The National Post Grad Athletic Association
Prepare for Success
For many athletes, the recruiting process can be frustrating and unfulfilling. No matter because they were not offered a scholarship to that big-time school, the option to continue their path is open.
Most. immediately think junior college is the way forward, but recently an option that goes back decades has become more and more popular with the internet age. College Prep Post Grad athletics offers benefits such as quicker access to top schools, no eligibility penalty, and a more athletic focused approach.
Get to Your Destiny Quicker
For some, being able to hop right out of a cap and gown and back onto their perspective playing field is necessary. While high school discipline is fresh in their minds, a Post Grad route offers immediate entry. Restricted grade requirements, less hassle from admissions, and at times no significant lifestyle adjustment. Just put on the uniform and begin to prepare both athletically and academically.
The Most Time At the Next Level
The NCAA has stringent eligibility requirements. Often, going the NCAA or JUCO route takes off too much time at the next level. With playing time being a highly valued commodity, the athletes need to get as much game film as possible to impress the next level. Post Grad offers a tremendous opportunity to get into the action and develop without using up that precious eligibility.
All About Athletes
Post Grad’s object is to develop as an athlete physically and academically, not just to win championships. There are fewer players on a Post Grad team than any other level, allowing them to shine brighter. The coaches are focused on developing the players’ minds, bodies, and skills to get them better prepared for the next level, which rewards those athletes with more attention to fundamentals. Tutors help increase test scores, and trainers get the bodies prepared to hit those big-time weight rooms and compete at the highest level.
By choosing the College Prep Post Grad route, the athletes decide to accelerate their growth and explore their potential immediately. Some athletes are tremendous on the field but, a roadblock within their academic component may have hindered their direct path to the top due to low test scores, GPA issues, or even the lack of skill development. Taking a Post Grad year and developing the skills needed has been incredibly beneficial for many athletes in the past.
The Association
For the past few years, the basis of this association has been growing and producing results. Hundreds of athletes have discovered the benefits of getting personal attention to get them to that next level, and now Post Grad has a face within NPGAA, which has expanded to create a national presence.
Post Grad basketball has seen tremendous success for many years with the likeness of programs like Pro Holmes Sports Academy who has placed kids like Rey Idwou Tulsa and Joe French Bethune Cookman. Post Grad’s future is on another level due to the number of kids who will now be struggling to find placement with the extended year that the NCAA has provided. Aron Holmes, Director of Pro Holmes Sports Academy, states that “post-graduate program provides an additional year of athletic, educational, and college recruitment support while also preparing student-athletes for the transition from high school to college without affecting NCAA eligibility. I highly recommend it”
Jason Vaughn played for Advanced Prep Academy (APA) in 2018 for one academic semester due to skills development and athletic exposure issues. A year later, Vaughn was suiting up in Raymond James Stadium, playing nationally ranked D1 FBS teams on ESPN for the USF Bulls. Henry Montgomery, who also attended APA in 2017, found himself holding a Division II NCAA National Championship trophy two years later with the UWF Argonauts.
These tremendous athletes chose the route that got them to the next level quicker and with all their eligibility intact. Scouts liked what they saw in them, and the NPGAA aims to bring more exposure to more student-athletes as this will become a more common trend for all players seeking more alternative routes to college.
Advance Prep Academy’s Director Leo Etienne spoke about the NPGAA recently, saying, “Post Grad has become a great second-chance opportunity and a developmental avenue for many kids who need an extended way of reaching their potential.” He went on to detail, “with these types of programs; a second chance is defined in areas of self-development in ways that a student may not have understood while in high school.”
The NPGAA Levels Up
The NPGAA is increasing from a few teams local to Florida and the Southeast to a genuinely national association expanding as far as the West Coast to the Greatlakes.
The association expansion benefits everyone. The more programs involved; the more eyes are on the student’s athletes. No longer do players have to send tapes far away to programs with no scouts in the area. With this expansion, there will be games all over the country, grabbing the attention of recruiters.
The NPGAA has formed four Post Grad Athletic conferences throughout the country, which will seek to provide a national presence for all association programs involved. Within these conferences, ’ teams will have a much greater purpose to play for, as a national champion will be crowned. Getting to the championship game for most is a dream come true, but it means more than a trophy; it means more opportunities for a kid who has slide under the radar to gain more exposure.
Knowing the two best teams are on the field will mean that scouts will be able to focus on the single-game and get some of those great athletes whom they might have missed during the high school recruiting process or that were not physically or academically ready at the time.
The NPGAA will help guide athletes into the world of college athletics while giving them time to prepare their bodies. Not everyone is fully developed right out of high school, and sometimes that extra eight months to a year is needed to grow taller and stronger. Scottie Pippen famously grew 7 inches during his college career.
Get Ready for The Future
With the arrival of the NPGAA and the Post Grad Conferences formation, now is the time for Parents, Players, Coaches, and Scouts to get involved.
“Within the next few years, Post Grad will be a hotbed for college coaches to locate talented recruits. With the NPGAA expanding throughout the country targeted programs like Advance Prep Academy, Liberty Prep Sports, Phenix City, ALN Sports Prep, MDA Prep, Myrtle Beach Prep and so many others will provide tremendous opportunities for the culture of Post Grad athletics.” – Leo Etienne
