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Players Need To Decide What School Is The Best Fit For Them, Not Parents

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Brandon Whiting is the Partnership Manager for Positive Coaching Alliance in Philadelphia (@PCA_Philly). He attended the University of California, Berkeley where he was a four-year starter on the defensive line for the Golden Bears. After his senior year, he joined the Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) as a 4th round pick of the 1998 NFL draft. He remained a valued member of the Eagles’ starting defensive line for six years before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 2004, where he remained until the end of the season.

Whiting speaks about the important process of recruiting in a young athlete’s life. He states that the athletes should be collecting information and input from everywhere—the school’s coaches, their parents, and their own coaches. However, they need to make sure they are making the decision for themselves to attend the school that is the best for them. Whiting believes that the success in development as a player and person is dependent on if the school they choose has and parallels the aspects the athlete values, or the things they want. The decision should not be based on what their parents want, or what the school’s coaches are promising them.