August
23, 2004
By
Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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| AHA's Melissa Czorniewy, who had a NJS.com recruiting video done during her junior season, will be attending the University of Delaware this fall. |
NORTH JERSEY -- At any age and in any aspect of life, preparation is one of the main keys to success. This is especially true on the high school sports landscape, both on and off the field.
The recruiting process can be a frightening one for scholar-athletes, like Bergen County basketball standouts Lisa Neira and Melissa Czorniewy. With that in mind, both Bill Neira and Ray Czorniewy took the initiative to order up a NorthJerseySports.com Highlight DVD while their respective daughters were in their junior season.
Along with the numerous accolades both players received throughout their illustrious careers, the aforementioned highlight DVD paid dividends as both players accepted scholarships to play on the collegiate level this coming winter, with Neira heading to Division 2 New Jersey Institute of Technology and Czorniewy bound for the University of Delaware, a Division 1 program, on a full-scholarship.
"I think college coaches know what they are looking for and this (video) gave them better idea of what Lisa's strengths are," said Bill Neira. "Coaches love to see a player live in action, but the video gives them something to look in the meantime. I felt it was very well done, very clear, and our whole family loves the slow motion shots."
At the point guard slot, the 5'3" Neira was as steady as it comes in a county (Bergen) chock-full of talent at that position for perennial Group 1 powerhouse Cresskill. The three-point sniper led the Lady Cougars to three straight North 1 Group 1 section titles, having her best year as a junior.
During that campaign, she averaged 19.9 points, 6.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.6 steals. She took over the down the stretch in the 2003 North 1, Group 1 section final over County Prep. Now she it is on to a new challenge, but one Neira welcomes with open arms and a shooter's touch.
"The two things I'm really going to have to adjust to in college is the size and the strength of the players," said Lisa Neira. "I'm moving to a new team with new players, but the challenge of cracking the starting lineup motivates me to play harder and get better."
"I really liked the video and so did my coaching staff," she added. "It was really able to show them my style of play and the coaches got a better look at how I would fit in with what they wanted to do. Getting it done early relieved a lot of the pressure and made things much easier for me."
Czorniewy, a versatile 5'9" player, will go down as one of the greatest to ever grace the hardwood at the Academy of Holy Angels. She finished with 1,538 career points, good for second on the school's all-time list; she also is the school's second all-time leading rebounder. Like Neira, Czorniewy was a force from the time she stepped on the court as a freshman and put herself on the map among the state's elite players with spectacular junior and senior seasons.
Her junior year she averaged a career-high 18.1 points and 9.1 rebounds, but it was in the Bergen County tournament when the pressure was on that Czorniewy proved she belonged. She tallied game-highs of 27 points and 11 rebounds in the semifinals and followed that up with a 24-point, 10 rebound, and four-steal performance in a win over Paramus Catholic to help Holy Angels capture the 2003 Bergen County championship.
Like Neira, Czorniewy was recruited during her junior year. After much deliberation and a number of offers she made an early decision before her senior season to attend the University of Delaware, where she received a full-scholarship.
"I sent that video to every school I was interested in and got good responses from each one of them," said Czorniewy. "I wanted to show college coaches that I could make a big impact right away and the DVD showed coaches the type of plays I am able to make on the court."
While the video can be done at virtually any time, college coaches are allowed to contact scholar-athletes in their junior seasons and having a NJS.com Highlight Video done during that time is a good way to get a foot in the door with a potential suitor.
"You all but have to get it done in their junior years, the earlier the better," said Ray Czorniewy, Melissa's father. "The way you guys at North Jersey Sports put it together is just awesome. They were able to show all aspects of Melissa's game and all the coaches who saw the DVD noticed that. Not only that, but we have the DVD now as a keepsake that we can always look at from time to time."
The money invested in our reasonably priced recruiting package can lead to a big payoff, such as in the instance of Czorniewy, who received a full basketball scholarship.
"This is the best idea I've ever heard to help get you kid noticed by college coaches," said Czorniewy. "With the help of the (NorthJerseySports.com) DVD, I saved over $100,000 and get to see my daughter play at a high level. It is a great payoff, how could go wrong?"
"You can send it to coaches, friends, and family. It is something that we have for the rest of our lives to look at and we can't thank the guys over at NorthJerseySports.com enough for their generosity."
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