Ricky Scott Jr. of King’s Fork High School was recently awarded with a National Athleadership Grant, which is given to only a select group of student athletes nationwide.

The $1,000 grant is sponsored by National Collegiate Scouting Association athletic recruiting and the National Football League Players Association. Community leadership, academic achievement, athletics and an essay are among the factors upon which recipients are judged.

“I was happy that I got it,” Scott said. “I was thankful that I could get the opportunity to maybe go to the next level as far as basketball lies.”

“We are very pleased to be involved with NCSA in assisting in the recognition and the selection of young qualified student athletes to receive scholarship opportunities,” DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFLPA, stated in a press release. “Anytime you can identify, help and reward future leaders to further their education and athletic pursuits, it’s a win-win and we are pleased to contribute to this worthy effort with NCSA.”

Sean O’Neill of NCSA’s public relations department explained how the grant leads to more benefits for Scott in the future.

“The grant is a stepping stone to a college scholarship,” he said, “in the sense that it enables the athlete to utilize our services and find a college or university that will … allow them to play sports as a means of paying for college and … fit them academically and give them their ideal education.”

“Our passionate team of 300 former athletes will personally guide and educate Ricky throughout the entire recruiting process, giving him the tools that he needs to be successful in recruiting and in life,” said Chris Krause, CEO and founder of NCSA Athletic Recruiting,

“They will be helping me as far as being noticed by college coaches on the next level,” Scott said.

“NCSA will help Ricky through the recruiting process and in finding the right school for him by educating him on the recruiting process and connecting him to college coaches via our extensive network of nearly 47,000 coaches,” O’Neill said. “As a result of his Athleadership grant, NCSA will provide Ricky with a personal coaching session, professionally edited highlight video, ACT/SAT prep powered by Kaplan, and even professional career development after he completes his degree.”

To be successful as a student athlete, the schedule is very demanding, but for Scott, seeing his goals and doing everything he can to reach them are what motivate him to succeed.

“I know that you put in the hard work, you’re going to get something out of it,” he said. “And that’s what I think gives me that drive.”

Scott, a 6’2 junior, plays both basketball and track, but is focusing his energy on the hardwood for his collegiate career.

Josh Worrell, varsity boys basketball coach at King’s Fork, spoke highly of Scott’s performance both on and off the court.

“He’s a great student athlete,” Worrell said. “He does very well in the classroom, ‘Yes, sir, no, sir’ type of kid, takes honors classes and is a really good athlete as well. He’s been playing basketball with me since sixth or seventh grade just with like Future League stuff, JV, coming along. He’s progressing really well, and he could be a big key for us this year in the upcoming season.”

“He’s a joy to coach,” Worrell said. “He’s going to work hard all the time.”