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| While many athletes wait until junior year to start their | | | | Make sure you consider schools that you might not be |
| college search in earnest, sophomore year is the ideal | | | | familiar with, especially if they have good programs for |
| time to start because an athlete who wants to be | | | | your academic area of interest, and good athletic |
| recruited for college sports has a much more | | | | programs for your sport. Student athletes often limit |
| complicated search than the non-athlete. | | | | themselves to schools they are familiar with and their |
| A handful of high school athletes will be playing at the | | | | list gets very small, very quickly. |
| varsity level in their sophomore year, but most won't, | | | | 3. Continue competing on club, travel, or AAU teams. |
| especially if they attend large high schools. If you're not | | | | Hopefully you are already doing this. If not, now is |
| playing varsity yet, don't let that deter you from | | | | definitely the time to start. You will get the majority of |
| researching which colleges are the right fit for you as | | | | your exposure to college coaches through these kinds |
| an athlete. Sending college coaches your stats and | | | | of teams. If you are already playing on one of these |
| videotape from varsity competitions will be important | | | | teams as a sophomore , you will be a known quantity. |
| next year, but that's getting ahead of the game. At this | | | | You will probably have an easier time getting one of |
| point, you should be doing preliminary research so you | | | | the coveted spots on this team for the all-important |
| can figure out which schools you want to target. | | | | season between junior and senior year, than the kid |
| Here are five things you should start doing as a | | | | who is showing up for the first time. |
| sophomore: | | | | Football is a different animal because it doesn't have |
| 1. Get an accurate assessment of your skill level. | | | | these kinds of off-season teams. With football, you will |
| You will save a tremendous amount of time and | | | | have to pursue combines. Choose them carefully. |
| preserve your self-esteem if you aim yourself | | | | Some will be beneficial to the recruiting process and |
| correctly when you start to contact college coaches. | | | | others will only be beneficial to the wallets of the |
| Too often, kids aim too high and are disappointed | | | | people who put them on. |
| when coaches pass them over. Worse, if they wait | | | | Regardless of sport, try to participate in showcase |
| too long to figure out that they are aiming too high, | | | | events and summer camps. Again, the more important |
| they may end up with nothing. | | | | year is the following year, but by participating now, you |
| Talk to your high school coach, club team coach, and | | | | will know what to expect, and you may catch the eye |
| other kids or parents of kids who have been through | | | | of coaches who will follow your development and look |
| the recruiting process. They can give you a better idea | | | | a lot more closely the following year. |
| of where you might fit. It's also helpful to look at the | | | | 4. Visit some colleges if the opportunity presents itself. |
| track record of athletes from your high school who | | | | Before you start choosing specific schools to evaluate, |
| have gone on to play in college. What level are they | | | | you need to know some basics about the kind of |
| playing at? How many have gone on? How would you | | | | college campus and experience you will be most |
| compare your skills to their skills? | | | | comfortable with. |
| 2. Research colleges and athletic programs online. | | | | Big or small? |
| There are 1700 colleges between the NCAA, NAIA, | | | | Urban, suburban, or rural? |
| and NJCAA (junior colleges). Use some of the college | | | | What kind of campus atmosphere? |
| search programs available on the internet to start | | | | What are the students like? |
| narrowing down to a list of 30-50 that you want to | | | | Even if they are not schools you would necessarily be |
| research further. Start your search by putting athletics | | | | interested in, wander onto college campuses near your |
| aside for a moment. Consider the academic | | | | home or when you're on family vacations. You will |
| requirements, if they have your intended major, the | | | | learn a lot about what you do and don't like and that |
| size and location, the type of campus atmosphere, and | | | | will make the process of developing your initial list that |
| the cost. | | | | much easier. |
| When you find a school you like, go to their website, | | | | 5. And if you do nothing else, keep up your grades. |
| link to your sport, and take a look around. You can | | | | There are lots of talented athletes that don't have the |
| learn a lot by looking at the characteristics of the other | | | | grades to gain admissions into the more selective |
| players on the roster. Look at their size. For many | | | | colleges. If you keep your grades up, you will have |
| sports, your ability to participate at a given level will be | | | | access to sports programs that more talented |
| dependent on your size. Look at their high school | | | | athletes won't have the grades for. If your freshman |
| history. You'll know if you're in the same league. If | | | | grades weren't great, now is the time to bring up your |
| you're looking at a team with kids who were all-state | | | | grade point average. It's almost impossible to improve |
| and you're not playing varsity as a sophomore, keep | | | | your gpa as a junior if you have two years of bad |
| looking. Blue chip, elite athletes are typically playing | | | | grades in high school. |
| varsity at least three and possibly all four years of high | | | | You are welcome to reprint this article. |