eager4college

im a junior and i play tennis, and i'm interested in playing in college.
one of my friends whos a senior in another sport already knows what college hes going to because he talked to the coach and he got on the team... how does this work? do you send your transcript to the admissions and the coach also has some say as to whther you get in? how does it work?

fauve

First you contact the coaches, and send off your academic transcript, and an athletics resume with state, regional, and national rankings and championships. If the coach responds, he may ask for videos or DVD of your performance. The only people who can accept you is the admissions department. The coach can ask for an "early read" if he thinks you are qualified both academically and athletically. The next steps depend on what Division level school you are applying to.

If you read through the threads here on CC, you can learn a lot about the process, there are so many experienced posters. Also, contact the NCAA (soon)for their booklet on all facets of recruiting, eligibility, and registering.

10scholar

^fauve is right - first contact the coaches stating interest in their schools, the sooner the better. For tennis specifically - what are your USTA rankings? Have you checked what your status is on tennisrecruiting.net? You may want to update that profile with GPA, rank (if available), etc. as coaches can access it. I believe there's a way to create a youtube video and link it to your profile, if you're afraid coaches won't get to see you play. In general, just market yourself and start conversations with coaches, best if through e-mail or calls. I just went through this process this fall for top academic school (mostly Ivy/top LAC) tennis recruiting specifically, but the majority of my friends are looking at the scholarship angle, so I have a lot of info for that as well. Feel free to PM any questions, too.

EDIT: also, do what fauve recommends and read through the old threads on this forum specifically. There's an incredible amount of useful and helpful information there.

eager4college

do u think if my scores/grades/ec's are a tad low that the tennis could bump me up?

10scholar

yes, for many it does, or just assures that they get in without having the same "crapshoot" struggles non-athletes have, but you have to be good enough to contribute to the team and the coach has to want you. Theoretically, if you invested ridiculous amounts of time into tennis (or any sport) as an EC so that you could play in college, this can be seen as a reason for fewer ECs or slightly lower grades. But you need the coaches support.

zeinX

Yep, tennis will bump you up, but only so long as you have the coach's support, just as 10scholar said.

maineparent

You might want to talk to your HS tennis coach....and see if they have ever helped anyone pursue athletics as a way to assist in their college admissions efforts...if not, then perhaps talk to your friend that you mention and ask him how he went about it. The real key here is that you don't want to waste your interactions with prospective college coaches by asking simple, basic questions.....things that can be learned online at a minimum... there are books on athletic recruiting etc.... and I know there was a thread recently on tennis recruiting..... if you are a state champion or a regional (multi-states) champion, you may be able to use tennis to help you with college admissions.... your current coach should be your first source of help and assistance.... in my opinion....