I’ve had the great fortune of knowing Larry Stevens ever since his days as a star Defensive End for the Michigan Wolverines.  Like many 0f the great players that came to Michigan, Larry was a highly sought after player and one of the top athletes in the country.  After moving from the offensive side of the ball to defense as a true freshman, he became a mainstay at DE and lettered every year which is an extremely rare feet.

What was to be a promising career in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, Larry had his career end to due to injury in just his second season. This is where the vast majority of professional athletes face their biggest challenge when the limelight comes to a close so suddenly. Larry happens to be one of the rare exceptions where his perseverance is by far his greatest quality, the same quality that drove him to accel on the gridiron that drives his professional career today.  Couple that with one of the most ambitious and uplifting personalities that anyone would be fortunate to meet.  Maybe the University of Michigan deserves some of the credit for this, but there is no doubt that Larry has done plenty of the heavy lifting that has made him a success today.

GES is fortunate to attract the outstanding array of talent that we do and Larry Stevens is another great example!  Welcome to the Team Larry!

When you grow up as the son of one of the great coaching legacies in the history of college football, it is the long lasting and trusting friendships that are the core of that legacy. One of those friendships resides in John Wangler and his Team at Valiant Brand.

John came to Michigan as one of the top QB’s in the Midwest out of Royal Oak Shrine High School where he served as a starter from 1979 to 1980 for the Wolverines.  After fighting through two career ending injuries, John came back  to lead the Team to a Big Ten and Rose Bowl Championship in 1980.  This would be my Fathers’ first over his 21 seasons at Michigan.

Toughness and resiliency are the trademarks to John’s leadership at Valiant Brand and those are the same tenets that we at GES hold sacred. We are confident that this newly formed Team will bring great benefits and excitement to our respective organizations and we could not be more inspired than we are today, So Let’s Go!

Go to https://valiant-brand.com and enter “GES” at checkout to get a %15 discount!

 

I was very happy to join my friend Michael Spath on his show “Inside the Huddle” to talk about our progress on the national stage. We are so proud and excited to provide this unique service that truly serves the best interests of all of the great young people that we are fortunate to work with.  Take a listen and enjoy!

The climate of college football recruiting has become increasingly confusing and daunting for many high school football players but also for their parents as well.

Considering the overlay of social media platforms, NCAA by-laws and figuring out which exposure or satellite camps to attend, the daily workload has become a full time job. And the key is where do we find the time to handle these responsibilities?

It resides in providing focus to the recruiting strategy with the goal of being mindful of our time and other valuable resources.

There are some solutions that we can derive from our past education as it relates to how important it is to evaluate relationships and the critical aspect of building trust.

The concept of trust is truly a two way street between coaches and student-athletes. First and foremost is communication; consistent communication is the basis of any productive relationship.

Every coach in the United States of America all have one thing in common; First is that they are all extremely busy people and second they do not like to waste time!

When coaches maintain a steady stream of contact that stays within NCAA rules, that is a very good step in knowing how sincere they are in you. For example, coaches are allowed to make one phone call per week during any prospects’ senior season.

When they call every week consistently through an entire season, that is a good sign that they are serious. Take a look at the following pdf to give you a pretty good idea of what happens when. http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/June2016_DIFootballGuide_20160613.pdf

I’ve had the great fortune of learning from some of the great communicators of a lifetime in my Father, Coach Bo Schembechler and his mentor Coach Woody Hayes.

What was it that made them great Coaches?

It was because they were honest to a fault, and you always knew where they stood and they were always consistent. Because of these particular qualities, their reputations spread quickly and players wanted to play for them.

If you can find coaches that have these traits and they convince you  by their consistent and honest communications, these are the type of coaches and programs that you want to play for!

This is one of the key aspects to what our Team at GES Advisory Company educates our student-athletes and their parents on.  We are here to help!