Madison Business Specializes In Guidance, Advice To Student Athletes

If you are a student and an athlete, do you pick your college for its academic potential, because of the coach, or just because you liked it when you stepped on campus? Experts would probably say all of the above, but in reality the process of sorting through the different factors is complex for any high school student, and becomes somewhat more complex when sports is thrown into the mix.

Steps 4 Success is a Madison based business that provides guidance and assistance to families along the shoreline with the increasingly complex college planning and selection process. Their specialty is working with student-athletes where the college planning and selection process extends into the student-athlete recruiting process.

Madison residents and business owners Teg Cosgriff and Arlene Salvati collectively offer more than 55 years of educational, athletic, coaching and counseling experience at both the collegiate and high school level.

Tell me a little about your business. How long have you been in business? How did you and Arlene get started with this?

We have been in business for over three years. Based upon our professional experiences and much parental feedback we recognized that there was a need for enhancing opportunities provided to the student and family in navigating the college planning and selection process and even more so for the student-athlete in the recruiting process.

You have a workshop series coming up; can you tell me about that?

 Steps 4 Success is sponsoring a FREE monthly workshop series for parents and students in grades 7 – 11 to touch upon some of the main components families and students should be thinking about in the College Planning and Selection Process.

This event is open to the public but requires an RSVP. It starts Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm with "Getting Started – Where do I begin?" Other workshops include:

•  Tuesday, March 8, 2011, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Recruiting – Knowing the rules & the process
• Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Marketing – Creating & Promoting your Brand with the school & coaches

The workshops will be at Power-Phone, lower level, 1324 Boston Post Road, Madison, Next to Dunkin Donuts. Please RSVP via email to teg@steps4success-sa.com as seating is limited.

Have you found there is a need for this kind of service in Madison?

The feedback has been terrific along the shoreline. Families are confused as to how the college selection process works in particular for student athletes. With the ever increasing competitiveness of the application process of when to start, of what direction to proceed in, how to find the best college/university and how to make the most of the student athlete’s talent; parents are confused and want guidance and advice for their child.

How soon should parents start planning for college? What are some important first steps?

First of all college costs continue to rise. As a result, from a financial standpoint parents need to think about saving and planning for college from day one. Parents must foster an environment that promotes a love of learning and achievement. With this approach parents will ensure that their children are able to learn and succeed with the abilities they have been provided with.

 Academically and developmentally progress needs to be monitored throughout preschool and elementary grades. As you approach seventh and eighth grade begin paying attention to the classes your child is taking so they are challenged.

 From an athletics perspective keep your child active and involved in activities that they wish to pursue. We believe from our experience and substantial feedback from high end collegiate coaches that students involved in multiple sports and not specializing in sports until much later in high school will be better prepared for the college recruiting process.

Is the college planning process different for a promising athlete than for other students?

Not really.  The base of the planning process should be the same for all students – how do I define my right fit?

• Academics
• Social
• Location
• Other important factors

 The student-athlete needs to select a school based upon those factors to the point that if for some unfortunate reason their sport has been taken away from them they can still see themselves staying at that school, enjoying the experience and succeeding both academically and socially.

After all students determine their core selection criteria and priorities they can then hone in on the athletic aspects of the planning and selection process.

If someone is the parent of a college senior, is it too late to benefit from your advice?

Not at all. Many families at this time still find themselves behind the eight ball and need to play a little catch-up and we can help them get caught up. This is also the time of year where the family and senior student now have a bunch of information and need to make tough decisions and they are confused. We can help them sift through the data, accumulated information and feedback and help them organize their priorities and goals so that they can reach the best decision possible for their child and situation.

What are your top three tips for parents of freshman?

• Make sure you are taking the right courses
• Set academic goals setting you up to be successful from the start
• Get involved in your school and community

Of sophomores?

• Begin building a resume 
• Develop a general list of schools based upon your current academic, social, and extracurricular activities.
• Athletically pursue camp and club team opportunities to continue your development and exposure
• Summer after sophomore year begin touring some campuses.

Of juniors?

• Develop a more targeted list of schools
• Prepare for standardized testing
• Athletically begin contacting schools and coaches you that you have an interest in
• Many campus visits, set-up interviews etc.
• Athletically, get to camps and showcases that make sense for your interests and ability

Of seniors?

• Begin application process in summer prior to senior year
• Complete your essay
• Complete college visits and campus tours
• Maintain or improve academic achievement and continue to take a challenging course load