Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Harrison.
Anthony, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I attended The Kinkaid High School, a private school in Houston where my teachers and coaches always stressed the importance of education, internships, and networking. I’ve always been athletic and throughout my youth played baseball, basketball, and football. Being a top high school player at the time, I knew I had what it took to get a college scholarship, but had to search for the resources to make it happen. At the time, people did not look at private schools for athletes. I had to do everything. I had to send out my resume. I had to send out my film. I had to make contact with coaches. I had to go to camps. I did it all. The hard work, I put into being recruited led me to attend Louisiana Tech on a full scholarship. While there, I was recognized as a Freshman All-American and the fifth best tight end in the nation. After not playing pro, I shifted my focus from going pro and thought of the bigger picture. I thought I was going to be this big time NFL superstar.
But the entire time, my athletic director and the head coach, they would always set me up with internships, set me up to meet boosters in the community. So, I started thinking there’s got to be more to it. I went on to graduate from Louisiana Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and get my Master’s degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration. I then realized, I wanted to help prepare the next generation. With all that I learned throughout the recruiting process, I went on a mission to help student-athletes and their families become more aware of the opportunities and resources available. These experiences inspired me to write my book The Top Recruit. The book opened the door to us hosting a recruiting symposium, hosting a weekly radio show and helping student athletes with their recruiting process.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has not always been smooth. But what I’ve learned is that the things you go through help you grow through. In other words, not only does your character become tested during trials but they often are used to help someone else later down the line. My trials I went through included losing two childhood friends by the age of 18 and the loss of my grandmother my junior year of college. She died of cancer and I knew I would honor her by earning my degree and impacting my community. The life lessons I experienced seeing two of my best friends in a coffin before 18 is the reason I am a role model for the youth. I want to teach them to value each day and to utilize their talents as leverage to live their best life now.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Top Recruit story. Tell us more about the business.
My company specializes in helping high school athletes with the recruiting process. What makes what we do unique from other companies is the mentoring process. For me, it is not about the number of scholarships we help earn or how many athletes we deal with but about being there for these families during a very fun and challenging time. Making a college decision can affect who you marry, what you do for a living and the next 45 years of your life. To be included in this process is gratifying. The Top Recruit specializes in sending out a film, building resumes, interview prep and going through a checklist on what to do to earn a full college scholarship. I’ve had the honor of coaching, mentoring and speaking to over 1,000 student-athletes across the United States.
With over 20 years of experience in the sports industry (player, coach, mentor), my mentees have been offered scholarships from several of the top universities in the U.S. including: Harvard, Yale, Texas Christian University, Texas A&M University, Baylor, Alabama, LSU, UCLA, and Indiana University to name a few. The book I’ve written, The Top Recruit goes into a detail description on how to approach the recruiting process. Each chapter illustrates the recruiting phase from a student-athlete, parent and recruiter’s perspective. If you are a student-athlete and you want to be recruited this is a must-have. If you are a parent and you want to assist your student-athlete in the recruiting process The Top Recruit will be helpful throughout the recruiting process. The book is written for people of all ages. Get recruiting tips on promotion, social media etiquette, ACT/SAT preparation, camp exposure, important dates and scholarship information and much more.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Social media has become the biggest change. Universities have hired people in their recruiting departments to monitor high school athletes, to recruit them using graphic and twitter banners and compile cool workout videos with music from the top hip-hop artist. I truly believe that the industry will evolve and the computer will be a great way to interact with any coach no matter the distance.
Pricing:
- Amazon to purchase The Top Recruit $15.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thetoprecruit.org
- Phone: 713-859-8961
- Email: anthonydrewharrison@gmail.com
- Instagram: atrain_thetoprecruit
- Twitter: atrain_harrison
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