<p>jadbow, it’s all about the times in track recruiting. My guess is she is not quite hitting the thresholds they are hoping to recruit. Don’t give up hope, but you’re right to have her continue friendly contact by email. If she has any summer races, update them with new PRs if they come. </p>
<p>If she runs XC, focus on getting a better time as early in the fall as possible. Indoor track is really the last opportunity to show something, and if she does, of course her AI will make her easy to recruit. But she’s gotta get faster, or get lucky in that her favorite schools don’t get commitments from athletes faster than she is.</p>
<p>The NASCAC will not fill their rosters in the fall. If she is borderline recruitable for IL then she’s probably very interesting to the DIIIs. They aren’t going to say much until IL is done skimming the cream, but will be looking for kids still seeking spots after EA/ED admits have happened in December.</p>
<p>Just so you guys know, just because the coach doesn’t contact you immediately doesn’t mean he is not interested. However, for those of you who have strong academics but your times and distances are subpar, the Ivy League schools will end up probably not recruiting you. It’s great if you have strong academics but the Ivy League schools also want athletes who have done exceptionally well in their events.</p>
<p>My S and I enjoyed visiting many wonderful schools over the past few weeks and learned a lot more about the track recruiting process as well. Are there others who can share their experiences now after attending junior recruiting days or the Harvard Track and Field Clinic as mentioned earlier in this thread? Thank you.</p>
<p>Last summer I attended the Harvard Junior Day. I would say that there were about 15-20 recruits there along with their families. We were in a room that had a beautiful view of the Harvard stadium and all the coaches were there along with a member of the Admissions committee. I remember us going through some presentations about Harvard and the coaches and the Admissions member were all open to questions. The group was then split up into smaller groups where we toured the campus with either a coach or member of the team. Everyone had lunch on their own then met back up later on for another discussion and Q&A. It was a very nice overview of the school and a nice way to personally meet coaches that you’ve been communicating with through email or phone. I’d definitely recommend going if invited.</p>
<p>We attended the CTC clinic at Harvard a week ago and it was very worthwhile. There were at least 5 Harvard track coaches in attendance as well as coaches from Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, Stanford etc. Most of the contact with the coaches only occurs with the coaches assigned to your child’s particular event but this worked out well for us. We have already heard from one coach and expect to hear from a second as well. Since we were headed to the Junior Olympics in Greensboro NC later in the week, the clinic provided great training the weekend before my S had to compete. We also managed to squeeze in 5 unofficial visits between Boston and NC on the days in between and coaches came to watch him compete at Greensboro. We learned a lot about the process by talking with coaches and know that my S will be getting OV invites in the next few weeks as a result. I am very tired after 10 days of track focused travel but feel that it was a very worthwhile trip.</p>
<p>Great. We attended the clinic and junior day as well and found it very worthwhile. For those of you who responded, please share what you can as your recruiting process goes forward.</p>
<p>We didn’t attend any clinics but attended a camp and did some unofficial visits. We were informed by one IL coach she has an AI of 240 and is fast enough that she will have her choice of IL schools. However, we have only heard from 4 of the 6 IL schools she has been in contact with previously. Coaches seem a little evasive on the admissions process at this point in time and although they mention OV’s, they don’t formally give an invitation. One coach gave us a thorough explanation of the AI used in the IL’s. He said that the lowest AI that can be accepted is 190 and a team must average around 210-215. This explains some of the gamesmanship going on. </p>
<p>I agree with some of the posts earlier that a lot of their attention is currently on the top tier recruits. Those are the ones getting frequent calls, offers for OV’s, and will probably be the first to get likely letters. These coaches are not going to use up their silver bullets until they realize that all of their dream recruits are not coming. I am not sure when that process starts shaking out but probably early fall. </p>
<p>This is just my guess from reading a lot online and my interpretation of things i have heard from coaches. There are roughly 3 tiers of IL recruits. I am using “girls” since this is my knowledge base and things may be different with boys. The times are just a rough reference point. These probably vary by school. </p>
<p>Tier 1: The 4:50/2:10 girls. Some are smart and some not so smart. Everyone wants these girls and the IL’s are competing with other programs offering these girls full rides or at least 50%. Some of these girls will go to the IL’s because they are smart and/or get good financial aid. </p>
<p>Tier 2: The roughly 5:00/2:15 girls. Very good runners but need to be smart to balance out the team AI especially if the coach got some fast runners with AI’s around 200. These girls will probably be left somewhat in limbo until the tier 1 runners start making decisions. There are a few of these girls making every IL school recruiting class. </p>
<p>Tier 3: The roughly 5:10/2:20 girls. Borderline D1 runners but need to be very smart to make it on an IL team or may need to walk on without admissions assistance. These girls will be given the lowest priority by coaches unless they see great future potential. There is probably 1 of these girls in every recruiting class. </p>
<p>Just curious if others agree or see this process differently.</p>
<p>I think you have a pretty good grasp of the process, jadbow. The better the athlete, the more leeway can be given with the AI - but only to a point. Sub 200 AI is going to be tough going for a track athlete that isn’t one of the top recruits in the country - that may vary a bit within the conference.</p>
<p>I would just say, rather than the defined tiers that you described, it’s more of a soup made up of different ingredients. First and foremost - do I need this athlete this year? If you have 3 great freshman throwers on the roster, you may not be in the market for another thrower right now. Next are the times/heights/distances. If they aren’t at a level that can score points in a D1 track meet, there really is no value from the coach’s perspective. Then it’s the index. Can I get this athlete admitted? Better yet, are her academics so high that it may open the door to get a lower index recruit admitted and keep the rolling team average within the required range? Personality is also a factor - is there leadership potential? Is she enthusiastic about the sport, or is she going to use this as a way to get admitted and bail on me after one year?</p>
<p>So there are a lot of factors and as a recruit you don’t really get a glimpse behind the curtain to see what the coach is thinking. But I will say, running fast tends to solve a lot of problems.</p>
<p>First of all, what is an Al and how do I calculate it?</p>
<p>I am interested in two Ivy League schools; the one I had emailed in the beginning of July. The coach called three times but I was not able to answer so I emailed instead. However, he did not email back! Is he interested? I would try calling again but don’t want to be annoying. How often should you call a coach to show interest?</p>
<p>I had emailed the other IL school in the fall of my junior year, and have followed by emailing him on August 1 of my senior year. Am I too late in the process now???</p>
<p>Are some recruits already being told their applications will be supported if they apply, or is that more likely to happy during an official visit? Do the schools wait until all official visit dates are complete before the begin to commit or ask for commitment? Are some coaches visiting homes and if so, does this mean the student is a top recruit or just a student of some interest?</p>
<p>Thank you all for very interesting insights.</p>
<p>I was told by one ivy coach so far that my application would be supported… but other coaches have said they are still narrowing down their recruiting list and then will offer support once they do so. And about the home visits. The school which offered to support me also offered a home visit, so I presume it means that they are pretty serious about you as a recruit.</p>
<p>Thanks and congratulations. Were you told during the home visit that your application will be supported? We’d love to know what to expect during a home visit. Any advice?</p>
<p>We actually declined the home visit because we decided to instead go to the school and tour it, etc., then meet with the coach there. It was via phone before the meeting that it was offered and then elaborated upon at the meeting. Best of luck!</p>
<p>In men’s track, one guy ran a 4:06 in the 1600m and I believe he also placed in the state championships. He ended up at Stanford for track and cross country. </p>
<p>In the 1600m, is sub-4:10 in the 1600m a rule of thumb to be recruited?</p>
<p>^ I’d say sub 4:10 is a pretty good rule of thumb, but it depends on the strength of the recruiting class. Harvard recruited a kid 2 years ago that had gone 3:41 in the 1500, which roughly equates to a 4:00 1600.</p>
<p>You also have to keep in mind that those are senior times generally. Harvard’s recruiting class this year was typically mid 4:10’s, Princeton’s was 4:17-4:21 albeit an English kid who has run 3:46 1500 , Cornell was 4:16-4:18, Penn 4:12-4:18, Columbia 4:10-20. Also, it is important to keep in mind that most of the PR’s are from senior year AFTER they were recruited, and most junior times are a couple seconds slower. </p>
<p>So most academically qualified milers will choose Stanford over the Ivy League. From the mile times, it appears the Ivy League adcoms are not cutting much slack on academics. Middle distance running tends to be a “smart kid” sport since I do see a lot of Harvard runners majoring in some engineering field. </p>
<p>The very best middle distance runners end up at Oregon, I suspect, because they couldn’t meet the academic standards at IL or Stanford.</p>
<p>^yeah on milesplit there is a list of some of the signings for each school. This year’s Stanford class has mostly senior times of around 4:10 1600 and 9 flat 3200. And from what I have seen, they all have gone to Footlocker XC Nationals.</p>
<p>I found this link to be most helpful when we went through the recruiting process. You can sort by conference, by school, by meet, by event, etc. See the results of the indoor/outdoor heps. It covers every conference in every division. This will give you an idea of how your child ranks vs. others. The unknown is the incoming recruiting class. </p>
so I emailed instead. However, he did not email back! Is he interested? I would try calling again but don’t want to be annoying. How often should you call a coach to show interest?</p>