College Athletics: talent?

<p>colleges like talent, and i know athletic talent is included. so my question is, how would colleges (for me, ivies) know if you excel at a particular sport, and you aren't just "on the team". i say this because i know colleges cannot tell if you have athletic talent based on your transcript alone. is there a place on the application for this kind of thing?
thanks in advance</p>

<p>Hi Teddy, there is a forum kinda hidden on CC especially for athletes & admissions… look under College Admissions, then under Specialty Admissions topics. Lotsa experienced posters there. But to answer your question, unless you are in the very top of your sport where schools are beating a path to your door, they are NOT going to know, not unless you tell them. If you want to play varsity in college, this is going to mean initiating a lot of contacts with coaches at a variety of schools. If you are just looking to use this as an EC, your can still let them know the year you made varsity (if), the clubs you play in in addition to school, your stats for your sports, whether you were named “Player of the Week” in your local newspaper, etc. But if you are looking to play, start this dialogue directly with the coaches, before you even apply.</p>

<p>DS and I are lucky in that his sport is swimming… basically your time says it all. Same for track and other easilly measured sports. For football, soccer, etc its a common practice to actually put together video to send out if you are interested in being recruited.</p>

<p>It’s also the caliber of team you play for at the club level. The better the team, the more chance that the college will recognize that you play at a high level.
But ByeBye really said it all.</p>

<p>ok thanks a lot! (i run cross country and track) but if I wanted to use it just as an EC (tell them im on varsity/awards etc) where would i tell them? on the application is there a place for that?</p>

<p>Yes, there will be a place for you to list your most significant extracurriculars, and usually there is space to list whether you are a captain, and what championships you may have won. You can also attach a resume with more specific and complete athletic accomplishments. Colleges also have online questionnaires for potential recruits on their athletic websites, where you list all your events and PRs, etc. As soon as your track season is over spring of junior year, you should complete those. Coaches cannot contact you until July 1 after junior year.</p>