Many athletes start thinking about the recruiting process as early as their freshman year. The reality of options starts to set in around that sophomore year. If you want to know whether or not you have a chance to run for your dream school, your personal record (PR) must be comparable to the top eight times which scored at the outdoor championship meet for the conference of your intended school. "
Go to milesplit.com, Search for the ACC Conference Championship results and find last year's outdoor championship conference meet. Look for the final two scorers (7th/8th) of the event (in the finals) and compare your time or distance. If your PR was close to that time, there's a pretty good chance that to fall within the scope of their recruitment plans. A FAT time is important.
While working on getting faster and stronger, here are some other suggestions on your path to college athletics
Market yourself. Your high school coaches and athletic directors (in most cases) will not.
Try to connect with the coach of your target school, or that school's recruiting coordinator, via email or social media. Give them updates on your times, if you are within their standards.
Post results on your social media story and monitor who's watching and who isn't.
Do your best to qualify for state and national championship meets.
Getting on the podium at the state or national level will get you noticed.
Always be polite, return phone calls and texts and show genuine interest
Earn an "Official Visit." This is the ultimate indicator that they are recruiting you. High school athletes are allowed five official visits during their recruitment.
Never waste a college program's time. If you know you're not interested, let them know ASAP and thank them for their time.
Always enter official visits with questions to ask and an idea of your future to project.
Do not limit yourself to one school or conference. Keep an open mind to whatever options are available. Lead with your degree of choice.
WHAT ARE RECRUITERS LOOKING FOR?
They want you to run their standard time so that they can make a case to their head coach. It's important to understand they are the decision makers.
Qualified grades and test scores. Athletics may have some pull with admissions, but it's limited.
Have consistency in running times across all events.
Perform well in championship situations against elite competition. This will indicate you have the ability to compete under pressure.
Teams will look to recruit specific positions based upon their big picture strategy. If you have the ability to score, for instance, in relays, this will help your case. Coaches project who will help them score points in the future.
Athletes who have a genuine interest in their program. Do not project a tone that you are shopping around for the best offer.
Someone who is not going to take a long time to make a decision. Remember, offers can be taken away or re-assigned.
An athlete who is team-first and a leader can potentially recruit for their program.
Be an asset, not a liability. Don't be a me-first individual. Athletes need to be dependable and not a magnet for problems.
Marketability. Programs are looking for student athletes that are going to make them look good both on and off of the track. Build and guard your brand.
NCAA Division I, Division II and NAIA offer athletic money, but Division III does not.
Coaches will recruit you across a spectrum. Offers are based upon circumstance:
There are terms like preferred walk-on, partial scholarship and full scholarship. Fully-sponsored women's programs get 18 scholarships. Men get 12.6. In many cases, coaches of high-level programs spread their money around. Full scholarships are not given often. But athletic scholarship money can be stacked with financial aid. Do your homework. Understanding all these values is knowing the full picture. The rest depends on how well you execute your training and how you market yourself and just how well you put yourself in a position to succeed.
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