About Alan Parham Remember the song “Only the Strong Survive”? It was a big hit back in the late 1960s, its lyrics coinciding with a popular phrase of the time. The message was not subtle. In high school athletics, however, that message is not so true today. To the surprise of many, including parents and their children, an … Read more
The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn., is not only one of the state’s premier academic institutions, it also has a storied athletic history. Over the years, the small private school located on the banks of the Tennessee River has captured more state titles than almost any other high school in Tennessee. National Scouting Report tennis … Read more
Question: When do high school athletes become college prospects? First, it is important to note that we’re not asking when they formally become prospects, according to the NCAA. Instead, we are asking when they personally step over the line to become available to college coaches? Need a hint? Here are five: Athletes are not automatically … Read more
Alex Bassetto knows adversity all too well. During his freshman year at Benet Academy in Lisle, Ill., he saw his father fight hard, but lose his battle with leukemia. A 2017 National Scouting Report golf prospect, Bassetto has fought through the tragedy of his father’s death to have a mature perspective of life for someone … Read more
Keith Ferguson, who scouts for National Scouting Report near Lexington, Ky., knows he is lucky to have a deep appreciation for high school prospects who grow up in rural areas. In fact, scouting in small, rural towns is right in Ferguson’s wheelhouse. Ferguson is a native of Kyle, South Dakota, a prairie town of 846 residents … Read more
National Scouting Report scouts use the same criteria as college coaches to select prospects. It is not uncommon for NSR scouts to see really talented athletes but choose not to approach for an interview because the athletes can’t seem to get out of their own way. More times than not, those prospects lose out on the incredible … Read more
The Kent State University softball program will feature a genuine National Scouting Report sister act in the fall of 2017. Brenna Brownfield, a junior at Lakewood (Ohio) High School, will join her big sister, Bailey, a 2015 NSR prospect, on the KSU campus. The younger Brownfield recently committed to play for head coach Eric Oakley, … Read more
College coaches love three unique talents that National Scouting Report prospect Madison Besterfield brings to the volleyball court: She is left handed, she is a very good sand player and she is capable of being a setter. That means the 5-foot-11 junior hitter from from Carrollwood Day School in Wesley Chapel, Fla., offers coaches the advantage of … Read more
A pedestal is a dangerous, precarious precipice. Every community, high school and team selects and lifts players up on a pedestal, unsteady as it may be. Nobody does a risk assessment. No one is standing in the middle of the road waving a red flag. The spotlight blinds them to what inevitably will happen. Yet, time … Read more
If you play center field, especially in college, you need two things — wheels and reckless abandonment. There is a lot of turf to cover, and balls are sprayed at you in every direction. So diving, lunging, jumping and chasing all come with the territory. If you are not willing to give up your body … Read more
