Frank played baseball beautifully. He played first base for his high school team and was the clean up hitter. With aspirations of playing in the major leagues, Frank thought he was on his way to his dream. At the start of his junior year, Frank began to notice a change in his vision--his peripheral vision was narrowing. The bad news came when the doctor told him that he had Retinitis Pigmentosa and would eventually lose his sight entirely.

There are over seven million student-athletes who play high school sports. Football rosters list more than a million of those athletes, and smaller sports, like soccer, have over 600,000 teen competitors per year. Yet, in NCAA Division I, college athletics' biggest arena, only 151,000 students play intercollegiate sports. (Division II has 75,000 athletes) So what are the odds of, a high school basketball player making it to play big-time on the college hardwood? Less than 1 in 100.

What should high school athletes be doing to earn a scholarship -- or find a place on a college team?

First in a continuing series on the mental aspect of sports

How can I serve you? Let me count the ways. From determining focus and concentration, through the use of visualization, our mental approach to athletic performance is the difference between coming in first or second: between being very good and being great. Our mental attitude can lead to the perfect spiral pass, or creating tension causing a ball to clank the rim of a basketball net. Our mind can help us stand head and shoulders above our competition or hurl us down a path - losing control and our grip on performance.

Here's a crazy exercise to try to get your week started out on a positive note. You're going to need to stand up, so if you're at work save it for later, or just say you had to stretch out.

This is an exercise I did at a leadership conference in high school with two amazing motivational speakers:

5 Ways to Have the Aura of a Champion Athlete

Varsity teams and even JV teams are becoming increasingly harder to make. For some student-athletes, getting cut as a freshman often means they stop playing their sport for good. Players sometimes make small mistakes that keep them off of a team, or maybe they don't dedicate themselves or play hard enough. From an insider's view -- follow these things to increase your chances of standing out as a special player to your coach at tryouts - and in practices and games -- and when a college coach comes to see you play.

As an athlete, you may wonder how you can remain motivated and excited for your workouts on a daily basis. There is no magic involved. When I work with athletes and fitness enthusiasts, I help them to remember the intrinsic physiological benefits that transpire from the very moment they begin to move their bodies. Simply being aware of these occurrences taking place in-the-moment motivates them to continue and feel good about the process itself.

Are you destined to gain the Freshman Fifteen?

Students today are faced with the serious reality of unwanted weight gain as they enter college. A recent study by Cornell University found that on average, college freshman gain about 0.5 pounds a week. This is almost 11 times more than the average weight gain among 17-and 18-year olds and almost 20 times more than the average weight gain among American adults! In the face of such staggering statistics two obvious questions arise: 1) Why are college students gaining weight at such an alarming rate? and 2) How can college weight gain be avoided?

Do you want a flat stomach?

People spend millions each year in the quest for a flat stomach. Right now there are close to 200 ab exercise devices out there. There's the ab do-it, the ab rock-it, the ab roller, the ab dolly, and so many more.

With all of these amazing new products, why aren't people everywhere walking around with that nice, lean mid-section they've always wanted?

Raw Foods and Raw Truth,

One reason to eat more raw foods is simplicity. It is much simpler and requires less time than cooking. I have found a way to make an Italian dinner for 4 in 20 minutes. How about having Lasagna, Fettuccine Alfredo, a Caesar Salad, and dessert all prepared in 20 minutes? It is easier to maintain a healthy weight and increase energy with this delicious way of eating.

Delicious Cuisine in Minutes

WHAT MAKES A CHAMPION?

Champions share many characteristics, none of which are determined by their talents. Here are some of those characteristics. How many of these statements also describe you and your life?

A champion has the courage to risk failure, knowing that setbacks are lessons to learn from.

A champion uses an event to gain greater self-knowledge as well as feedback on physical improvement.

A champion trains their thought processes as well as their body to produce a total approach to performance.

WAIT TRAINING: THE DIFFICULT ART OF BEING PATIENT

The following information is presented here to help you to experience an immediate boost in your performance. It will give you a sense about how I may be of help to you.

Teenage Athletes Should First Understand the Myths of Playing College Sports

Young student-athletes across America dream of playing sports at their favorite college. For the chosen few, this will happen. For the chosen, coaches will call them and coaches will write to them. They will see their names in papers, magazines, and on TV and on some of America's websites such as scout.com, rivals.com and other new sites that have popped up in recent years to highlight the best of the best. But what about the rest of the best?

THE COMPETITION ON THE EDGE: THE ART OF BEING COURAGEOUS

In the play "No Exit" by Jean-Paul Sartre, some people are trapped in a metaphysical, self-imposed hell - one room, no windows, crowded together and not able to leave. After they had spent much time here, a door opened and they were free to go. However, they remained because the unknown was too risky and filled with perceived danger. They had become comfortable with the status quo (horrendous lives) and lacked the courage to experience something much better.

UNDERSTANDING AND HANDLING PERFORMANCE PRESSURE

Performance pressure, anxiety and tension are caused by mind-set of inflated expectations, fear of failure and an unhealthy attitude toward your competition. Let's look at each of these.

Act of kindness speaks volumes about football’s spirit

In an age when arrogance and "Sharpie" pens steal the national spotlight, it is often the smallest, most unnoticed acts of kindness that remind us that football is merely a game.

The story, which is destined to become legendary in Southern Ohio circles, starts in Waverly.

Northwest football coach Dave Frantz and Tigers’ coach Derek DeWitt shared a conversation the week leading up to the game.