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By: Christina Winnegar
Next Level Prep, curated through NIL by Twin Bridge Sports and Studio Place, is a platform designed for the younger generation of student-athletes to create videos where their skills are accentuated and their inspiring anecdotes are highlighted to be told; offering insights from leading role models across various sports and schools to help kickstart personalized journeys to success within the sports community. Athletes are given the platform to expand and emphasize the importance of the recruitment process, adapting to the increase in demands of college sports, mentorship importance, evolving mental strength and toughness, and learning to blend their time to perfect personal-professional harmony. Next Level Prep provides the next generation of athletes with the tools needed for varying sports to embrace their talent and prepare for eminence. Rendering guidance from college athletes in sports such as basketball, football, baseball, softball, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, diving, golf and more.
On the topic of pursuing a career in football, Ryan Wilkins from UCLA Football opened up about his journey. Topics of conversation ranged from receiving advice from former NFL player Scott McKillop at a young age, McKillop stating, “This is hard, this is where you’ll become a good player. These skills that you learn as a 10-, 11-, or 12-year-old will carry you not only through football but through the rest of your life. Just keep working at it, do your thing, and have confidence in yourself.” To his transition to long snapping to play at a higher level. Wilkins’ was candid in his advice, expressing his challenges, how his knowledge of the game from his father gave him insight as a football coach pushed him to improve, and the advice he gives to aspiring football players aiming for a Division I scholarship, stating, “My advice to anybody that wants a Division I scholarship is don’t have your goal be a Division I scholarship, have your goal be the best player that you can be. If you set small mundane daily goals for yourself that are achievable, that is how you get to the level that you wanna play at.”
In another video, Josh Nichols from the University of Michigan Football shared a piece of advice that stuck with him from a young age, that pushed him to strive for greatness. The words of advice that resonated with him and he believes can help others is, “Practice how you play; you can’t create lazy habits. Repetition creates a man; without repetition, getting what you got to do done, and working on your craft, you’re not going to make it where you want to make it.” Alongside this he shared his training experience, taking advantage of the opportunities presented by coaches, and staying on track with your goals.
From Princeton Basketball, athlete Mari Bickley revealed the advice she received from her mother, the challenges she faced as a top prospect, what led her to commit to Princeton, the knowledge she gained at the college level, and her advice on how she is able to balance going to a prestigious school like Princeton and putting her full effort into basketball. After starting at the collegiate level, Bickley shared some of the knowledge she gained, “One thing I didn’t really do in high school much was pay attention to the small things; so I feel like coming into college, like my first couple of practices, I realized how important details are. You know, your college coaches are gonna nitpick at every single little thing because they want you to be a great player; details really do matter, and they do really help when you start to play an actual game.”
Senior forward for the University of Michigan Ice Hockey team, Mark Estapa, demonstrated vulnerability in sharing his advice from his father, his experience with injuries, the transition from junior hockey to college, and his approach to managing his time as a student-athlete. His biggest challenge faced was injuries throughout the last couple of years of his time as a student-athlete. Estapa revealed, “I had some injuries with my knees; and, you know, when everything’s not fine-tuned and perfect, and not feeling good on your body, you’re not going to be able to perform at the level that you want to. Rehab and making sure you do all of the little things right every day to keep yourself from getting injured.”
Another ice hockey player from the University of Michigan, Philippe LaPointe, gave great advice for those who might be comparing themselves to other athletes surrounding them, “I’ve learned that, over the years, you can’t be comparing yourself to other people because everyone develops at their own pace and everybody has their own path. If you stick to your identity and you stick to your journey, and you have that faith in yourself and everything that you’re doing within your process of trying to be the best that you can be, and you have that belief, then you will achieve what you want. Having that mindset is really powerful for any individual.”
Freshman athlete, Kaylee Young from USC beach volleyball, tells the story of her journey of the unique process to receive an opportunity at the college level for beach volleyball, the training regimen for collegiate players at USC, and the overall impact her sport has had on her. With a sport of smaller popularity such as beach volleyball, Young expanded on her personal experience, in being recruited to a school like USC. Despite the NCAA having a rule that coaches can’t talk to you until June 15th following your sophomore year. She shared that the recruitment process begins long before that, “The recruiting process actually starts a few years before that; you kind of have to kickstart it by reaching out to the coaches yourself, emailing them, and cutting up your film. I would spend about two hours of my weekend cutting up my film and making videos to send out to the coaches; then, I would write a really personalized email to each coach, send it off, and that is how the coaches get to know you.”
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