Braves To Tour Southeast On Annual Caravan
The Atlanta Braves Country Caravan will hit the road January 27 – February 9 for a two week tour around the Southeast that will see the team travel more than 3,000 miles and make more than 40 stops, greeting thousands of fans before heading to Florida for the start of Spring Training in mid-February. On each day of Caravan, Braves players, coaches, and executives will make community appearances, including visits to local schools, hospitals, military bases, and businesses, and host autograph signings at Academy Sports + Outdoors locations.
*Atlanta Braves participating in each day of Caravan are subject to change.
Mark Your Calendars - 2012 Braves Country Caravan Tour Schedule:
Friday, January 27 – Charlotte, North Carolina and Spartanburg, South Carolina - Braves scheduled to participate include: Tommy Hanson, Jonny Venters, Tyler Pastornicky, Frank Wren, and Terry Pendleton •12:00-2:00 p.m. - Charlotte Power Lunch – Q & A and Autograph Signing, Taco Mac, 4625 Piedmont Row Dr. Bldg. E, Ste. 100, Charlotte, NC 28210 •4:00-5:30 p.m. - Spartanburg Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 100 Peachwood Centre Drive, Spartanburg, SC 29301
Saturday, January 28 – Snellville, Georgia - Braves scheduled to participate include: Jair Jurrjens, Eric Hinske, Eric O’Flaherty, Terry Pendleton, and Brian Snitker •Community visits to be announced •4:00 – 6:00 p.m. - Snellville Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 1585 Scenic Hwy, Snellville, GA 30078
Sunday, January 29 – Fort Benning, Georgia, and Montgomery and Auburn, Alabama - Braves scheduled to participate include: Tim Hudson, David Ross, Eric Hinske, Tyler Pastornicky, and Scott Fletcher •9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Visit with the Troops at Fort Benning •12:00-1:30pm**CST - Montgomery Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 8610 Eastchase Pkwy, Montgomery, AL 36117 •3:00-4:30pm**CST - Auburn Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 2325 Bent Creek Road, Auburn, AL 36830
Monday, January 30 – Atlanta and McDonough, Georgia - Braves scheduled to participate include: Freddie Freeman, Michael Bourn, Eric O’Flaherty, Frank Wren, Carlos Tosca, and Braves alum Greg McMichael •Community visits to be announced •3:30-5:00 p.m. - McDonough Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 198 South Point Blvd., McDonough, GA 30253
Tuesday, January 31 – Macon, Georgia - Braves scheduled to participate include: Craig Kimbrel, Randall Delgado, and Eddie Perez •10:15 – 12:15 - Visit with Students at Northeast High School, Macon •Visit to the Children’s Hospital at the Medical Center of Central Georgia (not open to media) •4:00-5:30 p.m. - Macon Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 1689 Eisenhower Pkwy, Macon GA 31206
Wednesday, February 1 – Fort Gordon, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina - Braves scheduled to participate include: Jason Heyward, Julio Teheran, and Fredi Gonzalez •10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. - Visit with the Troops at Fort Gordon •3:30-5:00 p.m. - Columbia Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 730 Fashion Drive, Columbia, SC 29229
Thursday, February 2 – Birmingham, Alabama - Braves scheduled to participate include: Jair Jurrjens, Randall Delgado, Frank Wren, and Carlos Tosca •2:00 – 3:00 p.m. **CST - Visit with students at Mountain Brook Junior High School •4:00-5:30 p.m.**CST - Birmingham Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 310 Doug Baker Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35242
Friday, February 3 – Lilburn and Athens, Georgia - Braves scheduled to participate include: Matt Diaz, Brandon Beachy, Roger McDowell, Brian Snitker and Bruce Manno •10:30 – 11:30 a.m. - Visit with students at Hopkins Elementary School, Lilburn • 4:00-5:30 p.m. - Athens Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 3505 Atlanta Highway, Athens GA 30606
Saturday, February 4 – Nashville, Tennessee - Braves scheduled to participate include: Mike Minor, Cory Gearrin, and Zane Smith •Community visits to be announced •1:30-3:00pm**CST - Franklin Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 1915 Mallory Lane, Franklin, TN 37067
Monday, February 6 – Rome and Cumming, Georgia - Braves scheduled to participate include: Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, Dan Uggla, Frank Wren, and Fredi Gonzalez •Rome community visits to be announced •4:30-6:00pm Cumming Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 320 Peachtree Pkwy., Cumming, GA 30041
Tuesday, February 7 – Greenville, South Carolina - Braves scheduled to participate include: Brandon Beachy, Julio Teheran, Eddie Perez, and Braves alum Johnny Estrada •1:30 -3:00 p.m. - Visit with the students at Sevier Middle School, Greenville •4:00-5:30 p.m. - Greenville Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing, 59 Woodruff Industrial Lane, Greenville, SC 29607
Wednesday, February 8 – Atlanta, Georgia - Braves scheduled to participate include: Chipper Jones, Craig Kimbrel, Mike Minor, Roger McDowell, Bruce Manno and Braves alumni Javy Lopez •Community visits to be announced
What Colleges Really Want In An Athletic Scholarship Candidate
With National Signing Day for football just a couple of months away, many high school athletes across the country are completing the recruiting process after having spent countless days working hard to achieve one goal; to receive an athletic scholarship. For most of these student athletes, they have had their hearts set on their “dream school” since the day they started playing sports, but in order to turn the dream into a reality, high school athletes need to know what college recruiters are looking for when it comes to offering a scholarship.
Getting a third party evaluation, such as NCSA Athletic Recruiting, can be key for the recruiting process. As the leading educational resource for those involved in the recruiting process, NCSA Athletic Recruiting will provide the guidance and tools a student may need to achieve their goals of playing at the collegiate level. NCSA Athletic Recruiting has offered advice on the top three categories that coaches look for when it comes to offering athletic scholarships.
Social. These days, college coaches look more and more at the character of potential players and try to get a feel for who they are. “During campus visits, coaches ask themselves questions like ‘Am I going to get along with this kid for four years and will he/she be able to organize their time and put their priorities first?’ These can be deciding factors if a coach is on the fence about a potential player,” says Randy Taylor, Recruiting Analyst and Senior National Educational Speaker for NCSA Athletic Recruiting.
Athletics. Recruiters and coaches want to know that a student is able succeed at the collegiate or professional level. Since they make these evaluations based on current performance, it’s very important that a student athlete showcases their talent in the right way. “These days, everything is electronic,” says Randy. “The students we work with at NCSA each have a personal website and professional video that highlight them using spotlights and shading so the coach knows who he/she should be looking at.”
Academics. According to Randy, academics are the most important factor that coaches and recruiters look at right off the bat. “If a student doesn’t have the grades to get them into that school, then there is no point for a coach to seriously consider them.” Typically, five factors are considered under the category of academics:
*Class Rank – ideally, a student should be in the top 25% of their graduating class
*Standardized Test Scores – the national average score for the SAT is 1,000 and 22 for the ACT. Students should strive to be at or above those averages.
*GPA – maintaining a solid grade point average is important.
*Transcripts – many student athletes make the mistake of not offering transcripts up front to coaches and recruiting staff. NCSA advises that students always include their transcript in the first round of correspondence they have with a school.
*Personal Challenges – coaches will look at a student’s academic profile and ask themselves if that student is challenging themselves in the classroom by taking AP or honors courses.
NCSA Athletic Recruiting changes lives by building leaders through sports and connecting four key communities involved in the college athletic recruitment process: qualified high school student-athletes and their families, high school coaches and athletic directors, college coaches, and professional partners such as the NFLPA, ESPN, and more. NCSA is the leading collegiate recruiting source for more than 200,000 student-athletes and 35,000 college coaches across the country. By taking advantage of this extensive network, more than 90% of NCSA Athletic Recruiting-verified athletes go on to play at the collegiate level. In addition, NCSA educates over 4 million athletes and their parents about the recruiting process each year through educational resources on its website, www.ncsasports.org