Hi,
I’m actually interested in being a Prospective Student-Athlete for baseball in the future. I know it’s a bit early( being a High School sophomore as of right now) but I just want to get an idea when these forms should be filled out.
Usually, colleges will have a link where potential Prospective Student-Athletes can fill out their information. When is the best time to submit such a thing? How should I prepare for it now (assuming I get better at the sport and perhaps could play in college)? It appears that some forms ask for Senior year AP scores(doesn’t make sense), some ask for SAT/ACT scores, others appear that they can be done by the end of sophomore year. I’m going to take a rough guess and say they should be filled out roughly at the end of Junior Year/beginning of Senior Year?
Also, I’m not really sure when I should be contacting coaches? When is it the best time to do that?
Can you guys clear this up for me?
Thanks!
Earlier is better. Don’t wait until you are a Junior/senior as coaches will not have time to see you play. If you are attending any camps or tournaments, contact coaches before you attend with the information on where and when you’ll play.
Depends on the sport and which colleges you are considering, and the recruiting questionnaire is not the issue. If you are looking D1 programs, you will need to register with the NCAA. If you are serious about getting recruited, in addition to filling out the questionnaire (you can do it at any time, and leave some blanks), you need to reach out directly to the coaches (initially through email) with your expression of interest, your academic and athletic stat’s and honors. For many sports, having a video of live game play and skills is also essential. At some point, the coach is going to want to see you in live action, except perhaps for some individual sports where there are reliable national/regional/state rankings. The recruiting path is somewhat different for different sports and different levels. If you want more detailed info on the process, you will need to tell us your sport and level of play (D1, academic D1, JC, D2, D3). There are a lot of posters on this site that have the relevant experience for that sport and level.
You don’t need to register until you take an OV or start school. A D2 athlete also has to register.
Depending on sport you might be early. S sent emails out after his sophomore season (winter sport) and we were early, but wanted to do unofficial visits the summer between sophomore and Junior year. There is probably someone on here that knows your sport well who can give specific advice.
Don’t bother with NCAA registration, unnecessary until official visits. Do look at NCAA requirements for classes though. Our school had a couple options that work for graduation and the state flagship but not NCAA.
Do get some video from this season. Again, what coaches want varies from sport to sport, but you do want something. I believe baseball wants some video of mechanics as well as game footage. I’m sure I read that on a thread here.
Put together an academic and Athletic transcript. Google it for your sport. S had one and just updates it after major accomplishments or new grades.
Emails are more effective than questionnaires. There are lots of threads that discuss this.
I would look at threads even if they start our about a different sport, there are lots of similarities and sometimes the conversation drifts to other sports. You might see baseball discussed on a swimming thread for example.
Good luck.
Start now, because if you cast a wide net (as you should) and complete the recruiting forms at a number of schools, it can be very time consuming.
Make sure you have some sort of spreadsheet recording the college and date for each form you have completed. Also make sure to record your login information for each. Most schools realize that the information changes and allow you to log back in and revise the form.
For example, let’s say you take the ACT for the first time, but are not happy with the score. Leave it blank, and come back and fill it in when you have a achieved a score that you are satisfied with. Same with athletic stats or awards.
It is easier to revise the forms than to complete a host of them later on.
I haven’t seen this discussed, but second the recommendation to keep a spreadsheet. I have one for all contacts, S doesn’t have that big of a list, but it is still pretty hard to remember who you filled out a form for our for or sent an email 3 months ago.
My D3 kid started filling out spring of sophomore year, and eft blank questions as necessary, as he didn’t have test scores yet etc. Also agree on spreadsheet/tracking system – when my D3 kid had narrowed list to about 10 schools, every time he emailed of substance, called, updated coach on some milestone, a note went in the spreadsheet so he knew which coaches knew what, said what. We also entered notes from coach meetings, noting what positions coaches were interested in for my kid’s year etc, coaching philosophies, academic support etc. It can all become a blur, so organizing early is very helpful.
A related thought – the purpose of the questionnaire is basically to get in the coach’s database for mailings, so there is not much downside in doing it early. On the other hand, a personal email, with film and academic info, is what may trigger personal response back from the program. For emails, email the head coach and copy the assistant coach so that the email does not get overlooked, as the assistant is often responsible for managing recruiting communications.