Internet offers added exposure

      Reggie Farmer remembers the first time he envisioned creating an outlet for high school athletes to get exposure on a national level.
      Playing football for UNLV, he and fellow former Rebel Kirk Jones were thinking to themselves about all the great Southern California players they played with who didn't get recognized.
      "We used to talk about how lucky we were and it always went back to `But what about the guys that didn't make it,' " Farmer said. "And we each had a guy in our mind that we felt was extremely talented, had everything we had as far as being gifted, but for some reason they didn't make it."
      The player Farmer had in mind was the same caliber athlete as him, but for whatever reason, didn't catch any recruiting breaks.
      "Instead," Farmer said, "he ended up on crack and in jail."
      Through the years, that memory provided enough motivation to create EliteXposure (www.elitexposure.com), an Internet service geared toward opening as many doors of opportunity for student-athletes to be recruited within the confines of the NCAA rules and regulations.
      Farmer said the biggest obstacle has been getting the word out about what sets EliteXposure apart from other recruiting services.
      "I know we're much better because we're not stale," Farmer said. "I know what makes things click and just for a coach to see stale information up there, that's not professional. You go to our site and you'll see a schedule and up-to-date stats of what (the athlete is) doing. A coach can see you grow as a person and learn a little bit more about you."
      Farmer also argues his service is more affordable than those with prices ranging near and more than $1,000.
      EliteXposure offers four packages tailored to individual needs for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
      Calling it the early-bird special, freshmen can register for $199 and four years of service. Sophomores can sign-up for $219, juniors are charged $249 and seniors pay $299.
      Included in the package is:
      -- Updated stats during the season(s) to help colleges keep track of the athlete.
      -- An online resume that stores all newspaper articles, current schedule, honors, awards, letters of reference, and pictures.
      -- Letters mailed and e-mailed to colleges across the nation.
      -- A personal e-mail address through EliteXposure.
      -- Student-athlete chat line available for sports chat across the nation.
      Farmer said he is also trying to get the community involved by getting businesses to sponsor kids who can't afford the service
      "In that situation, we're going to get in touch with athletic administrators and coaches at the high schools and ask them to give us a male and female -- junior or senior -- who have grades, determination and who want to get to college and have good athletic ability," he said.
      Farmer will then use any money from a sponsor and put the athlete online.
      "We won't have any say-so what kids we get," he said. "They give us the kid's name and that kid is sponsored by business-X. Then, we will follow the same process as far as updating their site as we would with any other kid."
      Along with the general information, Farmer said he would also put the business' logo on the website, as long as the athlete was registered with EliteXposure.
      Farmer recently signed his first client-- Cimarron-Memorial's Marcus Winder -- who received a baseball scholarship from Texas Southern.
      Those interested can contact an EliteXposure representative at 395-7143.