Running Maryland will follow the recruiting process of Maryland's top

by Brad Jaeger
bjaeger@digitalsports.com

Jon Hill will be a senior this year at Walkersville High School. He has the distinction of being a 7 foot high jumper (twice this year), an excellent student and the motivation to carry him as far as he wants to go. With this success comes the college recruiter which adds another level of complexity to his senior year. Over the next few months we will follow how he and his mom, Rachel, handle the emails, letters and phone calls that will help determine where he will spend his next four years.

We will get the perspective on the recruitment process from both Jon and his mother, Rachel.

Jon began getting inquiries from college at the beginning of his junior year. He had been jumping in AAU meets during the summer and had reached 6-06, but Rachel still thought that his main event was going to be the triple jump. Jon was pretty excited because he knew of other athletes that had gotten inquiries after jumping that height so he was pretty amped up about what might be coming in the near future.

Rachel took on the role of “agent” since NCAA rules prohibited contact between the school and the athlete until July 1^st of his junior year. So it was mom’s responsibility to answer emails, fill out the athletic questionnaires and to keep the lines of communication open. The early inquiries were coming from smaller Division 2 schools and at this point, they were pretty excited just about being able to compete in college. But both had hopes that Division 1 inquiries would be forthcoming.

Rachel also took the lead role, because as she says, “Jon’s handwriting is horrible and he is very humble and laid back.” While on the other hand, mom is very outgoing and was more than capable of doing the “happy dance” with recruiters.

The amount of inquiries began to pick up after Jon won the state 2A indoor state championships in 2007 with a jump of 6-08. At that time, the main contacts were coming from D1 schools such as Robert Morris, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.

Athletes always wonder how recruiters make contact. Well thanks to the internet, both Jon and mom said that the bulk of the contact was through email. Jon mentions that most of the letters went to the school and he received those letters at practice, but on occasion the coach would bring a “big” school’s letter into his classroom which “made me feel great”.

But as Rachel says a lot of getting interest out to the schools is up to the parents or coach. She would send out many athletic questionnaires to schools along with just introductory letters about Jon and his accomplishments. She believed that it was important to ‘get his name out there’.

Before track, Jon was a basketball player. Jon had a full size basketball court in his backyard and was always playing and one day he came in and said to mom, “I don’t want to play anymore. I want to try track.” Knowing that he might not have the skills for a basketball scholarship, the family supported Jon in his attempt at a new sport.

Rachel gives most of the credit for Jon’s success to Coach Pat Casadonte. Coach Casadonte saw something in Jon that was special and worked with him tirelessly on his form in all three of the jumps. She got him involved in the AAU program and made sure that he got to meets believing that he had a gift. He is involved in a very rigorous training program that has him training five days a week over the summer.

Neither Jon nor his mom had any experience in dealing with recruiters, so they were going into this process blind. Rachel had read a couple of books on the NCAA regulations, so that violations weren’t committed. Jon had talked to some friends about the process and filled out the school’s questionnaire at school, but when he got home, mom would visit the school’s website and made sure she filled out an online application for Jon. (Once again, that handwriting thing!)

Once Jon hit the 7-00 mark, the floodgates opened as far as schools were concerned. At this point, Rachel says, “I didn’t have to worry about contacting schools- they were contacting us”. She continued, “It’s great to google your son’s name and see dozens of articles pop up about him.”

At this point, both Jon and mom realize they need to start doing their homework for the schools that have made the most contact with the coach or with mom. The most important thing that they are looking at is the academics of the school. Jon has a 3.75 GPA in honors and AP courses. He is involved in many school activities besides track such as the National Honor Society, student government, Boys State and a peer mentoring program. His academic goals are to find a school that has a major in psychology or sports medicine. His ultimate goal is to enter the Secret Service, of course after the 2012 Olympics.

He is also looking for a school with an excellent coaching staff and a school that has a history of developing good jumpers. At this point his top choices are UNC, Duke, Pitt, Lafayette, Princeton, and Virginia Tech.

Running Maryland will continue to follow the trials and tribulations of Jon and Rachel and they go into this senior year and decide about recruiting trips and some of the pitfalls that they might encounter along the way. We will keep people updated with articles every other month on their journey.

THE WOOING OF JON HILL

Running Maryland will follow the recruiting process of Maryland's top high jumper throughout the next year

Published: 06/24/2008

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THE WOOING OF JON HILL Running Maryland will follow the recruiting process of Maryland's top high jumper throughout the next year Published: 06/24/2008 by Brad Jaeger bjaeger@digitalsports.com Jon Hill will be a senior this year at Walkersville High School. He has the distinction of being a 7 foot high jumper (twice this year), an excellent student and the motivation to carry him as far as he wants to go. With this success comes the college recruiter which adds another level of complexity to his senior year. Over the next few months we will follow how he and his mom, Rachel, handle the emails, letters and phone calls that will help determine where he will spend his next four years. *We will get the perspective on the recruitment process from both Jon and his mother, Rachel.* Jon began getting inquiries from college at the beginning of his junior year. He had been jumping in AAU meets during the summer and had reached 6-06, but Rachel still thought that his main event was going to be the triple jump. Jon was pretty excited because he knew of other athletes that had gotten inquiries after jumping that height so he was pretty amped up about what might be coming in the near future. Rachel took on the role of “agent” since NCAA rules prohibited contact between the school and the athlete until July 1^st of his junior year. So it was mom’s responsibility to answer emails, fill out the athletic questionnaires and to keep the lines of communication open. The early inquiries were coming from smaller Division 2 schools and at this point, they were pretty excited just about being able to compete in college. But both had hopes that Division 1 inquiries would be forthcoming. Rachel also took the lead role, because as she says, “Jon’s handwriting is horrible and he is very humble and laid back.” While on the other hand, mom is very outgoing and was more than capable of doing the “happy dance” with recruiters. The amount of inquiries began to pick up after Jon won the state 2A indoor state championships in 2007 with a jump of 6-08. At that time, the main contacts were coming from D1 schools such as Robert Morris, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. Athletes always wonder how recruiters make contact. Well thanks to the internet, both Jon and mom said that the bulk of the contact was through email. Jon mentions that most of the letters went to the school and he received those letters at practice, but on occasion the coach would bring a “big” school’s letter into his classroom which “made me feel great”. But as Rachel says a lot of getting interest out to the schools is up to the parents or coach. She would send out many athletic questionnaires to schools along with just introductory letters about Jon and his accomplishments. She believed that it was important to ‘get his name out there’. Before track, Jon was a basketball player. Jon had a full size basketball court in his backyard and was always playing and one day he came in and said to mom, “I don’t want to play anymore. I want to try track.” Knowing that he might not have the skills for a basketball scholarship, the family supported Jon in his attempt at a new sport. Rachel gives most of the credit for Jon’s success to Coach Pat Casadonte. Coach Casadonte saw something in Jon that was special and worked with him tirelessly on his form in all three of the jumps. She got him involved in the AAU program and made sure that he got to meets believing that he had a gift. He is involved in a very rigorous training program that has him training five days a week over the summer. Neither Jon nor his mom had any experience in dealing with recruiters, so they were going into this process blind. Rachel had read a couple of books on the NCAA regulations, so that violations weren’t committed. Jon had talked to some friends about the process and filled out the school’s questionnaire at school, but when he got home, mom would visit the school’s website and made sure she filled out an online application for Jon. (Once again, that handwriting thing!) Once Jon hit the 7-00 mark, the floodgates opened as far as schools were concerned. At this point, Rachel says, “I didn’t have to worry about contacting schools- they were contacting us”. She continued, “It’s great to google your son’s name and see dozens of articles pop up about him.” At this point, both Jon and mom realize they need to start doing their homework for the schools that have made the most contact with the coach or with mom. The most important thing that they are looking at is the academics of the school. Jon has a 3.75 GPA in honors and AP courses. He is involved in many school activities besides track such as the National Honor Society, student government, Boys State and a peer mentoring program. His academic goals are to find a school that has a major in psychology or sports medicine. His ultimate goal is to enter the Secret Service, of course after the 2012 Olympics. He is also looking for a school with an excellent coaching staff and a school that has a history of developing good jumpers. At this point his top choices are UNC, Duke, Pitt, Lafayette, Princeton, and Virginia Tech. Running Maryland will continue to follow the trials and tribulations of Jon and Rachel and they go into this senior year and decide about recruiting trips and some of the pitfalls that they might encounter along the way. We will keep people updated with articles every other month on their journey.