GATA Players Ready for National Signing Day

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. - Feb. 4, 2014 - PRLog -- National Signing Day is Wednesday February 5 and an Atlanta sports gym is making an impact on a national scale.  Goldin athletic training association (GATA) in Johns Creek will have approximately 25 clients sign football commitments from Vanderbilt to Harvard to the United States Academies at Air Force and West Point and everywhere in between.

"We're excited to play a part in training Atlanta athletes so they can play college football at the highest level," says Ryan Goldin, owner of GATA.  "Most people don't fully understand how much hard work today's athletes put in to play competitive sports but there are no weeks off for today's best college athletes."

In 2013, GATA had 32 clients sign a national letter of intent from in-state colleges including University of Georgia, Georgia Southern and Mercer.  But the sports performance gym also had players sign at national power house programs Ohio State, Penn State and Stanford.  GATA currently has over 150 active college football players across the country who played high school football in metro Atlanta and have gone on to play football in college.

GATA recruiting advisor Jay Holgate attributes the gym's success to the culture built by Ryan Goldin and the network associated with GATA and understanding how the recruiting game is played.

"We have a lot of college coaches visit our sports facility because they know Ryan Goldin gets players ready for the next level.  Signing nearly 30 football players a year, puts GATA in the same class as the most successful high schools in the country.  College coaches want great players who are physically and mentally tough," says Holgate.  "GATA athletes are prepared for college."

"We understand how important it is to give college coaches the right information on an athlete, while keeping the athlete and the family on the right track through the recruiting process," adds Holgate.

Because of NCAA rules, college coaches have less and less time to evaluate players and depend heavily on high school coaches and local sources like GATA to find great athletes who can handle the rigors of college academics.

The NCAA reports on its website that 40% of college athletes do not graduate college within six years.  In many cases, student-athletes are not prepared for tougher academics coupled with the time commitment required from their sport.

GATA developed a leadership program to better prepare athletes for college. GATALeaders.com provides monthly seminars, former college players as speakers and 1 on 1 life coaching to help athletes make the jump from high school to college.

The GATA leaders program was designed to help top athletes become better balanced with academics, leadership and community service.  All applicants are required to submit transcript, write essay and sign a leaders pledge with their parents to be considered for the year long program.