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Anthony Smith Steffen Guenzel ENC 1101-11 11/19/13

Senior Recruits: Are you a gem or a bust? A discourse community is a group of people who have the same expectations toward a similar goal, have the same system of sharing information, share the same knowledge and criticism, use the same types of texts, have their own terminology, and have different levels of knowledge or prestige. Having been a member of the high school football recruit discourse community, I now know all the steps it takes to becoming the best recruit you can be. I have seen the positives and the negatives from many different football recruits. Do not think for a second just because you are the most athletically gifted prospect in the country, that you will automatically receive a full scholarship to a prestigious division one college football team and attend their University. If you truly want to maximize your ability to advertise your talents on AND off the field, it is highly recommended to listen to what I have to say about the positive gem discourse community and also how to avoid the negative bust discourse community. In my graduating class alone, I had 7 teammates go to major division one programs to play college football on full scholarships. The 7 gifted players were seen as gem prospects by recruiters for their on and off field abilities. Needless to say we had about 3 more players who had the same potential to go division one, but they were black listed by recruiters because of off field issues. I would consider these 3 potential division one prospects to be a part of the discourse community known as busts. A bust is known as an athlete with exceptional potential to be a

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good football player, but is ultimately limited because they can be considered un-coachable for specified reasons. Among the 3 players, they either had issues with grades, behavior, or egos. When being recruited, the first thing a scout will look for is character and how you carry yourself outside of football. No scout will approach a player who does not try to succeed in school and only focuses on football. Education is the most important factor in recruiting because if you cannot meet the NCAAs requirements, you will not be able to play. Thus making you a waste of a scholarship to the program, which no coach will tolerate. Behavior is another major trait in which scouts look for. Nobody wants a trouble maker on their team. College coaches do not tolerate players that have disciplinary issues. If a player gets in trouble a certain amount of times, coaches will void the players scholarship and give it to a more deserving up and coming recruit. Finally, scouts tend to stay away from egotistical players. Coaches see these kind of players who are bad apples to the team because they tend to bring all the attention to them for the wrong reasons. First and foremost, if you want to avoid being a part of the bust discourse community, avoid portraying yourself as an egotistical, uneducated, football jock. Be humble, get good grades, and take nothing for granted. As opposed to the bust discourse community, the gem discourse community consists of very athletically gifted, hard-working, coachable players with class. Of the 7 teammates that I had the opportunity to play alongside, none were perfect prospects. There is no such thing as a prospect. Everyone makes mistakes, but the way they handled their mistakes is what made them a part of the gem discourse community. If a penalty didnt go their way they didnt argue and point fingers. Instead, they looked toward improving on the next play from scrimmage to contribute towards a team victory. A typical person in the

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gem discourse community shows leadership, knows how to handle the spotlight, and can clearly distinguish themselves from other players on the football field. Leadership is a major component in being a member of the gem discourse community. When being recruited, scouts will notice the smallest details. Scouts will notice if you are towards the front of the pack during sprints in practice like a gem should be. In the game they will look to see if you do not take plays off. And after the game where you may be interviewed, scouts will listen to see if you credit yourself more than you do your coaches and teammates who helped you win. One thing one of my former 3 teammates who did not get a scholarship could have done better was to improve his leadership skills. Scouts avoided him because he was a follower of the wrong crowd. He was always around kids who did not play sports and always got into trouble which ultimately got him into trouble as well. I suggest surrounding yourself with a positive crowd and taking lead in anything you can to avoid this situation that can make you a member of the bust community. If you want to be above the average recruit, show your leadership skills on and off the field to truly attract a scouts attention. With success comes fame. In todays society, high school recruits are now having the opportunity to play on national television networks such as ESPN! Believe that while your friends and family are watching you perform with the media in your face, coaches and scouts are watching as well. When being interviewed or performing in a public setting, just do your job and everything will work out in your favor. One of my 3 un-coachable teammates from the bust discourse community struggled with the media. We played 7 games on national television throughout high school and each one, he constantly brought attention to himself with silly hand gestures and other unnecessary antics in front of the cameras. A division one program that plays

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on National TV every weekend from August to January would never tolerate that type of ego. When being questioned and watched by the media, act like you have been in the situation before. Doing your job on the field first, answering questions afterwards with class, and remembering to stay humble are traits of a member in the gem discourse community. If you want to become a member of the gem discourse community you must make yourself stand out from other players in a positive way. When in practice, be the first to take the field and the last to leave it. During game time, run to the ball at all times whether it is near you or not. After the game, be the first in line to shake your opponents hand to show good sportsmanship. These are all qualities scouts love to see in a recruit. It shows that your character is just as good as your athletic ability. Another one of the 3 bust recruits on my team struggled with his work ethic more than anything and it cost him a scholarship. He was extremely athletic and had good grades but he constantly skipped football workouts and practices. As a result, his playing time was cut. He could not showcase his skills as much as he wanted to and scouts never got to witness his full potential on the field. They refused to offer him a scholarship because he hated to improve. It may not be the easiest of tasks, but in the end when you have a scholarship to your dream school, it will all be worth it. Do your best to be different in the most positive way. For my conclusion, I would just like to provide a little accountability and reliability about my experience with the gem and bust discourse communities. I graduated from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, the high school that has produced the most active NFL football players since 2008 with 10. STA football is also associated with 2 hall of famers. Chris Carter, a coach of the STA football staff. And Michael Irvin, a former student-athlete at Saint Thomas Aquinas

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High School. All of which I would consider to be a part of the gem discourse community. For the record, the chances of making it to the NFL while being a high school prospect is less than one percent. Multiple NFL players come to train in the offseason at Saint Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida every year. Ive had the chance to speak to a few such as Cam Newton, Devin Hester, Giovanni Bernard, Major Wright, and others. My experience has not only been with players who shared their advice about the recruiting process in high school, but also by some of the coaches that do the recruiting. Such a prestigious school routinely attracted legendary coaches such as Bobby Bowden, Urban Meyer, and even Nick Saban who have all won multiple National Championships in recent years. As you have read, I have been around the best of the best in the recruiting process and I have also witnessed many gifted players become members of the bust discourse community. I just wanted to share my ideas to help up and coming recruits improve their ideas of how to be a good recruit.