<p>I've been on an off-campus tennis team for 3 years of high school and have won several competitions. However, this activity has tnot been listed on my schedule for high school. My friend got a letter from princeton saying they wanted her to play softball for them.....how do i get them to find me? Will they even take off-campus athletics as a legitimate sport? Or does it have to be school-only?</p>
<p>thx</p>
<p>Definitely, they will look at off-campus sports. In fact the most serious athletes don't just play during high school season. If you go to schools' athletics websites you will usually find online recruiting forms you can fill out and submit to the coach. This puts you on their radar. After that, follow it up with any achievements you have in your sport, and just generally stay in touch. If you visit campus, make sure to schedule a meeting in advance with the coach. Not only can they get to know you, but you can also learn a lot about their program. Often you will get follow-up/check-in types of email from assistant coaches. Unless your achievements are out there so that coaches are coming after you with no effort on your part (and that's only the case for a few people), then you need to introduce yourself to them. It's a fun process, actually, and if you're committed to playing in college and you're a good match for the level of a particular team (and there are teams over a wide spectrum of abilities -- you don't have to be a superstar for you to be a wonderful asset to the right team), then it might be a plus in your overall application because coaches can express interest in prospective students. I mean, I wouldn't approach that cynically, as in just using it as a wedge to help you get in, but if you love tennis and you want to play in college -- yeah, it's something you should let them know about.</p>
<p>It might be good to have a clear explanation as to why you didn't play for your high school, but I don't think the fact that you didn't, all by itself, is a big problem.</p>
<p>thanks so much rent.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>what about your coach and the competitions you are in...they must also know some things</p>
<p>Lots of time coaches --both school coaches and club coaches-- don't know that much about collegiate programs outside of the big team sports. It's very hit-and-miss, some coaches are brilliant about it, some are clueless. The student athlete needs to take control of it more often in non-dominant and individual sports. That's been my experience anyway.</p>
<p>But like I said, it can actually be quite pleasant. My son met some wonderful coaches and assistant coaches on his college visits, got to see the facilities up close, hear about the school's program, it's history, etc. Usually we'd work it out so I would go to the interminable info-sessions, and he'd go have fun talking to the coach about his sport. I'd come out dreary after yet another all-the-same info session, and he'd come out smiling saying, that was fun, what a great guy!</p>
<p>I always suggest bypassing the online forms and sending the coach a packet including the following directly: transcript (unofficial is fine) & test scores, dvd of you playing, schedule of upcoming events they can watch you play in, list of accomplishments, ranking-if ranked, number of personal reference and number of current coach. Send with a personalized cover letter explaining why you would be a good fit for that particular coach/school. If you have the level of talent/potential they are looking for you should get some calls back. Depending on your age, ncaa does not always allow a coach to call you. If that is the case, follow up by calling their office to see if they received your packet so they have an opportunity to talk to you if they want to. (NCAA allows recruits to call schools at any age)</p>
<p>Coaches are busy people. Create a good resume (include your contact infomation at the top) that lists your academic and athletic honors, special courses and other relevant infomation. Send them an email detailing your interest and attach your resume and a scan of your transcript.</p>
<p>Agreed, send them an email of some basic stuff. Don't do a DVD or anything just yet, or at least don't send it to every coach yet. Find out if they are willing to give you a chance or will even talk to you. </p>
<p>For track, some coaches never responded back even when I called and left messages. I'm not bad or anything, just some coaches like to recruit on their own I guess.</p>
<p>My son did the online forms, and followed that up with a letter including his times, a transcript, a reference from his coach. A few colleges contacted him cold (his times are available online to anyone). Some coaches have a lot of energy for recruiting, some have assistants to help. It depends on how interested they are in the athlete, of course. However, the big difference we saw was when S actually visited campus and met the coaches. Of the coaches he actually met, every single one stayed in touch afterward. I think they need to know you are sincerely interested, otherwise it can be a waste of energy.</p>
<p>Also, the recruiting budgets of various schools can effect their ability to reach out to every recruit. If you are interested in a school and you fit the profile of their current athletes, go ahead and call the coach to say you will be in the area and would like to take an unofficial visit.</p>