|
|
|
|
CLIENT’S E-MAIL RESPONSES TO TOM CHANDLER
Recommendation Letters
Recommendation Letter #1
November, 2003
To Whom it May Concern:
Tom Chandler has provided college recruiting consulting services to us for our son, Warren, during the period roughly May 2003 through the present. Warren is a competitive soccer player who is looking for a college with a strong academic program at which he can continue playing soccer at a high level. Following Mr. Chandler's recommended strategic action plan has allowed us to facilitate the process in a way that opened doors that might not have otherwise been opened.
Mr. Chandler is extremely knowledgeable about the increasingly complicated rules that govern athletic recruiting and he is equally conversant regarding the academic aspects of colleges and universities all over the country. While he is based in Southern California, he has traveled widely and has had very substantial experience assisting in the placement of scholar athletes at institutions across the United States. In particular, he showed extraordinary skill in helping Warren identify suitable selective schools at which he could best advance his academic and athletic career. At many of these colleges and universities, he cultivated direct contacts with coaches there on Warren's behalf.
Notably, Mr. Chandler is prepared to tailor the services he provides to any given student athlete. That is, he is familiar with athletic and academic programs at selective colleges at all levels--e.g., D-1,D-2 and D-3--and is able to evaluate any given student's academic and athletic profile and identify a group of schools appropriate for that student to consider. Certainly he was able to suggest some excellent schools to my son that had not previously been on our radar screen.
Mr. Chandler is generous of his time and is generally prepared to field e-mail on a continuing basis for the purpose of ensuring that his clients' communications with the various coaches and admissions offices are timely and are otherwise strategically on target. My family's experience was that advice was needed literally on a day to day basis, at least at various critical times in the recruiting process, and that Mr. Chandler was invariably "there" to field a phone call or to respond to an e-mail or to otherwise assist. In this way, he was able to demystify for us an otherwise often bewildering and occasionally somewhat discouraging process. Much of the "custom and practice" in the recruiting area cannot be efficiently learned without the assistance of a capable and hard-working consultant. Mr. Chandler provides all the help that any family could expect to need in a warm and friendly way, pursuant to a very competitive price structure.
One of his strengths is his ability to establish warm and collaborative relationships with the coaches. My observations were that the coaches trust his judgment and advice and enjoy working with him, unlike some situations in which a consultant is viewed as an impediment or as a hanger-on providing little if any "added value." The bottom line is that the coaches like Tom and that type of intangible can go a long way toward facilitating the desired result.
Mr. Chandler's style is neither imperious nor overbearing. He is a keen listener fully prepared to "shift gears" in the program that is being pursued if he decides that it is not working or that perhaps a new direction is needed. Our experience was that there inevitably will be a few surprises along the way, of both the good and bad variety, and that a student athlete must be agile and mentally prepared to alter course if the circumstances dictate. He is a master at identifying the list of options and fine-tuning the strategy if and as necessary as the recruiting process goes forward.
Tom Chandler has as much "Dad" as he has "consultant" in him, having gone through the process with a daughter just a few years ago, a tremendous quality that will inspire the confidence of parents seeking the kinds of teachers and coaches with whom they can comfortably entrust their children. I can recommend Tom enthusiastically and without reservation to parents whose goal is to help a child gain admission to a highly-ranked college where the child can continue to play the sport he or she loves. If questions arise, do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely yours,
John P. Doyle
|
|
