This is your final chance to impress college coaches. All the camps, practices, games, traveling, and training you’ve done to become a better athlete is about to pay off. You need to stay focused on earning an athletic scholarship. If you are just now starting the recruiting process then you are a bit behind schedule; however, there is still time to get noticed. We don’t recommend you wait this long because you waste three good years of networking with college coaches. If you start early then coaches can get to know you, and they can see the progress you make each year. We put together some tips for you to follow as you begin your senior year.

-Don’t lose focus on your grades: We have been preaching it for four years now. No coach wants to waste his or her time on a recruit that can’t make grades. You’ve worked hard your whole high school career so stay the course.

-Talk to your guidance counselor: Make sure you are on track and taking the right courses to become eligible. The NCAA has strict rules in place that require you to take certain college preparatory courses. Check with your counselor to ensure you will be eligible.

-Retake ACT or SAT: If you feel that your ACT or SAT scores could hurt your chances of getting into college, then retake them. You should also consider retaking the exams to improve your financial aid situation. Academic scholarships can always be added onto your athletic scholarships. This is especially important if you aren’t getting a full ride athletically. Full-ride athletic scholarships are rare, and are usually coupled with an academic scholarship of some sort. Having good grades can help coaches decide on recruits with similar physical skills. If you need help with studying try using a study guide. Studies show that properly preparing for the ACT/SAT can increase scores.

-Get Cleared: You can’t play unless you first get cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse. You should have taken care of most of the tasks your junior year. It isn’t difficult to register but it is a requirement. Remember when you take the ACT or SAT to request your test scores be sent to the eligibility center. The code for doing that is 9999 on the exams. After April 1st you can sign the amateurism questionnaire and the final authorization signature that they require. If you enroll in the spring semester than the date is October 1st.

-Contact coaches: This is extremely important if you haven’t been getting many looks. Hopefully you read our other posts and you have been contacting coaches. If not, don’t panic there is still time. You just need to spend more time at it. You should send out emails and letters to dozens of potential schools. Let the coach know you are interested, and that you can help their program. Research the school before you contact anyone. You should have some information about the university and coaching staff to include in your email and letter. You can even call the coaching staff. There are no restrictions on phone calls that you initiate to the staff. Don’t abuse the privilege and get labeled ‘annoying’. Call every couple weeks if you need to.

-Research Schools: If you have multiple offers on the table, or simply trying to decide what school to attend, you should do some research and learn as much as possible about the college. Find out what is important to you. Don’t attend a certain university solely based on a scholarship offer. Only about 1% of college athletes go on to play professional sports. Going to a school that fits you will lay the foundation for the rest of your life. Consider more than just the money on the table. Figure out other important things like:

• What do you want to study
• Do you prefer a small or large school
• How much will it cost
• Does the school have a good reputation
• What is their graduation rate
• What are the academic requirements

-Broaden your search if needed: If you are a little late in getting the recruiting process started then this is important for you. You don’t have the time to waste on just a couple of schools. You should contact as many college coaches as possible. There are great schools all over the country at all levels that you can attend. Don’t set your hopes on a few schools without having a backup plan. Contact as many coaches as possible.

-Market your talents: The reason a coach might not be recruiting you has nothing to do with your athletic ability, but rather because they have no idea who you are. Coaches have thousands of athletes to filter through, and from time to time they miss a few quality recruits. That’s just how it goes. The key is to make sure you are one of the ones that get seen. There are certain tips and tricks that you can use to get in front of college coaches. You can read more on our Marketing section.

-Sign a letter of intent: You have done everything in your power to get noticed and finally got offered a scholarship. Sign your letter of intent, and celebrate with family and friends. Congrats!