Helping families win the college scholarship game

The world of college athletic scholarships is not just a one-way street.

Sure, the big time, Division I football programs will find the stars sooner or later. But what about the remaining diamonds in the rough?

A way to get ahead is to send in a video highlight reel. But it can’t just be any amateur video. It has to be professionally done, with the right length, information and look.

That’s where the simply named Athletic Scholarship Help venture, based in Hockessin, comes in. The local business has been operating for about a year, and it’s starting to get results for high school student athletes interested in playing at the next level for various sports, founder David Gilardi said. More than half of the 60 athletes that worked with the ASH team have received either a scholarship, official visits, invites to special camps or positive responses from collegiate coaches.

“Penn State and all the Division I football and basketball – the high profile, money making programs – have a recruiting staff,” said Gilardi, of Hockessin. “Then you have DII and DIII and your secondary sports – golf, tennis, baseball, and they just don’t have the resources and manpower.”

In addition to a highlight reel, Athletic Scholarship Help teaches student athletes to study the programs they are interested in, talk to the coach and former athletes from those programs and, basically, go after the job, Gilardi said.

The highlight reel that Athletic Scholarship Help puts together contains a still shot of the athlete, an academic run down, the teams he has played for and the positions he has played, Gilardi said. The student introduces himself and talks about where he went to school, etc., so the coach can get a sense of whom he’s dealing with. Then, there are six to eight minutes of the athlete in game action.

“There’s drills you can conduct for each sport to show the skills, speed and power of the athlete,” Gilardi said.

And the business is careful to keep things honest with college coaches, who have no patience for inflated body dimensions of players or exaggerated speed and strength, director of sales Lou Calvarese said.

“We personally weigh them and get their height,” Calvarese said. "Then, we time them in events and that footage is captured on the DVD. It’s not like we say, they ran a 4.2 40. A good eye can tell. We would never exaggerate. That would be a one-and-done.”

Athletic Scholarship Help has charged clients between $99 to $1,300, depending on how much handing holding is involved, said Calvarese, a banker for 23 years with MBNA and for three years with Bank of America. The average fee is $400.

At the recommendation of a friend, Rose Coffiey and her husband hired Athletic Scholarship Help because their son Nick has excelled in football and wrestling at Delaware Military Academy. They have sent a football highlight reel to half a dozen Division I & II colleges.

“Some of the schools have given us feedback that the tape is great, asking where did we get it from,” said Coffiey, of Woodcrest. “I think we’ll end up doing one for wrestling.”

Jim Strum, of Hockessin, hired the firm for his son, Harrison, a senior at St. Mark’s High School and a member of the Spartans’ state championship baseball team. Harrison also plays for Delaware Rage.

“You have to be more aggressive in today’s environment,” Strum said. “It’s a difficult process that requires work by the athlete and parents. They paint a realistic picture.
They’re doing a very professional job and educating the parent who may just think their son or daughter will get noticed and scholarships will come pouring in the door.”