Recruiting can be a stressful, overwhelming time for high school athletes who are trying to balance academics, athletics and contact college coaches. So for those who wish to play collegiate level sports, here’s some advice on how to get recruited.
- Email college coaches
Send emails to college coaches of your highlight reels, upcoming schedule and statistics in order to get yourself on colleges’ radar.
- Create a top list of schools
Creating a top list of schools will allow you to organize the emails you are sending and signing up for prospect days/ID clinics. When making your list, focus on academics rather than what NCAA division the school is.
- Be open to other schools
Colleges you may have never heard of may reach out to you, but do not disregard them just because they aren’t on your top schools list. One of these schools may end up being the perfect fit for you.
- Join a travel/club league
Travel leagues can be expensive, but they provide you with more opportunities to compete in front of college coaches and against higher caliber athletes.
- Start early
Starting the recruiting process early allows you to have more time with making a decision and eliminates unnecessary stress. A recommended timeline would be to start reaching out to college programs in sophomore and junior year. Of course, if you are a senior, do not be discouraged: it is better to start late than never.
- Prioritize academics
College coaches are more inclined to have athletes on their team who perform well in school. This is especially important when it comes to being awarded merit scholarships, mainly at the NCAA DIII level since they can not offer athletic scholarships.
- Do not focus on NCAA division
Focusing on NCAA DI programs can prevent you from discovering a DII or DIII school that is a better fit for you academically and career wise.
