The road to recognition is long, arduous

Trying to make a good impression, Griffin Rasel had miles to go to get on schools' radar

Clay Latimer, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 21, 2005 at midnight

Text size

More More Sports

More stories »

The days were long.

Life was pretty much a blur.

Even a day at the mall was out of the question.

But Griffin Rasel was a happy - if busy - camper last summer.

Griffin, a tight end at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, traveled from one football camp to another, hoping to land a Division I scholarship.

His journey began in May, at a Nike camp at Kansas State University, and then accelerated in June.

"When I felt overwhelmed, I slept as much as I could," Rasel said.

No wonder, with his itinerary:

• June 4: Wyoming combine.

• June 5-8: Kansas State camp.

• June 11-13: Cal Berkeley camp.

• June 16-17: Colorado State camp.

• June 20-22: Purdue camp.

"I could add up the miles, but it would take awhile," he said.

In between, Rasel squeezed in a basketball tournament, and weightlifting and training sessions. But he focused on the camps, which double as recruiting fairs for college coaches.

"You kind of learn what certain colleges are looking for at what position," he said. "They can definitely tell how you've been training and if you're a good enough athlete to go to their school.

"I was busy, but I had fun. I saw a lot. The Berkeley campus was the nicest. I liked the Big Ten culture at Purdue."

Asked if he checked out the party scene, Rasel said: "No way. If they heard you were doing something like that, well, you're not going to that school. I tried to meet people in the dorms, around the campus."

Rasel started preparing for the camp circuit during his sophomore year - lifting weights to build his strength, playing volleyball to improve his leaping ability, picking up blocking hints at instructional camps, preparing his résumé.

Questioning the process never occurred to him.

"Nope," he said. "I just do what they say and hope I do well. I mean, there are some things that you say: 'This has nothing to do with football.' But you do everything they have you do.

"I tried to manage my time. My parents helped a lot, making sure that the dates didn't overlap and that I could do everything possible."

After high school - what next?

The estimated probability of competing in athletics beyond the high school level, according to the NCAA:

Student-athletes

Men's basketball

Women's basketball

Football

Baseball

Men's hockey

Men's soccer

High school athletes	549,500	456,900	983,600	455,300	29,900	321,400
High school senior athletes	157,000	130,500	281,000	130,100	8,500	91,800
NCAA athletes	15,700	14,400	56,500	25,700	3,700	18,200
NCAA freshman roster spots	4,500	4,100	16,200	7,300	1,100	5,200
NCAA senior athletes	3,500	3,200	12,600	5,700	800	4,100
NCAA athletes drafted	44	32	250	600	33	76
Pct. high school to NCAA	2.9	3.1	5.8	5.6	12.9	5.7
Pct. NCAA to pro	1.3	1.0	2.0	10.5	4.1	1.9
Pct. high school to pro	0.03	0.02	0.09	0.5	0.4	0.08