1. I Only Want To Compete For A High-Profile NCAA D-I Team.

If you only focus your search on the country’s top programs, you will be disappointed. Too many high school athletes think that programs like Syracuse, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Virginia, and other high-profile Tier 1 schools are the only respectable ones in the country. This cannot be further from the truth.

While many high school athletes dream of one day competing at a top NCAA Division I school, in reality, very few get the opportunity. According to our research, roughly two percent of all high school and junior college athletes who seek to compete at a D-I school will ever get the chance.

If you’ve just finished your junior year of high school, you’ll have a pretty good idea if you are talented enough to compete at that level. Blue chip athletes recruited by these nationally ranked schools are often:

·       All-State or All-American award recipients

·       Spotted early at Recruiting/Showcase events

·       Solicited with recruiting calls and letters from numerous coaches. Not just letters, but personal calls.

·       Attract many college coaches at their games

LESSON LEARNED: If you are not a “blue-chip” recruit, expand your college search and include a wide range of schools on your target list. The great thing about lacrosse is so many great schools have programs. Do not limit yourself to DI programs.

2.   I Must Be a Hot Recruit. Coaches Send Me Letters All the Time

Do not assume form letters in your mailbox mean that a coach considers you a prospect. Every high school athlete who expresses interest in a college team, regardless of his ability, will receive a letter and questionnaire in the mail asking for more information. In fact, some D-I schools may send out as many as 5,000 letters each year! Understand that this is only an initial request for information and, in most cases, an expected courtesy. Answer the following questions honestly:

·       Do college coaches call me regularly?

·       Is my mailbox overflowing with handwritten letters from coaches who want me to consider their schools?

·       Are coaches coming to my house to meet with my parents and me?

·       Do college coaches travel specifically to watch me compete?

If you’re one of the lucky few who can answer “yes” to more than one of the above questions, then consider yourself a blue-chip prospect. If you’re like most high school athletes, however, and you had to answer “no” to all of the questions, then you need to take a more active approach to your college search.

LESSON LEARNED: Receiving phone calls, personalized hand-written letters from college coaches, and requests for personal meetings is a much better indicator-rather than form letters and questionnaires-of how interested a coach is in recruiting you.

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