The SportsForce blog reported on a story like this back in February, which you can see here, and SportsForce would to share an earlier article that extolled the virtues of athletics for girls. Bringham Young University concluded a study in 2007 that stated that playing high schools sports increase the chance of a woman graduating from college by 41 percent.

Playing on a high school team increases young women’s odds of graduating from college by 41 percent, according to recent BYU grad Kelly Troutman and her mentor, sociology professor Mikaela Dufur, who report their research in the new issue of the journal Youth & Society.

“If the goal is for girls to get a higher education, our findings favor the idea of girls playing high school sports,” said Dufur, who played in the marching band but did not play on any sports teams in high school. “Not only are girls good for sports, sports are good for girls.”

Beckett Broh, a sociologist at Wittenberg University in Ohio who is not affiliated with the BYU research, concluded in a 2002 study that athletics help students’ academic performance during high school more than any other extracurricular activity. Broh said school administrators facing tight budgets should take the new BYU study into consideration before putting an athletic program on the chopping block for the sake of cutting costs.

“This is pretty powerful evidence that interscholastic sports are worthy of our education dollars,” said Broh. “This is one of the first few studies that have done a really careful look at long-term benefits of sports.”

Troutman and Dufur analyzed a sample of 5,000 female students from the high school class of 1992 who were randomly selected to participate in the National Education Longitudinal Study. Those students, both athletes and non-athletes, completed surveys in 8th grade, 10th grade and 12th grade. Six years after finishing high school, the participants completed a final survey that included questions about post-high school education.

Visit the BYU website for the full article and browse all of our Girls Sports pages at SportsForceonline.com

The 7th Annual SoCal Hoop Review was held April 10th and 11th at Cal State University Dominguez Hills and Lynwood High School in Lynwood, CA. The tournament was open to all high school grades including seniors. Both AAU teams and High School teams took the chance to compete.

The tournament showcased top talent from across the country and gave players a chance to show off  their skills in highly competitive games in front of top college coaches, scouts, as well as media. Check out the highlight video below.

To visit the SportsForce Boys Basketball Home page click here.

Sport: Baseball Positions: Catcher Height: 6′3″ Class: 2010 School: Scripps Ranch High School San Diego, CA

Wynston Sawyer, batted .700 with two home runs and eight RBIs at the Lions Baseball Tournament this past weekend. This performance earned Wynston the recognition of being named the MVP of the 6A Division for the tournament. Wynston also contributed to the now 12-2 Scripps Ranch Falcons with two doubles, five walks, three stolen bases and six runs scored.
To view Wynstons’s complete SportsForce profile click here - http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/wsawyer

Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

This post is courtesy MVPToday.com

The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, announced on Friday that Corey Hawkins of Estrella Foothills High School is its 2009-10 Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Hawkins as Arizona’s best high school boys basketball player.

Hawkins is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound senior guard led the Wolves (31-1) to their third straight Class 3A state title this past season, averaging 36 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 3.7 assists per game.

The returning Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Player of the Year finished his career as the state’s all-time career scoring leader with 3,154 points and also set the single-season scoring record with 1,152 points this winter.

The 2010 Arizona Republic Small Schools Player of the Year, Hawkins scored a season-high 65 points in a win over Chino Valley High on Feb. 2.

Hawkins has maintained a 3.14 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered locally as a youth basketball camp counselor and participated in a humanitarian effort to collect and send shoes to earthquake victims in Haiti.

“Corey Hawkins has a work ethic unlike any player I’ve ever coached and he’s made himself one of the most complete basketball players in the state,” said Estrella Foothills High Head Coach Ty Amundsen. “He has made such an enormous impact on our team and on our program as a whole.”

Hawkins joins recent Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Players of the Year Taylor Rohde (2007-08, Pinnacle) and Jerryd Bayless (2006-07, St. Mary’s) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Hawkins has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Arizona State University this fall.

Coach Kentera and XX1090 Sports Radio hosted SportsForce CEO Andrew Beinbrink recently to discuss the changing time line of college recruiting, the importance of video in the recruiting process and how SportsForce is working hard to help high school student athletes in every way possible. Check out the interview below. Coach Kentera highlights high school sports every week for XX1090 and is himself very familiar with college recruiting as he’s been a mentor to hundreds of student athletes guiding their careers in many ways including placing over 100 students at the college level and having 37 players drafted or sign professional baseball contracts. Check out the full interview below.

Sport: Basketball Position: Forward Height: 6′7″ Class: 2010 School: Lincoln High School San Diego, CA

The Lincoln Hornets started out the season with the goal of taking the Division II state title and they are just steps away from it. A balanced team, with strong performances coming from many members, this week senior forward Victor Dean took the chance to step up against Compton. A captain for Lincoln, Dean scored a game high 19 points, the majority of which came after the half as Lincoln picked up momentum to take the lead after being down in the first half. Lincoln defeated Compton 60-52 and secured the Southern California Section D-II Title. Dean was also named to the first team for the All San Diego Section Basketball Team. Dean and the Lincoln Hornets will face off against Mountainview St. Francis in Bakersfield this weekend in search of the state title.

To view Victor’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/vdean

Highlight Video and Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

Historically San Diego County has developed some the best running backs to ever play the game of football, with a list that includes Heisman Trophy winners: Marcus Allen, Rashaan Salaam, Ricky Williams and Reggie Bush. NFL great, Terrell Davis, one of five 2,000 yard rushers at the professional level, could also trace his roots back to the area. Even with the area’s rich history at the position, San Diego’s running back class of 2010 is arguably the most talented group ever to be coming out of any single location, let alone San Diego County.

Currently on Rivals, Dillon Baxter (6’0 205lbs), is ranked as the top overall all-purpose back in the nation and the only one with a five star rating at his respective position. As a Mission Bay Bucaneer, he led his team to a perfect season by playing both running back and quarterback. On the season, Dillon rushed for nearly 3,000 yards, scored 50 TDs rushing, 25 TDs through the air and had an impressive average of 11.4 YPC. He went over 300 yards in three different occasions and his lowest rushing mark of the year was 100 yards. As expected, Dillon was recently announced as the National Player of the Year. Dillon will be playing close to home with a commitment to USC.

Close on Dillion’s heels on the Rivals all-purpose back rankings is Brennan Clay (6’0 200lbs), who is currently holding the number two spot. During his junior year at Scripps Ranch, Brennan was a dual threat running back, surpassing 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving. He is a home run threat every time he touches the ball and is an explosive return man. Brennan recently signed with the University of Oklahoma.

Now look at Ricky Seale (5’10 190lbs), a big play back coming out of Escondido High School whose production over the last few years surely speaks for itself. His breakaway speed paired with superior vision has enabled him to amass 2,400 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns in each of the past two season. Towards the end of his senior year he became the leading rusher in CIF-San Diego Section history and first ever in the section to go over 6,000 total rushing yards. He was highly recruited within the PAC-10, and ultimately signed with Stanford.

Then, there is Damien Williams (6’0 200lbs), a newcomer to the list of star running backs leaving San Diego County this year. Everyone always knew that he had talent, but grades and changing schools prevented him from demonstrating his talent early on. During his senior year at Mira Mesa he established himself as a top-tier back by rushing for nearly 2,300 yards, 24 TDs, 9.9 YPC and closing out the season strong with a string of eight consecutive 200 yard performances. Damien is now signed with the Arizona State Sundevils.

Don’t forget about Tony Jefferson (6’1 205lbs), from Eastlake High School, he has rushed for 5 yards shy of 2,000 with a 8.95 YPC and 25 TDs on the season. The scary thing is Tony was being recruited as a Safety and not a running back, so that speaks volumes about his potential to play on both sides of the ball. After being recruited and showing high interest in playing for Michigan, Oklahoma or USC, Tony decided on Oklahoma.

These young players have history on their side; San Diego County has produced more Heisman winners than any other place in the country. Is there something in the water? Maybe it’s a little too early to be speaking about the Heisman, but each one of these players has a chance to be something special, so make sure you keep an eye out for them in the next few seasons.

Sport: Basketball Position: Forward Height: 6’6” Class: 2012 School: La Jolla Country Day, La Jolla, CA

Frankie Bamford is an extremely talented sophomore forward at La Jolla Country Day. Consistently putting up double digits, Bamford is fast becoming the go to player for his team. In a tough loss to the Francis Parker, Bamford had a double- double leading his team with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Bamford followed up one double-double game with another. In a win over Santa Fe Christian, Bamford finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots while he helped his team to another win by finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds to beat out Clairemont. Bamford also led his team with 17 points in a loss to the Bishop’s School.

To view Frankie’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/fbamford

Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

Sport: Football Positions: QB / DB Height: 5’9” Weight: 180 Class: 2010 School: Francis Parker High School San Diego, CA

Deon Randall was a one-man human highlight reel as his Francis Parker Lancers came up just short in the CIF State bowl series against Modesto Christian 44-40.  The speedy 5’9” 180 lb quarterback was nothing short of spectacular.  He accounted for 30 of his team’s 40 points, totaled 5 touchdowns: 2 through the air, 3 on the ground, and gained 386 of his team’s 437 total yards on offense.  Often cited as too short to play the quarterback position at the collegiate level, Randall’s leadership has never been questioned.  Head coach John Morrison told the North County Times, “I want the ball in his hands with the game on the line.”  While his Lancers may have come up short, Deon Randall was anything but.

To view Deon’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/drandall

Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

“Work harder” say the coaches. I say eat better if you want to work harder. My 18 year old niece trains seven days a week to become the best collegiate swimmer possible. Every weight training session, every 6 am practice, she is there with a smile and enthusiasm that screams, “Bring it on!” Yet, as I asked her about her eating habits the other day, I stopped dead in my tracks. It appears that Rubio’s has been the greatest nutritional component of her training as of late.

As a sports nutritionist, I focus on guiding professional and amateur athletes in various sports from MMA fighters and major league baseball players to pleasure surfers, and I have neglected my own flesh and blood. Let me explain myself before continuing because I feel there are many parents and athletes who might relate and learn a few things. As a young teenager my niece wisely stopped drinking sodas and decided to never eat fast food. Movies like Fast Food Nation had an impact on her, so I decided she was a rather healthy individual. But does my niece eat anywhere near the quality of nutrition she should as a hardcore athlete? Not even close! Thus, the inspiration to write this article was born and I hope it can help those who seek to achieve optimum athletic conditioning and are showing up at 6 am while their peers are sleeping in. I will be writing this article in several parts with this being part one, so stay tuned and take notes. We will start with the foundation today.

Eating 5 Small Meals a Day

As a nutritionist, I see people (myself included!) struggle to eat 5 small meals a day. It is even more challenging for busy teenage athletes going 100 miles an hour to eat well and more often. In typical teenage invincible-mode, they often believe they can skip meals without negative consequences. Worse yet, young female athletes sometimes intentionally skip meals thinking this will help them control their weight. Why is it so important to eat smaller amounts of food more frequently throughout the day?

Eating more often keeps you feeling great and full of energy. This practice helps to keep your blood-sugar level stable and avoids the highs and lows associated with other eating habits. Eating smaller, well balanced meals containing lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats will result in a healthy body ready for challenge. It also provides fuel needed for muscle repair and growth, development, and recovery.  We will explore each of these areas in the next article.

–To learn  more about athlete nutrition and Optimal Nutrition visit: http://optimalnutritioninc.com/