Leading off today: Free advice found on the Internet -- as this blog sometimes proves -- often isn't worth much more that what you (didn't) pay for it. But that's not to say there aren't exceptions that really make a person sit up and take notice.
One such instance reared its head courtesy of Milesplit.com, which offered some excellent first-person advice on college recruiting. The column was written by Rob Bethmann of Arlington, Texas, based on the recent experiences surrounding the recruitment of his son Cade, a quality two-lapper and miler who signed with Ole Miss last November,
Bethmann was speaking specifically of track and field, but what he wrote applies to all the non-revenue sports -- i.e., the ones with far fewer scholarships than actual roster spots -- and a lot of it also applies to basketball and football, where full rides are the rule rather than the exception.
If you're a young athlete on a Division I or II trajectory or are the parent of that young person, there's a lot of valuable advice. A few highlights:
• It should be the athlete and not the parents driving the process when it comes to making initial contact with schools via email or telephone because the coach-athlete relationship will be the key dynamic before and after enrollment.
• Even if college coaches cannot call a recruit until July 1 after the junior year, there are lines of communication that can and should be opened sooner.
• School staff will start scrutinizing social media behavior sooner than you think.
• There's a good reason to keep pen and paper next to the phone beginning July 1.
• There's also a reason why the high school coach can be especially valuable during home visits by recruiters.
The column is among the best I've seen done on the subject in awhile. You can read it here in its entirety.
Off the West Point: Cardinal Hayes quarterback Christian Anderson will enroll in the U.S. Military Academy later this year following a senior season of historic proportions.
Anderson threw for 3,653 yards and 37 touchdowns last fall en route to a slew of honors that will include NYSSWA all-state recognition next week.
Coming up: The top seven teams in Division I according to the newest New York State Sportswriters Association wrestling ratings will compete this weekend at the Union-Endicott Duals.
Hilton, Long Beach, Monroe-Woodbury, Rocky Point, Fairport, Minisink Valley and Massapequa will be joined by No. 10 Wantagh, No. 15 Fulton and a pair of ranked Division II teams -- No. 1 Mattituck and No. 9 Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton/Harpursville.
John Jay Cross River, Farmingdale, Brockport, Brentwood and U-E round out the field.
Basketball progress: The new boys basketball rankings were posted this morning, and last week's string of losses by Class A's top five teams made figuring out an order
