Competing in college
Former Archie William Runner who specialized in helping XC Runners and Track and Field Athletes into college programs -
https://instridecounseling.com/
Start by Reading the info below and then get researching and writing!
Research Phase:
Write down:
- the schools you are most interested in and why you are interested in them
- what is important to you about the college you go to
- what do you HAVE to have at a school ( big school, small school, certain major, certain location, etc)
Levels at college
1. Community college:
Locally Santa Rosa Junior College (College of Marin has looked at starting a team recently)
Pro: Almost anyone can run here
Scholarship: Financial aid is need or academic rather than athletic based
2. NAIA:
Scholarships offered. Primarily smaller private or religious colleges in California
Academic, athletic and need based scholarships
Level is usually around NCAA D2 level for the top end.
3. NCAA Division I
In California, schools like UCLA, Stanford, UCSB, Cal Poly, SLO, UC Berkeley, Loyola Marymout, USF, St. Mary’s, Pepperdine, etc
Top level of athlete competition. Scholarships offered
Less than 6% of high school athletes get recruited
Less than 2% of high school athletes get athletic scholarships
Far more get need based and academic based scholarships.
4. NCAA Division 2
In California Chico State, Cal State San Marcos, Azusa Pacific, Cal Poly, Pomona, Point Loma, San Francisco State,
Second tier of NCAA competition
Scholarship situation similar to Division I
5. NCAA Division 3
In California primarily private schools like Cal Lutheran, Pomona Pitzer, Claremont-Mudd, Occidental. Also UC Santa Cruz at the present time
Third tier of competition for NCAA
No athletic scholarships available. All money will come from academic or financial need.
What you should do:
Research the colleges you want to attend (start looking in sophomore year)
- Location
- Academic programs
- Cost
- Financial aid available
- Graduation rate
- Majors Available
- Campus size
- Crime rate
- Athlete organizations on campus
2. Research the cross-country and track and field programs
- Stability of the coaching staff (part time or full time)
- Emphasis of the program (track or cross-country-distance or other events)
- Scholarship opportunities
- Development of athletes—progression since high school
- Emphasis on academics and academic resources available to student athletes
- Team philosophy, record, practice schedule, coaches, social media presence
3. Be proactive
- Contact the programs directly at the beginning of your junior year
- Make a personal contact with coach (may need to do more than once)
- Call
- Text
- Fill out on line questionnaire (do more than this)
- Consider attending a camp at interested schools
- If you are interested in a program, be consistent with contact
- If you are no longer interested in a school, let the coach know
4. Be careful with your social media
- Universities and coaches do check this
- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc
- ADMISSIONS AND SCHOLARSHIPS HAVE BEEN LOST AS A RESULT OF THIS
- Have known coaches and schools to drop athletes and students because of social
5. Possibly attend a camp at the university you would like to attend
- Find out about the personality of the coach over the course of a week.
- Get to work with current team members
- View the institution in a realistic setting
- Find out if you want to be in that environment on a regular basis
Other Stuff you should know
6. Track times are important - Especially the junior year
7. Grades are important
- More 4.0s get recruited than 3.0s
- Lots more academic money than athletic money
- Know the required core classes
8. Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center and/or NAIA Eligibility Center
- IF you have any desire at all to participate at NCAA or NAIA level
- Do at the end of your junior year or beginning of senior year
- Cannot go on an official visit without registering
- http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/future/eligibility-center
- https://www.playnaia.org/eligibility-center
9. Official versus unofficial visit
- Official, the school pays for most of your visit
- Have to be invited
- During your senior year
- Max of 5 official visits
- Unofficial, you pay for your visit entirely, Any year
10. Commitment versus letter of intent
- Verbal commitment means you plan on attending this university
- Do not make lightly
- Letter of Intent - Means you have made a contract to attend this college and they are giving you something in return like : Scholarship, Fees
- Once you have committed, you should like other schools know of your decision.
11. Additional Questions, concerns
Ask your coach and/or your counselor. If you want more information about the process suggest checking out the eligibility centers for both NAIA and NCAA
Create a website with a link to your athlete.net and XCStats profile and include videos of you competing in your event. Coaches many times see potential in athletes when seeing them move rather than based on marks and times.
Example Email! WRITE YOUR OWN IF YOUR EMAIL FEELS LIKE A FORM EMAIL COACHES MIGHT IGNORE IT!
Dear Coach ___________,
My name is__________. I'm in the class of _____ at Redwood High School in Larkspur, CA. I have competed on my school's Cross Country & Track and Field team since I was a ___________. My best official time/mark so far was ______ at _____. I ran a ____________. I plan to beat that this upcoming season, as I have been training and working hard on _______________.
I'm very interested in ______ College athletically and academically. As I researched, I instantly was drawn to _________________. I have enjoyed learning about the ____________. I feel as if I'm a great fit for the school’s academic program and can picture myself majoring in ____________________ on your beautiful campus while competing on your team.
Request recruiting information or inform the coach you have filled out their recruiting information on their website.
Question directly related to the community/culture of the team/school
I attached my Athlete Biography and Transcript along with the link to my athletic.net profile for your review. I look forward to staying in touch with you and will continue to update you about my times in upcoming season.
Thank you,
____________