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SNJGA partners with Athlos to help with college recruiting process

June 2, 2022 admin Comments Off

There’s no question that when it comes to a parent assisting a junior golfer through the college selection and recruiting process, it can be challenging. Recently, the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association formed a partnership with Athlos College Coaching to provide insight and assistance.

More Athlos College Coaching information is available here

The partnership officially tees off with a free Zoom call with Athlos founders Joe Accordino and Brad Marek June 16 at 7:00 p. See below for how to access this call.

ZOOM Call Info

Time: June 16, 2022 7:00 PM Pacific Time
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4377942174
Meeting ID: 437 794 2174

Click to RSVP for ZOOM CALL NOW

The Zoom will feature a Road to College Golf presentation, which is open to all SNJGA members and parents. Joe and Brad will outline the entire college golf recruitment process and then answer any questions. Following the call, interested parents and juniors can reach out for individualized coaching.

Athlos has a similar partnership with the Junior Golf Association of Northern California and hopes to also help Southern Nevada junior golfers with the daunting process.

Accordino says the best advice he can provide parents and juniors is to not sit back and wait for things to happen.

“The most important thing to understand about this process is that it starts with you, the junior,” Accordino says. “A lot of people think that if they shoot good scores, coaches are going to be calling them and emailing them. It doesn’t work like that with college golf. Unless you are one of the top 50 recruits in the country, you have to own the process. Understanding that fact, and then understanding how to run the process, is vital.”

The Zoom call and follow-up, free newsletters are designed to provide value to the SNJGA partnership with no obligation for members. Whether juniors and partners decide to enter the individual coaching system is up to each family.

“Our whole goal is to maximize the potential of these juniors to play college golf and our service coaches students throughout the whole process, from building a college list, to reaching out to coaches, to advising on building your brand as a recruit,” Accordino says. “College golf recruiting is something that juniors don’t know about and how could they? They’ve never been recruited before.”

The next best piece of advice from Accordino is juniors need to fully understand how important academics are to the recruiting process.

“We mention how important doing well in the classroom is on the first call we ever have with a student,” Accordino says. “Academics are important in two ways. One is that it can help you procure a scholarship and not just an athletic scholarship. What coaches will do sometimes is that they will say, ‘Hey, I don’t have any athletic money left, but because your grades are so strong, I can get you some academic money at our institution.’ And for Division III schools where a lot of students will end up going, they can’t give out athletic aid. It has to be academic aid.

“The other way academics matter is that a lot of schools won’t even look at you as a recruit if your grades aren’t strong because of the school’s entrance requirements. Everyone wants to go to Stanford, but Stanford has incredibly high academic admission standards. You can be the number one golfer in the country, but if you’re a C student you’re not going to Stanford (or other top academic schools). Academics are such an important piece at every single level of college golf. That’s just as important as the scores you are shooting.”

There are other programs similar to Athlos College Coaching so parents and juniors need to do their due diligence. The individual coaching is fee based by quarter, but SNJGA members will receive a discount. Also, Accordino and Marek understand that certain juniors may not have the financial means to get the specialized coaching so some scholarship opportunities are available under the right circumstances.

Contact info: 804.514.9905 or athlosjoe@gmail.com

About Athlos College Coaching

Joe Accordino spent 10 years at ESPN working on the biggest events in sports, including Monday Night Football, the World Cup, and the PGA Championship. He has interviewed and produced shoots with dozens of current and former athletes, and has been profiled in The Ringer and USA Today. He received his first EMMY Award in 2020, and specializes in written and visual presentation.

Brad Marek has excelled as a professional golfer, most recently making the cut at the 2021 PGA Championship. A 3-Time NCAA Academic All-American at Indiana University, he has enjoyed teaching junior golfers since 2017, with a focus on technology and innovation. For more, visit bradmarekgolf.com.

At Athlos, we understand that everyone is unique, so we tailor our process to meet your needs.  We work with a small number of student-athletes so that we have the time for the face-to-face assistance you deserve.  We look forward to crafting the perfect plan for you.

Testimonial from Northern California D-1 Ivy League recruit:

“During the unique COVID restricted college recruiting season, Brad played an integral, irreplaceable role guiding [our son] to achieve his dream to play competitive D1 golf.”

SNJGA partners with Athlos to help with college recruiting process