When did your D1 track athlete start hitting D1 college recruiting time? (sprinters especially)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC hit the times in junior year. Good enough for some D1 schools, but not ivies. Plenty good for D3. Be aware that selective D3 schools require strong grades/scores. Most track coaches don’t have that much pull. And times have to be a the top of the range, not the middle.

+1. At NESCAC schools xc and track coaches get tips but not a ton. Football gets the most, of course. If your kid is a solid mid distance runner (400, 600, 800, 1500, 1600) you may want to consider having them do xc in the fall and then they can make an xc and track play (many xc coaches also coach distance in track).

I wouldn’t worry about not meeting the times freshman year. Some kids burn out before junior or senior year (especially if they haven’t gone through puberty by freshman year) or get a ton of injuries from training but many kids get better as they go through high school. Coaches want to see that your kid is getting better every year and if your kid’s times get worse you’ll need to explain why (coming back from an injury and such).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mentioned my DD being interested in a school for D1 track and people have commented how bad their team is (in terms of winning, not the people or coach). I am confused as to why that matters. My kid likes the school, the people are great, she's not ever going "pro" (and there isn't even really any pro in track). So why not join a team, despite its losing record, if you like the college (passes "broken leg test") and the people? Is there a consideration I'm missing/not thinking about?

The big hiccup would be if the coach gets fired while your DD is being recruited. There is no guarantee that a new coach would honor commitments

True. I guess the only other thing would be your kid's psychology. If they were used to lots of wins in high school, then are frequently losing in college, that might become frustrating. (But it depends on the kid ... lots of kids would be fine with the overall experience and some personal improvement.)