About Alan Parham

In the fall of 2005, sophomore Paige Hoffman was wondering what she would do if not recruited to play college volleyball.  After all, her older sister, Lauren, was a senior and one of the best outside hitters in their league, yet she was getting zero attention from coaches.  Making matters bleaker was the fact that … Read more

Courtney Found Her Grove in the Spring of 2010 Courtney Davis’ senior year playing softball for Erskine College (SC) didn’t appear to be anything special during fall and winter workouts, but when the 2009-2010 season started in February something interesting started to happen.  Courtney’s inconsistent bat came alive and stayed that way through a record-breaking … Read more

Prep Squads Can Rediscover the Missing Link in Sports  It’s a common practice for teams to set performance goals heading into their season.  Total wins, conference wins, conference championship, rivalry and key game outcomes, advancing to state playoffs – these are all objectives teams might aspire to reach in pre-season preparations.  But, something is missing from that formula.  … Read more

Carson High Standout Gets Chance Through NSR  Kendra Krupp, from Carson City, Nevada, worked hard to get in the starting lineup as the volleyball setter at Carson High School. Lots of practice and long hours paid off. She accomplished her goal as a sophmore in 2008 and became a mainstay on the Senators’ team through her senior … Read more

Cheating Student-athletes, Agents and Coaches Need to Face Tougher Sanctions  Say what you will about the sometimes heavy hand of the NCAA, but communicating the rules to student-athletes is not one of its faults.   Reminders on any number of wide-ranging topics are frequently distributed to student-athletes in all three divisions.    So, when news surfaces about former high … Read more

Peer Pressure Can Erode Academic Focus, Unless You Are in a Supportive Group. In this, the fourth and final installment of our Athletic-Academic series, we examine how student-athletes can overcome peer pressure to achieve stellar grades. High school student-athletes aspiring to play at the college level face a tough gauntlet of obstacles to overcome.  With … Read more

Parents and Prospects Can Create an Academic Atmosphere Where None Was Before  Academics begin at home.  Make no mistake – parents are responsible for creating an academic setting for their children – an atmosphere which should revolve around the following elements: Dedication Focus Time Results Accountability While ideally the academic structure in the home would … Read more

NCAA Says Yes to DII, but No to DI and DIII If you are not in your high school sport’s season, NCAA DII coaches may ask you to come to their campus for a tryout.  You may not, however, tryout at a DI or DIII college.  Confused?  Let’s explain.    The reason for restricting DIII schools … Read more

Good Grades = More Scholarship Opportunities The NCAA has spent the past twenty-five years creating recruiting rules for four specific purposes:  To create a level playing field among the three divisions To react to rules abuses by member institutions and coaches To ease the pressure placed on prospects by coaches To improve the academic responsibility and … Read more