I would like to “bust” the myth contained in Myth No. 1. Incidentally, I most certainly agree that not all excellent athletes will get recruited. Where I disagree is that recruiting efforts can be reduced to a few emails with coaches and filling out the recruiting form. Both have their place, but neither is enough. I also disagree that you should start this process by the end of junior year.
Rather, the athlete that wants to play competitively in college should have a comprehensive plan including videotape, showcases/camps, unofficial visits to combine with the emails and profiles.
There are plenty of folks who feel that they started their recruiting efforts too late. Few feel that they started too early. When you start early, you can always abandon the ship. You can never make up the time lost by starting late. The end of junior year is late to get started. This isn’t meant to discourage those who haven’t started by that point. It should just encourage the other folks to think about things well before then.