How to Get Recruited

  • Here are 16 things that should help you get recruited!

    *Borrowed and manipulated to fit all sports from FP Northwest

    1. Research and reach out to as many college coaches as you can- create a list of colleges that interest you at all division levels and update that list on a regular basis. Start narrowing down your choices until you have a list of your top 25 favorites, then 20, then 15 and so on until you find your perfect fit.
    2. Coach communications- it’s up to you to reach out to coaches and get proactive. Don’t wait for them to come to you!  Create a list of questions to ask college coaches when you call them, but to also keep the list handy for when they call you back!  Include a list of answers to questions that you think coaches will ask you.
    3. Develop relationships with college coach- don’t just reach out once and assume the ball is in their court. Keep emailing and calling college coaches once every week or two to keep on their radar.
    4. Once you do the above, you should start hearing from coaches.
    5. Show college coaches respect- you should reply to every letter, e-mail or phone call you receive, whether you are interested in that coach’s college or not. Remember, the more college coaches you have a relationship with, the more opportunities you’ll have to compete at the next level.
    6. Attend camps, combines, tournaments and showcases- consider the ones where a coach is recruiting you. Experience is information, information is powerful.
    7. Understand the recruiting timeline- do you know when a college coach can contact you or when you can contact them. Knowing contact rules and when coaches start making offers to recruits will put you a leg up on your competition.
    8. Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center- you must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center before you can do two very important things: a) take official visits and b) sign your National Letter of Intent. You will also need to verify that you are qualified to play in the NCAA once you’re registered, which entails things like making sure you’ve taken the 16 core courses and sending in your official transcripts and SAT or ACT scores.
    9. Get evaluated- Make sure you get a professional, third party evaluation of your skill level so you know what division level you can realistically play at. This way, you know what schools you should focus your efforts on.  However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have “reach” schools: those schools that might be slightly out of your academic and athletic range.
    10. Visit colleges of all levels.
    11. Have a professional highlight or skills video-..no music and is around 3-4 minutes long with your best highlights first.
    12. Get a Player Profile. Make sure any coach you contact is aware of this so they can review it when and as often as they like to.
    13. ACT/SAT prep work starts freshman and sophomore year- you’ll want to take the tests your junior year and then think about retaking the test no matter how well you did. You only have to report your best score. 
    14. Get and keep your GPA up! The better your grades, the less you’ll have to worry about whether you are academically qualified to get accepted to colleges. 
    15. Research and prepare your FAFSA and Financial Aid Information- you can submit your FAFSA starting January 1st of your senior year. Just remember that your financial aid money is first come, first serve, so you’ll want to submit this as soon as possible.  You should also find out your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC).
    16. Research Application Deadlines- make sure you submit applications before the deadline and really put some effort into your essays.