Gridironstuds Success Story: Patrone Wood – Ynacio Valley, CA
The reason I started Gridironstuds.com was to help talented football players use their athleticism to continue their education beyond high school and have a better opportunity to succeed in life. The following email I received from an appreciative parent symbolizes all that Gridironstuds.com stands for:
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To:
Chad Wilson,
Gridironstuds.com
Thanks for inquiring of our progress.
Patrone has been offered a starting position and signed as RB at a small D-2 university in Western Penn. (Seton Hill, Greensburg, PA). Which (I believe) you referred him to. They offered him a full scholarship plus a starting position, a new Mac and Ipod/phone and an opp to meet Jerome Bettis and the Steelers. We found that respectable. We had considered JC or prep but Patrone likes this route and is looking forward to getting away for a while. D-1 would have been nice (and may still come along perhaps) but we’re pleased at this point.
The school has recently invested $26M in its performing arts program and though we had other options to consider, this falls in line with his musical ambitions. They have considered him at DT (which he still may play) but they’ve not overlooked his talents as a RB and want him to come out and (in their words) “carry the rock”. We visited the school and Patrone feels (as do we) that, though modest, he can do well there. Patrone’s position is that as they seem to be a young team (6 yrs or so) and are building a program that he wants to be a big part of. In his words: “Dad, I’m gonna go there and put them on the map just like I did YV”. What a cool kid! He is currently gearing up a conditioning schedule for himself that I will help out with. He is Maintaining his weight at 260 and looks good. We are encouraging him to do a double major to maximize the opportunity and not focus on the pros so much. If it happens so be it but not to forget what “school” is for.
I hear that the admin at our school looks and feels mighty foolish at this point (scuttlebutt) not helping the #1 RB get into a D1 and all. As I mentioned we have had little to no school involvement in the recruit process so it was a struggle to get notoriety and we do appreciate the support and continued interest of Gridironstuds in our son’s progress. If (and when?) Patrone makes it big, Gridironstuds gets a big mention!
BTW and Interestingly enough, you should know that I’ve come to find that college coaches place very little value on a parents submission as opposed to a service such as Gridironstuds which is how he our scholarship came to be.
We would like to thank you and Gridironstuds for your assistance in the recruiting process.
Patrone (dad)
PS. We are hearing (here late in the game) from other schools now. Too late!
Check out Patrone Wood’s highlight video at Gridironstuds.com, click here.
