Triple Threat

Today, high school seniors can sign letters of intent to compete in a collegiate sport.

Eastern baseball already landed a solid recruiting class for next year in mid-November. Softball signed four Chicago area players in early December.

Football has had at least six transfers commit, and today more will be found out about head coach Bob Spoo’s (above) newest class.

High school athletes that commit to a Division I program in today’s society are more analyzed than high school athletes back in the 1960s and ’70s.

Here are three reasons we think prominent high school athletes are so scrutinized these days.

1. Media coverage – Sports Illustrated has its own section each week about national high school sports coverage. The magazine continually has a separate preview section for both preps football and boy’s basketball. More local and national newspapers devote coverage directly correlated to high schools.

2. Impact players – Freshmen are making a name for themselves in every major sport. Kevin Durant of Texas, Greg Oden of Ohio State and Brendan Wright of North Carolina are the talk of the men’s college basketball scene. With more freshmen playing right away (Eastern starts two in men’s basketball, two in women’s basketball and five are significant contributors in wrestling), the expectations are placed on them sooner.

3. AAU or club teams – The competition begins at earlier ages now for most athletes, with AAU teams or club teams formed when a kid is just starting first grade. College scholarships are the dream, and with more teenagers focusing solely on one sport year-round, their exposure is increased. With increased exposure comes increased scrutiny.