How to Start Your Track and Field Recruitment Journey

The truth without photoshop is that getting recruited for college track and field is hard work. Fewer than ten percent of all high school athletes go on to compete in college, and much fewer than that are happy with the schools they end up at. Getting the best out of your recruitment starts with knowing what is ahead of you on the journey. If you know how the game is played, you can make the right moves to win, and win big. The good news is I have done much of the heavy lifting so you don’t have to.

When does college track and field recruiting start?

Things vary from person to person, but by the time a student is in high school, it is safe to say your “track and field recruiting journey” has begun. The best programs in the country have a lot of staff, and a lot of resources to invest in finding athletes who will help them win at the highest level. By the end of sophomore year the most talented high school athletes are identified, and coaches begin tracking their progress more deliberately. Though coaches cannot talk to most athletes until the end of their sophomore year, they like to build target lists as early as possible. Half of recruiting is knowing what coaches are looking for so you can show them you have what it takes to compete for them. As soon as you know you are serious about competing in college track and field, especially if you are already in high school, it is time to start learning as much as you can about the process.

The other half is actually contacting schools, building relationships with coaches, and eventually making a decision on where you will go. You should be focused on contacting coaches by the time you are in your junior year to have the best chance at getting recruited by a school you will love.

The key is to focus on contacting schools that are interested in how you can help them achieve their goals. If you want to go to the most competitive programs, you may end up making changes to how you train and develop your talent to give yourself the best chances of appealing to them. If you are serious about college track and field, there are almost always options available. But the more competitive a college team is, especially in Division 1, the harder it is to gain a coach’s interest, simply because more athletes are competing with you to get it.

Unless you are able to prove that you are one of the best in the country in your events, you will have to “position yourself” to be recruited. As your performance at the high school and club level improves, taking initiative and contacting schools that want athletes like you will almost certainly get college coaches to take notice.

There are many politics to track and field recruiting but ultimately coaches are pretty good at evaluating talent. In each event, they have performance standards to help identify the best athletes, and they measure other athletes next to them to determine who will give them the best chance to win. The goal is always to do what is necessary to get a coach to add you to their target list. Much of the recruiting process from that point is like an interview where the coach will determine how much they want you on their team. Once a coach has shown significant interest or offered you a roster spot, you can focus on taking visits to schools and choosing which one is the best one.

How do you gain the interest of a college track and field coach

The most efficient way to gain the interest of a college coach is with direct contact via e-mail. There are many ways today coaches are engaging with recruits, but e-mail is the most formal and efficient. By introducing yourself as an interested prospect, and showing why you would be a good fit for their team, a coach can make an immediate decision on whether or not you should be considered further for their program.

Knowing how coaches view your talent level

Almost every college athlete was successful at the high school level. However, there are still vast differences in the level of performance required to play for different colleges. One way to get a better understanding of how coaches view you is to get an objective third party, from a running camp or independent coach to evaluate your skill. But who goes to what college and why is much more political than just whether or not you have the talent level. It can also be very costly to get a good well rounded assessment from someone who knows. The simplest way to do this is actually to submit your information to get ranked on the SCA national recruit ranking list. Using the list you can see what types of athletes are going to specific track and field teams so you can build a target list of schools that will get you real college offers.

In addition you should research college rosters in order to get an objective view from each school of the athletes already on their team. If you are willing to ask the question, “what do the schools I want to go to look for?” And you start early enough on your recruiting journey, you can make changes to how you train and prepare yourself to catch the eyes of a coach. What matters most is finding a school where you can have an experience you are happy with.

Learn about the different division levels

If you know what types of schools you are interested in, your recruiting level, and what your expectations are for college you are ready to aggressively pursue choosing a school. There are different divisions throughout college athletics that you need to learn about.

• NCAA Division I—At the averages and at the extremes, this is the top level of competition. The best D1 schools will have more financial resources both for equipment and facilities, as well as athletic scholarship dollars. However this is not always the case. The best programs in D1 also receive more television coverage on platforms like Flotrack and ESPN+.

• NCAA Division II—A competitive level that is built around a partial scholarship model for all sports. As a result track and field programs may have less overall resources than major D1 counterparts. The best programs at this level could fit in at the D1 level, although that is not true for all programs. Program budgets are often smaller and media coverage is much less likely.

• NCAA Division III—These schools do not offer athletic scholarships although many still give quality amounts of financial aid. The best athletes at this level can still compete at the higher division levels but there are many teams that would not be competitive if they moved out of D3. There is often less pressure to focus on track and field year round, and it is easier than the other divisions to be a multi-sport athlete.

• NAIA—A separate governing body from the NCAA with significantly fewer schools a part of the Association. The level of competition shares similarity with much of NCAA D2, and many of the colleges represent smaller colleges.

• USCAA—A dual membership governing body where some of the schools are also a part of the NCAA or NAIA. This association focuses exclusively on small colleges and though scholarship dollars are allowed, budgets are often lower than in the NCAA. The level of competition is close to what you would likely find in the NCAA D3.

• NCCAA—Another dual membership body where some of the schools may be a part of the NCAA or NAIA. All schools in this association are Christian colleges. Schools at this level may offer scholarship dollars. The level of competition is close to what one might find in either NCAA D2 or D3.

• NJCAA—Often referred to as Junior college or JUCO. These schools are exclusively two-year associate’s degree granting colleges. The primary reasons for attending a JUCO school are often about preparing for 4 year college eligibility. However, some students may choose this route for financial reasons. The level of competition varies greatly in the NJCAA with 2 divisions for track and field competition. NJCAA D1 does offer scholarships and NJCAA D3 does not. Most schools are public, although there are some private college members.

What does it take to be academically eligible for college sports?

Before you can compete in collet track and field, you have to be academically eligible. The NCAA, NAIA, and JUCO levels each have separate requirements for academic eligibility. However, each individual college will have requirements for admissions that likely go beyond that. The truth is that the more talented you are, especially if you are being considered for a “full-ride” athletic scholarship, the more likely it is a school will accept you with the NCAA’s minimum eligibility requirements.

The better student you are, the easier it will be to get various forms of financial aid to pay for college. Likewise coaches will have more confidence in your ability to maintain your eligibility once you get on campus.

Getting Recruited as an International Student

If you are an international student looking to compete for an American college, there will be some additional steps to the recruiting process. The academic requirements may vary from what they are for American students, and you will not be eligible for much of the need based aid which is provided through the U.S. Federal Government.

Coach Rob’s Note: Don’t go under-recruited! I put in the hard work for you to know exactly which colleges already want to recruit you, which ones will view you as a top recruit, and how to get their attention. Work directly with me TO GET THE COLLEGE OFFERS YOU DESERVE.

Coach Rob is a recruiting expert and the Founder of SCA Recruiting. He is also the author of the book Winning the Ship: How to Win the College Athlete Recruitment Game. Available now on Amazon.