Unlock New Opportunities with ACC

You really are the best at what you do! Dawn, Lawrence is “deep in his bones” happy – He’s just on top of the moon. We owe you so very much….this opportunity at Emory would have never been possible without your support – I sincerely mean this – you  made all the difference! Lawrence will compose a formal thank you soon – but I want you to know – you are terrific at what you do – and you have been a terrific resource for our family. We are sincerely grateful. Lawrence is great at keeping in touch with former coaches – so I am sure he will keep you updated over the next four years. Take care – and let’s stay in touch. You really are the best at what you do!

Thank you !! We would’ve never known about the amazing opportunities that Ohiouniversity has to offer without the help of Rick Paine and American CollegeConnections, thank you!

From the very first phone call held with Rick Paine I knew that Cassandra was in good hands. Without the assistance of Rick and America College Connection our daughter would not have received the $100,000.00 scholarship that she has received and likely not completed her swimming career in the USA. When Cassandra first advised us that her intention was to attend a USA College to swim (we reside in Canada) we were really unsure how to go about the process. My wife tried to complete the process on her own but never received any substantial contact from schools. It was very late in my daughters last year of high school when I made the decision to contact American College Connection. From the very first phone call held with Rick Paine I knew that Cassandra was in good hands and within days we had received phone calls and emails from schools across the US. Rick was very upfront and did not make any false promises regarding the recruiting process or amounts that our daughter could/would receive from the schools. Thanks to Rick Cassandra has just entered her third year at Canisus College which to date has been a very rewarding experience.

With ACC’s help Anna was able to talk with coaches from all over the United States! “It has been an exciting and very informative 2 years working with Rick Paine and the ACC Team.  With their help Anna was able to talk with coaches from all over the United States.  At last count, she had talked with approximately 50 different coaches, and had the opportunity to explore many different schools and swim programs.  Without their help, she might of talked to 6 coaches.  In the end, she had several offers.  This would not of happened without the guidance of the ACC team.

We started working with Rick and the ACC team during our son Donovan’s sophomore year in high school.  Our son had been competing at a high level for several years, and we were advised by our friends to get started early on the college search.  We got some piecemeal advice about the process, such as getting an NCAA clearinghouse number, and we were told about the standard websites for information, but still had no clear direction on how to get started. Thankfully, we were referred to Rick and ACC, and we quickly got started down the correct path.  He was able to serve as an intermediary to contact coaches from schools that Donovan was interested in, and we could see their responses showing interest appear almost immediately.  This made us feel relieved more than anything because NCAA rules prohibited direct contact before junior year.   We uploaded a few videos to the ACC website, and they edited them nicely to show his strengths and how he races. When the infamous September 1st date came (when coaches were allowed to contact Donovan directly by email), he was so excited to see his inbox fill up with emails from interested teams!  Rick guided us every step of the way from the initial correspondence, phone calls, and gave invaluable advice about “selling your potential.”  Donovan quickly became confident and proficient at communicating with coaches, and this is a life skill that will serve him well throughout his life.  Rick helped us to arrange visits to several schools, and very much paved the way to success on the visits, so that he would leave a great first impression. Rick was honest and forthright about what schools were realistic and which ones were a bit of a reach for his times, and also helped to shape our vision of what might be a perfect fit.  I am happy to say that Donovan has accepted a scholarship to swim at his first choice, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He committed in April of his junior year, and he is still so happy and excited about his future collegiate career. We can’t thank Rick and the ACC team enough, and we absolutely recommend their services to anyone who wants to swim in college.  Regardless of times, academics, or their own goals, ACC will help find the right fit for your swimmer!

From the moment we contacted Rick, who was referred to us by friends who had used ACC, the ball started rolling. We would like to thank Rick and his team at ACC for the effort and commitment shown, in helping our daughter Ashleigh achieve her dream of swimming for a college in the USA. This has been a dream of her’s for a long time, and we were not fully equipped to help her with the daunting process of contacting and selecting potential colleges. We are from South Africa, and didn’t really know where or how to even start the process. From the moment we contacted Rick, who was referred to us by friends who had used ACC, the ball started rolling. Rick and his team did all of the groundwork, and next moment coaches were contacting Ash and the process was under way. Rick spent time and effort getting to understand Ash and her interests. He and his team helped with academic advice and the SAT’s. This helped enormously and Ash has recently made a verbal commitment to join the UALR swim team. Thanks Rick and everyone at ACC. Thanks to Melynda for her patience and constant support no matter how small the problem or question was. Without you all, this would not have happened. We would gladly recommend using you and your team, to anyone.

Since our initial contact in the summer of 2002 my son has received hundreds of personal letters from colleges all over the USA with a sincere interest in his athletic ability. We would never have had the time, resources or connections it takes to manage this task and make it happen without the help of your company. Without these tools, we would have been a lost ball in high weeds. Also appreciated, is your straight from the hip talk you gave my son on how important his grades needed to be, his presentation of himself, and all the tricks of the trade you passed our way. It was a huge help. The only regret I have is not having met you personally to thank you and shake your hand. Will look forward to that down the road and we’ll keep you informed on the career in school.

American College Connection has taught us a lot about the recruiting process that we could have never learned on our own. They have opened doors for Sam that I never knew existed that have resulted in fantastic opportunities. ACC’s personal involvement with us shows that THEY CARE about the kids they work for. I would highly recommend American College Connection to any parent who has a child who dreams of playing college sports.

Finding Rick and ACC was an absolute godsend! We had initial contacts with some American Colleges but the choice out there was mind boggling for us! Rick initially spoke to us in detail about our son, to find out what his College and Swimming needs were for the next four years. He was clearly genuinely interested in ensuring our son got the best ‘fit’ in all areas. Rick sent out our son’s credentials and we then sat back and watched the emails drop in! Within a matter of days we had Skype calls booked, telephone calls booked and email exchanges going back and forth with Colleges genuinely keen to recruit our son! With Rick’s guidance, the Colleges were narrowed down and our son received just over $400,000 of scholarship offers! An incredible achievement. Rick then continued to work closely with our son – giving good, clear, unbiased advice and guidance at all times. He was also at the end of the phone every time our son called him – which was a huge advantage based on the fact we had a transatlantic time difference to contend with as well! When our son made his final choice, Rick then continued to help him to ask the right last few questions, and to then contact the other Coaches to thank them all for their interest. Rick has been a strong partner in this period for our son choosing his next stage of swimming and education career – and will no doubt be on board for the rest of the ride over the next four years. Thank you Rick!

We were grateful to have American College We potentially could have figured out how to navigate the recruitingprocess, but it was one more thing we would have had to add to ouroverflowing to-do lists. We were grateful to have American CollegeConnection and Rick as a partner. His familiarity with the unspoken rules ofthe game and the college coaches and programs helped us de-risk ourrecruiting journey and gave us more confidence about our decision-makingprocess. Thanks Rick!