As high school approaches, a buzz circulates the sports community on the start of the recruiting process. Suddenly young athletes are expected to check off many tasks in order to get the college recruited process jumpstarted. After talking to athletes from different sports about their recruiting experience, they are all very similar (despite the sport). As a recruited student-athlete, I will share some of my top tips I learned from 4 years of the recruiting process.

1. Organize, organize, and ORGANIZE!

There are hundreds of colleges that offer sports. Some are in the city, countryside, or suburbs. These colleges range with the programs, price, and academics each offers. Though this list may change throughout the recruiting process, it is important to start organizing schools that interest your wants / needs academically and athletically. List each college with their state, tuition, and area. Then, list their coaches and their emails from your sport’s team you wish to pursue. Making these lists kept me in line and allowed me to have a visual of my prospective colleges. This also makes it easy when you have to start contacting each school.

2.  Use your resources

Most college athletics teams have a tab on their website for prospective students. In this tab, there may be a questionnaire listed. Make sure to fill out these questionnaires for all your schools. Coaches do look at these and it gives them a general idea of who you are. You give them the basics of GPA, interested area of study, links to highlight reels, club coaches’ contact information, and most importantly YOUR information! This questionnaire alone allowed me to start talking to more colleges freshman year and helps you get on a coach’s radar.

3.  Email is an athlete’s new BFF

Filling out a questionnaire is one way to get on a coach’s radar, but the main form of communication you will talk to your coach by is email. With your excel sheet of your prospective colleges, you can get to emailing all the colleges on that list. It is helpful to make a general template to use to email these schools. List your name, club / team, upcoming tournaments / games, GPA, any accomplishments, and express your interest in the school. It is imperative to keep consistent communication with the coach. And do not be afraid, they want to hear from you!

4. Becoming a filmmaker and editor

If a college coach cannot come to a game or tournament you are competing in, they have to see you play somehow. It is imperative to start recording your games, tournaments, or even c reps in a private. Once you get this film, it is your responsibility to pick out which clips to use in the highlight reel. Really try to show some versatility in skill. Show how dynamic you are as an athlete. Also make sure to be consistent with your film, try to produce as many reels so you can to send it to your coaches.

Overall, this process is scary for all athletes. The pressure behind this process can be intimidating. Ultimately, it is supposed to be a fun and an exciting chapter for your athletic career. I cannot stress enough that if you have a dream school, do not be afraid to chase your dream! Make those dreams into a reality, so you can be a student-athlete at your dream school. Best of luck!