Winter, Spring Duval Co. School Sports Still Looking to Raise Money

This story is from WJXT in Jacksonville, but it is the same story all over the country.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It appears golf and cross-country, the fall high school sports in Duval County that were on the chopping block, will be saved, thanks to the help of Jacksonville residents, businesses and fundraisers.

But the fight to save other school sports is far from over. The work is on now to raise money to fund six winter and spring varsity sports and JV soccer.

1st Place Sports sells everything a runner needs. And to the store's owner, Doug Alred, running is more than a sport; it's a crucial part of the city. So when Alred found out cross-country was being cut from Duval County schools, he had to help. "Jacksonville's rated such a, one of the top running cities in the country, we felt like this couldn't be," Alred said. "We couldn't let cross-country go out of our city."

1st Place Sports has done a variety of fundraisers to help save cross-country. In June, $5 was donated to the cross-country budget for every pair of shoes sold.

Alred also held a charity run and solicited donations on the store's website. 1st Place Sports raised about $60,000, enough to save cross-country this school year. The PGA has done the same thing with golf fundraisers. The golf budget will reach its goal of raising at least $60,000 by the Aug. 1 deadline to save high school golf. "The community has really stepped up and tried to help, and a lot of these are not parents of our kids," said John Fox, the school district's athletic director. "These are people that care about sports and understand the importance of sports in our schools."

The fundraising is far from over. JV soccer is trying to raise money by mid-October, slow-pitch softball and wrestling by Nov. 1, and lacrosse and tennis by Dec 1. Wrestling, lacrosse and tennis each need about $70,000 to be saved. Junior varsity soccer needs about $65,000, and slow-pitch softball needs about $34,000. Fox is expecting several large business donors to come through.

But the donations are just for this year. "Is it overwhelming to think that you have to do this all again next year?" Channel 4's Kristen Cosby asked Fox. "It's overwhelming to think we have to do it all this year," Fox said. He said the district will likely charge students to play sports next year.

Whatever happens, Alred believes the community will continue to rally to save school sports.

"All those sports just build character in the people," he said. "They put out an effort. They achieve things, and once they achieve things, it gives them such a good feeling about themselves."

Cut high school sports funding? Don't overlook benefits.

Commentary by Gerard Hetman, Wilkes-Barre Times Leader

WHAT BETTER thing for kids to do with their “spare” time than after-school athletics?

That’s the question I ask as I read about people urging area school districts to cut middle school and high school sports funding in the face of budget shortfalls.

As of this writing, talks about cutting back on sports funding are ongoing in the Pittston Area and Hazleton Area school districts. As other districts seek to shape their budgets, similar discussions surely will pop up.

When talk turns to slashing costs, sports is frequently the first item on the agenda. For some parents, athletics represent an investment in programs from which their kids will never benefit, and that only a small percentage of students enjoy. It’s always the same rallying cry: Privatize high school sports! If kids want to play, make their parents pay!

But let’s back up a second. Have these critics ever stopped to think of the many children and adolescents who benefit from interscholastic sports programs?

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, 7,628,377 high school students participated in interscholastic athletics during the 2009-2010 school year. Compared with other states, Pennsylvania ranks sixth in terms of total number of high school student-athletes, with 317,456 boys and girls, behind only Texas, California, New York, Illinois and Ohio.

What I see in those numbers are hundreds of thousands of young people involved in an activity that builds character, teaches discipline and commitment, and promotes physical fitness. In my book, those are the kinds of lessons that our schools should be teaching, and that you can’t always learn in a classroom.

Sure, you can say that if parents want their students to participate in sports, they should be financing the endeavor. But I would argue that the funds provided by school districts for sports are a worthwhile investment.

As an example, I point to my best friend, who I will call C.J. Through his participation in sports in high school, C.J. was well-prepared to follow his dream of becoming a Pennsylvania state policeman. As I write this commentary, I know that he is out on patrol with fellow troopers across the commonwealth, making sure we have a safe and peaceful place in which to live and work.

There are certainly many other elements that have gone into C.J.’s success over the years, but participation in sports was a big part of it. And certainly not everyone who participates in sports is guaranteed to develop into a productive citizen. Sadly, some of our former teammates might wind up on the wrong end of C.J.’s job in the years to come.

But, as I see it, the positive aspects that students have the chance to gain from sports far outweigh the negatives.

While some teenagers are harassing pedestrians on Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square, smoking cigarettes or getting involved in more troubling activities, high school sports serve as a way for students to channel their energy productively. They teach teamwork. They promote school spirit. And they help kids attain physical fitness goals that promote healthy living.

I’m not saying that high school sports should be exempt from possible cuts. In fact, there are many areas of cost-savings that can be explored when it comes to athletics. But I am bothered when parents and students point at the athletics program as a whole and view it as a big, fat target.

After all, the all-too-common alternative is for students to hang out on the corner, right?

Like Father, Like Son: Bill and Travis Nees

In case you didn't see this article by Sonny Fulk, be sure to read it, great story. 

By Sonny Fulk

If ever one was destined to follow in the footsteps of his father, consider the words of Piqua’s Travis Nees and the impact of playing, and living with, his father/coach, Bill.

In twenty years of coaching at Piqua High School Bill Nees has done it all. He’s won 149 games. He’s won league titles, seven times winning 10 or more games in a season. He’s won a state championship, the 2006 Division II title, and he’s finished runner-up once.

And, he’s sent innumerable players on to play at the next level of football, including Antwan Jones (Notre Dame), Matt Finkes (Ohio State), Quinn Pitcock (Ohio State) Brandon Saine (Ohio State), Joey Hudson and Joey Lyman (Miami) \and the Rolf brothers, Pete and David (Weber State and Utah, respectively).
Bill Nees is a proud man, an engaging man…personable, and occasionally glib with one-liners relative to his past accomplishments and goals for the future.  Ask him about rebounding from back-to-back building years of three and five wins respectively and he can itemize for you how he believes the 2011 Indians can make another run at Massillon…and put you at ease to believe it all.

But without saying as much, you can tell.  For all he’s accomplished…for all he’s done in those 20 years as a football coach…the one thing Bill Nees considers the most “personal” opportunity has been that of coaching his own son Travis, a 6’1” senior linebacker that exemplifies every football characteristic of his father.
Close your eyes and hear them talk football and you’d swear you’re listening to coach “1” and coach “1a”…the language of the game, the calculations, the enthusiasm, the positive outlook of seeing the glass always half full.  Travis Nees, the son, is just like the father.

And Bill Nees, the father, is nothing more than an older, wiser, and more experienced version of the son.  The dynamic between them is unmistakable, and yet  comfortable, almost corporate in its relevance to their common goal…how to win more games in 2011 at Piqua.

“It really doesn’t seem like that big of a deal,”  smiled the elder Nees at the question of how they manage the relationship of father coaching son.

“He’s been around here for so long he’s just gradually wormed his way in and it hasn’t been that big of a deal.  It’s fun to have him, because while there are periods of the year where you can’t meet with the team officially without taking a camp day, but I can still watch film with him.  I know it’s different, and I don’t want to speak for him, but I’m sure it’s a different challenge when your dad is the coach.”

Yes, it is a challenge, like sitting in the front row of math class when your dad is the teacher.  I found that out once upon a time.  But listen to example “1a”, who, at 18 is already polished in putting a positive perspective on the adolescent issues of jealousy, favoritism, and advantages to which others simply aren’t privy.

“I’ve had him as a coach, and as a history teacher my sophomore year,”  says Travis.  “But if there is a perk it’s that I get double time with him…at school and here at the stadium, and at home.  I enjoy it.  He’s a great coach and a great father.  I wouldn’t trade it.  I’ve loved the last three years that he’s coached me.”

When Bill Nees won the Division II state title with the 2006 Piqua Indians Travis Nees was in the seventh grade, no doubt looking forward to his own time to come in a program that appeared to be at the zenith of its place among southwest Ohio football.

But the cycle of athletes that led to that title ultimately cycled through.  Brandon Saine, Dusty Snyder, and the Rolfs graduated.  Justin Hemm could only lead the 2007 Indians to an 8-4 mark.  In 2008 they were 6-4.  And in his sophomore year Travis Nees began his tenure as an Indian starter with a 3-7 record.

In his junior year they improved marginally, to 5-5.  Disappointing, no doubt, but in the language of football and football coaches, little more than another obstacle in the pursuit of success for Nees junior.

“It’s been disappointing, but it hasn’t changed my expectations,”  he admits.  “Every kid dreams of making that run to a state title, and you can make the argument that a play or two has separated us from the playoffs in the past few years.  I’m always gonna’ believe that if we could have gotten in we could have made a run.”
That’s from example “1a”.  Example “1” is not far behind, in differentiating the expectations he has for his team from those he has for the son who plays on that team.

“We’ve still got one more year together,”  corrects Nees senior.  “I think it could be a different story if you look at things after the season. Right now I think we’re in pretty good position.  He and his class have done a lot…they’ve worked hard…to give themselves a shot at a happy ending.  You really can’t have that discussion until the end of the year.”

At 6’1” and 190 pounds you won’t characterize Travis Nees in terms of a four-star or five-star prospect to play football at the next level.  “I won’t gauge him as an athlete,”  says a coach from another GWOC program.  “But I assure you he’s one of the best ‘football players’ in our league.  You know he’s well-coached, and he’s smart on the field.”

And the coach that counts the most won’t disagree, assessing his son’s attributes as a player and his prospects to play at the next level.

"He (Travis) has been around here so long it really doesn't seem like a big deal to coach him," says Nees. "He loves the game. He's never missed a weight room workout."

“He’s a hard worker.  He really works at the game.  He’s one of a handful of kids in the program who’s never missed a lifting session since the 8th grade,”  says Nees senior.  “He’s seen the best of both worlds in the program…the kids with great potential who didn’t do as much as they should, and he’s seen guys like Brandon Saine and Quinn Pitcock come into the weight room every day and work their butts off…not just show up and punch the clock.  They showed up, punched the clock, and then literally ‘punched’ the clock.

“He’s one of the strongest on the team.  He’s one of the fastest on the team, and college scouts talk about his ability to put people on the ground.  He’s a good tackler.  On the field he has the ability to look around and see how things operate.  We even use him for kick protection, because we know he’s that dependable.  But the biggest attribute he has is he works at it.”

Conversely, son Travis can quickly list the attributes of his father as a coach.

“I think it’s a tie between his dedication to coaching and his caring for his players,”  assures Travis.  “He makes sure he gives you 100% in every film session, every practice.  He’s never taken a day off because he doesn’t feel like coaching.  It never happens with my dad.  He’s always out there fired up, ready to go
.
“He’s particularly good late in the season, in week 8 when you haven’t won as many games as you wanted, you’ve had a tough eighth period Algebra class, and then you gotta’ come out here and put the pads on.  You know you’re going to have a rough practice, but he’s fired up and ready to go.  He’s the same with all the players.  He’ll ask you how your day was.  How your family is.  He doesn’t pass over the little things.”
When practice is over…when the game is over on Friday nights…unlike others on the team, Travis Nees, the player,  goes home with Bill Nees, the coach.  Ask him then about his father’s best virtues as a dad, and he’s just as proud to respond.

“He’s simply a great father, that’s all I can say.  He cares, but he’s not one of those fathers that’s always harping on you about things.  He knows when to push your buttons just enough to get you motivated for the next week.

“We watch films at home, and we talk football, but there’s more to him than football.  He’s good to remind you late in the year that you’ve got to finish your classes.  He’ll say, ‘C’mon Trav, you’ve got another quarter left’.  Things like that.”

When I mentioned to another coach recently that I was planning a feature on Bill and Travis Nees, he laughed and asked what game film we’d be watching together.  It’s a big part of why Bill Nees has had the success he’s had at Piqua…preparedness.

Nees is a film junkie!  And, it’s an integral part of the football relationship between father and son, the enjoyment they share in simply watching the game of football…a snapshot into the future of Travis Nees and his goals beyond high school football.

Future Dreams..."Everyone's dream would be to play on Saturdays," says Travis Nees. "But beyond that, I'd like to follow in Dad's steps and coach."

“Everyone’s ultimate dream would be to play on Sundays in front of large crowds,” says Travis.  “But first you have to play on Saturdays and I want to play on Saturday.  I can see that dream coming true. If I can get a couple of looks and the ball bounces my way I think I have the work ethic to do it.  I want that opportunity.
“Beyond that, yes, I’d definitely like to follow in Dad’s steps and coach.”

Football is serious business at Piqua High School.  A game, yes, but highly competitive and a community-wide topic of pride.  When Bill Nees talks about Indians football he speaks in terms of “Indian Nation”, always the glass being half full, finding a way to win even on years when the cycle of talent is less than bountiful.

He’s a serious football coach, and played football seriously as a high schooler at Lima Senior, and later for Lee Tressel at Baldwin Wallace College.  Nothing escapes him on the field.  He’s one of the best at recognition and making adjustments without hesitation to counter another team’s preparation or advantage.

But ask Bill Nees if he ever takes a moment to watch his own son, not critically, but from the perspective of a proud father, and then he hesitates…as if to shift from the mindset of coach to that of how best to express his appreciation as a dad.  It’s not as easy as explaining the spread offense.

He loves his family, his three children…his two boys, Travis and Alex…who obviously bear his commitment to the sport he loves and his character in representing it.

He’s made it a point to see every one his players that played Division I college football play at least once “in their college environment”, a significant achievement when you consider the typical Bill Nees weekend.

Saturdays are whirlwind of activity for Piqua football, beginning at 6 am in the morning.  Films from the night before are broken down, reviewed later in the morning with the players.  A game plan for the following week is devised and prepared for Monday’s practice.  Ask any who do it and they’ll tell you…Saturdays are as much a part of what you do as a high school coach as standing on the sidelines on Friday night.

But should that Saturday “opportunity” come to pass for Travis Nees, the dream of every high school football player to play at the next level, “Dad” has already thought about a game plan.

“I’m done…retired,”  he shoots back, without hesitation.  “Troy Ouhl can take over.
Or is he?

“I don’t know,”  he adds.  “I’ve still got Alex coming yet, so I’ll cross that bridge when it comes.  With the advent of all the technology we have now maybe there’ll be another way.

“Maybe they’ll have a helmet ‘cam’ by then and I can get the game “skyped” back from the stadium somewhere?”  he quips.  “I would love to have that opportunity.  I’d love for him to have that opportunity.  We’ll see what happens, of course.”

Is it any wonder that the son aspires to be like the father…to play on Saturday, to coach on Friday nights, to handle whatever comes when it comes?

Bill Nees can adjust to anything.  And don’t expect anything less from Travis.  #8 on the Indians’ roster, he’s “1a” in the Nees household.  It’s a good thing…between  father and son!

The Power of High School Sports

This touching story from the New York Times is another example of the power of high school sports.  

In Japan, High Schoolers Use Baseball to Help Forget

By KEN BELSON

OFUNATO, Japan — Entering this port city by car these days means confronting nature’s fury and its fickleness all at once. The tsunami that hit Japan’s northeastern coast four months ago tore through the modest downtown, gutting buildings, crushing cars like beer cans and sweeping shops out to sea.

Rebuilt Seasons

In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 and the nuclear crisis that has followed, several high school baseball teams have found that preparing for their regional qualifying tournaments has been a steadying factor in lives that have been forever changed.

But in areas out of the wave’s grasp, homes stand unscathed, rice paddies are still productive, and parks are filled with squealing children.

The awkward contrast is being played out across northeastern Japan, including at schools here. Perched on a hill overlooking the destruction, Ofunato High School is much as it was before March 11, save for a few broken windows. In the lobby are several glass cases that include trophies won by the school’s baseball team.

Less than two miles away, Ofunato Higashi High School’s Kayanaka campus also escaped serious damage. But now the hallways are filled with many students from Takata High School in Rikuzentakata, which is 10 miles from Ofunato and was consumed by the tsunami. And because military jeeps and trucks are parked on Higashi’s baseball field, Takata’s team must train at another school in town.

Baseball, though, has been a way for players and coaches from damaged and undamaged schools to resume a predictable if arduous routine they followed before the waves arrived. Players are more focused because on Thursday, the regional tournament to determine who will represent Iwate Prefecture at the national high school championship in August will begin. That is helping some forget, at least for a few hours, that they lost an uncle, or that they are living in a refugee center.

“As you can see, when they are practicing on the field, everything is the same as before the disaster, and they seem to be getting excited as the tournament approaches,” said Akishi Sasaki, the manager of Takata’s baseball team. “But once they go home, some students may pass the rubble. They probably feel down. I worry about those whose emotions soar and sink each day.”

There are 55 players on Takata’s baseball team, and it is Masato Owada’s job to speak for them. The wiry team captain and a first baseman, he carries himself like a yakyu jin, someone who devotes himself to baseball, not unlike a devotee of the martial arts. Owada has played baseball nonstop since elementary school.

With a straight back, he is unfailingly polite and, despite his circumstances, remarkably composed. About one-third of his teammates lost their homes, so he is relatively lucky to still be living with his family in Rikuzentakata, which had 23,300 residents before the tsunami. But to get to Ofunato, a city he rarely visited before, he must now commute on winding coastal roads clogged with construction crews.

Perhaps because the disruption in his life has been so acute, Owada appears particularly devoted to baseball, if only to escape the reality that his hometown has been irreversibly altered. Like every high school player, he dreams of playing in Koshien Stadium near Osaka, where the national tournament is held. But now he has extra motivation.

“My goal is to go to Koshien to make the people who are supporting us happy and to encourage Rikuzentakata to recover,” Owada said. “As a result of this experience, we became independent and our teamwork became better. And when we play as well as we can, people who see us will be thrilled.”

His sentiments are echoed by ballplayers across Japan, though they are especially poignant when uttered in this corner of the country this year. Rikuzentakata’s waterfront took the tsunami’s full force. About 2,000 residents died or are missing. More than 3,300 homes were destroyed, and nearly every building in the city center was wiped out. The mayor survived the tsunami by clinging to a railing on the roof of the city hall as the waves crashed over him.

Owada and his teammates escaped by running to a second ball field on higher ground. But their three-story school, which faces the water, was ruined. Four months later, its classrooms still have mounds of mud and waterlogged textbooks on the floor. Every window was smashed, and curtains flap in the wind.

On a ball field in front of the school, unmatched sneakers sit next to sweatsuits, a handful of aluminum bats and strands of paper cranes, their colors faded by the seawater. Albums with pictures of students are near a collection of medals won by various clubs. Computer motherboards shine in the sun.

Given the completeness of the destruction, it is hard to imagine how any school will be rebuilt there. Even if one is — and that could take years — it is unclear how many families with children will return to a city that has had its economy devastated. The only people who seem to be working in the city center are garbage haulers, a few gas station attendants and convenience-store clerks who sell their inventory from the backs of trucks.

We hear from Iwate prefectural officials that Takata High School will be rebuilt in Takata at some point in the future,” said Sasaki, the team’s manager. “That’s the only moral support for us now.”

Rebuilt Seasons

In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 and the nuclear crisis that has followed, several high school baseball teams have found that preparing for their regional qualifying tournaments has been a steadying factor in lives that have been forever changed.

Multimedia

So, for the foreseeable future, Sasaki and his players will keep working, studying and playing in Ofunato, which had 40,700 residents before the storm. Like Rikuzentakata, the city is surrounded by steep mountains that are reminiscent of coastal Maine or Alaska. This topography created a funnel that accelerated the tsunami’s waves and gave things in its path little chance.

That includes Keita Niinuma’s grandmother, who died, and his house, which was destroyed. Like many players in Japan that afternoon, Niinuma, the pitcher on Ofunato High’s team, was at practice. When the earthquake hit, the field cracked. The waves that followed washed away most of his belongings at home.

For three days, Niinuma wore his practice uniform because the police would not allow residents to re-enter their neighborhood. When Niinuma went to see what was left of his home, he picked through the rubble and found his game uniform, which he washed. It was an upbeat moment in an otherwise trying time.

“The students are positive, but I think they are getting exhausted,” said Teruhiko Suzuki, the principal of Ofunato High School. “We can hardly see the town recovering its rhythms, and students cannot help but feel the hardships their families are feeling. I think they are having a tough time.”

One of the tsunami’s many cruelties is that in destroying cities, it ended up putting them on the map as well. Indeed, before March 11, few Japanese outside this part of the country would have found Ofunato and Rikuzentakata on a map. Now, their names make up a sad roll call.

But the tsunami also connected the Tohoku region to the rest of the country in other ways. For instance, Rikuzentakata’s team was invited to play practice games against a high school in Gunma Prefecture, more than 300 miles away. Ofunato’s team received 15 boxes of equipment from Mukawa High School in Hokkaido. Some students sent their worn-out practice caps. On the underside of the bills they wrote phrases like “Don’t give in to the disaster” and “Let’s meet at Koshien.”

In late May, Ofunato’s team also visited Kobe, through an old connection. In the summer of 1984, when Ofunato made it to the semifinals at Koshien, Ryuei Sato, the team’s manager at the time, befriended Mitsuhiro Kitahara, the manager of Shinko Gakuen in Kobe.

Two weeks after the tsunami, Kitahara contacted Sato and invited Ofunato’s team to visit. He wanted to give the boys from Ofunato a chance to take their minds off their troubles at home, but also to have his players — some of whom were not born when an earthquake leveled Kobe in 1995 — meet others now dealing with adversity.

“This is not something they can learn in classes,” Kitahara said. “They are lucky to be on the baseball team here to learn something they can hardly experience in other places.”

The local Rotary Club paid for a 15-hour bus trip from Ofunato to Kobe. Thrust together under the glare of television cameras, the boys were awkward around one another at first. But it rained the day of their exhibition game, which forced them to practice indoors together.

“I thought that they were down, and I wanted to encourage them,” said Takuma Hatokawa, the captain at Shinko Gakuen, who exchanges text messages with Noriyuki Ujiie, Ofunato’s captain. “But it was the opposite. I was the one being encouraged by them. They were so cheerful, and we became good friends.”

Of course, no two-day excursion will rebuild Ofunato. But Toru Yoshida, Ofunato’s manager and the captain of the 1984 squad that went to Koshien, said that the trip taught his players that cities could be rebuilt if the people in them persevered.

“Before the disaster, I told my players that we have to stick to baseball itself,” he said. “But things may be different this year. Facing a disaster of this scale, this is the year we have to be conscious of the people who are watching us and to encourage them.”

Non-Athletic Programs

By Dan Malone

A while back, I wrote a post on how partnerships with state high school associations should be geared more toward engaging the vast audience that is under the association umbrella and not just the traditional branding or signage at athletic events. This still remains very much the case. Going even further, I think it is worth mentioning the enormous engagement opportunity that associations can offer potential clients through their “non-athletic programs”.  These can include sportsmanship and scholarship programs, coaches and athletic trainer meetings, student leadership conferences and so on…essentially everything outside of the state playoffs and championship events for sanctioned sports.

The key with the “non-athletic” programs, and why Home Team Marketing is so adamant to include them in our sales efforts and materials, is that they offer an extremely targeted means of reaching a valuable component of associations. These programs may not necessarily have the attendance that a football or basketball state championship event might have; however, they offer access to key influencers such as the coaches, administrators or leaders within a school.

How exactly the client wants to be involved at these programs is something that should be worked out on a case-by-case basis with your association and HTM. I have seen successful client engagement at “non-athletic” events that has involved speaking opportunities along with product sampling and displays. Please be sure to let Home Team Marketing know if your association has any new plans or information on “non-athletic” programs and initiatives that potential clients could become involved with.

Let us know if there are any specific "non-athletic" events that you have experience with that you think are effective. 

The Big Business of High School Sports

High school football all-star games become big business

By Jim Halley, USA TODAY

Chad Voytik had to make a choice between three attractive offers. The recruiting pitches were impressive, including warm-weather locations and plenty of perks, and he was starting to feel a little pressure to make a decision soon. Regardless of his choice, somebody would be disappointed when he aligned with a new team.

In addition to choosing a college, Cleveland (Tenn.) quarterback Chad Voytik will have to make a decision on what all-american game to play in this winter.

Voytik, who will be a senior quarterback this fall at Cleveland (Tenn.) High School, decided six weeks ago he would play January in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl national high school all-star game rather than the Under Armour All-America Game the same month.

That was bad news for ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill, who helps find and direct players to the ESPN-televised Under Armour game, a relatively recent challenger to the 10-year-old U.S. Army game, which is shown on NBC.

But Voytik's father, Gary, says that when he called Luginbill to deliver his son's choice, Luginbill "said he understood and was very professional about it."

Which makes sense because national high school football all-star games have become very professional and part of the big business that surrounds college football recruiting. Knowing that college football fans have a huge appetite for recruiting news, analysts and recruiting services rank players who pay to be seen at combines associated with the various all-star games. The games are advertising vehicles for various enterprises seeking to reach an elusive demographic, 18- to 22-year-old males.

"It's amazing where this has all gone," says Adam Liberman, a spokesman for All American Games , a New Jersey-based sports marketing and event company that operates the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. "I didn't start with this company until August and I had no idea how big this has gotten. It's kind of sickening that all of these companies can make their living off of high school kids and their recruiting interest."

The games also have become a way for players to draw national attention by announcing their non-binding college intentions usually by displaying a cap or jersey of the favored school during a break in the action. They also get plenty of free gear.

‘Sponsorship drives these games’

Before 2001, there were no national high school football all-star games. Next January, the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl backed by the U.S. Marine Corps, scheduled for Phoenix's Chase Field and aligned with CBS Sports for not only the game but also a televised selection show will make it five. Plus, there's the USA Football vs. The World game, which matches U.S. high school seniors against a team of top under-19 players from outside the USA.

"Sponsorship drives these games the right sponsor who is looking to make an impact in the high school space," said Drew Russell, an associate vice president for sponsorship and events marketing for Intersport, which promotes the Under Armour All-America Game.

The games also make money off underclassmen combines that draw future players. The combines measure prospects' height, weight, 40-yard dash times and their ability to perform sport-specific drills.

Since Voytik entered high school, he's attended at least 16 camps and combines and five two-day camps or combines. He also trains with an off-season quarterback coach. His father says the typical combine or camp costs $200, not counting travel expenses. He said the exposure helped his son, who received 15 offers from top schools and recently narrowed his choices to Mississippi State and Pittsburgh.

"Participating in national and regional camps and combines levels the playing field," Gary Voytik said. " If you are from Tennessee in a small high school, you will more than likely be overlooked by players from larger states. (Combines) allow the recruiting experts to compare a Tennessee quarterback and a Texas quarterback without the other football variables."

Hermitage (Richmond, Va.) football coach Patrick Kane said he accompanied one of his players, linebacker Curtis Grant, to the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and found the game a good experience. However, he doesn't have the same respect for the combines associated with these games.

"I don't put a lot of value in combines, period," Kane says. "They're part of the marketing scheme. A lot of times, they'll tell the top players they don't have to pay for a combine to attract other players to the combine. A player like Curtis (who signed with Ohio State) didn't need to go to a combine (and didn't)."

Participating in an all-star game's combine is no guarantee of making the game. Shaon Berry, director of the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl , says he expects 400 underclassmen for its combine. The roster for the game is 90.

High school coaches also are concerned about a new form of recruitment that has accompanied the all-star games growth. NCAA rules limit seniors to two postseason all-star games (USA Football's game is exempt). The competition among game organizers for top players is fierce. Some players begin committing to the games as early as a year in advance.

"Some of these high-profile games have already locked in these players before their senior season," said longtime Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) coach Bruce Rollinson. "You already have this intense-pressure filled recruiting process and then all of a sudden, there's this process of which game do I play in? It is a little bit out of control."

Rollinson also has little tolerance for the way the games fit into the traditional college recruiting process.

"I just cringe with all this signing and picking your college at the games," Rollinson said. "I think that's an exploitation, an embarrassment. It puts kids on TV who are not media savvy, some of them don't know how to act appropriately."

This year, the USA vs. The World Game was Feb. 2 signing day and video of the signings, along with the game, was shown live on highschoolsports.net, a web site owned by USA TODAY's parent company Gannett.

‘Kids are wheeling and dealing’

Because some scouting services have a financial connection to the games, players' recruiting rankings could be skewed. Columbus East (Indianapolis) quarterback Gunner Kiel, who has committed to the 2012 Under Armour game, is ranked No. 2 by CBS Sports Network recruiting analyst Tom Lemming and No. 12 by ESPN's Scouts, Inc., but No. 19 by Rivals.com, which helps select players for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

"Quarterback is the hardest position to evaluate," said Rivals national analyst Mike Farrell."He's our No. 1 quarterback in the country. We don't care what game he's going in. There's not much to not like about him other than he's not an overly athletic kid."

Last year, Grant, a linebacker who played in the Army All-American Bowl, was Rivals' No. 2 player but only listed as the No. 48 player by ESPN's Scouts, Inc., which helps select players for the Under Armour Game.

"We loved Curtis Grant," said ESPN's Luginbill. "He was still in our top five linebackers. Where we may see him and (other recruiting services) may seem them can be two completely different things."

"The games are competitive with each other," said Kane. "Curtis considered doing both (the Army and Under Armour games) but that wouldn't work out and I didn't think it was a good idea. If you have a top player, they all want him and his decision can effect his rankings, not that the rankings mean anything."

While colleges may only use the rankings as a way of making sure they're not forgetting about a player, the players take great pride in their rankings. The rankings also are how various alumni keep track of how their school is doing at recruiting, a hot stove league that's a year-round interest.

Intersport's Russell said the games' true measure won't be known for years.

"Everybody wants to pound their chest and say, 'We got this kid, or that kid,' but in the end, there's such a slim margin of error and it's so opinion based, from the No. 1 kid to the No. 10 kid or the No. 100 kid, for that matter."

Lemming, who has helped select teams for the Army All-American Bowl and is helping pick players for the new Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, said players often go where they think they'll get the best free equipment and clothing.

"These kids don't care that much about prestige," Lemming said. "They all want to know what kind of gear they're getting. Because of the big bowls, the kids are wheeling and dealing."

South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier said that having his recruits play in a national game is an honor that can come with a price.

"We tell the players who commit to us, it's up to you," Spurrier said. "It's just a free trip. A lot of these guys haven't been anywhere outside the state. There are all kinds of ways these players get wooed and told they're the greatest in the world. Every now and then, they come thinking they're going to play right away and it doesn't work out and you have some problems. I heard one guy say once they come to your campus, you start de-recruiting them. "

***