College Bound Athlete Newsletter
  Student-Athlete Resource Guide for Athletic Scholarships
In This Issue
Pat Grecco,
Independent College
Bound Athlete Advisor
Student-Athletes
with Disabilities
Helpful Links

Pat Grecco,
Independent College Bound Athlete Advisor
Pat Grecco
Pat Grecco strives to get student-athletes into the college of their dreams! She wants her clients to realize their full potential.

Greetings!

Welcome to the College Bound Athlete Newsletter! We'll highlight our clients' achievements and will feature informative articles for student-athletes and their parents.
 

Student-Athletes with Disabilities

studnet-athleteSomewhere there is a college for every student-athlete. After all this is America, land of opportunity. I've had the privilege of working with several learning disabled student-athletes: A hearing-impaired student-athlete and a student-athlete with Juvenile Diabetes. They all went onto play at the collegiate level. The key is to know where to look and that's what I do best as a college bound athlete advisor.

When first met David he was reluctant to tell me that he was classified as Learning Disabled (LD). LD students are generally shy about their disabilities and they worry that the coach will not be interested in them. I usually tell them the story about the Heisman Trophy Winner, who discussed his learning disability on national television and encouraged other student-athletes to get help in realizing their full potential. Recent studies have shown that a larger proportion of athletes (than non-athletes) are learning disabled, perhaps because athletics provided the recognition that had eluded them in the classroom. Dave is now playing in a very competitive program and receiving the professional academic support that he needs to complete his education.

The NCAA Eligibility Center has this to say about students with education-impacting disabilities: "A student with an education-impacting disability must meet the same requirements as all other students, but may be provided certain accommodations to help meet those requirements. If you are a student with a diagnosed education-impacting disability, you will need to let the Eligibility Center know about your disability only if you plan on using core courses after your eighth semester of high school and you plan on attending an NCAA Division I college or university. It is important to note that the accommodations provided to students with education-impacting disabilities for NCAA D-I schools are different than for D-II schools."

For more information contact:

NCAA Eligibility Center
EID Services
P.O. Box 7110
Indianapolis, IN 46207-7710
Phone: 1-877-262-1492

Andrew was an outstanding athlete, waiting until the 11th hour to mention he was an insulin dependent diabetic. He said, "Mrs. Grecco do you think I should tell the coach?" I said, "Of course, just in case you ever had a medical issue that required attention, coach needed to be aware of your Diabetes." It all worked out, Andrew managed his insulin very well and throughout his four years playing there was never a problem.

Lauren, a hearing-impaired student-athlete really could not keep her hearing loss a secret. This student-athlete had cochlear implants; her lip reading skills were super, but she needed a college coach who would understand that on the field, crowd noise prevented her from hearing coaching commands clearly. It would be necessary at times to offer hand signals. This issue was discussed with the coach, who had no problem at all making this accommodation. Lauren is currently playing Lacrosse in college.

Overall, I think it's wise to document any disabilities with the NCAA Eligibility Center, as well as being honest with the coach; in the long run, all this will benefit the student-athletes both in classroom and on the field of competition. Honesty is always the best policy.
 
 
I am eager to help student-athletes and their parents navigate the challenging college selection process.

Sincerely,


Pat Grecco, Advisor
Soccervol@aol.com
College Bound Athlete

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