I am the Director of Public Relations for a third party marketing service, College Promoters of Texas, and yes I make a living by helping high school athletes (I’m definitely not getting rich). As in every industry there are good and bad seeds, but our professionalism is unmatched. I think our longevity, our success, our store front office, our relationships with area high school coaches, and our family oriented guidance approach differentiates CPOTX from most, if not all, other services out there. We are not a national web based service that solicits any and all families for their credit card number, throws the athlete on a website, and walks away and we are not a pan handler charging yearly fees for updates. We are based in San Antonio, we work with athletes in the area that are able to communicate regularly and stop by our store front office at any time. I speak with high school and club coaches on a regular bases for their recommendations, and include them in our operations.

Do the blue chip athletes need a third party tagging along for 2 or 3 years? No. But the extra guidance and exposure (NCAA rules, time line prep, video, etc) from someone, CPOTX, with over 12 years of experience won’t hurt anybody. And as Woodard explained, not every student athlete is a Blue Chip athlete that is guaranteed an opportunity to sign a Letter of Intent. San Antonio area athletes do not receive the recruitment that many other big city athletes receive. I am very passionate about what I do and I know what I do changes kids lives, so I have no regrets for the what I do or the service CPOTX provides.

A proactive marketing approach and maximizing your recruiting are good ideas, but buyer beware.

Any thoughts?

Great article, as this topic deserves a lot of attention in today’s day and age of recruiting. While I completely agree that Butler’s tactics are unacceptable, there is a definitely a place for third parties in high school networking and recruiting. I think its important to note that beyond the clearly stated rules and regulations of the NCAA lie important guidelines and restrictions to abide by, a conduct if you will, that Butler clearly abuses in “handling his clients” the way that he does.

Let’s take a look at another angle though, one which focuses on one of the most important reasons behind all of this: the player’s future. From my own experience, I can relate to a lot of these players who are not, and will never be, “blue-chip athletes.” The rule of thumb (“If you’re good enough, they’ll find you”) doesn’t always hold true for players that aren’t putting up 30 points and 15 boards a game for Oak Hill or Mater Dei every night, yet who are still good enough to play at the college level. Through my experience, players who are low-major (and even some mid-majors) come almost a dime a dozen. From a personal standpoint, there were players who were far more talented (stronger, quicker, better scorer, etc), yet while their careers ended after their senior year, I was able to play on at the next level.

Why? Exposure through a third party. Not a “handler” (as I never paid him a dime), but a former college coach who still had all the ties and networking advantages to help with my exposure. At some high schools, coaches do a very poor job of marketing their players to college coaches. Again, for the 7-footer or kid who has clocked a 4.4, the letters and phone calls won’t stop. But for the kid out in Kansas in the middle of nowhere, whose coach may or may not be helping at all, third party sources can often be the difference maker in signing a letter of intent, as opposed to hanging the cleats up for good after that last high school game.

Perhaps there is no silver bullet to fix the constant tension between high school coaches, the AAU networks, and the Brian Butler’s who seem to be popping up around every corner. While the NCAA certainly has tried to impose regulations, it seems inevitable, and rather unfortunate for all parties involved, that as long as greed and personal interests dominate the scene in recruiting, “street handlers charging money for an update” is only the beginning of what is yet to come.

Just want to say that this is a great article and that it was actually posted on the Miami Hurricanes blog I read and given a great compliment by the guy that runs that blog. Congrats on your success and making some waves.

Shwarma