Posted on: Tuesday, August 27, 2002

Recruiting site not a hit so far

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

One high school in Hawai'i already has tested the student-athlete marketing program that the Department of Education and a foundation are paying $20,000 to use for all 44 public high schools.

James Kitamura of Waimea High on Kaua'i said the program did not work for his seniors last year. He said "the DOE did not ask about our experience" with Global Sports Recruiting Agency's service.

"A lot of our kids were having problems getting on-line at the Web site," Kitamura said. "It would tell them their e-mail address was invalid or whatever."

Neither Kitamura nor Laila Kobayama, Waimea's college counselor last year, could identify a single student who got an athletic scholarship using the program. "I've had no feedback from the kids," Kitamura said. Waimea graduated 181 seniors last spring.

Waimea paid $750 to register 450 athletes in the program. Because of the Waimea students' problems accessing the site, "They gave us a free second year," Kitamura said. But that has been superceded by the DOE's statewide action.

Student-athletes use Global's Web site to enter profiles about themselves and to locate colleges that fit their interests and abilities and offer financial aid for athletes.

Later last school year, after Global Recruiting sent Waimea separate codes for every student-athlete, "some got returns" from their inquiries, Kitamura said, but "a lot of them were underclassmen."

Several people have e-mailed the Advertiser challenging the value of the program.

"Doesn't the DOE have better things to spend their money on?," asked John Rebelledo. "If they have extra money to spend on sports, then they should really fix the tracks, the gyms, get some new uniforms or other new equipment — tangible items that the athletes can really use."

Rainette Li, a public high school parent, said: "There are many recruiting Web sites that I have looked at and mostly you just put in general information and the parent and student have to do all the research. You pay for all sorts of extras. Is this one like that?"

Global Recruiting charges from $200 to $400 to produce a highlight videotape, which a company spokesman called "the key thing" in recruiting. The DOE would not pay for the tapes.

"Wouldn't the $20,000 have been better spent on books or repairs for schools in disrepair?" said Li.

J. Kealoha Rodrigues of Kapolei said a US News and World Report's free Web site "does everything that Global Recruiting can do for an athlete, and it can also help all non-athletes find schools as well.

"It has a non-athletic scholarship search, loan information, ratings of academic programs as well as athletic programs, and links to all college Web sites," he said.

The site is www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/tools/cosearch_advanced.htm.