Borrowers who obsess about interest rates are getting it wrong

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Can you focus on the recruiting process and the football season at the same time?

If you read about any of the athletes throughout the country that have made their college decision within the last few weeks, a major thing that stands out when they talk about it is that they wanted to be able to focus on their senior season of football.  And in many cases, the high school coaches actually prefer athletes coming to a decision so that their focus can be on the high school season.

The problem is that for many athletes, not all of them are 100% sure where they want to continue their football career in college.  And if the coach is rushing them to a decision, it could actually lead to a decommit later in the fall and open up a difficult process for the athlete.  So the question is can you as an athlete be able to focus on both the football season and the recruiting process at the same time during the fall?

My answer is that you can but it can be extremely difficult.  If you are confident about your decision and know where you want to go, it really may be worth it to end the recruiting process before the season gets underway.  The reason is that it alleviates the stress and burden that you have from answering calls, practicing, doing homework, and trying to lead a normal life of a high school senior.

If you decide to put the football season in front of the recruiting process, there may be areas that you can hurt yourself when it comes to recruiting.  For example, you may decide to skip the game visits on Saturday so that you can watch game tape with your teammates.  While going to these games unofficially will not get you a scholarship offer, it will give you a great feel for what the atmosphere of game day is all about.  No matter who you talk to or what you see on television, actually being there is vital to get a feel for what it is like on those wild Saturdays at the school.

The second thing to talk about is your numbers.  This may sound selfish but if you put the team before the recruiting process, you may agree with your coach about playing out of position.  Not only will this hurt your numbers, it may be harder to get college coaches to watch your early game tapes when you are playing a position they are not recruiting you at.  This makes it difficult for even the best evaluators to get a feel for your future position.  And watching it on tape is not going to be easy.

Dedicating yourself to the season and putting recruiting in the background will also help you with nerves.  For example, most recruits send out game film from the first two or three games of their senior season.  If you are focused on the season and helping your team win, then you won’t be nervous about how you played in a certain portion of the tape.  You just have to worry about going out, giving it 100%, and going from there.  The recruiting will take care of itself later on.

If you decide to put the recruiting process in front of the football season, there is a good chance that you are going to get some teammates not happy with you as a person.  The majority of high school football players are not good enough to go on to the college level and want to make the most of every prep game they have left in their career.  And if you are focusing on yourself instead of the team, and they realize that, I can promise you they are not going to be thrilled.

Putting the recruiting process on top of everything may make you a ball of nerves and someone who cannot relax.  Your biggest concern is impressing college coaches and getting a scholarship offer/offers that you don’t worry about how the team does.  If you can rush for 150 yards and three touchdowns and the team losses, does it make that much of a difference to you?  In my opinion, no.

What you need to do is find a balance between the two.  You need to help your team win ball games first.  The better the team does, the better it makes you look and gives you the potential to showcase your skills in front of college coaches at State.  You also need to speak with your coach that you want to do everything you can to help the team win but you are also worried about recruiting.  Be honest and open with him about it (And try not to sound selfish while doing it).

To help yourself in the recruiting process during that final year of prep football, you really do need to make it clear what you hope to get out of it.  But at the same time, you want to make sure you are not putting recruiting ahead of helping your team win ball games.  Balance is the key here.

 

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Scholarships breed other scholarships and why college coaches are afraid to be the first to pull the trigger

I probably sound like a broken record for those that read this site frequently but scholarship offers breed other scholarship offers.  I have seen this a countless amount of times over the years and just saw it recently.  That is why I am writing today’s article but also I want to talk once again about the importance of broadcasting your attention as well.

For the thousandth time, the reason that it is a must to broadcast your scholarship offers is to make other coaches aware of you and your abilities.  If you have proven to a Division I-A football coach that you are scholarship worthy, I can promise that other schools at the Division I-A level will take a longer look at you.  They know you have an offer so you must have shown something to them that says you can play at this level.

The most recent story behind this article is of a football player who had spent his summer busy at a variety of camps across the country.  This player made sure to get out and play in front of a wide range of coaches to evaluate his skills.  And since most of the schools recruiting him had a chance to see him play, it should have been enough to evaluate him.

He did well enough early in the summer to add two Division I-AA/FCS scholarship offers.  While getting these are nothing to sneeze at, this player had higher expectations and wanted more than that.  So late in the summer, this athlete attended a one day camp at an in-state school that was recruiting him.  His performance was good enough to end up with a scholarship offer on the table.  This was his first in-state offer as well as first major offer at this point.

Another school in the same conference that he had been evaluated by pulled the trigger the following day with a scholarship offer.  The first question that goes through my head is why wait?  Do these coaches not trust their evaluation skills enough to be the first major school to offer him?

What sucks about this situation is that it happens at all levels, all over the country, and in all sports.  Only a small number of college coaches are confident enough about their evaluations skills to offer an athlete and not care who else has offered previously.

The football coaches at the University of Iowa have proven that they will compete against MAC and smaller schools every year for recruits that they consider diamonds in the rough.  Many of these players have panned out for the Hawks but the coaches do take some flack on the message boards for extending them early offers.  The reason is simply because Ohio and Kent State may be their only offers but they trust their skills a great deal.  Iowa was also able to pull an athlete late in the process whose only offer at the time was Western Illinois.  How many staffs really would do that?

Anyways, in the eyes of someone who follows the recruiting process, this entire situation is extremely frustrating.  If the recruit mentioned earlier would have gotten sick after a long summer or decided to skip the camp, he would just be sitting with two offers and interest from other programs.  Now he has four total offers, two major scholarships, and some serious interest from other Division I-A programs because of these new offers.

So why do coaches do this?  The first reason is because deciding that an athlete is good enough to play at your level is difficult.  I don’t care if you have been a coach there for thirty years, it is never easy.  They may have the height, strength, and size to play at your level but may be lazy.  They could also have a bad attitude that the high school coaches warn you about.  There are a number of reasons, and while they are valid, it is frustrating for athletes.

I wish if a school thought highly of athletes, they would just pull the trigger with a scholarship.  Instead they play this game that makes it really tough for athletes to fully understand where they sit in the recruiting process.  This is unfortunately part of the process and shows more than ever that the athletic recruiting process for any sport is a business.

As an athlete, keep working hard and have good grades.  Do a solid job marketing yourself and working to put your abilities in the eyes of college coaches.  If you do that, then the decision is up to the college coaches recruiting you.

 

 

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Two things that will spark football recruiting interest during the fall for seniors

In the minds of most athletes and especially their parents, the way to improve your stock in the eyes of college coaches and get recruited by a number of big schools as a senior is to put together a great senior season.  I have heard this from countless players that they are focusing on the season and will let the recruiting take care of itself.  But even if you have an Elite All State season as well as break numerous State and school records, that doesn’t mean it will help you in the recruiting process all that much.

In my opinion for seniors, there are two things that will really spark your overall football recruiting interest at the highest levels.  Because these schools have already worked ahead and know what players they are going to recruit, a great senior year won’t cut it.  So with that in mind, find out what two things could really spark your overall recruiting.

I came up with these two things simply by following the recruiting process of a school in the Big 12.  This program has had a lot of success over the last decade and that includes multiple finishes in the top 10 poll at the end of the season.  And although this may vary by college, I can promise you that most schools do thing this way (especially at the BCS/Division I-A level).

Getting that first offer
I say this all the time but scholarship offers breed other scholarship offers.  The reason is because college coaches evaluate a prospect who has received an offer from a school at their level (especially if they are a conference rival) longer than one that doesn’t have any offers on the table.  Opposing college coaches don’t want to be the one that let a future All American slip out of their home state.  So if Tennessee knows that Auburn has offered an in-state prospect, I am willing to bet a lot of money that the Vols will make damn sure that they have studied film and done a background check on him.

This is the exact reason why I have always stressed to broadcast your overall recruiting attention.  You need to have people in the media that can make sure that word will get out that State University has offered a scholarship.  Once Out of State University knows, they are certainly going to take a longer look.  The good thing is you can also sell this Division I offer on your recruiting profile as well.

Going back to the Big 12 school I mentioned above, over the last five years, I can only remember them offering three kids at this point in the recruiting process who attended their camp. The reason that they eventually offered two of them (I will talk about the third soon) is because they received another offer from a school at a similar level. Once that happened, the Big 12 school basically realized that they didn’t have much of a choice. It was either offer him or let him go.

Seeing other prospects at your position commit elsewhere (or even decommit)

If you are really a recruiting junkie and follow the football recruiting process very in-depth, you can watch the domino process of what happens when a high profile recruit commits to a school. The position that it is easiest to follow is at quarterback simply because most schools take at least one quarterback every year or two.

Take a high profile like the #1 rated lineman in the country. This senior is listed by Rivals.com as having a top six of Florida, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and USC. In this hypothetical situation, just say that the athlete picks Florida and they fill their offensive line commitments for this class and are done recruiting there. But there are still five other schools trying to figure out their number situation. Minnesota and Notre Dame have other lineman that they really like and with their top target gone, they decide to offer a recruit that they have ranked as a B (as opposed to the As they had offered earlier). Ohio State doesn’t like who they have left on their board so they decide to bank the scholarship at this point. Oklahoma and USC loved this athlete but didn’t need a lineman so they use their scholarship for another position.

The crazy thing about this story is that it happens all the time, it is just hard to follow unless you have inside access to the college coaches. If you have attended a camp, visited the school, and know that they like you but they haven’t offered, then there is a good chance that you could be a B, C, or D recruit. You may need a few breaks with other prospects picking elsewhere to get a scholarship from that school, regardless how good you look on your senior tape. Yes, some schools may be wowed by that tape but this usually means very little from a school that has already seen you.

I do always try to stress that if you are a senior and if the schools recruiting you haven’t offered yet, then you need to broaden your search and look for other programs. The reason is because unless the dominoes fall your way, then likely will get a walk-on at most from that school.

It really does suck for recruits out there but outside of finding new schools, these are the two major ways to spark recruiting interest from programs that are currently showing you interest. Start looking outside your immediate area and find programs that could be a better fit. You may find a school that is perfect for you or an offer from a new school may lead to a scholarship from one close to home.

 

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Second + Main – Plans, Prices, Availability

At a Glance

• located at the gateway to Mount Pleasant
• 12-storey mixed-use concrete building
• 226 residences
• 13,000 sq ft commercial space
• 3,500 sq ft artist production space
• 226 residences
• public plaza & cultural space
• walking distance to Olympic Village
• numerous nearby craft breweries

Where Life Intersects

Create Properties brings you 226 smartly-crafted homes, where vibrant culture and community connect at the centre of the City.

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Pricing for Second + Main
This project is currently in its pre-construction phase. Pricing has not yet been made public. For priority access to updates on Second + Main, signing up to our VIP list is strongly recommended.

Floor Plans for Second + Main
Finalized floor plans have not yet been released for this development’s 226 residential units. A mix of 23 studios, 145 1-bedrooms, and 58 2-bedrooms has been proposed. Interested buyers should contact me to discuss plans, prices, and availability.

Amenities at Second + Main
Second + Main has been designed around an outdoor public plaza to give it a maximum amount of sunlight throughout the year. A 3,500 sq ft artist production space fronting East 3rd Avenue is also linked to the courtyard to offer opportunities for cultural programming. A fitness room with an adjoining outdoor patio is located on Level 8. Level 12 features an amenity space with a large outdoor patio that includes two communal tables and a children’s play area. A green roof will also provide residents with garden plots and storage for gardening supplies.

Parking and Storage
Second + Main will provide 297 underground parking spaces, including 48 with electric vehicle charging stations, 19 for visitors, nine handicap, 35 commercial stalls, and four for artist studios. Two Class A loading bays are located underground, while three Class B loading bays are located at grade for residential, artist studio, and retail uses. Secure underground bicycle storage will be available with 329 Class A stalls. Another 12 Class B bicycle stalls are at grade.

Maintenance Fees at Second + Main
Details included with final pricing information.

Developer Team for Second + Main
Create Properties is a Vancouver-based development company dedicated to building exciting places to live, work, and play. By bringing their international finance, development, and construction management expertise together with the finest consultants and partners Vancouver has to offer, they work with the best to Create the best.

Expected Completion for Second + Main
To be announced

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Cashew-Banana Bread French Toast with Whip

It is 5pm in the afternoon and a day-old loaf of super yummy whole grain crusty loaf is calling my name. French Toast! I don't know why, but I had been dreaming of this creation all day and of course, 5pm seemed like the perfect time to whip it up, photoshoot it and get it ready for posting before the weekend so you guys can try it for brunch! This Banana Bread French Toast with Coconut Whip and Cashews is super dreamy. It takes very simple (easy!) banana french toast and turns it into something that looks restaurant-ready. If I ever open my own little cafe, this dish is definitely going on the menu! Get the recipe ahead, and happy brunching! (Or breakfast-for-dinner-ing...)...Read more »

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Proving recruiting experts from Rivals and Scout wrong when it comes to player rankings

The Morning Call recently had an article talking about how the best recruits in the country do not always end up being the most productive at the college level. Having college coaches all over the country offering you, fans hoping that you will come to their school, and getting high reviews from recruiting experts from Scout, Rivals, ESPN is great but it does not mean you are going to be a sure fire NFL draft pick.

In a lot of cases though, the top rated recruits do have more tools to be able to get to the next level. Their size, speed, strength, and things of that nature after being fine tuned by college coaches could be exactly what NFL scouts want down the road. But it doesn’t always work that way. The article I mentioned above specifically talks about Penn State and their recruits, both with high and low rankings.

The two players that were often mentioned in the article were wide receivers One walked on and another was a grayshirt recruit, which basically means they were not expected to be among the top players on team. Each would be great if they add depth but little was likely expected out of them.

Work harder than anyone else:
While hard work will not make a terrible athlete better than one of the best in the country, if there are two comparable athletes and one works harder, which one do you think will see the field first? Going back to another quote, think about this one. And it is among my favorite all time quotes: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

Don’t take anything for granted:
Sometimes when recruits are highly rated, they expect the starting position to be handed to them and that they don’t have to worry about much else. They have been handed things all of their life so why should it stop now? As an underrated recruit, do not take anything for granted. Don’t take the opportunity to walk on or potential to earn a scholarship for granted. Keep it in mind during your workouts that you have something to prove.

Play with a chip on your shoulder:
When you are on the field, play with a chip on your shoulder. Try to prove to the coaching staff that you deserve a scholarship offer. While you will have to put a staggering amount of time in, remember that the time you are putting in is for something you love.

Avoid off the field problems:
The less problems you have off the field, the better chances you avoid going into the doghouse. Just stay out of trouble.

Have success in the classroom:
While this may not get you on the field, having success in the classroom will help you overall. Maybe you never get that scholarship but are able to graduate with a 3.5 GPA.

 

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BREAKING: The all-new eighth-generation Rolls-Royce Phantom raises the bar for pure automotive opulence

One of the world’s leading icons in automotive opulence transitions into its next-generation. Where’s the Grey Poupon?

What’s going on?

The Rolls-Royce Phantom VII has been with us since 2003, bearing a backbone based on the BMW 7-Series and enough sheetmetal to build a new city. That means today, in 2017, it’s sustained its current guise for 14 years, a very long time for any automotive life cycle.

But no need to despair! Rolls-Royce just introduced an all new, next-generation Phantom VII.

Built to fulfill Sir Henry Royce’s original quest to build “The Best Car in the World,” with the Rolls-Royce Phantom in 1925, this latest version fully embodies this philosophy. It once again raises its own bar of setting the benchmark for pure, unadulterated, automotive luxury.

Fancy. What’s cool about it?

Given Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ corporate pairing with BMW AG, this latest Phantom starts life as a BMW 7-Series platform, like the outgoing one. However, engineers designed the chassis to a new philosophy, the “Architecture of Luxury.” This basically translates into the Phantom’s use of a revised all-aluminum space frame body. This means it ditches the classic “monocoque” design. It’s lighter, but also 30 percent stiffer.

Combined with Rolls-Royce’s new “Magic Carpet Ride” adaptive air suspension, the new Phantom sounds it’s set to become the world’s most comfortable car as well.

What powers it?

In keeping with tradition, the Phantom gets a six-and-three-quarter (6.75L) engine. But that’s all that’s traditional as it’s BMW-based 6.75L V12 with two turbochargers to produce 563 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque as early as 1,700 rpm. Channeling that power to the wheels is a new ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic.

As with luxury these days, technology complements

As with any other car expected to cost as much as a really nice house, there’s plenty of tech to accompany. Using BMW’s parts bins, the Phantom comes with many passive and active safety systems such as Night Vision, radar-guided cruise control, pedestrian detection, lane departure assist and warning, and more. That’s on top of being the world’s most expensive moving WiFi hotspot and home theater.

How much will it cost?

Do we really have to answer this question for you? The official starting price wasn’t announced. But c’mon, it’s a Rolls. It’ll certainly cost more than a ham sandwich. Way more.

– By: Chris Chin

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The all-new Rolls-Royce Phantom Photo Gallery

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Purple-Citrus Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Since this week's Meal Plan is all about smoothies and salads, I wanted to share a favorite smoothie that I have been making lately. This Purple-Citrus Strawberry Banana Smoothie is an upgraded version of a classic banana-strawberry smoothie. I add in some blueberries for bonus antioxidants and a pretty purple color. And the real secret ingredient is the orange citrus zest! It adds such a bright accent of flavor. This blend is sweet, vibrant and summery. I have been making this as a late afternoon post-workout smoothie. Give it a spin, also I share a documentary I recently loved..Read more »

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Should athletes decline interviews with the media so that they can focus on the season?

One of the more interesting situations I have seen from a variety of athletes, whether it be basketball or football, is that these prep players have decided that they will be focusing on their season and not doing interviews.  While I can see their reasoning, I also disagree with it strongly because of a variety of things.  The first has to do with recruiting interest.

Say what you want about newspaper articles or those posted on Scout, ESPN, or Rivals but they are seen by college coaches.  It may be coaches that are already recruiting you and are fully aware of your ability.  It could also be coaches looking for a perfect fit at linebacker and the fact that all of the other in-state schools are recruiting you shows that it is time to start showing some interest.

Regardless, the fact that you are declining interviews may be perceived as being snotty or too good for the interviews.  Unless you are a very bad interview and tend to say something really bad about the opposition or your team, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be doing these.  As I have said many times, the more pub you can get, the better.

If you do have scholarship offers on the table and/or have made a college decision, you can decline all the interviews you want.  It makes no difference about what you say or don’t say when it comes to these articles.  Your college opportunities are already on the table and that means this pub is of little use (Outside of possibly getting more schools interested in you) in the long term scheme of things.

But as I have always mentioned, few readers of this site are actually in that boat.  If you were, changes are small that you would be looking for recruiting help.  And while I will always admit that this is the best free recruiting resource found on the Internet or anywhere else (I am bias), chances are higher that the recruits and parents that read this site are still praying and hoping for that offer to come.

In my mind, if you want to focus on the season, that is perfectly fine.  But you really have to think hard about what you are giving up.  The first thing is the attention from the article.  As long as the article makes it way up, no matter what website that it is, chances are high that it will be read.  That publicity could help you get attention from coaches.  This is huge because that is likely what you are looking for.

The majority of interviews that you will do take at maximum ten minutes to finish.  While you can be focused on the season for the other 23 hours, 50 minutes of that day, you can take the time to speak with the reporter about things.  He or she will likely ask about how the season is going, the playoffs, your conference, recruiting, offers, visits, and things along that line.  Unless there is a feel good story behind it, these are the norm for most articles so expect those coming in.

As I wrote in a previous article recently, I had a recruit offer up his services to do interviews with me multiple times early in the recruiting process for him.  In the end when double digit scholarship offers came, he no longer does interviews.  It doesn’t matter where you are from, he is not doing them anymore.

While I don’t condone taking that route exactly, he played the game to the best that he could.  This recruit knew that the more pub, the better, especially early on in the recruiting process.  He would make sure that all the major services covered him (He talked to Scout, 247Sports, ESPN, Rivals, and I am sure many more).  When they did, college coaches took notice of him and his ability.

For those recruits out there that go through this, the only thing I would try to avoid is going cold turkey with the media.  Realize that they did help get your name out there and it is worth doing a few interviews to make up for the help that they gave you.  But then again, it is your call if you want to “focus on the season.”

 

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Quinoa Corn Black Bean Fiesta Bowl

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Duda Farm Fresh. Summer is my favorite season for big, beautiful salads and veggie-filled bowls. I find that I crave salads more when it is hot outside, probably because salads are hydrating and offer up a wide array of nutrients. One challenge people often have when trying to make a "salad" into a meal is that they do not just want veggies in their bowl. Well, plant-based recipes can easily solve that problem using ingredients like legumes, nuts, seeds and grains. As well as using hearty, nutrient-rich veggies like one of my faves: fresh summer corn. Today I am boosting my salad bowl with a base layer of protein-rich quinoa, some hearty black beans and plenty of sweet and colorful corn. This Quinoa Corn Black Bean Fiesta Bowl has...

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