Freshman | Sophomores | Juniors | Seniors
Written By: The College Recruiting Playbook
Sophomore November. Navigating the Path to College Sports: A Sophomore Athlete’s Guide
As you enter your sophomore year in high school, it’s time to get serious and start evaluating yourself as a student-athlete. To be precise, you need to obtain a third-party, unbiased evaluation of your playing ability. November is an excellent month to begin the process and take some crucial steps towards preparing for college. In this blog, we’ll provide you with a guide of essential tasks that you should complete during your sophomore year in November. Let’s get started.
Third Party Evaluation:
It’s time to self-evaluate yourself, and don’t hesitate to seek honest feedback from evaluators who will be candid with you. Begin by analyzing your competition and measuring yourself against the rosters at your targeted colleges. You must know your strengths and weaknesses to improve upon them. This exercise will help you identify the areas that need improvement and enable you to set achievable goals for yourself.
Research Criteria:
Do your research and discover the criteria for a student-athlete’s GPAs, stats, and origins. Be honest with yourself, and ask whether you meet the same criteria. You need to ensure that you are on track academically and athletically to match the requirements of the colleges you are targeting. It’s crucial to stay on track with your academic requirements to remain eligible for college sports programs.
Cast a Wide Net:
Always think big but stay realistic! Don’t limit your search to just one geographic location or conference. Instead, continue to cast a wide net when searching for schools. Explore your top matches, popular schools, and the ones where coaches are actively seeking student-athletes like you to join their program. You might find a college that matches your criteria and is outside your initial search. Keep an open mind and consider all options.
Engage with CRP Experts:
Engage with the College Recruiting Professionals (CRP) experts to learn more about this part of the process. The CRP experts can help answer your many questions regarding the college application, recruiting process, and other related topics. They can help you create a strategy that highlights your academic and athletic achievements and helps you stand out to college coaches.
Stay Organized:
You must keep building your list of favorite colleges and stay organized. Organize the schools by priority, but always keep safety, target, and dream schools in mind. Own this part of the process, and be in control of your recruitment journey. Keep all your documents and information in an organized system that you can access at the drop of a hat.
Conclusion:
As a student-athlete, finding the perfect balance between athletics and academics can be hard. However, with discipline, hard work, and the right strategy, you can achieve your goals. This guide outlines the essential activities you need to start during your sophomore year in November that will help you stay on track towards achieving your dream of playing college sports. Remember to stay organized, study hard, work on your skills, and be proactive. Take the lead in your recruitment journey and be in control of your future.