Real Athletes Guide: How to Succeed in Sports, School & Life

Discusses the dangers of high school and college sports, and offers information on athletic scholarships, recruiting, and NCAA, NAIA, and junior college eligibility rules

Marc Isenberg Marc Isenberg is the author of The Real Athletes Guide: How to succeed in sports, school, & life. Along with co-author Rick Rhoads, he founded AthleteNetwork.com, the first Web site devoted to building a community of high school and college athletes, their parents, coaches, and advisors.

Marc, who played basketball while earning a degree in Finance at Emory University, has experienced the opportunities and pitfalls he writes about. "The Guide," says Marc, now 30, "is the book I wish my parents had given me when I started high school."

Public television station KCET featured Marc as a panelist on its videoconference, "How to Prepare High School Athletes for College Sports." Articles by Marc have appeared in The New York Daily News and The Chicago Sun-Times. The positive response from many coaches and key sports figures to Marc's 1994 white paper, "For the Welfare of Student Athletes," encouraged Marc and Rick to found Athlete Network. Soon, hundreds of athletes were benefiting from the Web site. AthleteNetwork.com has been featured in USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Daily News. The Guide grew out of the experience, wisdom, and humor that so many athletes contributed on-line.

A native of Chicago, Marc now lives in Los Angeles, where he jogs, plays golf, and continues to play basketball.

Rick Rhoads When Marc Isenberg teamed up with Rick Rhoads to write The Real Athletes Guide: How to succeed in sports, school, & life, he got a parent's point of view along with professional writing experience. Rick, who has three daughters, has lived through their college selection and career decisions.

"Raising kids, and being raised by them," says Rick, "has been a rough but rewarding voyage." Marc and Rick set out to smooth the way for young athletes faced with tough choices. In addition to the book, they are the co-founders of AthleteNetwork.com, the first Web site devoted to building a community of high school and college athletes, their parents, coaches, and advisors.

A swimmer in high school, Rick graduated from City College of New York (CCNY), where he majored in History and minored in English. Rick taught a course in writing at UCLA Extension and has conducted writing seminars at companies and organizations throughout the United States.

Rick and his family moved from New York City to Los Angeles in 1986. In his spare time Rick hikes, swims, and sails.

Ronnie Lott, Ann Meyers Drysdale, and Mike Krzyzewski are three of the most respected names in sports. They walk The Guide's talk. Former NFL defensive star Ronnie Lott won four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and is now a commentator for Fox Sports. Ann Meyers Drysdale is the color analyst for the WNBA on NBC. A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, she led the UCLA basketball team to the National Championship in 1978, and was named the outstanding female athlete in the country. Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) is head basketball coach at Duke University. His Blue Devils won NCAA Championships in 1991 and 1992.