For a while now, Europeans have been coming to the States in large numbers to attend prep schools and play college sports.

Because of the distance, it’s harder for many to get the information, and make the connections, needed for a good decision. Many rely on information and advice from European professional sports agents. This can be a problem.

Let’s look at one recent example.

A young man from Scandinavia with mid-level D1 talent and excellent grades and test scores wants to play in the States. He ends up getting his guidance from a professional sports agent. The agent has ulterior motives. He guides the player to a school that’s academically much lower than his grades and test scores would have otherwise earned him. Compounding the issue, the player redshirts a year, in order to have a better chance of getting any significant playing time.

You could say everything worked out fine. After all, a lot of parents and players would be happy to have that opportunity. The problem is, there were two better scenarios. Both were presented to the agent, who wouldn’t even present them to the player and his family. Why? They didn’t suit the agent’s motives – getting clients in exchange for guiding the player to a college. Here’s what should have happened.

The player should have been guided to a college with world class academics consistent with his previous academic achievements, where he could have still played at the same D1 level. Better still, he should have been guided to prep school.

Here are some of the benefits he would have gotten out of prep school:

• Another year of physical, academic and athletic maturity
• Much greater awareness of the college options available to him
• A dozen or more offers all better than the one he took
• More time and opportunity to explore those options (schools visits, etc.)
• A college that was a much better fit
• Reduced need to redshirt in college
• Reduced chances of sitting the bench in college
• Increased chance of excelling in college

All of these benefits were available without losing any eligibility or spending any significant money.

We understand it’s not a perfect world, but this isn’t twenty-twenty hindsight either. This is where we can help.