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WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

SIGNED ISN’T FINISHED.

Every other recruiting service disappears on signing day. That’s the exact moment your family needs someone who’s been there.

WHY IT MATTERS

Signing day is the starting line.

College athletics doesn’t look like it did ten years ago. Rosters turn over constantly, coaching staffs change, athletic aid renews year to year, and the transfer portal has made every season a fresh negotiation. A commitment is no longer the end of the process—it’s the beginning of a new one.

When that chaos arrives, most families are on their own. Their recruiting service’s job ended the day they signed. Ours doesn’t. We’ve watched both of our own sons live it—four years of Division I football and baseball in the SEC, and five more in professional baseball. We know what the freshman fall feels like, what a depth-chart conversation really means, and when a portal decision is right or reactive.

YEAR ONE

The freshman year check-ins.

Freshman year is when most athletes decide, quietly, whether they’ll stay. We schedule three calls across it—so the decision gets made with perspective instead of in a bad week.

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Running all year: the call-before-you-decide line.

Your athlete can reach us any time—and so can you. Our rule: no transfer decision in the 72 hours after a hard conversation. Parents get their own check-in too, so the worry has somewhere to go besides the athlete.

YEARS TWO THROUGH FOUR

We don’t stop at the transition.

THE NEW COLLEGE REALITY

NIL and the transfer portal, managed.

These two forces now shape every college career — and both reward families who have someone in their corner who isn’t selling anything. HDR advises through both, every year your athlete is on a roster.

NIL

Name, Image & Likeness — without the sharks.

•Reading every deal before it’s signed — what the brand actually gets, for how long, and what an exclusivity clause locks your athlete out of

•Spotting predatory agents and collectives — and knowing when your athlete doesn’t need representation at all

•Keeping deals inside school, conference, and state rules so eligibility is never at risk

•The tax reality — NIL income is self-employment income, and we make sure a CPA is in the picture before the first check clears

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TRANSFER PORTAL

The portal — strategy, not panic.

•The stay-or-go analysis before entering — depth chart, degree progress, aid, and what entering actually signals to the current staff

•Timing the windows — portal entry dates are unforgiving, and a rushed entry with no film ready is how athletes end up without a roster spot

•Running the second recruitment right — the same target-list and outreach discipline as the first one, now with college film and a transcript that has to travel

•Protecting the degree — credit transfer and eligibility math checked before any commitment, not after

Our standing rule applies here too: no portal decision in the 72 hours after a hard conversation.

This is why families stay with HDR after signing day: the years when real money and a second recruitment are on the table are the years you least want to navigate alone.

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FULL SUPPORT

Included with Guided

Every check-in call, portal and coaching-change strategy, annual aid reviews, and pro-transition guidance—for all four college years.

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DO IT YOURSELF

The Freshman Year Survival Guide

The same three-part framework as a printable checklist your family can work through on your own—included with DIY membership and above.

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WHO’S IN YOUR ATHLETE’S CORNER AFTER SIGNING DAY?

Book a free consultation and we’ll walk you through what the next four years really look like.

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