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Getting Recruited
Getting Recruited
If you are wanting to play sports in college, it is A LOT easier than you think! First thing you need to realize is that every year, junior colleges like CBCC and YVCC, struggle to fill full rosters for their sports. This also occurs at several smaller 4-year universities and colleges. This makes your path that much easier!
My hope with this web page is to help educate you on how to get looked at by colleges you want, and likewise provide resources to empower you to play athletics at the next level (whether it be at a JC, NAIA, or NCAA school).
NCAA's Process
NCAA's Process
Some people say you must have signed up with a Certified Account ($90 in 2018) by the time you were a sophomore in high school to have a chance to play Division I sports...FALSE!
You can create and make an NCAA certified account all the way through graduation. The problem that could arise is taking correct classes and being on track to graduate (according to NCAA, not CHS) since the end of your sophomore year.
The basics of this one is you put in all your personal information, your classes and sports, send in a transcript and have your SAT or ACT scores sent to them.
College's and universities do not use this system to find recruits, they only use this system to make sure their recruit is academically eligible and can be offered a place on their team.
NAIA's Process
NAIA's Process
NAIA is another association like NCAA, but with their own eligibility system. You need to go and make an account ($80 in 2018). You can make the account all the way through graduation. The basics of this one is the same as NCAA's: you put in all your personal information, your classes and sports, send in a transcript and have your SAT or ACT scores sent to them.
College's and universities do not use this system to find recruits, they only use this system to make sure their recruit is academically eligible and can be offered a place on their team.
First of all with getting recruited by colleges and universities, they need to know you! How is that going to happen???
Here are several ways college athletic directors have told me directly on how they recruit athletes:
- AAU and Club Teams for sports such as volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer
- Individual State and National tournaments and invitationals (non-school-related) for sports such as wrestling, tennis, golf, track & field, and cross country
- Individual Summer Sport Camps at Colleges
- High School coaches reaching out to the college coaches and then watching game film online (such as HUDL or YouTube)
- High school athletes reaching out to the college coaches and then watching game film online (such as HUDL or YouTube)
- Football is the only exception, they recruit at big high school games
Something you notice here is the very few initial recruiting opportunities happen in high school athletic events!
If you are a high school athlete and want to play in college here are some "simple" suggestions:
- Join an AAU or Club team that plays at big tournaments across the western states
- Individually sign up and go to the big invitationals and tournaments if it is an individual sport
- Pick a 4-year college you want to play for and sign up every summer to go to their summer camps if they have them
- Pick several JCs or lower 4-year colleges and contact their coaches about being interested in making a visit to their campus and would like to possibly visit with them and possibly join in a workout/practice session on whatever day you two could schedule
- Make sure you have links ready to go for your game film
While I was speaking with a small college athletic director, I asked the question, "Do you guys see it as desperation or pathetic when an athlete reaches out on their own to contact you about being interested in playing for your school?" His answer was "Absolutely not!" He then went on to explain how JCs have it tougher than him because they have to recruit half their players every year unlike 4-year colleges, and likewise that they (JCs & small 4 year schools) typically only have one to two people to even do recruiting (head coach and maybe one assistant), so it is sometimes a big help to them when people come to them and they can then watch film online. So go on to their college athletic website and fill out the recruit questionnaire, email and call the coaches.
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