Local Combine Approaching

The Kansas division of National Scouting Report will hold an all-sports combine on May 2, 8 a.m., at Kapaun Mount Carmel High School in Wichita. Freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors are welcome. Five electronically timed and measured events all college coaches want to know about from you will be featured. 1. Electronic Timed 40 yard Dash - 2 attempts 2. Vertical Jump - 2 attempts 3. Standing Long Jump - 2 attempts 4. 60 yard Pro Agility Shuttle- Right / Left 5. Medicine Ball Toss (Girls) - Bench Press (Boys) Jim Lynch of National Scouting Report has this to say about the importance of participating in these events. Why are events like this Important? If for no reason other than the electronically-timed 40-yard dash, it's worth it for every high school athlete, boys and girls, to get timed. Most college coaches pay little, if any, attention to handheld times anymore. Speed, quickness and strength, along with experience, influence coaches. Today, with the investment in athletes, college coaches have to be more and more selective in their scholarship offers. Because of this fact, they pay much more attention to pro agility drills, vertical leaping abilities, 40-yard dash times, standing jumps and now upper body drills like bench press and kneeling medicine ball toss. A vertical leap is just as important for girls as it is for boys. Agility, speed, strength and Jumping ability are very important to every athlete. Tiger Woods lifts weights and runs; Roger Federer trains almost 360 days a year; Michael Phelps is all about speed and strenuous training routines. It's important for all high school athletes, boys and girls, to compete on a level playing field. If coaches pay more attention to electronically-timed 40s, and they do, the athlete needs to make sure they take part and get timed. Be an athlete. Coaches in the obvious sports, plus a few others like golf, tennis, softball, volleyball, soccer, field hockey, swimming, cross country and many more activities, are testing athletes. Today, college coaches are using these results to recruit. On occasion, I have heard Gene Stephenson, baseball coach at Wichita State, say they recruit athletes as much as baseball players. The other day I read an article where Billy Gillispie, former basketball coach at Kentucky and Texas A&M, offered an eighth grade student a basketball scholarship. Getting noticed as a freshman and a sophomore is definitely not out of the question. One of the ways to get exposure for your athletes is to participate at a combine where an athlete can compare times, distances and strength with others. Do this on an annual or semi-annual basis and watch you're their times get faster and their heights and strength improve. Watch the college coaches get interested in you as an athlete.