I know too many former athletes that “coulda, woulda, and shoulda,” but made wrong decisions at a crucial times, and missed they're opportunity to ever play their sport again.
I made many mistakes during my recruiting days and I still have a burning desire to help great athletes not make those same recruiting mistakes today.
In the last 40 plus years, I have coached and assisted coaches from the Little League level through the high school levels in football, baseball, softball, and wrestling. I was also the Parks and Recreation Director in Zanesville, Ohio.
Before that, I played 5 sports in high school and would have probably tried a few more if our school offered them. Fortunately for my parents and siblings, 5 sports was more than enough!
I have been in the sports business since 1995, when I became a scout and recruiting counselor for National Scouting Report in Savannah, Georgia. I was given the opportunity to open a new territory there and soon became an Area Director. I eventually turned the territory over to former Georgia Southern Basketball Coach Mike Backus, when I returned to Ohio for family reasons.
When I returned to Ohio in 1999, I went to work for College Prospects of America. I opened a new territory in east central Ohio and western West Virginia and developed that area for four years. I was able to enroll and help over 100 athletes while helping ''my kids'' find and save millions of dollars to enroll in colleges that were a good match for them.
Four years later I opened a new office in the Zanesville, Ohio, and returned to National Scouing Report until March of 2009. April 1, 2009, I launched this site for my new hobby. At that time I had no idea what Facebook was. My grandson, Hunter, and my daughter Heather, talked me into signing up.
Since then, I have started a Twitter account, a Linkedin account, and can report that over 50,000 people have stopped to visit this site.
During the previous 14 plus years, I had the opportunity to work with over 500 athletes and their families. Over 90% went on to college and played their sport and got scholarships and, or, financial aid. Several are still playing and I enjoy going to their games now too.
I invite you to learn what I have learned and documented on this free web site. Please use this site and email me if you have further questions or suggestions on how to make this site a better tool to help you with your recruiting needs. Thanks.
Greg Hamilton
About me
THE FOLLOWING IS AN UNEDITED VERSION OF MY NEXT SPORTS COLUMN THAT MAY OR MAY NOT END UP IN YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER
How I Became An Addict
My name is Greg Hamilton and I’m an addict. It all started when I was 5 or 6 years old and I have many enablers to blame.
The first time my problem surfaced was after church let out one Sunday. My buddy Doug Hatfield and I were throwing a Pee Wee football back and forth as we waited for our parents and the church to empty. I remember Doug’s dad, Sam, came up to me and told me he had been watching me throw and run. He told me had his eye on me to be his quarterback in a few years. His remarks enabled me and lit the fire to my addiction.
I couldn’t wait to guide the Philo Electrics and play for Sam! I could see the stadium lights from my house on Friday nights. The sight of those glowing lights sent a shiver down my spine then and still does today! I think this is a definite sign of addiction.
I love baseball too, thanks to another enabler, Mr. Don Miller. Even though we threw right, he forced my best friend Clinton and me to be left-handed batters, at about the same tender age. Thank God he did, as being a lefty batter was so much fun for the next four decades.
After playing minor league baseball I tried out for Little League in my hometown of Duncan Falls. I couldn’t wait to play on that nice grass infield where the Philo football locker room sits today. When they announced who had made the teams, all my friends were picked but my name was never called. I was devastated! In my mind, I was just as good as my buddies. I remember walking up to the man in charge. His name was John Di Garmo. I asked him why I wasn’t chosen. He told me I WAS good enough and I would have been picked but my family and I were moving. MOVING?
I knew nothing about this so I ran home to ask my parents what this was all about.
They told me it WAS true. I thought it was the end of the world. My dad got transferred and I was leaving my life- long friends and moving 100 miles away to a town called Brilliant, Ohio.
We moved to this little town on the Ohio River and I immediately hated it. It seemed it was sitting on the side of a mountain, and no way could you play ball there!
In my first day in this new town, I remember the sick and lost feeling I had as I went into our small front yard and started tossing my baseball straight up and playing catch with myself. As I played, a boy a few years older than me named Charlie saw me playing. He thought I was pretty good. He said his dad was the coach of his Little League team and he thought he may be able to get me a tryout.
With parental permission, Charlie and I walked up the mountain we called Lawrence Avenue to Charlie’s house. His house sat at the top of the mountain and we climbed up about 100 steps to Charlie’s house where I met Coach Mike Bailey. He had me throw, catch, run, and bat for my try out. He promptly told me I made the team and he gave me a red Cardinal’s hat, stirrup socks, and a gray and red wool uniform that was probably 4 sizes too big. I was thrilled but nothing like I was the second day in my new town.
It was Memorial Day and I was riding on the back of one of several siren-blowing fire trucks in the Brilliant Memorial Day parade. I was waving to all these people I had never seen before. The parade ended at the ball field with throngs of people waiting for a day of ball games to begin. I thought I was in heaven! I didn’t get to play that day but it didn’t matter. I was on a Little League team! My sports addiction soared to another level.
My four year Little League career was wonderful. We won the pennant my last year, but there are two memories that I would like to have ‘’do overs’’ on. The first was getting one of my permanent front teeth knocked out by a baseball. The second thing was neither parent was present when I hit my only home run in Little League. It was in the All Star game against hated Mingo Junction. Both parents were out trying to find my female coon dog that got loose and had attracted lots of boyfriends that day. I probably weighed about 50 pounds and that home run made my addiction even stronger when All Star Coach George Adams gave me that wonderful bat.
As my high school sports career started, I envisioned playing football, basketball, and baseball. It didn’t go as planned. I became a water boy for the varsity football team in 8th grade and became a great friend of the assistant football coach, Coach Gene Miltko. He was also the head varsity wrestling coach and another enabler for me. He convinced me to go out for wrestling even though I had been the starting point guard in 7th and 8th grade basketball. Much to the dismay of my parents, Coach Miltko thought I’d be a pretty good 103 pounder, if I could gain about 10 pounds.
As it turned out, I bulked up to 95 pounds and wasn’t too bad at wrestling. I loved the one on one competition and the thrill I received when the referee held my arm high in the air after a victory. To Coach Miltko’s dismay, I went out for basketball my sophomore year and we had a great season. During my junior year I was torn between wrestling and basketball so I decided to just lift weights all winter to buff up my little body for my favorite sport which was football. Before the season was over, the basketball and the new wrestling coach convinced me to do both sports at the same time.
Since both teams had winning seasons, my addictions grew even stronger. My high school years had me playing football, basketball, baseball, as well as wrestling and running track on teams with winning records. Who wouldn’t love that?
When my senior year began, I was out of control with my addictions. I lifted and ran with my best friend, Tom Joiner. We were by far, the two smallest guys on the football team. We believed we had to work out harder and be in better shape, if we’re going to play with the big boys. Tom’s work ethic enabled me even more just trying to keep up with him.
We lost many good players from our 1967 team. Consequently, our team of 27 players was picked to only win 4 games 1968, during my senior year by legendary sports writers Doug Huff and John D. Kirker of the Ohio Valley’s two big newspapers. I’m sure Mr. Huff and Mr. Kirker never knew they enabled me even more.
A coach named Jake Olsavsky, not Sam Hatfield, was my football, baseball, and reserve basketball coach in high school. He was the enabler of all enablers and I’d still run through a brick wall for him today. With only his suggestion, most of our team ran and lifted on our own during the summer before my senior football season.
This story ends on a happy note. Our season still reminds me of the movie Hoosiers and being underdogs. But there I was again, in a parade with fire trucks and their sirens blaring, with the band and cheerleaders marching through the streets of this little town I used to hate. We were in parades 10 weeks in a row, a parade for every game we won.
Thanks to my mother for making me superstitious. She made me throw a football with her before every game that year. I refused this stupid tradition my junior year for 2 games. Guess how many games we lost? You guessed it, TWO! I take full blame and apologize to all my teammates, coaches, and fans of our little town, and especially my mother.
Even after high school, I had the good fortune to play on undefeated softball and state playoff flag football teams. Last summer I even played on a league winning golf team thanks to my latest enabler, PGA Pro, Steve Galloway.
I have to admit I have been blessed with a wonderful addiction while only being an average athlete. When you see me at a game, meet, or a match, maybe now you can understand why I’m there.
Greg Hamilton provides free recruiting help for high school athletes on the Internet at: http://www.ghsportsservices.com/ and is available for questions by emailing greghamiltonsportsservices@gmail.com
Help Greg pay for this free service and get some advertising benefits instead of giving up your hard earned $ for a donation!
Your ad can be here!!
10% of ad sales go back to your school or team!!
