Decide Upon Your Goal and Launch It

You play high school sports, you join travel teams, you attend showcases and camps, you have a personal trainer, and you love sports. But what’s your goal? College sports? ”Decide upon your goal and launch it”- UCLA Legendary Coach John Wooden.

So you’ve decided, your goal is to play college sports. Beginning your push towards securing a college roster spot, and perhaps a scholarship, is like the kick-off to a football game, the first pitch to a baseball game, the tip-off to a basketball game, the face-off to a hockey game. Every game has to have a beginning. The recruiting game is no exception.

In launching your college recruiting, the first play is to identify the colleges where you can earn a quality education and have a real opportunity to play your sport. Being realistic in the college search requires understanding the essentials to college success and satisfaction:

• Academic record
• Cultural compatibility
• Social interests
• Geographical preferences
• Athletic level
• Financial need

The first four qualifiers are fairly static in nature, you are who you are academically, culturally, and socially. And you know where you like to live and consider being for college. You can identify your initial list of colleges based on these four variables as they won’t change much as you move through your high school years.

Numbers five and six are dynamic variables. They will change and won’t be well defined until later in your high school career. Athletic level is a big intangible. No one really knows who will continue to work hard in developing their game and how far you can take it.  And for college costs? They will be determined by how much value you build in you as a recruit to the college and which colleges you choose to apply. You have a lot to say about that but you won’t know the outcome until admission acceptances are gained and scholarship awards are won.

Decide upon your goal and launch it. Build a list of colleges that meet your qualifications and interests for a great college experience.