Run Beyond CHS

Running Beyond CHS

Whether it is on a DI,II, or III college team, as part of an intramural or club sport, or simply on your own, we want to encourage and support your running for years to come!

Want to ask a bunch of "dumb" questions (p.s. no such thing) about the process? Reach out to an alum! (Coach D might have current contact info, if you need)

I'm thinking about running in college!

Big Overall Steps:

1.Train hard and RUN FAST

-If you run incredibly fast, coaches will contact you. You may feel like your life is dictated by who contacts you, but if you go through the rest of these steps, your life will be better. You will more easily narrow down your choices, and you may end up running for a program that didn’t initially contact you.

2. Determine where you are willing to live and where you want to live

3. Determine what you want to study

4. Determine the appropriate competitive level for you

5. Narrow down your list of schools

6. Contact coaches

7. Visit schools

8. Live the DREAM!

9. Save the WORLD!

The Details

• Review the Running in College New powerpoint, which explains the process and terminology very well.

• Review the CHS Student Athlete Handbook 

• Sometime in your Junior year, review guidelines for Initial Eligibility, and explore the NCAA Eligibility Center

  • This is explained very well in the College Recruiting Series of articles on Milesplit.

  • The Initial Eligibility process is what starts it all, so start soon and get it out of the way!

• To-do list:

  • Fill out the prospective student-athlete questionnaire for any college programs you are interested in.  These are available on almost every school's "athletics" or "cross country" webpages. 

  • While you're there:

    • Look at rosters, times, and results of the programs you are interested in.  Look at the times the current team members ran in High School.  Keep in mind that often, the non-traveling team or B team won't have their times or profiles posted on the college's website.

    • Research the philosophy, reputation, and history of the program(s) you are interested in.  A lot can be learned of what to expect based on this information alone!

  • Create a recruiting flier ("running resume") about yourself, and email it to coaches at schools you're interested in, along with a note of introduction and something that shows you've done your research about the program. Include the following information:

    • GPA

    • SAT/ACT scores

    • Leadership experience and community service

    • Academic interests

    • Track times (with hyperlinks to results pages)

      • Do the altitude --> sea-level conversion, and include that as well.

    • Best Cross Country places (1st at League Championships, etc.) with hyperlinks

    • Phone number and email address

  • Deadlines and Rules

    • Contacting a coach – An athlete may initiate contact with a college coach (email, phone) at ANY time throughout their HS career. A college coach may not converse in-person with a HS athlete, or initiate contact with them, until August 1 going into the athlete’s junior year. (incidental greetings are okay).

    • November and April of your Senior year: Signing periods. When you can sign your National Letter of Intent (NLI)

  • If you want, create a profile on www.BeRecruited.com and/or www.ncsasports.org.  These recruiting websites advocate on your behalf, by occasionally sending your academic and athletic accomplishments to college coaches and recruiters in programs you may have never even heard of.  In general, this could be thought of as a 'back-up' plan, if you've already done everything else.

#1 Rule: Be your own advocate

• New Recruiting Articles Series
      Article 1 - The Eligibility Center
      Article 2 - Getting on the Radar Screen
      Article 3 - What Amount of Scholarship Should I Expect
      Article 4 - Visits and Contacts
      Article 5 - The National Letter of Intent
      Article 6 - Sizing Up the Coach
      Article 7 - Questions to Ask
      Article 8 - Transitioning from High School to College
      Article 9 - The JCs and a Parting Thought or Two
      Article 10 - Self-Marketing 101

• Old Recruiting Articles Series
       Article 1 - Introductions
      Article 2 - Scholarship Amounts
      Article 3 - Closure on Scholarship Amount
      Article 4 - Role of the High School Coach
      Article 5 - Closure on Role of the High School Coach
      Article 6 - Transitioning from High School to College
      Article 7 - Wrap-Up of First Series
      Article 8 - Recruiting: Asking the Right Questions
      Article 9 - Recruiting: Asking the Right Questions, Part II

Other Documents:  

High School IE Standards

New IE Rules