In today's highly competitive recruitment landscape, figuring out what steps you should be taking can be a challenge. High school athletes have to stay on top of their game, by staying current with the NCAA rules, along with a list of other things–the primary one is staying motivated.

Set Goals

Top-level athletes all set goals. If you set goals, it will give you a long-term vision but will help you stay motivated short term. This will also help you to organize your time so you can make the most out of your recruitment process. You will want to set very clear and defined goals, ones where you will be able to measure your achievements. You will also have a sense of pride once you achieve your goals. We spoke with a DIII football athlete, “I set a goal of emailing two football coaches every day for two weeks when I started my recruiting process. I did not send out generic emails, so it did take up some time. I researched the coach and school and incorporated some research into my emails. I would advise all high school athletes who are looking to play at the college level to set monthly, weekly, then daily goals.”

Have a Strategy 

A strategic plan might seem daunting, but if you have one, then your plan will make for a smoother recruiting process. It would be best if you had a beginning, middle, and end of your plan, so determine where you are.

First and foremost, you must be committed to the process. The first thing you need to do is commit to the process. The recruiting process is work. You will need to take some time to establish whether you want to play a college sport. Once you settle in with your decision, make sure you and your family are all in. You will be the one in charge of your recruiting, from start to finish, you will be the one working on your marketing portfolio. You will need to commit to making sure your student-athlete profile, introduction letter, high light video, and emailing and phoning coaches are all on point. If you put the time, energy, and dedication to finding an opportunity to play a sport in college, you are more likely to reach that goal.

Make academics a priority. You are more likely to get recruited at all the divisions if you are a good student, as well as a good athlete. Study habits should start at an early age, but if they have not then seek out a good tutor. The competition to play a college sport is fierce. If you want to earn an academic scholarship as well as an athletic one, it will do you well to maintain a high GPA. Doing well on the SAT/ACT will be the icing on the cake.

Being organized goes without saying. Keep all your information in one place. You will need to keep updating your academics and athletic information as well as writing down all your accomplishments and accolades. Keep a list of your target schools and what you will need to send to them. If you are talking to more than three coaches, then it will be helpful to take notes on the school, coaches, team dynamics, etc. Update weekly.

Understanding college athletics is key, so stay educated. Stay up-to-date with the NCAA rules and regulations; it's important to know what rules might affect you. You will also need to know contact periods. This will help with knowing when you should be reaching out to coaches and when they are allowed to reach back out. As time goes on, research your target schools and their admission requirements; they are all different.

Updated: November 25 2019

* Originally published on January 19, 2017, by Bryan Sosoo