The college athletic recruiting process, while an exciting time, can be quite overwhelming, frustrating, and complicated. It can also end in serious disappointment and regret if you’re not well informed. Many people, even those who’ve already been through the process, don’t have the information needed to make the most of the experience.
Here are 25 college recruiting facts you may not be aware of.
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Not all student-athletes eligible for graduation from their high school are eligible by NCAA standards.
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Not all incoming freshman student-athletes need to be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center.
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Registration with the Eligibility Center may have an impact on Official Visit opportunities.
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Test taking strategies for the SAT and ACT are not the same.
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Unless you know you’re going to “ace” it the first time, you should definitely plan on taking the SAT/ACT more than once.
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There are definite advantages to taking either the SAT or the ACT (or both) prior to your senior year in high school.
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Planning to play college level athletics at the end of your senior year in high school may be too late.
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The few elite players on a team are not the only ones with a chance of playing in college.
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There is so much more you can do than go to showcase tournaments or recruiting camps to get your name out there and get noticed by coaches.
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Not all college coaches attend big recruiting events such as showcases or camps.
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You are allowed to make the first contact with a college coach/program.
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The head coach is not necessarily the best coach to send information to or try to make first contact with.
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Not all high school counselors are able to track each student-athlete in their school to make sure they have everything in order to play athletics at the collegiate level.
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Telling or showing a coach that you’re not interested from the get go can be a mistake that comes back to bite you.
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Student-athletes that publicly announce their intent to attend a certain college have a bigger, more important reason than tooting their own horn or bragging.
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You can start going on Unofficial Visits before your eligible to go on Official Visits.
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It’s not necessarily cheaper to market yourself than it is to get help.
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Not all coaches want to see game footage in a recruiting tape/DVD.
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Your options and number of choices are not necessarily better the longer you wait.
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Grades CAN be a major part of the decision making process for a college coach.
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There is no such thing as a 4-year scholarship.
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While you can get excellent information out of both, there are some major fundamental differences between Official Visits and Unofficial Visits.
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Division III schools don’t give athletic scholarships.
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The NCAA limits schools to a max number of athletic scholarships per year for particular sport. (A "rich" school doesn't necessarily mean more scholarship $$$ available).
- Next to not taking care of grades, sitting back and waiting for offers is probably the BIGGEST (and probably the most common) mistake you can make in the college recruiting process.
I hope this list has provided information that you didn’t know before. You can download/save this list as a printable pdf file (feel free to share it with others) at www.allaboutfastpitch.com/25Facts.pdf - plus test your knowledge of college recruiting with the page of questions at the end of the printable pdf file.
Best wishes on your future!
