Once you have a PrepChamps profile, there are a variety of ways you can increase your exposure and chances of being seen. You can contact coaches from schools that you’re interested in and send them a letter or email to tell them you’re interested and include a link to your profile so they can see all your information in one place. You can email your profile directly to friends, family and coaches (or if you’re a coach, you can share profiles with other coaches you may know). Another good thing to do is to share your profile with your friends and family on other sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Mixx, Twitter, etc. The more places you can get your name out, the better. You can also connect with us on Facebook and MySpace to get the latest PrepChamps updates and news and ask any questions you may have about our site.

We have recently added a new “Share This” button to your profiles to make it easier for you to share your information with the world. There are two ways you can find this feature:

1) The icon under an athlete’s name on his/her profile

2) Under an athlete’s profile menu

If you click on the “Share This” icon, you’ll see this window pop up, which lets you select where/how you’d like to share your profile.

We hope you find that this is a valuable and easy way to get your profile out to coaches, fans, friends and family. As always, feel free to let us know if you have any questions or need help.

Check out the video below of Ball Is Life’s most recent “Under the Radar” player, Kyle Fuller. Fuller is a 6′1″ junior point guard from Rancho Verde high school (California). He plays with Michael Snaer, one of the top-ranked shooting guards in the class of 2009. Fuller has a pass-first mentality but also utilizes his speed to score the basketball when needed.

Ball Is Life also provides custom videos for players who want a nice highlight mix of their plays created. If you play basketball and are looking to get recogized and recruited, check out BallisLife Services and get them to create a custom highlight video for you or your team.

Happy New Year! we hope 2009 will be a great year for you! Here’s the 22nd edition of our weekly High School Sports and Recruiting Digest, which saves you time by giving you the scoop on the stories you may have missed from the last week.  Check out the headlines below for what’s been going on, and click the links to see the full stories.

Lacrosse Recruiting Camp Guide

Great guide here to some of the best lacrosse camps in the country.

The Recruiting Game

From Locker Room Prep Talk: “Too many people criticize the recruiting process without understanding what it is all about. They badly need an education, a cold splash of reality. Recruiting may not be what we want it to be but it is what it is and it isn’t going to change. So people, especially parents, must learn to deal with it.” Good article here.

19th Annual Excalibur Girls Soccer Tournament Preview

OCVarsity.com brings you a nice preview of the 19th Annual Excalibur Girls Soccer Tournament. The event, which runs from December 29th-31st features 32 teams from southern California and Arizona.

ESPN Rise to Host Postseason Basketball Tournaments

According to USA Today, ESPN Rise will host postseason girls’ and boys’ tournaments in April. The event will be called the National High School Invitational and will take place at Georgetown Prep’s Hanley Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Girls’ Hockey Picking Up Steam

Interesting article from Boston.com that shows that the number of girls who play hockey is quickly increasing. While there were only about 200 female high school hockey players in 1993-94, that number has now reached 8,621 players (as of last season).

Nation’s Top 2010 RB Loaded With Offers

Marcus Lattimore, a 5′11″ 210-pound junior running back, is Scout.com’s only 5-star back in the class of 2010 so far. Lattimore has already received early scholarship offers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Clemson.

Happy Holidays,

2008 is coming to a close and I want to thank each of you who supported Reebok basketball this year by purchasing a pair of ATR Talkin’ Krazy at Champs, attending a Reebok Coaches Tune-Up Clinic or by spending the week with us in Las Vegas during the Reebok Summer Championships.  Next year we will continue to develop innovative footwear products and offer grassroots events that allow you to play, coach and enjoy the game of basketball more than ever.

Currently there are many critics and cynics within the industry that feel that interest in the game of basketball is declining which may be true by only examining participation and attendance numbers.  However, to those of us who live and breathe the game every day we know that there is not a better time to be involved in the world’s greatest game than right now!

Over the past year, I have personally interacted with young players around the country such as Mervyn Lindsay (JW North H.S., CA) and Cody Thurmond (Central Kitsap H.S., WA) who are committed to taking advantage of every resource possible to improve their mental knowledge as well as their physical skills.

I stay in contact with many young aspiring coaches such as Jules Milstead (Oakland, CA) and Brian Rodgers (Gary, IN) who are committed to not only teaching X’s and O’s but also realize the importance of mentoring young people during this process.  There are still many veteran coaches such as St. Anthony’s Bob Hurley and Jackson Lanier’s Thomas Billups who continue to motivate and inspire through “tough love” tactics.

Our industry is also being aided by up and coming digital media companies like PrepChamps.com and Driven Athletics that are using digital technology to increase opportunities for the under exposed to play college basketball.

I challenge everyone who is passionate about this game to make a pledge to do their part in bringing the fun and passion back to our game in 2009.  Reebok will do our part and I am open to suggestions on how you think we can help bring back the excitement specifically in your region.

Until next year, I wish you all safe and warm holidays with your immediate and basketball families.

God Bless,

Christopher Rivers

Father Henry Carr (Canada) vs. Enloe (Raleigh, NC)

Father Henry Carr has a young team but they can be fun to watch. Junior point guard Josh Ogden is very quick and has a nice shot, and 6′5″ sophomore Theon Reefer is very athletic and will only get better. Enloe is making its 19th appearance in the GSK Holiday Invitational tournament. The Eagles are led by 6′8″ junior forward Melvin Tabb, who has received scholarship offers from a few ACC schools, junior guard Charles Ashley and senior guard Courtney Pulley. Both these teams lost their first game, but won their second to face off this morning.

Enloe jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter (21-9) behind some great defense and fast break points. Melvin Tabb was a beast down low for the Eagles and at the end of the first quarter, the score was 26-13 Enloe. The second quarter was more of the same. Great defense and rebounding by Enloe combined with Father Henry Carr’s poor shooting gave Enloe a 47-26 halftime lead.

After halftime the Eagles continued their dominating performance and at the end of the third quarter, Enloe led 72-38. Enloe’s defense was giving Father Henry Carr problems and they were making mistakes left and right. In the fourth quarter, I have to give credit to Father Henry Carr for not giving up, and they outscored Enloe 31 to 11 in the fourth . Josh Ogden continued to play hard and made some nice plays and passes. Enloe still ended up winning 85-69 behind 16 points from Melvin Tabb and balanced scoring from everyone else.

Rocky Mount vs. Apex Middle Creek

Rocky Mount and Middle Creek both lost their first games in this tournament but won their second to advance and face each other this morning. Rocky Mount is led by 6′5″ junior forward Tashawn Mabry, who has been offered by NC State, Clemson, Xavier and Wake Forest, and senior point guard Alonzo Sharpton, who has some deceptive speed. Middle Creek is led by University of Miami signee Garrius Adams, who is a 6′5 guard with a great jump shot and the ability to get to the basket almost at will. Tom Tanklewicz, a 6′4″ senior guard who has signed to play with Charleston Southern, is also a key player for Middle Creek.

Garrius Adams and Middle Creek quickly established the lead in this game, but Mabry helped Rocky Mount get back in it to make it 10-10 with about three minutes left in the first quarter. Middle Creek then went on a 10-0 run behind Adams’ will to score seemingly whenever he wanted, and it was 20-15 at the end of the first quarter.

The game remained close throughout the second quarter, and Alonzo Sharpton had two nice moves midway through the quarter for four quick points. Tom Tanklewicz was also impressive, though I kept waiting for him to catch fire, but he couldn’t seem to hit two in a row. I thought Rocky Mount should have gotten the ball inside to Mabry much more (in this quarter and in the game), but give credit to Middle Creek’s defense for making it hard for the guards to make entry passes to the post. At halftime the score was 33-28 Rocky Mount. Tanklewicz had 12 points and Adams had 16 for Middle Creek, while Mabry led Rocky Mount with 14 points.

In the third quarter the game stayed close, with Middle Creek holding a 43-42 lead at the end of the quarter. Rocky Mount took its first lead of the game with about 7:40 left in the game (44-43) but Tanklewicz hit a three to put Middle Creek back on top, where they would stay the rest of the game. The final score was 64-55 Middle Creek. Tanklewicz ended up with 26 points and Adams, who clearly looked like the best player on the court, finished with 27 points. Mabry finished with 25 points to lead Rocky Mount, though it was a shame they couldn’t have gotten him the ball a little more.

Cary Panther Creek vs. Knightdale (3rd place game for the Summit Hospitality Group Invitational)

Panther Creek is led by 6′5″ senior forward Earnest Ross, who has committed to play for Auburn. They have some nice size and speed with the rest of the team, but twins Brandon (6′2″) and Marques (6′6″) Oliver stand out. Knightdale is led by 6′4″ senior Stan Okoye, who is being recruited by some Ivy League and mid-major schools, and senior Dijon Manns, a 6′7″ 230-pound forward. Knightdale also has some solid guards, such as Aaron Smith and Josh Gorham, who are both around 5′9″ and lightning quick.

The game was a defensive battle for the most part, with the score tied at ten at the end of the first quarter. Earnest Ross went on a tear at the beginning of the second quarter, scoring nine straight points to give Panther Creek the lead. Ross is one of the strongest players at the tournament but he also has a nice outside shot when he gets his feet set. At halftime the score was 28-22 Panther Creek.

In the third quarter Panther Creek stretched its lead to ten midway through the quarter, but Knightdale kept battling behind the play of guards Aaron Smith and Josh Gorham. 40-34 at the end of the third. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Knightdale pulled within three but could get no closer the rest of the way. The final score was 60-46 Panther Creek. Marcus Oliver did a nice job inside for Panther Creek and he finished with 17 points, while Earnest Ross led all scorers with 23. Knighdale was led by Smith (12 points) and Gorham (11 points).

• Featured Athletes
• PrepChamps News

The players below are the best of our “Coach Faves”–the players whose profiles have been viewed the most by coaches. One thing that many of these profiles have in common is that they have great pictures, video highlights, stats and a bio. Make sure you fill out your profile completely to increase your chances of getting noticed.

Alex Dorr

Alex Dorr is a 6′6″ senior forward from Iowa who has accepted an invitation to join Iowa State as a walk-on next year. Dorr averaged 18.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as a junior.

Dustin Ferguson

Dustin Ferguson is a 5′11″ senior guard from Missouri who averages 21 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game. He has been a 3 time All-Region Selection, 3 time All-District Selection, 3 time All-Conference Selection, and Conference Player of the Year.

Frank Danis

Frank Danis is a 5′11″ punter from Florida who graduated in 2008. In 2007 his punts averaged 42 yards and 14 out of 31 were inside the 20 yard line. He was redshirted this season at Arkansas State and will likely transfer and play football for another school in 2009.

David Wilson

David Wilson is a senior running back from Florida who runs a 4.43 second 40-yard dash. In 2007, he averaged 12.5 yards per carry.

Tucker Wentzien

Tucker Wentzien is a 6′7″ senior forward/center from Iowa. Wentzien avearges 14.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. He also is a talented soccer goalie who had 17 shutouts in 2007.

Corey Lazarus

Corey Lazarus is a 5′5″ senior guard from Pennsylvania who also plays soccer and field hockey, in addition to basketball.

Jaymie Rosati

Jaymie Rosati is a senior pitcher for her high school softball team in Whitesboro, New York. She made varsity as a freshman and was MVP of her team as a sophmore.

Brian Brooks

Brian Brooks is a 6′4″ point guard from the class of 2009. Brooks, who is from Wisconsin, averages about 24 points and 9 assists per game. He was MVP of the Five-Star Camp in Illinois in 2008. He says that “receiving a college education will open the door that I will walk thru on my path to fulfill the plan and purpose that God has for my life.”

I watched a solid 10+ hours of basketball today. Each game had its own great players and plays, but I wanted to share brief recaps of the final two games of the night, which featured four of the best teams in the tournament.

Kinston vs. Arden Christ School

Kinston is the defending NC 3A champs and is led by UNC recruit Reggie Bullock, an explosive 6′6″ junior guard with a great 3 point stroke. He’s ranked as the top shooting guard in the class of 2010 by many publications. Arden Christ School is led by Duke commitment Mason Plumlee, a dominant 6′10″ senior forward who is a very skilled big man, and Lakeem Jackson, a powerful 6′5″ guard who has committed to play at South Carolina next year.

My first impression on seeing Christ School was that they are big..very big. At one point during the game I noticed that every player on the floor for them was 6′5″ or taller. Christ school started out strong and jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Lakeem Jackson was phyiscally stronger than just about everyone on the floor and it was hard for anyone on Kinston to stop him when he decided to get to the hoop. Kinston fought back behind some good three-point shooting and went on a 15-4 run to tie it at 18 towards the beginning of the second quarter. Christ School then began playing more zone and it was hard for Kinston to score, especially with players like the 6′8 junior guard Sebastian Koch defending the perimeter. Mason Plumlee was tough inside but Reggie Bullock kept Kinston in the game, pouring in 13 first half points. At halftime the score was 38-32 Christ School.

In the second half the combination of Christ School’s big men inside and their defense proved too much for Kinston to overcome. Christ School started the second half with two straight dunks and Plumlee and Jackson continued causing problems for Kinston. At the end of the third quarter it was 60-50. Bullock had a hard time getting shots (or even getting the ball), as Christ School’s box-and-one defense took him out of the offense. Christ School won the game 76-59. Plumlee finished with 15 points, and Jackson led all scorers with 18. Bullock finished with 17 (but just 4 after halftime). I was very impressed with Plumlee’s grasp of the game and solid fundamentals, Jackson’s physical game, and Bullock’s sweet shooting stroke.

Raleigh Word of God vs. St. Raymond’s (New York)

Word of God is probably one of the most talented teams in the country, with John Wall (the #1 point guard in the class of 2009 and one of the most exciting players in the country), 6′9′ junior NC State commitment CJ Leslie, 6′4″ sophomore Dezmine Wells and 6′2″ sophomore Bishop Daniels. St. Raymond’s (the 2002 GSK champs) has a pretty young team this year (they started 3 sophomores) and is led by senior guard Tyreak Johnson, who is fielding offers from some mid-major teams (and is also the team’s only returning starter).

Word of God only knows how to play at one speed–lightning fast. They jumped out to a 9-2 lead behind two fast-break layups by John Wall, who is as quick as anyone I’ve ever seen. The game was pretty physical, with a lot of fouls being called and a lot of fouls not called. CJ Leslie picked up two quick fouls and had to sit the rest of the half. A couple of turnovers by Word of God let St. Raymond’s creep back into the game to tie it at 10-10. Just before the first quarter ended John Wall tried a double spin lay-up on a fast break, which was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen and awed the crowd, even though Wall missed the shot. Word of God led at the end of the 1st, 14-10.

The second quarter was all Word of God, as they outscored St. Raymonds 22-6 to take control of the game. The highlight of the quarter (and probably the game) came when Wall completed a three-point play after getting a dunk off an out-of-bounds alley oop play while being fouled. Dezmine Wells looked solid, even though he missed a would-be highlight dunk just before halftime. Bishop Daniels looked like one of the most talented players on the court, but he couldn’t get his shots to fall and forced a couple that he shouldn’t have. At halftime it was 36-16 Word of God.

In the third quarter CJ Leslie was back in but played less than a minute before picking up his third foul and then his fourth (a technical for arguing the call). St. Raymond’s briefly looked like they might be making it a game as they went on an 8-0 run, but they still couldn’t find a way to stop John Wall on the break, and at the end of the third it was 46-31 Word of God. Wall also was a beast on the defensive end all game, blocking shots and making St. Raymond’s players adjust many others.

The fourth quarter belonged to CJ Leslie, who came back in and put on a show. In a span of about two minutes he had 3 straight athletic dunks. The first dunk was on the left side from a wall alley-oop. The second was another alley-oop, this time off the backboard to Leslie, who was trailing behind on the break. On his third dunk, Leslie grabbed an air ball three-point shot and slammed it home. Later in the quarter Wall had a monster block and Leslie had a pretty step back three-pointer. The final score was 63-43 Word of God.

Overall it was a great third day at the 2008 GSK Holiday Invitational. Great players, great action and great plays.

January

PrepChamps, D1 Sports Partner on Local High School Football Combine

February

PrepChamps Combine at Fork Union Military Academy Produces Results

March

PrepChamps Raises over $800,000 in Seed Funding, Launches New Website

April

Kevin Fitzgerald (Director of our football combines) Explains Why It’s Important to Attend a Combine to Get A Football Scholarship

PrepChamps Closes $1.2 Million in Series A Funding

PrepChamps Partners with Reebok Grassroots Basketball

May

PrepChamps and Five Star Basketball Camps Partner to Help Student Athletes Get Recruited

June

PrepChamps Launches Its Sports Resume Facebook App

July

Wazoo Sports Works with PrepChamps to Broadcast the Reebok Summer Championships

August

PrepChamps Starts Its Weekly High School Sports and Recruiting Digests

September

PrepChamps Launches Most Friends Contest. 1st Prize is an iPod Nano

October

Launch of PrepChamps Challenges

November

PrepChamps Partners with BallisLife.com to Help Basketball Players Get Noticed

December

Mike Trager, Former Head of Clear Channel Entertainment Television, Joins PrepChamps

Sports International and PrepChamps Partner to Help Youth Football Players Get Recognized and Get Recruited

PrepChamps Featured on PartnershipActivation.com

Happy Holidays! We hope you all are having a great time with friends and family. Here’s the 21st edition of our weekly High School Sports and Recruiting Digest, which saves you time by giving you the scoop on the stories you may have missed from the last week. We’ve got a light edition this week, since many people are relaxing with their friends/family instead of writing articles. Check out the headlines below for what’s been going on, and click the links to see the full stories. We’ll be back next week with another full edition for you.

Stats Don’t Mean A Thing

Interesting article from Locker Room Prep Talk about two scouts who operate in different sports but have one thing in common. They both believe that stats don’t count for anything in the scouting process.

John Wall-Kenny Boynton Matchup

The #1 and #2 point guards from the class of 2009 (John Wall and Kenny Boyton) faced off at the end of last week in the first round of the City of Palms Classic. Wall had 15 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, three steals and two blocks as his team defeated Boynton’s 63-61. Here are some more links to coverage of the City of Palms Classic:

• HoopsReport.com Day 1 Recap
• HoopsReport.com Day 2 Recap
• HoopsReport.com Day 3 Recap

Daniel Steffine

Daniel Steffine is a 6-foot freshman guard from Pennsylvania who averages 18 points, 4 assists and about 4 steals per game. He was selected for the all-tournament team and the all-star team for his district last season.

Griffin Schamp

Griffin Schamp is a 6′4″ junior guard from Georgia who is averaging 25 points per game this year. He’s had a great season so far and scored 84 points in three games at the Parkview Tip-Off Tournament, where he was voted to the all-tournament team.

Nick Butler

Nick Butler is a sophomore soccer player from Alabama. Check out this great compilation video of some of the goals he’s scored.

Samantha Salazar

Samantha Salazar is a senior cheerleader from Idaho. She’s been on the varsity squad since she was a freshman, and she’s also a member of the National Honor Society. You can see more about Samantha on her PrepChamps profile.

Jeff Budinich

Jeff Budinich is a 6’10″ senior forward from Washington who has committed to play basketball at Montana State. He’s got a nice touch from the outside and is hard for many centers to keep up with.

Ashley Towne

Ashley Towne is a senior soccer player from Zebulon, NC. She was captain of her high school varsity soccer team in 2008 and led the team with 11 goals.

Blaken Zamudio

Blaken Zamudio is a 6′3″ senior guard from Texas who has committed to play basketball at Columbus (Ga.) University next year. He’s having a great season so far and he was named MVP of the CFB Classic while leading his team to the title game.

Jaymie Rosati

Jaymie Rosati is a senior pitcher for her high school softball team in Whitesboro, New York. She made varsity as a freshman and was MVP of her team as a sophmore.

Alex Hartung

Alex Hartung is a junior running back from Wisconsin. He has played varsity since his freshman year and was first-team, all-conference this season.

Christopher Rodriguez

Christopher Rodriguez is a 6′6″ WR/TE from Florida. This senior had four touchdown catches this season and runs a 4.7 second 40-yard dash.

Tyler Koronas

Tyler Koronas is a senior baseball player from Florida who plays second base. Tyler has a as a .342 batting average over 54 games and an on-base percentage of 50%.