Every family starts their college recruiting process when they are ready. There is no perfect time to start. Every college program and college coach has their own unique timeline, across the board. However, the recruiting process is happening earlier and earlier for student-athletes.   

What Does The Typical Recruiting Timeline Look Like?

Typically, Division I programs have the most accelerated timeline.  If you want to play at this level, it’s never too early to message these college coaches and start getting feedback on which programs may be interested in you.

Do this by sending messages, even if just to introduce yourself, and tracking which programs view your profile or watch your video. It is important for these college coaches to know who you are and the fact that you are interested in their program.

If you aren’t sure what schools you’re interested in but know you want to play a sport in college, now is a great time to begin your process. This can be a long process. Be sure to build out your profile with all the pertinent information a coach needs to know about you.  Researching which schools might interest you is the next step.

Deciding Which Schools to Pursue

Perfecting your favorites list is not important at this stage. Now is the time to explore what schools could be options down the road. We have a tool to help you out with this! If you need help on how to build your favorites list, check out our article ”Building your Target List of Schools.”

Be sure to notify your club or high school coaches when you initiate your process. These individuals are great to get feedback on what schools/levels to pursue and may even be willing to reach out to a coach on your behalf.

Contacting College Coaches

Finding the right school for you starts with research and ends with frequent, proactive communication. Contact schools with meaningful updates during your student-athlete career. Reach out to share things like a new highlight video on your profile, an uptick in your GPA for the quarter, or an accolade you received from your high school season.

The more times you actively reach out, the better chance you have to discover who is interested (i.e. multiple profile and/or video views, coming to watch you play live or reaching out to your club/high school coach). You need to put yourself out there to see results.  Consistently reach out to your target schools and you’ll find excitement in every *ding* from your phone telling you who is looking at your recruiting profile, watching your video, or downloading your transcripts.

Why SportRecruits?

Your SportsRecruits profile is a place where you can keep all of your academic and athletic information in one place. If you are not ready to start your recruiting process, that is okay! But make sure you are using your profile to keep track of all of your athletic and academic achievements. This way, when you are ready to start all of your information will be up to date.

Check out our article, Building Your Athlete Profile, that explains exactly what you should be putting on your SportsRecruits profile before reaching out to college coaches.

Looking to jump-start your recruiting process? Sign up for SportsRecruits today!