Capstone Consuting Inc.

Playing a college sport does not happen by accident! It takes talent, lots of hard work, flexibility and and having a strategy. The college recruitment process for most high school athletes is ambiguous at best. If playing your sport in college is your dream and obsession we can help you make it happen. Graduating from college and getting a degree should be the ultimate goal.

Gaining admission to the college of your choice can be a daunting experience for the average high school student athlete and his family. The process is very much like a puzzle. The chance to attend college and continue an athletic career is NOT guaranteed because the college recruiting process is hazy and unclear. You better pick a college where you will be happy because there is no guarantee that you will play a single game.

The task for baseball players is more intricate than for many other athletes as very few college roster baseball player spots become available each year. Success requires having a plan, attention to detail, and a disciplined approach to executing the plan. The college recruiting process for most college athletes is so obscure that it requires a great deal of understanding to successfully achieve an integration of both athletic and academic goals. In the end you really have to do everything you can to promote yourself to be given a chance to play.

Choosing a school to attend where playing baseball is an option requires promotion of the student athlete. The process is very much similar to a job search. That is where we come in. Capstone Consulting Partners is a boutique executive search firm. We understand the process better than most and we can help you find a match with a school. However to be successful the process must begin before entry into the senior year of high school. The high school junior year and the summer just prior to the the senior year are the most critical recruiting time periods. Finding the right school requires continuous effort well before this period of time.

Understanding that it is a privilege to play college baseball is critical. Nationwide there are approximately 1,350 head college baseball coaches at the NCAA D-I, D-II, D-III, NAIA and NJCAA levels. Because over 60,000 players are competing for the chance to play college baseball each year, roster spots are only available for 1 out of every 9 players (11%) who want to play collegiate baseball and in a typical year less than 7,000 roster spots become available to college freshman players. It is also important to realize that most players do not receive athletic scholarships. College athletic scholarships are hard to come by. Consequently high school players must work extremely hard on and off the field just to secure a roster spot as everyone is trying to reach this goal.

The higher the grades and ACT/SAT test scores, the more baseball opportunities you will have. Also the ability to receive grant and scholarship money is much easier than getting athletic scholarship dollars. Consequently, academics should definitely be a priority for the high school athlete who has a desire to play collegiate baseball. In fact, many specialized showcases and certain elite academic schools are now only inviting talented athletes with superior academic records to participate. The Ivy League and top echelon schools like Rice, Notre Dame, Stanford and Northwestern University fit this category.

Graduation from college for most college athletes represents a development process to their sport that likely began in middle school and playing on a travel team. The commitment to the sport likely led to specialized coaching and then a demanding schedule of summer camps that are designed to showcase talent to college coaches.

Mark Ormond is the Managing Partner of Capstone Consulting. Prior to founding Capstone Consulting he was the Director of Recruitment for Price Waterhouse in the Midwest throughout the 1980's. Beginnning in 2000 he brought his extensive college recruitment experience and marketing background to benefit high school athletes by recruiting and running a travel baseball team of outstanding athletes. In 2005 he began working with coaches and high school athletes at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago where he assisted them with developing their college recruitment strategy. Over the past several years he has visited numerous baseball showcases (Perfect Game in Florida and Iowa, Prep Baseball Report in Illinois and Showball in St. Petersburg Florida) and baseball camps such as the College Baseball Coaches Camp at Baseball Heaven in Long Island, New York. He has also made numerous college recruitment visits to schools in the Ivy League, the Big Ten and the throughout the Midwest including, Harvard University and Yale as well as Bowden College, Babson College, Brandeis University, Brigham Young University, Iowa, Sacred Heart University, the University of Illinois, Illinois State University, Creighton University, Grinnell College, Purdue University, Sacred Heart University, and Notre Dame.

The Capstone Consulting ~ Collegiate Recruiting Service can be a resource and help you when applying for college regardless of your sport. It is essential that a strategy be developed which will combine the student athletes interest to paly their sport and obtain an education. Promotion is essential because it doesn't matter how good you are, to get yourself recruited and be considered for a baseball opportunity as college coaches need to know who you are and why you deserve to be recruited for a roster spot. Coaches agree that travel outside of the area is critical to getting exposure. Staying in your hometown just cannot do what a planned sports college travel itinerary can do for a talented high school athlete. We have the connections to help you get connected. Capstone Consulting Partners is in the business of strategy and promotion and we have the know how to help you get connected.

Contact Mark Ormond to learn more about how a custom designed marketing plan including the development of a sports resume, including your own personal web site and a promotional program which will benefit you and help you realize your goal to attend the right school and play a college sport. Whether you are interested in Women's Softball, Baseball, Basketball or Soccer we will tell you exactly what you must know in terms that you will be able to understand and provide you with a methodology that works in the real world. We have the capability to work with student athletes in all sports venues.

Our consulting fees for this service are extremely reasonably priced and a customized payment program can be arranged. Even in a poor economy, traveling for the high school athlete is the way of the world now. Contact us and learn how we can help you accept the ambiguity of the process and build a strategy to achieve your goals. The benefit you will receive will be several times the investment you will make.

To learn more about our Collegiate Recruitment Services Program contact Mark Ormond who can be reached at 312-480-9955.

Capstone Consulting is located in the Printers Row District of downtown Chicago. We can be reached 24/7/365 at 312-480-9955. We are convenient to all of the expressways and the CTA. Additionally, parking is readily available throughout the South Loop. Our business office phone number is 312-753-7501. You can purchase our College Recruitment Services online via PayPal or a Mastercard, Visa, American Express or Discover credit card.

Use the PayPal Shopping Cart System above to make your purchase now. We have a variety of options for you and once your purchase has been processed, you will be contacted by a representative of our staff to schedule an appointment for the level of services you are interested in receiving.

Mark Ormond was the architect of the Chicago Clubbers Elite Baseball Program which was focused on diversity and providing urban youth an opportunity to play travel baseball at the highest levels. He developed the concept, recruited the players and coaches and raised the funds to create a second to none travel baseball experience for urban youth. The Clubbers placed a strong emphasis on inclusiveness and provided all players with opportunities for professional training and coaching and professional-caliber uniforms. Players were treated like young professionals with an emphasis on the fun of the sport. The Clubbers became the ultimate Chicago experience for urban youth baseball players interested in honing and developing their baseball skills. The team was one of the first team in the country to have an advanced team web site.

The Clubbers over its short history became one of the most respected urban youth baseball programs in the Midwest. The program began in September 2002 when Mark Ormond launched the "Learning Life Lessons" baseball program which evolved into the 12 year old Menomonee Clubber baseball team. Ormond had an extensive youth sports background prior to founding the Clubbers baseball program. His youth sports experience began in 1985 when he was involved with working with his oldest son helping him prepare and compete at figure skating competitions throughout the Midwest. In 1995 he became involved as a coach for a local soccer league and in 1998 he volunteered as an Assistant Coach in the Menomonee Club Youth Baseball Program. He became more extensively involved in baseball when in 1999 he began to coach in the Welles Park Youth Baseball Program. His involvement with Welles Park lasted until the end of the 2002 baseball season. In 2002 Mark was the Manager of the Welles Park Warrior All Star 11 Year Old team where he refined his baseball managerial skills by working closely with the Head Coach, Dave Kane.

With the support of the Menomonee Club of Chicago, the Menomonee Clubbers 12 year old baseball program was approved for sponsorship by the Menomonee Club Board in 2002 and the Clubbers and were on the map with a 12 Year Old baseball team. The Clubbers finished their inaugural 2003 season ranked 29th in the State of Illinois with a record of 41-45 and winning the Windy City sponsored "Summer in the City" tournament in July 2003. Ormond's personal philosophy is that learning baseball is like anything else, whether it is golf, tennis, piano or ballet, advancing and achieving meaningful levels of success requires coaching. Good coaching and teaching is what the Clubber program was all about and is what distinguished the Clubbers program from other travel baseball programs. Neal Bader, Director of the Menomonee Club and Coach Dave Rosene (Jones College Prep High School) were integral to the success of the Clubbers program. The Clubbers Elite baseball program took many great urban kids with athletic ability on a journey that got them farther than they would get on their own.

The Clubbers played their home games on two college baseball fields; Les Miller Field at the University of Illinois Chicago and Ed Glancy Field at Illinois Institute of Technology. In August 2004 the Clubbers finished their Spring/Summer season with a .563 winning percentage and a record of 40-30-1 and were ranked # 9 in Illinois by USA Sports Ranking.com. Also in 2004 the Chicago Clubbers received a $25,000 grant from Chicago BlackHawks and the Chicago Tribune McCormick Foundation. This grant was in recognition for the dedication that the program demonstrated its inclusiveness and diversity and excellence to playing the game of baseball. The Chicago BlackHawks charitable foundation grant enabled the Clubbers to further the dreams of many young African-American athletes who would not otherwise have had this baseball experience.

The Clubbers finished the 2005 season having been recognized as "The Best" baseball experience in the City of Chicago for a committed 14 year old player interested in developing skills for high school play and beyond. In July 2006 the Clubbers were honored to host Team Japan in a World Baseball ~ Chicago event at the University of Illinois Chicago, Les Miller Field as part of the Continental Amateur Baseball Association World Series that was played in Crystal Lake, Illinois in August 2006. The Clubbers were the host team at this event which provided the opportunity to play games against an elite international baseball team.

The 2006 season was the final season for the Chicago Clubbers Elite Baseball Program. Today alumni of the Chicago Clubbers baseball program are playing college baseball across the country, including, Bradley University, The University of Chicago, Eastern Michigan University, Grambling, Grinnell College, Illinois State University, Jackson State University, Lawrence University, Mississippi Valley University and many other outstanding colleges and universities.

To learn more about our Collegiate Recruitment Services Program contact Mark Ormond who can be reached at 312-480-9955. If you are interested in starting your own travel baseball program we can assist you in this regard. Our recruitment expertise can be implemented to assisting you to building a first class program with elite players and top rate coaches. Schedule an appointment today!

We are located in the Printers Row District of Central Chicago

723 South Dearborn Street,
Chicago, IL 60605
Mobile: (312) 480-9955
Tel: (312) 753-5701

e-mail: Mark@CapstoneConsulting.com or
Matchmaker@CapstoneConsulting.com