The New York State High School Football Coaches Association (NYSHSFCA) held their Inaugural NATS Test on Sunday, June 25, 2006 at Union College. New York is one of 15 states which will run NATS Tests during the 2007 testing campaign.

New York state test director and member of NATS Board of Review (BOR) Coach Nick Fitzgerald, is the Athletic Director and Football Coach at South Glens Falls High School. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of NYSHSFCA, as well as a National Field Consultant for NATS. He comments "By testing players in speed, strength and agility drills, NATS assists college recruiters with player evaluations, enables players to gauge their true baseline athletic ability and helps both players and parents navigate the recruiting process." Further, "Student-athletes participating in NATS also receive valuable NATS Test preparation videos and special interactive tools assisting them of the correct high school core course schedule necessary to meet NCAA academic standards." Coach Fitzgerald added "NATS benefits student-athletes not only here in New York, but all players who wish to have an accurate baseline measurement with which to compare themselves to their contemporaries locally, regionally and nationally."

Here are what some of the participants and their family members had to say about the NYSHSFCA Pilot NATS Program.

Pat Whipple, Parent
"My son is getting a lot of interest from the 1AA schools. We just got his report card, so we are going to make sure we use the Core Course Calculator. I have been very impressed with NATS, both with the on-line components and the physical testing itself. The information on the website has been very helpful, as far as the recruiting calendar, and the questions for my son to have to ask recruiters when they call. With Division I there is a lot more for us to be aware of, and going on line (to www.nats.us) has really helped. I would definitely tell anyone that NATS is worth doing. The expense was close to nothing for everything you get. The standardization is great. NATS is like an athletic version of the SAT. We went through this recruiting process 4 years ago with our other son. I wish NATS was around back then, that's for sure."

Ross Mosher, Red Hook Sr HS
"I thought it (NATS) was run well, I had a good time. The result analysis was really cool. It's good to be to see how you compare athletically to other kids across the nation. It showed me what I need to work on. I would tell anyone to check out the NATS website. It's a great way to get your name out there. I would highly recommend NATS to anyone."

Joe Grassia, Mohonasen HS "NATS is pretty neat. I like NATS a lot. It's very user friendly. I can't imagine that the colleges don't love using this. I like the results analysis, being able to see exactly how I rank against kids all across the nation. I plan on using the NATS on-line components the entire year, there is a ton of good information on the web site. NATS works great."

David Johnson, Horace Mann-Barnard Upper School "It was very organized and well run. I like the on-line service, the percentile ranking, it's really neat to be able to see were you are against kids and across the nation, and showed me what you need to work on. I looked at the on-line recruiting information that NATS provides, the on-line components are very helpful."

Shane Stephenson, Flushing HS (MI) "I drove 10 hours to attend NATS with my family and a friend, it was definitely worth it. The results analysis was very neat. It showed me that while I did well, there are still areas I need to improve in. I would recommend for anyone to attend NATS and see were you are amongst other kids so you can get an idea on what level you can play football at. Even if you need to drive 10 hours to get to an NATS Test, do it."