By Stewart Brown This article is Athletic Scholarships -The “About Me” section on your profile page is very much overlooked by many prospective student-athletes but this is a great opportunity for you to express yourself and share with your future coach your achievements, goals and expectations. And, one of the most important sections, your Personal Statement, can help you prepare for meeting college coaches during visitations or talking with them on the phone. As I work with high school athletes, to help them through the recruitment process, I ask them to create their own “one-minute overview”. Some people call this the “one-minute commercial” or the “elevator speech” and it gives you the opportunity to answer the frequently asked question; “please tell me about yourself”. In your one-minute overview you should include 4 major areas that you will be asked about and always finish with a question to the coach when you are in a conversation either in person or on the phone. When you are creating your overview, discuss the following key points: · What your academic and athletic goals are for college · Your major academic and athletic accomplishments · What skills have led you to these accomplishments · How you believe these skills will translate into future success in college When you are meeting with a coach, or talking with him or her on the phone, always end your overview with a question that will provide a positive response from the coach. This will then ignite a conversation. Now, begin writing your overview and ask for feedback from your parents, coaches, and friends to make sure you are confident in talking (and writing) about yourself – you need to feel comfortable marketing yourself. Once you have completed the overview use this information in your Personal Statement on your profile page and continue to add/subtract from it as things change and you continue through the recruitment process.