Many high school student athletes aspire to one day play at the collegiate level. Some already know they will have this opportunity, but others are still working towards their goal. As of September, five Timberlane athletes from the class of 2023 have committed to play at the next level. This number has a chance of increasing since many students are also working towards this goal. I will be sharing my advice as well as what I experienced during this process. According to Scholarship Stats, nationally, “a little over 7% of high school athletes go on to play a varsity sport in college.”

For those interested in playing sports in college, certain steps are a must when marketing yourself to coaches. Most athletes start by reaching out to the coach via twitter or email. These messages will include season film, their transcript, and contact information. When aspiring college football player Matt Williams was asked how he contacts coaches he responded, “Hudl and Twitter.” 

Once the coaches know you as a person, another suggestion would be to go to camps. Attending camps is a great way to display your skills. The offseason is the best time to attend camps, so there is no risk of getting hurt and missing your season. You can find camps by coaches posting about them on twitter, or searching the teams football program on google. Jaden Mwangi, Nichols baseball commit, described camps as, “Fun,” also saying, “we get to meet different people and put ourselves out there.” 

After competing at these camps, the athlete will have a better idea of schools that are interested in them, as well as schools the athlete is interested in. The next step in the recruiting process is to schedule a visit with the coach so you can see the school in person. At this point in my recruiting process, I narrowed my schools down to Bates, Trinity, and WPI. After visiting these schools I was able to make my final decision.

When talking about the recruiting process, Jaden Mwangi said, “It was a lot of hard work.” This process is not easy and the best way to get yourself out there is to be proactive.