The often controversial subject of club sports and other key issues facing young athletes were discussed Monday night at Laguna Blanca’s Merovick Gym as part of an event titled “Navigating High School Sports and College Recruitment.”
The 4-person panel of experts there to speak about successful sports careers were Olympic gold medalist Todd Rogers, UCSB men’s soccer coach Tim Vom Steeg, Westmont women’s basketball assistant coach Meghan Gnekow and UCSB water polo coach John Abdou.
Rogers and Vom Steeg were both coaches at Laguna Blanca in the 1990s, and Abdou is currently the school’s AP Psychology teacher.
Young student-athletes in grades 7-12 and their parents asked questions about whether it is important to invest in club sports, what the important features of a recruiting video are and more.
Rogers, a father of two young athletes, expressed his opinion that playing on a club team can result in an athlete burning out on that particular sport, and can also take away from opportunities to play multiple sports. However, he recently became a club parent due to his daughter’s wish to play and admits that it is important from a recruiting standpoint.
Abdou and Vom Steeg said that they spend the vast majority of their recruiting time at club tournaments, where they can see numerous potential recruits play multiple games in a short amount of time. Games between school teams, on the other hand, often feature just one or two potential college players. All panelists, however, expressed the important values to be gained from the high school sports experience.
Abdou also made a key point about the importance of being proactive for athletes who would like to play at the next level.
“Lots of people expect the limo to pull up and just offer them admission and a scholarship, but unless you’re in the top 1% of recruits it’s not going to be like that,” he said. “You need to reach out to the coaches and contact them directly. You need to be a strong advocate for yourself.”
The evening was the second of the 4-part “Think Now” speaker series hosted by Laguna Blanca. The next event, “4-Year Countdown to College”, will feature admissions experts talking about how to get a head start in the college planning process.
Visit lagunablanca.org for more information.
