Yes, good point re:indoor, and especially the caveat “IF” your school has a legit indoor season. If not, or if the athlete plays hoops in the winter, no big deal.
As of now, there is an indoor season. He’s already fast enough as a Sophomore to run in college and is working hard at getting faster. We will see how that translates to times in the winter. Thanks for the insights.
2 Likes
At some point I’d take a look at the tfrrs.org performance lists by conference:
https://www.tfrrs.org/outdoor_lists.html
That’ll give you a good idea of marks that are competitive within each conference. Then dig in on some of those athletes on milesplit or athletic.net to see what they ran as juniors in HS. That’ll give you a sense of where a sprinter might fit well and might help you build a list of potential schools.
If you feel the times are already good, there’s no harm in contacting coaches now. I just don’t think there’s any particular rush. My experience is that kids at that age can improve so much that where they think they might fit based on sophomore times can be pretty far off the mark (this is less of an issue for a kid already well under 11 in the 100 as a sophomore; it’s more of an issue for the 11.20 sophomore who assumes D3 will be the right fit…until he runs 10.80 to open his junior season).
Anyway, good luck and don’t hesitate to ask more questions as needed.
2 Likes
Regarding recruiting websites for athlete profiles: my son has had tremendous response with the free option at NCSA and somewhat with CaptainU. He’s been approached by about 30 colleges/universities via these sites.
3 Likes
Does anyone have any advice on this situation? We are going to be facing a decision senior year whether to play football.
He bulked up over the summer and part of the fall and was slower as a junior compared to a sophomore at the start of this winter season. Finally started to get faster again now. His pathway to college is sprinting not football. Of course, there is the injury risk and getting bigger for football again. He really loves being part of the football team though.
What are his track events & times versus football position & accomplishments.
Will you be targeting D-1 scholarships or admissions boost to selective LACs & Ivy League schools ?
You should start your own thread…your question will get more eyes on it, and you won’t be hijacking someone else’s thread.
I’d see where things stand at the end of the outdoor season. I’m not a big fan of football for sprinters because I think way too many programs focus on bulk and don’t know how to develop speed. However, for many/most sprinters football is where their friends are and HS is really the last chance to play. So most future college sprinters who were already playing football usually continue.
Sometimes just having the track coach work with the football coach on a fall plan to maintain speed is enough to make things work out fine. If the other option is taking the fall off without a good idea how to train sprinters in the fall, football can be the better choice.
Knowing events and approximate PBs would help with context.
1 Like
Without knowledge of the track events & times versus football position, it is difficult to offer a reasonable response. Also, where is your son focusing his weightlifting efforts (upper body v. lower body or both) ?
And what level of school is your son targeting for athletics ?
Assuming that your son is looking at Ivy, Nescac and similar academic D3’s, he will be primarily recruited off of his Junior spring times (initial interest should have already started based on sophomore times). He will have those times in the bank before football training even starts. As long as your son understands the risk of injury and you confirm that the football coach will allow him to take official visits in the fall, let him play football! He will never have a better opportunity to bond with his high school friends or, likely, the chance to play football again. You don’t give up on those opportunities in COVID times.
I have no experience however do have a T&F athlete. I have been looking at schools that my student may be interested in and looking at their current athletes and their times for his events as results are usually listed on their athletic pages. Good luck!
You mentioned he really loves being part of the football team though So I would strongly encourage him to play football. He may never get a chance to be part of a team like that and have long lasting HS memories.
My kids were all multi-sport athletes which I think helped them, and many college coaches prefer multi-sport athletes.
Also, he may give up football for track and not get recruited, and even if he does get recruited to a D1 School, there is not much athletic money/scholarships for T&F.
1 Like