Many kids dream about being a college athlete. Most don’t realize the work and grit it actually takes to achieve this. It takes extreme discipline and dedication to get to the level where you are a desirable recruit and are able to draw the attention of college coaches.
I have been fortunate enough to go through the recruiting process and see how everything can affect one’s potential to become a college athlete.
In my freshman year in high school I had been playing lacrosse on a local travel team for a couple of years, I eventually outgrew it. I was offered a spot on a national elite travel team where I could get the exposure I needed to draw the attention of the college coaches. Elite travel teams go to tournaments where the coaches do most of their recruiting.
I was excited to join this new team and looking back now I had no idea what I was in for. This team required me to go to practices twice a month in Ohio–meaning a five hour drive each way. We also had tournaments nearly every weekend from June to January which required me to miss school frequently.
Academics is just as important as athletics for colleges. I remember packing my textbooks in my suitcase and doing my homework in the airport. My grades started to suffer when I first started traveling, but I soon found a balance and spent extra time in the classroom to catch up. Coaches want to see your SAT and ACT scores as early as freshman year. In an effort to get a better score, I needed to take the SAT again and wound up taking it in between games in Atlanta.
Another key part of recruiting is attending camps and clinics with the colleges you’re interested in. When I was a rising junior I signed up for the Under Armour All American Midwest tryouts held in Ohio. I was nervous and not very confident going into it, to the point where I almost didn’t go. Try out day was packed with games playing against strangers who were all committed to powerhouse schools such as Stony Brook, Maryland, and North Carolina. Part way through the day the coaches sent half of the players home who didn’t make the cut. Then they continued on with the games and told us they’d let us know.
Later that night, I got the opportunity of a lifetime: I earned a spot on the team.
Included in the email from the coaches was travel arrangements, uniform and clothing sizing. I had gone to Baltimore countless times before but this time I finally got to go play in the Under Armour All America games.
The Under Armour All America games is the most selective and competitive tournament. It’s the highest honor a girls lacrosse player could get. It was confirmation for me that all the time I’ve invested in the sport had paid off.
These are the kinds of activities college coaches like to see.
They don’t want to go see the kid playing it safe. They want the athletes who put in the extra time and take every opportunity they get.
When I was being recruited, division one schools started committing kids in eighth grade. I started to panic because I thought I was late to the game. But what I didn’t realize was how much communication with the coach could affect the recruiting process. I sent emails to every school I was remotely interested in before every tournament. I also had phone calls, highlight videos and lacrosse resumes.
Pretty soon I had my schools narrowed down and I was ready to make a decision. As a recruit, you need to figure out what type of school you want to go to, what kind of coach you feel comfortable with, and what level you want to play at. This was a hard decision for me because I felt the pressure to go division one like all my teammates but decided division two would work better for me. I didn’t want lacrosse to take over my academics and my life because I knew I didn’t want to play after college.
After spending nearly six years trying to get recruited, I finally got the offer I had been waiting for and it just happened to be in my own backyard. The Grand Valley State head coach emailed me an offer and I responded right away.