"One saying that is always in the back of my mind - that I always think about is - 'don't give up what you want most for what you want now'. And I know, for me, I want to play college football - I knew that college was something that I wanted to do, I wanted to get a college degree. And if there was a way that I could get it paid for through football, if it was able to help me get a scholarship to pay for it, then that would be a huge blessing, and a big plus - not only for myself, but also for my family it would help out financially. It definitely meant a lot of sacrifices, but I wanted to play college football.

If what you want most is to play college football, or maybe even at the professional level, don't give it up for temporary things right now. Which might mean going and hanging out with friends all the time - not that it's bad to hang out with friends, but you shouldn't do it excessively. You should be going to the weight-room or taking care of your school work, doing those things that will help you to get to the next level, making those sacrifices. If you do those things, then you'll be able to accomplish your goals, so always keep in mind what you want most, and I think that's what has helped me even until now - I always try to set goals, and sometimes there will be temporary things that seem fun that I want to do at the moment, but if it's not helping me work towards my goal of finishing school or becoming a coach, (maybe for you it's becoming an athlete at the college level), then just think twice about the decisions that you make." -Inoke Funaki (Quarterback for the University of Hawaii)

"The high school football recruiting process may start sooner than you think, and today I would like to talk to you about a big question that a lot of high school athletes have, and that is, "When does the high school or college recruiting process start?" Now, a lot of people may think that it's when you get your first letter from a coach, or you send in film, something like that. I certainly thought, back when I was in high school, that the recruiting process started my senior year - after the season was done - that's when I made my film, sent it out, and tried to get in contact with coaches. But actually, the football recruiting process can start as soon as you want - as soon as possible.

There are a lot of coaches who are looking younger and younger for athletes to recruit - 7th and 8th grade even. And so anything you can do right now would be helpful. One big thing in the college or high school football recruiting process is calling coaches, trying to make a contact with them, talking to a coach, and trying to get them to know you. Another way to get to know coaches is going to camps and talking to them. And also, sending out film. Even if you don't have the greatest highlight film or the greatest numbers in a combine, it's still worth it to talk to coaches and make that contact so they know who you are and hopefully you'll get on their recruiting list." -Joshua Rice (former football player for the University of Hawaii)

"I want to talk to you today about football recruiting videos (highlight videos). Coaches use football recruiting highlight videos as one of their main tools for recognizing players and evaluating them. There are some misconceptions about highlight videos - a lot of people think that you have to have fancy music or cool effects. Really, your highlight video should have - first of all - it should have all of your best plays in the beginning, because most coaches will only look at your highlight video for about 15 or 30 seconds and make a decision about you after that. It sounds unfair, but you want to make sure that you put your best plays in the beginning so that the coaches get to see what your potential is.

Also, one thing that helps is editing your videos. If you just have raw footage, a lot of times it's hard for coaches to follow you - they won't know where you are on a play. You want to make it as easy as possible for the coach to see you, recognize you, and notice your good plays. Therefore, editing is very helpful - just show them where you are before the play by freeze-framing for a second and highlighting where you are, and then letting the play run. A good football recruiting highlights videos can definitely help you get noticed by college coaches." -Joshua Rice (former football player for the University of Hawaii)