Donald Volante, Recruiting Specialist

Daytona State College

[email protected]

(312) 638-4872

I was a standout football player in high school, starting varsity for three years. I also played basketball and wrestled. I received numerous college letters from all of the top schools, more than 40 letters of interest. Just like our founder, I put my favorite two on the wall in my bedroom, Penn State University and Miami University, and the rest in a shoebox under my bed. I thought for sure that I was getting a full ride to the school of my choice. But as time went by and there was no further contact, I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I filled out all the questionnaires but no response. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that you had to do more than just wait for them to call you.

I went to Southern Illinois University and Daytona State College. I was lucky enough to find my way to a semi-pro football team in Florida, where I had a relatively good career, playing until I was 32 years old. Today, I’m a father of three who are going through their own recruiting process in their sports. I coach young athletes for our high school’s feeder program to help to prepare young men for their high school football careers. I try to prepare them on and off the field to give them the best opportunity to succeed. That’s why I joined NCSA–to help all student-athletes to continue on and help them to fulfill their dream of playing at the college level. My goal is to help young people not have to go through what I went through and experience the mistakes that I made, but rather give them a road map for success.