The college app process for a D3 athlete

[Anonymous]

My junior DS is interested in running track in college. He says his times are probably good enough to get on a D3 roster.
He'll be my first to go through the college app process plus I have no clue how the sports aspect works. Our hs is getting a new coach so not if they will be a good resource.

Do athletes have to do something earlier in terms of setting up a profile on-line or indicating interest to coaches while they are juniors?
We're going to tour some schools this year, and I don't know if it's appropriate to ask to meet a coach and see facilities.
I get that the D3 kids need to embrace their school for the education they'll get, and not just focus on the sports experience.
I just don't want to miss some critical step before my son starts applying to colleges a year from now.

Oh and I keep seeing all these online ads from services (Crimson Education for one) that are offering to assist with the sports recruitment process, but I only want to sign up for something that is legit useful.

thanks!

[Anonymous]

Track is pretty straightforward for recruiting. My daughter went through the process. Just start emailing coaches with your stats: times and grades. If he’s run and done well in district or state meets, reference those. They can see your son’s results on Milesplit too. I’m not aware of kids doing online profiles. My recollection is that coaches started following my daughter on Instagram after she reached out to them.

I’m not sure how an informal drop in when visiting would work. We visited schools only after the school invited my daughter, but that was D1. I suspect at a D3 school you could do it. I’d ask the coach via email first then maybe ask the admissions office either beforehand or when you visit.

I would let the coaches know if you’ll be visiting but don’t expect them to respond right away. But if you are persistent and patient you will hear from them. A lot of the recruiting happens summer before senior year especially if he has a good junior track season. They will recruit boys even after senior winter track, knowing some are late bloomers. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

There are online resources for what recruitable times are. Eg Runsplit

D3 recruiting is different than D1.

Is he a strong student? GPA? Test scores?

Does he run distance or sprints?

Some programs favor distance over sprinters because they can do XC and track…

[Anonymous]

If he gets recruited to a D3 they will likely want him to apply ED so the recruitment process ideally should be over before ED Apps are due. After he visits schools the schools that are interested will offer to “preread” his application to judge if he is a good fit academically and will let you know if they are likely to accept him.

[Anonymous]

No idea what Crimson education… is.

In terms of getting recruited for track his best bet would be to shave some seconds off his PRs and get a strong ACT and/or SAT score.

There are plenty of parents of college track athletes on here…

[Anonymous]

First step is to identify schools where your DS would bring value to the team and where the academics are a great fit.
If looking to run for high academic D3 like NESCAC, John’s Hopkins, MIT, etc. then grades are the most important factor, followed by athletics.
If looking to run at schools where you might get some merit aid, then that takes some schools off the list immediately.

Once you’ve identified schools, email all coaches (head and assistants) with your pertinent information. Subject of the email should include grad year, best event and time. Include things in the email like awards, other events/times, HS name, GPA, and SAT/ACT scores (if they are pretty good scores). Add a little blurb about why he likes the school or is interested in the program. End with any National or major regional events he would be competing at in the future.

D3s can email pretty much any time. NESCACs cannot talk to students off campus until after 7/1 after junior year, but many will do unofficial visits (no reimbursement) on campus. The start dates of visits vary by sport. In DDs sport they started in January, but for her sport most commitments happen on NESCAC day which is July 1 after junior year and most roster spots are filled on that date. I do know TFXC is still recruiting seniors, so the timeline is probably later for TFXC.
We did not hire anyone, we did all the legwork. Didn’t think it was worth the money to hire a recruiting consultant.

[Anonymous]

You don't need Crimson or any paid help.

As everyone said, for track it's pretty straightforward. Look up the times for the colleges your DC is interested in, and email coaches with times and grades.

If there's interest, they'll likely set up a zoom and ask for academic info for a pre-read. If she passes the pre-read they'll invite you to campus to meet the team and take a tour. They will pay for nothing as it's D3.

If things go well and it's a mutual fit they'll ask/expect your DD to pick one school to apply ED too. They will say they can guarantee spot on team and college acceptance 100% at ED. Make sure you are also in direct convo with admissions. Don't just go through the coach. Coaches can go rogue.

[Anonymous]

For my daughter the prereads to happened before the official visits at selective schools. They don’t want to invest anyone’s time in a visit if they can’t get through the preread. Those prereads for track happen summer before senior year and visits were September of senior year. Offers are given (at Ivys at least) and you get a likely letter after you commit to a coach and before you apply ED. I suspect the process is similar at NESCACs. Maybe a little less formal at less selective schools.

I would not pay for a recruiting service. Just email coaches. If they like your son’s times, and his grades/test scores are a match in the coach’s view, he will hear back.

You can get a lot of information by looking at the track team’s roster. Then look up those runner’s times on MileSplit to see how their HS times compare to your son’s. It will give you a sense of what the coach is looking for and whether your son would be a good fit. Pay the extra $60 or whatever for MileSplit Pro. It is totally worth it for the research.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for the responses! This is the scoop I was looking for. Good to know there are track parents here.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have the scoop for wrestling?

[Anonymous]

Just to be clear (because others haven’t), your kid and not you should be doing all the emailing and contacting.

[Anonymous]

You're getting good advice so far!

Just a couple of additions: Your son should start emailing coaches NOW. They start forming mailing lists and then shaping a recruiting class over time.

If he's not asked to ED, but is still talking to a few coaches at the beginning of senior year, he just applies like every other kid. The coach may say, "Let me know when you get in ... then we'll make you an offer" or something like that. Generally, the more competitive schools (academically and athletically) do ED, but there are many who are still filling in rosters in the spring of the kids' senior year.

Also, she's a little crazy, but there is some good advice in the Coach Renee Lopez Facebook group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have the scoop for wrestling?

It is a little different for every sport, but I would say, get lots of video!

[Anonymous]

Most of the paid services also offer limited free services--NCSA will let you access their database to search for schools, and has virtual sessions about different aspects of the recruiting process, for example. Might be helpful for someone entirely new to the process.

[Anonymous]

Oh, you asked about meeting with coaches. Your son should send those introductory emails now. Then, when he has his visits scheduled, he should email again and say, "I'll be on campus Nov. 15. Do you have any availability for a quick meeting?"

Ideally, he will have already received a few emails back, and this continues the conversation. Maybe they can't meet that day but they offer another day. Some coaches will block out a 15-minute chat; some will design a whole visit. Also, even if he didn't hear anything after emailing once, it doesn't hurt to try again. As a junior, it's all about building a relationship and continuing to focus on training and school. Good luck.

Do NOT plan on dropping in on a coach -- they might be traveling, busy, etc.