Increased Exposure & College Coach Connection

---

Most NCAA sports have an early signing period. This signing period, early in November, is often overlooked in the planning by high school athletes but it can dominate the timing of everything involved in recruiting. Calls by coaches, home visits, official visits to colleges all will happen before that early signing period for the students who sign early. At some schools and in some sports a majority of the scholarships will be offered at this time, leaving fewer for the regular signing period. 

College coaches have 130 evaluation days to recruit you during the academic year. During your senior year a college coach cannot evaluate and/or contact you more than 7 times. Only three of those seven can be an off-campus contact. During a contact period, college coaches can make only one visit per week to your high school. 

Division 2 does not have any rules on the number of evaluations per student athletes.

College coaches cannot contact you on competition or practice days until your event is finished, and you are dismissed by the proper authority (like your high school coach or athletic director). During a contact period college coaches can make only one visit per week to your high school.  

Landing an athletic scholarship isn’t all about being the best basketball player, wrestler or football player on your high school team anymore. There are many awards available for athletes who play not to make a career of a sport, but because they enjoy the game. Local leagues and organizations in sports like baseball and golf, for example, offer many scholarships just for playing on a team, no matter how good you are. Sure, it helps to be talented in a given area, but if you’re not cut out for the lifestyle required to make you a marketable athlete at the top level of play, don’t be discouraged. You don’t even have to play on your college’s team. Many rewards out there require only an interest in a sport and your intention to continue playing it when you go to college, even it’s on a club or intramural team. Check out our examples of school-based and sports scholarships from outside organizations. Don’t rule out academic scholarships when applying for funding, as you won’t be playing on the team if you can’t pay tuition.

Be mindful also of what’s expected of you to be eligible for those top prizes.

Scholarships offered by colleges will be run by the National Collegiate

Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate

Athletics (NAIA) or the National Junior College Athletic Association

(NJCAA), all of which require minimum GPAs of their players before doling

out funding to student athletes. 

NCAA scholarships and internships in particular are the most well-known and sought after opportunities. You’ll also need to maintain a decent GPA to keep your award and your spot on the team, so your work isn’t over even if you do score a coveted place on your dream team.

Most NCAA sports have an early signing period. This signing period, early in November, is often overlooked in the planning by high school athletes but it can dominate the timing of everything involved in recruiting. Calls by coaches, home  visits, official visits to colleges all will happen before that early signing period for the students who sign early. 

At some schools and in some sports a majority of the scholarships will be offered at this time, leaving fewer for the regular signing period. If your sport has a first semester early signing period, it is even more is essential that you become visible to recruiting coaches as early as possible. The numbers mean that competition for sports scholarships is stiff. 

Not all high school athletes are going to be eligible to play at the college level. Not all high school athletes will be have the size, strength, speed or other attributes that coaches in particular sports are looking for. Not all high school athletes will come to the attention of college recruiters. The numbers mean that most high school athletes will need to work for every advantage they can get in the recruiting game. That means preparing, learning and being proactive in the recruiting process.