Now recruiting might be different for other sports, but for softball, a D1 and D2 coach can't contact you until after the July of your junior year. But how do people verbally commit to schools when they are freshman and sophomores? They start the recruiting process very early on and they know that they need to get in contact with the recruiting coordinator. Another thing you must do is get a NCAA Clearinghouse. I think this goes for all sports. A D1/D2 college coach can't talk to you until you have that done! It's a little different at a D3 school, they can contact you the August after your sophomore year, so it is not as complicated.
One thing that has helped me is getting the help of a recruiting website. I use a website called CaptainU. You make a profile with all of your stats and accomplishments for any college coach to see. It also provides you with a list of things that will help you get started on the recruiting process. You add the colleges you potentially want to go to, and CaptainU keeps track of everything you are doing to get recruited by the school. It prompts you to send emails(which almost every single college coaches email is there) and even tells you when they open the email and if they reply. Don't get discouraged if they don't reply, because they legally may not be able to talk to you yet. In order to get a coaches attention, you have to be overly obnoxious! Send them email after email about what you are working on, if there are any camps you can attend, why your interested in going to their school, and even how your grades are. It's important to a college coach that you get good grades. If a coach sends you information about a camp, go to it! It's very important that you show yourself off the the coaches as much as possible! After the camp, don't be shy and go talk to the head coach. If you introduce yourself to them personally(and confidently) they will remember you!
Once a college coach has decided they are interested in you, they get you set up with the recruiting coordinator. This is the point that I am at, so I am not quite sure what comes next. I do know that the college coach is going to come watch you play at anything and everything they can come to, so be on your best behavior!
A few tips for when a college coach is watching you:
1. Be a good teammate. Encourage them and pick them up when you are down.
2. Don't get upset at yourself. If you make a mistake, you can't let it affect you. If a college coach sees that it affects you, they will almost always walk away.
3. It may not seem important, but make sure you have a quality warmup. You never know when a college coach is watching. If they see you being lazy in a warmup, they will not come watch you play in a real game.
4. Be respectful to your coaches, teammates, and even your parents. A college coach will walk away if you act rudely towards anyone.
5. BE A TEAM PLAYER! This is probably the most important. If you are all about yourself and it shows, there is no chance you are going to get recruited. It is more important to a coach that you're a good teammate rather than a good player. You can always teach someone how do play a sport, but you can't teach them to be a team player.
I hope this post is helpful to you guys. I know it would have helped me! Good luck to you all who are in the recruiting progress and see you soon!
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