very professional and extremely flexible in working one-on-one directly with our daughter, while keeping us abreast of current activities. Steve was also extremely helpful in the final stages of discussions and negotiations with the top schools on our list. The process was ultimately successful in that we had several options available for our daughter to play soccer in college at both the Division I and Division II level. I would recommend A4A's services for anyone looking to get  professional guidance and assistance with the recruiting and college selection process."

 

~John and Kim Miller

Parents of Lauren- Cal Poly Pomona, Fall 2013

 

***************

 

 "Thank you for all your guidance and help throughout this process. We couldn't have done this without you!! "

 

~Karen Bruneman

Mother of Brooke- Lesley University, Fall 2013

 

                                           ***************

"Steve, I am a true believer in your program and in A4A and what you have done. If you remember we came to you late in the game. Bemi was a great athlete in football (All-Conference as a junior and senior) but had zero, I repeat zero, interest from any school. More importantly, he had no one helping him or telling him what he needed to do even
to have any colleges look at him.

 

You sat down with us over lunch, laid out a very simple game plan and then you pushed to execute it. From the basics on what to do with ensuring Bemi focus on improving his SAT scores, to making a highlight video and then mapping out the schools that fit a major that he wanted to do with his life. I was impressed by how much 1-1 time you committed to with Bemi, how you coached him on what to do, how to send the emails to the college coaches, how to talk to the coaches, and how to follow-up. More importantly, you stayed on top of everything. You have a "failure is not an option" attitude and its contagious. It is also clear to me that you really care and you work to ensure that the kids you take on are successful and get a chance at a scholarship and more importantly a future education.

 

As you know we just got back from a weekend trip to Western State College in Colorado where Bemi has received a scholarship offer to play football there. There is no doubt if anyone wants to go to college to be a student athlete, your program is the way to get them that visibility and a chance. I will be happy to recommend your program to anyone. Please send any doubters my way.

 

Thanks again for all your efforts". 

 

~Mario Paniccia  

Intel Fellow & GM 

Silicon Photonics Operation

Intel Corporation   

mario.paniccia@intel.com  

 

  

                                         *************** 

"When our son decided that he wanted to play sports in college, we weren't sure of how to go about getting information out to college coaches.  After countless hours of searching and feeling overwhelmed by the whole process, we decided to seek help, and that is when we contacted Advocates for Athletes (A4A).  

 

After our first session with A4A, we felt like a huge weight had been lifted.  A4A gave us so much information that we would have never been able to obtain on our own.  With the expert knowledge and information they provided, and the one-on-one help, it made the whole recruiting process a lot easier.  A4A gave our son the confidence and tools not only to sell himself to college coaches, but a confidence that he will be able to use throughout his life.  

 

Thanks to the great service they provide, our son has signed with a great college, and is looking forward to being a college athlete.  I would recommend A4A to any high school student that is interested in playing sports at the next level.  Working with A4A was one of the best things that our family has ever done."

 

~Mother of a former St. Francis High School football player recruited to University of San Diego who has since transferred to play at Colorado.

   

                                           ***************

  

"The A4A program has helped my son tremendously. My son has given a verbal commitment to Fresno State this past summer as a Junior, and has already taken an unofficial visit to the school.

 

 

The program that A4A customized for my son utilizing the Advocates for Athletes playbook has been a huge help during this crucial time in his life.  If I could summarize the changes that I have noticed in his approach to everyday life, his time management would be number one.  The A4A program has really helped him prioritize his day to day activities.  I have noticed that he is "goal setting" much more than before and incorporating many of the strategies that Steve and my son worked on.

 

The program works and Steve's diligence and genuine caring for his student athletes is very apparent."

 

 ~Tom Paroubeck

 Father of Jordan, the 69th pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.

 

***************

 

"I wanted to share with you our family's appreciation for the service that Advocates for Athletes has provided us. A year ago the task of selecting the right school for our daughter was overwhelming. Frankly, once we met with Steve and learned about the extensive research he had done on this issue and the process he had developed based on his findings we knew we made the right choice. An important side benefit in all of this is that our daughter has taken ownership in what will become her future. It has been a great lesson in learning for our family and his deliberate approach has taken much of the anxiety out of what is an otherwise difficult and complicated process. You can count us among the "advocates" for Advocates for Athletes."  

 

~David Bartoshuk

Father of Megan Bartoshuk. Carnegie Mellon, Fall  2013

  

 
 
Thank you!
 
Thank you for taking the time to read our A4A Newsletter.  If you have any questions or comments please contact us. 
 
Please forward this Newsletter on to anyone you feel might be in need of our services or interested in the college recruiting process.

 

Sincerely,

 

Steve Britschgi

President, 

Advocates for Athletes, LLC.

650-255-0766

steve@advocates4athletes.com

www.advocates4athletes.com

 

In This Issue
What We Do
From the Desk of Michael Perez, QWERTY Education Servcies
Where Our Athletes Are Going to School
From the Desk of: Beatrice Schultz, Westface College Planning
Interesting News From The NCAA
Recruiting Question of the Month
Testimonials

Quick Links


  

 

 

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A4A Resource Partners

 

*The Riekes Center for Human Enhancement

 

*Michael Romano, "Mr. Test Prep"

 

*BAWSI, Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative

 

*Susan Zaro, LMFT, Sports Health Counseling

 

 *QWERTY Education Services

 

Westface College Planning

 

 

Performance Hoops, John Folonis

 

The South Bay:

 

Extreme Fitness&Sports(Campbell)

 

Crossfit Los Gatos

 

Tutoring Club(Almaden,Cupertino,Los Gatos and Willow Glen)

 

For details  and contact information on each of our Partners please visit our website @ www.advocates4athletes.com.

 

 

 

 

 

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