My oldest son was a gifted athlete: a top-ten baseball player who was being scouted by DI colleges. Of course, as his parent, my husband and I were very excited about the future for our son. A baseball scholarship… Please! What we didn’t know was that playing and getting good grades was not enough. What we found out, in the second semester of our son’s senior year of high school, in a letter from the NCAA Clearinghouse, was that our son needed much more then that! Unfortunately, for our son, it was not enough time to get everything we needed to get done in order for him to qualify for the scholarship. In the end, our son’s chances for a scholarship was crushed… his dream a wash. Why? Because we had a coach who knew, but chose not to tell: and, we as his parents lacked the knowledge.

There are a lot of student-athletes who dream of playing their sport at the college level: who are good enough in their sport and good enough in the classroom to do so. But, for many of these student-athletes, their chances for making it are not left up to them. It is left up to the uninformed parent who lacks the right information, resources, and finances: the counselor who doesn’t know, or who knows, but chooses not to tell: and the coaches who chooses for them. There is a huge disconnect between what these coaches/counselors know, and what information is imparted to the student-athlete. Especially when we are dealing with disadvantaged and underrepresented student-athletes who are not afforded the same opportunities and information as other student-athletes.

That is where The Right Fit (TRF) comes in. TRF looks to bridge that gap: to make this information available. The information is out there, but if you do not know where to look, and what to look for, then the information is useless. TRF is looking to change that by making the TRF Guide to Sports and College available to all student athletes who has a dream. The bonus is that this guide is also a wealth of information for the high school student who looks to go to college as well.

TRF tested this guide at an AAU Middle School/High School Girls Basketball Skills Camp. The workshop was presented to the athletes and their parents the first day of camp. The guide was well received by both athletes and parents, and all agreed that the information was useful. It was also not a surprise that none of the parents or student-athletes was aware of what was required of them to get to college on a scholarship, and sadly, for two of the athletes, it may have been too late.

TRF does not plan on stopping there. TRF will offer scholarships for student-athletes: workshops, tools, and resources, to give every student-athlete whose circumstances said it is impossible and unattainable… possible and attainable!