Student Athletes in addition to maintaining a strong academic profile have the added responsibility of managing their high school athletic career and making sure that they are doing all that is necessary to get noticed and best position themselves for a collegiate sports career. Whether a student-athlete is vying for a D1 scholarship or just would like to continue pursuing their sport at the university level, every year of high school there are things to consider. A typical 4-year time line for student-athletes is as follows:
Freshmen: Grow and develop skills. Manage academics to ensure freshman eligibility. Plan high school schedule with eligibility in mind. Meet with a school counselor.
Sophomores: Begin learning about recruiting and the rules around sports scholarships. Start working on raising visibility. Talk to high school and club coaches on how best to accomplish maximum appropriate visibility. Start researching various colleges and their sports programs. Work on sport and leadership skills. Develop a reputation for teamwork, sportsmanship, and maturity.
Juniors: Most important year. While recruiting is generally seen as a senior activity, it is the junior year accomplishments that generate recruiting phone calls. Within the NCAA guidelines, make phone calls, visit schools, and meet coaches.
Seniors: Confirm all classes and credits are or will be taken to maintain eligibility. Continue improving sport skills and reputation as player and student. Work with coaches and high school counselors regarding deadlines and offers.
Additional Resources:
Register with the NCAA: http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/future/how-register
If you want to play NCAA sports at a Division I or II school, you need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. The NCAA Eligibility Center works with you and your high school to help you prepare for life as a student-athlete.
MaxPreps (http://www.maxpreps.com): MaxPreps is "America's source for high school sports." It is a great site—very easy to use, helpful links, up to date information, and the final word in ranking high school teams, athletes, stats, coaches, and various programs. If you want to look up a particular player, they will give you that student-athlete's state and national ranking. The more popular sports (volleyball, soccer, baseball, football, basketball, etc.) have a tremendous amount of content, links, and data, but there is also tons of information about bowling, dance team, cheer, debate, and golf. A great source for a student athlete to see what the competition looks like.
Freshmen: Grow and develop skills. Manage academics to ensure freshman eligibility. Plan high school schedule with eligibility in mind. Meet with a school counselor.
Sophomores: Begin learning about recruiting and the rules around sports scholarships. Start working on raising visibility. Talk to high school and club coaches on how best to accomplish maximum appropriate visibility. Start researching various colleges and their sports programs. Work on sport and leadership skills. Develop a reputation for teamwork, sportsmanship, and maturity.
Juniors: Most important year. While recruiting is generally seen as a senior activity, it is the junior year accomplishments that generate recruiting phone calls. Within the NCAA guidelines, make phone calls, visit schools, and meet coaches.
Seniors: Confirm all classes and credits are or will be taken to maintain eligibility. Continue improving sport skills and reputation as player and student. Work with coaches and high school counselors regarding deadlines and offers.
Additional Resources:
Register with the NCAA: http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/future/how-register
If you want to play NCAA sports at a Division I or II school, you need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. The NCAA Eligibility Center works with you and your high school to help you prepare for life as a student-athlete.
MaxPreps (http://www.maxpreps.com): MaxPreps is "America's source for high school sports." It is a great site—very easy to use, helpful links, up to date information, and the final word in ranking high school teams, athletes, stats, coaches, and various programs. If you want to look up a particular player, they will give you that student-athlete's state and national ranking. The more popular sports (volleyball, soccer, baseball, football, basketball, etc.) have a tremendous amount of content, links, and data, but there is also tons of information about bowling, dance team, cheer, debate, and golf. A great source for a student athlete to see what the competition looks like.