The Question Has Always Been When Does The College Recruiting Process Began For High School Student Athletes?

There is a huge debate often mixed with a high level of confusion on when the college recruiting process should began for high school student athletes.

A large number of athletes begin to develop during the seventh and eighth grades to the point where certain private schools will start to recruit middle school aged student athletes because of their potential.

I believe the recruiting process actually begins when a student athlete enters their freshman year of high school.

When a student athlete enters high school, this is when academics count towards graduation and admittance to college. Going from middle school student to high school student is a totally different environment where there is a great deal of adjustments.

Academics play a critical role in the entire college recruiting process and student athletes who enter their freshman year of high school need to hit the ground running when it comes to their academics.

Failure to maintain strong academic standards throughout high school will result in student athletes being a non-factor in the eyes of college recruiters. If you have bad grades college coaches do not want to know your name, regardless of how great you are athletically.

The ninth and tenth grade year for high school student athletes should be to focus on academics and to develop even stronger athletic potential.

Regardless of the sport, the student athlete needs to spend a great deal of time developing their athletic skills, talents, and mental capabilities. Also during those early years student athletes need to put double the amount of time into academics, shooting for the highest possible grade point average.

Make no mistake about it, recruiting is year round; there are no off days or off seasons when it comes to the recruiting process.

Student athletes should play club ball during the summer months because this is the time for student athletes to be seen by college coaches.

It’s important to utilize the summer months as a time to gain exposure and to build up that exposure from one summer to the next until you have a large number of college coaches battling over offering a scholarship.

The college recruiting process in all its glory begins, in my opinion, when a student athlete enters high school as a freshman. Parents, student athletes, and high school coaches should work together in formulating a college recruiting strategy that can build momentum and they must maintain that momentum through to the senior year. To learn more about the college recruiting process take a look at Woods Recruiting.