Your junior year is the most critical year in the recruiting process. College coaches are spending majority of their recruiting efforts on junior classes. A proactive approach is crucial at this stage of the process. The more you get your name out there, the better your chances are at getting a scholarship offer. You have been preparing yourself for this moment for the past two years. You have done a good job in the classroom, in the weight room, on the field, and in the community. Now it is time to really step up your efforts and get some coaches to notice you. Here are some tips to follow:

-Grades. Grades. Grades: We like to lead off with this every time. Only a small percent will go on to play professional sports, therefore; you need to make sure you get into a college and earn a degree. Coaches will be first to tell you that your grades are the most important thing. You can have all the ability in the world, but in order to play at the college level you first must qualify academically. Coaches will focus on recruits with the better transcripts if they have similar athletic abilities.

-Core Course Requirements: Depending on what collegiate level you end up playing at you must meet certain NCAA requirements. That is why we told you as a sophomore to meet with your guidance counselor. They can help make sure you are taking the necessary courses to become eligible.

-Prepare for the ACT/SAT: You will need to take the ACT and SAT sometime during your junior year. College coaches are going to need your scores at some point. It would be a good idea to study up and try some practice tests. There are a bunch of free practice tests online.

-Register with the Clearinghouse: Before you play college sports you must get cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse checks to make sure you have taken the necessary courses, achieved grade requirements, and passed certain tests. If you neglect to get cleared than coaches will pass on recruiting you. Now would be a good time to register with the Clearinghouse.

-Get a recommendation letter: Something we like to stress at RecruitLook is getting a good recommendation letter. These help coaches when they are evaluating your skills. They like the reassurance from an unbiased party that you are a good player and a good role model. A recruiter is going to look at every angle, and talk to as many people as possible before offering you money for college. Recommendation letters should be from your coach, opposing coaches, trainers, instructors, or community leaders.

-Get a highlight tape made: Probably the most important thing you can do is creating a good highlight tape. Coaches need to see you play before they can really start to recruit you. Getting an offer will never happen without a coach first seeing you play. It is critical that you have some footage put together for scouts to see. Your chances of getting recruited increase significantly when you get a highlight tape uploaded to your RecruitLook profile.

-Get on the radar: If you haven’t made a list of colleges that you might want to attend, you should do it now. Then go to their athletic websites, and fill out the recruiting forms. This will get you into their database. Now they have your info and know who you are. That puts you a step closer in getting recruited.

-Send out your info: You should send your info out to as many colleges as possible. Get out the list you made your sophomore year and begin contacting coaches. We suggest for maximum exposure that you should send a handwritten letter and an email. Don’t get discouraged if you hear nothing back. Wait a few weeks and follow up with them. Reiterate to them your interests in their program. If you are an All-Star or MVP member we can provide you with custom emails.

-Take some unofficial and official visits: If you follow all of our tips and stay in contact with coaches you are bound to get offered to visit some campuses. Any college that you are considering you should try and visit them. You can go to any school you want for unofficial visits. These are funded by you and not the university. You can take as many unofficial visits as you like. We suggest visiting only because you might have second thoughts about a school after visiting the campus. If a coach is really interested in you they will extend an invite for you to visit on an ‘official visit’. These visits are generally for athletes that are being heavily recruited, because all expenses are absorbed by the university. You are allowed only 5 official visits to five different universities. Official visits are a great opportunity to learn more about the school and their athletic program.

-Review the NCAA rules: Know what the NCAA rules are. Don’t jeopardize your eligibility because you didn’t know the rules. Become familiar with the recruiting calendars, terminology, and restrictions the NCAA has on the recruiting process.

-Compete during the offseason: You should always be training, competing or practicing while you are not in season. Attending camps, showcases, tournaments, and clinics are good ways to get noticed. Coaches like to go to events that will maximize their exposure to high school athletes. It makes more since for a coach to attend a tournament with 64 teams from all over the country, or to attend a showcase with hundreds of athletes, than it is for that coach to come to one of your high school games. Staying active in the recruiting process will increase your chances for a college scholarship.