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If you choose college coaching as a career, count on having a moving van on call. Such was the case for Sara Rondeau.
It’s a hard life to be uprooted so often in search of the ideal job. Thankfully, Rondeau found that last year in Indiana. But the job she’d always dreamed of wasn’t in coaching after all, but fulfilled her passion for helping high school athletes realize their own dreams of being college athletes.
Rondeau is a scout for National Scouting Report.
A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Rondeau participated in nearly every sport growing up. Swimming? Yep. Golf? Sure. Softball? You bet. Tennis? Uh-huh. Soccer? Of course. And basketball? Absolutely. How about water polo? Yes to that, too. Not many young athletes can count that high much less name all those sports.
“I was always a multiple-sports athlete growing up,” she said. “In high school, I played soccer my freshman and sophomore years and basketball all four years. And, actually, after my senior year of basketball, I ended up playing water polo.”
After high school, Rondeau accepted a basketball scholarship at Howard Junior College in Big Spring, Texas, where she started for two years and set a school record with six 3-pointers in a single game. Then it was off to Hannibal-LaGrange University, an NAIA school in Hannibal, Mo. Rondeau was the team’s leading scorer and captain as a senior.
“At HLGU I actually was a two-sport athlete participating in both basketball and golf,” she said. ” Scholarships in both sports, along with an academic scholarship, helped to pay most of my college expenses.”
Handling the demands and pressures of being a dual-sport college athlete wasn’t easy. However, her experiences allow her to give NSR athletes a heads-up about organizing their time.
“Balancing sports and academics was hard at times when I would come home late from a game at 3 a.m. and then get up the next morning for class at 7:30,” said Rondeau, who graduated with a degree in Communications. “I managed to do homework before road trips and stay ahead or do homework on the bus. One thing that I think helped me was talking with my professors each semester to let them know I was an athlete and giving them my schedule of when I would be missing classes. Communicating with my professors was always big, so together we could work out anything that I missed such as notes for class, labs, presentations, or tests. We also had study tables and tutors for basketball, and I took advantage of those in order to keep my grades up.”
The demands of college coaching were no easier. Rondeau made four moves in five years following her passion and advancing her career.
Rondeau took the advice of her basketball coach to became a graduate assistant after college. That allowed her to earn a Masters degree in Business Leadership while joining the women’s basketball coaching staff at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa. She coached there for two years.
After WPU, Rondeau became an assistant women’s basketball and assistant golf coach at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill. She also held those positions for two years. The basketball team advanced to the NAIA national tournament both years.
Next, she hit the road to become an assistant basketball coach for one year at Point University in West Point, Ga.
Finally, she was named assistant women’s basketball coach at Indiana University-East in Richmond, Ind., where she still resides. When Rondeau took the job, head coach Tiffani Selhorst said: “The lifeblood to any successful team is recruiting and being able to connect with the student-athletes, and Sara has a wealth of experience in both.”
One year later, Rondeau joined NSR as a scout.
“I made the transition to become an NSR scout because I did get a little burned out of college athletics along with the uncertainty of the job security every year as well,” Rondeau said. “When I was a college coach, I was the main recruiter for most of the colleges I worked. I loved recruiting and having the opportunity to go to high school games or basketball tournaments in the summer finding athletes and building those relationships with the athlete and family.”
Sheila Thiery, NSR area director in Southwest Ohio, frequently scouts with Rondeau. “We try and team scout quite a bit. Being we are both female, we can work hard, be serious, but also cut up in a girl sort of way that is goofy! I consider her someone that I can talk to and laugh with. There are not many scouts over here where I live, so it’s nice to have someone to team scout with that I can really trust and relate to. We help each other quite a bit.”
Rondeau said her NSR job fulfills her professionally and personally.
“What I like most about being an NSR scout is opening up different opportunities that these athletes never knew existed,” Rondeau said. “I enjoy guiding the athlete and their family through the process and being able to answer any questions they may have along the way. I also like being able to watch different sports and events like softball, soccer, basketball, cross country, and track and field. When I see an athlete that I believe can play at the next level, I enjoy talking to them and their family to start building that relationship. I am someone who likes to build relationships and help others. That is my personality and what I try to get across to the athlete and their family.”
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.
Wonderful article. She is a great idol for young athletes.