Houston Play It Smart participants at the NAIA Senior Showcase March 5-6.

By NIKI HERBERT
Play It Smart Academic Coach
Westside High School

Through vision, hard work, and tenacity, Coby Rhoden, the Play It Smart academic coach at Milby High School, pulled together the first ever "NAIA Senior Showcase" event March 5-6 in Houston.

Rhoden set out to give the unsigned senior football players in the Houston Independent School District a new chance to display their skills for NAIA colleges, and his efforts produced a greater than expected turnout attracting more than 180 seniors. The success means the event should be come an annual staple on the Houston athletic scene for years to come.

Representatives from more than 19 NAIA colleges and universities attended with an opportunity to review the grades, test scores and athletic skills of some under-the-radar student-athletes in the nation’s seventh largest school district.

“[HISD athletes] looking to play at the next level for NAIA and Division III schools, typically have to demonstrate three things: ability, financial need, and grades,” said Rhoden. “HISD student-athletes have always had the first two, and now with the Play It Smart program our students are learning the importance of their grades. A freshman can now see that he does not have to be the biggest and the best to play in college. He or she can have some talent and good grades and play at the next level.”

Rhoden’s brainchild, which was officially dubbed the NAIA Senior Showcase, encompassed a mixture of drills, a bench press, an NFL shuttle run, the 40-yard dash, and a 7-on-7 competition. The two-day event was held on the Milby campus with critical organizational support from Rhoden’s athletic director and head football coach Phil Camp.

"Not only was this event beneficial to the seniors who participated," said Camp. "It was also very beneficial to their underclassmen peers…by showing them the importance of grades and taking and doing well on test such as the ACT and SAT."

As a result of the event, 100 possible scholarships are on the table for these promising student-athletes at an estimated $3 million. The event was so successful that HISD plans to continue the event in the future at larger venues in the Houston area.

NFF