College Athletic Recruiting Timeline for High School Student Athletes

The following article is meant to serve as a basic guide and timeline for high school student athletes who wish to compete at the collegiate level. The info contained was created to guide parents and athletes through the basic necessary steps to compete for an athletic scholarship. It is not meant to be all encompassing. We recommend speaking with your school's counselors and Athletic Directors as they would be able to assist with items more specific to your situation.

Freshmen: Freshmen year is the time for athletes to get acquainted with high school and to begin developing their skills. As a freshman athletes should begin to explore the weight room and get on a program that is approved by their coaches. Aside from athletics, students should make sure they are taking the proper courses to be eligible for collegiate athletics. For example if you plan to enter college in 2008 or after, you will need to present 16 core courses in the following breakdown: * 4 years of English * 3 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher) * 2 years of natural/physical science (one must be a lab science) * 1 year of additional English, math or science * 2 years of social studies * 4 years of additional core courses (from any area listed above, or from foreign language, nondoctrinal religion or philosophy) A potential college athlete should speak with their counselor and make sure these bases are covered.

Sophomore: It has been said that athletes make the largest gains between their freshmen and sophomore years. With that in mind it is very important to have a good summer. Training and competing should be high on the summer priorities. Things like AAU, Summer Baseball, Camps, and the like are a good way to learn new skills and also get on a coach's radar. During this year athletes should make a point to develop their skills and develop a workout routine that they can stick with. It's also not a bad idea to start reading up on sports recruiting. There are dozens of books out there; VAD has a recommended reading section if you are interested.

Junior: Junior year is the most important year of the recruitment process. It is vital to get your name out there and make contact with college coaches. I can personally attest to the folly of waiting to your senior year. Doing so puts you in a disadvantage in the scholarship race. Fortunately, making contact with college coaches is easier than people think. Most coaches have their information readily available on their sports website. Do not be afraid to contact them. That is why their info is there. You can sign up with services like Virtual Athletic Director and create a personal sports page with your stats and video then email it to college coaches. You also might want to consider signing up for free services like EdSoup.

Also, read the NCAA Guide for the College Bound Athlete - it's a free download from the NCAA. Seach on the NCAA site.

Senior: Senior year is dependent on the status of your recruitment. An athlete who has been in contact with several coaches and is already fielding offers has different issues then a student who is trying to break through in his/her final year. If you are an athlete receiving offers it is important to not jump the gun. Although any offer for free or discounted education is excellent in my opinion, it's important to know your options. Remember that schools are often competing for the same players. If four colleges are aggressively recruiting one athlete and the athlete signs with one of the schools, there are now three schools looking for players. Keep that in mind if you are interested in a particular school. Also remember that DII schools sometimes wait till the D1 schools sign their players to see who missed the cut. Although these are not steadfast rules they are worth considering along with many other possibilities. For athletes looking to bust out their senior year "early" is the name of the game. Contact college coaches, apply to schools, send out tapes, do everything you can and do it BEFORE your season. The sooner you can get on a coach's recruiting list the better.