Borders Books, 11711 Princeton Pike in Springdale, across from the Tri-County Mall. 

There are two (2) sessions.

3:00pm to 4:30 pm and 7:45pm to 9:00pm               

January 20, 2008 Topics (NCAA Clearinghouse, Avoiding Mistakes, Visits to Colleges, MONEY $$$)

February 17, 2008 Topics (Talking with college coaches and follow-ups, scholarships)

March 16, 2008 Topics (Comparing the BEST Match, Understanding LEVERAGE, NCAA)

April 20, 2008 Topics (Setting up Summer Visits, BEST CAMPS, Comparing Schools)

May 18, 2008 Topics (Proper Follow-Up with coaches, NCAA Clearinghouse, FAFSA strategy)

June 15, 2008 Topics ( Newest NCAA Rules, Video Follow-Up, Voiding Mistakes)

July 20, 2008 Topics (Understanding Leverage, Negotiating, Best Visits)

August 17, 2008 Topics (Videos and Calls, Talking with college coaches, Visits, MONEY $$$)

September 21, 2008 Topics (Proper Follow-Up with coaches, avoiding mistakes on visits, phone)

October 19, 2008 Topics (Financial key items, fall strategies, visits, follow up with coaches)

November 16, 2008 Topics (Understanding leverage and best strategies for $$$, NCAA Rules)

December 21, 2008 Topics (FAFSA $ $$$$, Evaluating the best fit for your student)

Please Read this Exerpt from the Cincinnati Enquirer

Teaching the process

"Who needs a pen? Who needs paper?"

College Prospects of America consultant Tom Elias strode through aisles of folding chairs during a monthly information session at Tri-County's Borders Books and Music.

October's topic was college visits. Make sure you talk to the college coaches, Elias told parents and high school student-athletes. Sit in university classrooms to see if you're comfortable academically. Be assertive. Keep an open mind. And don't forget to "have fun."

About 150 athletes are paying Elias $450 to $1,995 each to educate them on the recruiting process and entice college coaches with their athletic profiles and highlight videos.

In his 12 years of doing business, Elias says he has helped 1,500 athletes find educational matches and some form of aid, averaging $15,000 a year per person. He believes any athlete with decent grades can play college sports if he or she is flexible in the search. Matches aren't made for only 2 percent of his clients, he says.

Parents like Alvina and Cornelius Lindsey say their daughter Celeste, a 2005 Mount Notre Dame graduate, would never have found Bloomfield College in New Jersey without Elias' help. They say the East Coast school is a dream, because it offers a design major and a volleyball program.

By graduation, Celeste will have received four years of academic and athletic aid totaling $100,000 - making Elias' $1,400 fee, the Lindseys say, more than worthwhile.

It's true that families could save money by doing all the recruiters' work themselves. The National Collegiate Athletic Association posts all the academic and athletic information on its Web sites. University sites provide coaches' e-mail addresses and office numbers. Parents can design, print and mail their kids' athletic resumes and compile their own highlight tapes.

But even well-meaning families just don't have the coaching network, know-how or time a consultant can provide, many parents and recruiters say.

"I'd say a parent can do some of it on their own, if they want to dedicate 10 and 15 and 20 hours a week doing what we do," Elias says. "But none of them have the experience we do, No. 1. And No. 2 ... if you think about it from a professional standpoint, a parent is the last one in the world a college coach ever wants to talk to."

Parents may be rookies, but some club and high school coaches say they have college contacts and advice to expend - for free. For example, Winton Woods football coach Troy Everhart and his staff help athletes compile videos and fill out questionnaires.

Elias says coaches don't have the same database of resources as consultants. And recruiting is his full-time job.

"I'm the bird dog in the bushes making the quail jump up," he says.