A Reminder of Everything Available Through The Student-Athlete Advisors

When we started The Student-Athlete Advisors, the basic idea was pretty straightforward: student-athletes deserve better information when making one of the biggest decisions of their lives.

That is still at the center of what we do. But over time, the resources available through The Student-Athlete Advisors have grown quite a bit. Today, we work directly with families, partner with independent educational consultants and school counselors, provide programming for schools and organizations, offer online courses, publish regular recruiting and college sports content, speak to groups around the country, and even have a podcast.

So, we thought it might be a good time for a reminder of everything that is available.

Start With the Free Content

One of our goals has always been to make quality information accessible, whether someone ultimately works with one of our advisors or not.

The SAA blog has become a big part of that effort. We regularly cover recruiting rules, NCAA eligibility changes, the transfer portal, NIL, scholarships, emerging sports, college athletics legislation, and broader issues affecting student-athletes. We also try to talk about subjects that can easily get lost in the recruiting conversation, including college affordability, finding the right academic and athletic fit, communicating with coaches, and understanding what life as a college athlete actually looks like.

Recent articles have covered NCAA changes to official visits, potential recruiting opportunities created by changes in men’s soccer, how to stay on a coach’s radar without overdoing communication, women’s flag football recruiting, NIL outside Division I, and the ongoing changes to college sports legislation.

We also offer a free College Athletics Recruiting Playbook covering Recruiting 101, important dates, rules, scholarships, coach communication, and commitments. It is a great starting point for families trying to understand what they are getting themselves into.

Now You Can Listen, Too

This fall we also launched The Student-Athlete Advisors Podcast, giving us another way to have longer conversations about issues we think matter to families and counselors.

The first few episodes have allowed us to dig into subjects that deserve more than a quick social media post. Our third episode, for example, featured a conversation with Joe Messinger of Capstone Wealth Partners about paying for college, understanding true affordability, and why families should never assume athletic scholarship money will automatically make a college financially realistic.

That is exactly what we want the podcast to become: another place for thoughtful conversations about the entire student-athlete experience, including recruiting, academics, finances, college fit, and the rapidly changing world of college sports.

The Recruiting Insider Membership

For people who want to go deeper than the free content, we created the Recruiting Insider Membership.

This has become one of my favorite SAA resources because it fills an important gap. Not every family needs full-service recruiting consulting. Not every counselor needs to become a recruiting expert. But a lot of people want access to reliable information and experienced advisors when questions come up.

The Recruiting Insider provides new content each month, weekly members-only office hours, a private resource hub, monthly insider briefings, real-time mentorship and coaching, and discounts on SAA courses.

The resource library includes recruiting timelines and education, coach communication templates, recruiting video guidance, scholarship and college financing information, parent and advisor resources, and other materials our team has developed through years of working with student-athletes.

For $15 per month or $150 per year, the goal is to provide a middle ground between trying to figure everything out from Google and hiring an individual advisor.

Want to Learn the Whole Process? Take a Course

We have also continued expanding our online education.

For counselors and IECs, our flagship Advising the College-Bound Student-Athlete course includes eight modules and more than 70 lessons covering everything from eligibility and financial options to recruiting communication, camps, campus visits, list building, and commitments.

We also offer sport-specific counselor education for professionals who want to better understand how recruiting changes from one sport to another. After all, advising a baseball recruit is different from advising a golfer, lacrosse player, volleyball player, or track athlete.

Families have their own options as well. Our self-paced recruiting courses are designed for parents and student-athletes who want to manage recruiting themselves but would like an actual roadmap. The courses combine video instruction, quizzes, downloadable resources, sport-specific information, coach communication strategies, recruiting timelines, exposure methods, campus visit guidance, and information about commitments and alternative pathways.

The goal is simple: if you want to DIY recruiting, you should still have access to good instructions.

Bring SAA to Your School, Organization, or Community

Another part of SAA that people sometimes forget about is our presentations.

Our team regularly speaks to schools, counselor groups, clubs, professional organizations, and other communities about college athletics and recruiting. We can provide our broader Athletics 101 presentation or build more focused sessions around topics like NCAA eligibility, NIL, sport-specific recruiting, or another issue particularly relevant to an audience.

Virtual presentations are available throughout the year, and in-person programming can also be arranged.

Over the years, SAA members have presented for or appeared with organizations and communities including IECA, HECA, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, school communities, podcasts, educational organizations, and numerous other groups.

If your school or organization has student-athletes asking recruiting questions, we are happy to help create a presentation that makes sense for your community.

And, Of Course, You Can Work Directly With Us

All of these resources complement what remains at the heart of SAA: working directly with student-athletes.

Our advisors work with families throughout the college admissions and recruiting process, helping students understand their opportunities, build appropriate college lists, navigate coach communication, understand recruiting rules, and ultimately find schools that fit both academically and athletically.

We also work alongside IECs and school counselors who want specialized athletic recruiting expertise without handing their students off to a completely separate process. For schools and larger organizations, we can provide webinars, customized programming, and recruiting education that fits within an existing college counseling program.

Our team brings more than 50 combined years of experience to that work, with backgrounds as college athletes, coaches, educational consultants, and advisors.

Use What Helps You

That might be the most important reminder.

You do not have to become a full consulting client to benefit from The Student-Athlete Advisors.

Read the blog. Listen to the podcast. Download the free recruiting playbook. Join the Recruiting Insider for a month and come to office hours. Take an online course. Send a counselor one of our articles. Bring us in to speak to your school or club. Or, if you decide your family needs more individualized support, reach out to one of our advisors.

College recruiting is complicated enough already. Our job is to make reliable information easier to find and experienced guidance easier to access.

However much help you need, there is probably a place to start.