Should I try to get recruited?

Athletic Recruits
1

Dumb question but I’m wondering if I should be filling out recruitment questionnaires for college. I am a high school senior who just moved to a different school and didn’t join any of the sports I played junior year. This was also due to my involvement in an internship after school. I’m just really lost because I dont have a coach to talk to, or a college counselor, and have no parents or siblings that know anything about it

I did Cross Country and Wrestling, and was varsity for both. I also did Track for a few years but didn’t have the time to continue it, but would still be open to doing it in college. My best distances for running are Marathons and halfs but my 5k times are pretty okay, and I am good at sprints around 400-800, also hurdles. I don’t many recent times though for anything except 5k. I could run an official race for any of these and get times, but it might be too late. I’m also contemplating joining Track in the spring.

The reason I am asking is because I am applying to selective schools that favor student athletes, and I have a genuine interest in running in college, but was planning on doing it on my own or casually.

Here are my awards for sports on Common App:

XC: Currently train­ing alone to qual­ify for Boston Marathon, Top 10 Run­ner award, Spe­cial Recog­ni­tion award. 3 year summer camp. Kid race volunteer

Here are the colleges I am applying to:

Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Colorado College, Cornell, Dartmouth, Middlebury, Pitzer, Pomona, and USC.

Here are my most important stats:

33 ACT (35E/34M/34R/28S(don’t know what happened here), 4.2 GPA (strong upward trend, 4.8 junior), didn’t have time to take subject test because when I found out they existed I already had debate tournaments planned on testing days

I also was a state champion in Science Olympiad Ecology and runner up for Microbe Mission, both included tests so that might help with my Biology score

My AP scores aren’t great but I got a 4 on AP Calc, 4 on Bio, and 5 on APES. I got A’s in all the classes though

My EC’s are pretty great, including a 2 year internship at a Biomolecular Research Center and have applied to the Regeneron STS and Top 20 in AAN Neuroscience Research Prize. If I don’t get recruited I feel like this will be my hook.

Eagle Scout with project in sustainable landscape design for school

Let me know if you guys have any more questions

2

Also I have been in some alpine ski races and am really fast, but not on the team this year.

3

I think it is too late to send a questionnaire. If you are interested in getting a boost for admissions, pick up a phone and call a coach directly.

I think you’ll hear a lot of “I’d like you to come to tryouts if you decide to come to XX school” just because it is so late to get any help from the coach. Most coaches can help with ED, or maybe ED2.

4

It’s unlikely a coach is going to be interested in an athlete that hasn’t competed much lately. You can try, but don’t get your hopes up. Some of the weaker programs you list might be interested in a 5k under 16:30 on a known XC course. But USC is recruiting Olympic caliber sprinters and doesn’t even have men’s XC. I’m not trying to offend you but the fact that you say you’re good at everything from 400 to marathon, including hurdles, makes me think you don’t really understand the caliber of runner getting support from coaches. Most will have been the best on their teams and/or reasonably competitive on a state level in most states. Pursuing the marathon is admirable but unfortunately it’s not an ncaa event. Your ECs are going to be more attractive than the running IMO.

5

I think USC would definitely be a long shot, but do you think there would be any benefit in emailing some of the Division 3 school coaches with recent 10k times?

6

Road race times? You can try but no, I don’t think there’ll be any benefit. You have to understand that you are competing with athletes that have solid track times from last spring and XC times from this fall.

7

I’m going to try to say this nicely. There seems to be a train of thought out there that just because someone runs a bit, they can be recruited for cross country and track. What people don’t seem to understand is that runners train just as hard as other athletes. They don’t just pick it up on their own. They are running anywhere from 40-60 miles a week in season in high school and are often doing supplementary strength and conditioning training. Distance runners are often training year-round–XC in the fall, and the 1600 and 3200 in the spring. They don’t “see” if they can get recruited. They are working hard at it, tracking their times, keeping to training schedules, etc. I think some people believe that since running doesn’t involve specific skills like throwing, shooting, hitting, etc., that anyone can try to be recruited. That’s not the case. Track athletes train hard. Many track athletes start in other sports such as soccer or football, but they are still training in those sports. No one is going to be recruited because they ran a few road races.

Coaches want to see what you’ve done in high school. They look at MileSplit (if you are a high school runner, you know this). They don’t care that you are training for a half marathon on your own, because you have no results to show them. (Marathon isn’t even a college event.) People run marathons in 5-6 hours. A coach will not be impressed. You also need track times, not just XC times, because every course is different and the track is an equalizer.

Sprinting, distance, and hurdles are very different events. Either you are a distance runner, or a sprinter. Nobody is both. The skills and workouts are different. The body type is different.

People need to stop believing that they can be recruited to a top school because they ran a few local 5Ks and did well. Top high school runners are not running many local 5Ks; they are competing for their teams.

8

All of the above points are true, so consider them well. The only two cases that might work in your favor are bad D3 programs or really excellent times from junior year. Go look at last year’s results from schools you’re interested in and slot in your times from junior year. Unless you see something quite unexpected, chances are you won’t be near the top of anything, even among last year’s freshman results. Remember that all the chaff blows away in college, and the guys who were running the last few high school heats are now working, studying or playing XBox. You won’t get to beat up on them anymore. If your times will play then go ahead and reach out to coaches, but be honest with yourself before pushing ahead.

9

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OP is training for the Boston Marathon, not half marathon. BQ times for 18 yr old is 3 hours, which is a 6:51 pace for 26 miles. I think coaches would be extremely interested in a HS senior that can BQ. My guess is OPs XC times would be very respectable.

10

You sound like a nice young man hard worker! I’d wait to see where you get in and then contact the coach and let them know you’d be interested in trying out for the team. D3 coaches are always looking for kids that have the metal toughness and athleticism to run xc, and it seems you have that. You have applied to a wide range of excellent schools and I wish you luck. Don’t give up the dream or desire to keep running!

11

Isn’t it a bit late though for a senior to be reaching out to coaches? I thought most commits happen in the Fall?

I can certainly see trying to walk on, but I don’t see how this will help with admissions.

12

Honestly, I think it’s just too late. Coaches had their recruiting lists set months ago and expected their recruits to apply ED. Unless you’re a standout with extremely strong official times to show them I can’t see them using a slot on a new hopeful at this point.

13

It’s not too late - the first round of athletes signed and now the coaches that didn’t fill their rosters need to start their next round of officials and there are still slots available. But I don’t think any college coach would think training for a marathon in HS is a good idea. At best a walk-on opportunity with no solid track times.

14

What are you expecting from ‘being recruited’? At D3 schools, usually the advantage is to get a boost with admissions. At D1 schools, it can be a scholarship (but in track it is usually very small). You are probably too late for those. If you are recruited late in the spring but before accepting a spot at a school, you’d at least know you are ‘on the team’ and can get work out programs for the summer, arrange housing with the team, start to make friends with the team.

I really think you are looking at being a walk on at this point. What do you want? You seem to not like track as you haven’t done it for a few years and don’t know if you’ll do it this year. You like longer distances.

15
  1. Most of the application deadlines for these schools are in two weeks, a period that includes Christmas break. There will be no opportunity for this student to go on a visit before the coach has to make commitments to other students.
  2. The OP says his/her times are "pretty okay." The kids coaches will be talking with are primarily kids who were rejected from their ED1 schools or kids whom they've kept in reserve in case someone drops out at the last minute. In order to get a coach to take a look they're going to need to see something different from the list of kids they've already been working with.
  3. The OP has been training for marathons but does he/she have any official times? If not the coach will have to go by XC times from junior year.
  4. The schools the OP is targeting are some of the most competitive in D3.
  5. There's no reason the OP can't run in college, possibly even as a walk-on to a team, but unless he/she is planning to take a gap year I think the recruiting ship has sailed. I could be wrong, so the OP may want to contact coaches, but if that's the case it should be done today.
16

^^. I think the recruiting ship has sailed too, especially if you aren’t competing in indoor winter track right now and placing high in regional events. I have seen some kids sign on to school track teams in the Spring during the RD round, but again those kids were the track athletes winning big events and going to Regional Finals or Nationals. Without any current times to judge you by a college coach has nothing to go by, and certainly wonders about your level of commitment to the sport when you haven’t competed the last several season that you were eligible for.

Find a few schools you like. Apply. Get in. Email coaches saying you’ve been accepted and are asking about walk on possibilities. See what kind of response you get. Pick the school you like best. Enroll there. Train over the summer Try out in the Fall Make team. Compete and have fun. Good luck!!!

17

OP, I would also encourage you to add a likely school or two to your list. You seems to be a strong candidate but your list looks top heavy to me.

18

Call the coaches and ask. Sometimes recruits don’t get accepted ED1 or don’t apply to that school at all. If the coach has space they may want you to apply ED2 for their support.

19

I don’t have any thoughts about recruiting since we’re just starting the process with our sophomore but I am very familiar with the schools you’ve chosen and I agree with @Sue22 about needing a few matches/likely schools. If that’s the complete list it will be tough. You don’t say if you’re a URM or from an underrepresented state but that may make a difference. Also being male will help at many of those schools. Either way, you should save yourself some grief later and add two likely schools. Suggestions I would have based on your list include Dickinson, Denison, Union, even Trinity or Connecticut College if you prefer NESCAC. You sound like a hard worker so I wish you luck!

20

Just to clarify, I think the OP said they were training to qualify for the Boston Marathon, not that they had already qualified for Boston.

In terms of application strategies, if the original post is the complete list of schools, the OP should identify some safeties and matches quickly as I don’t see any on there. Schools similar to those on the OP’s list might include Dickinson, Rhodes, Centre, Denison, Macalester, St Olaf, Lawrence, Conn Coll, St Lawrence, Trinity College in CT. Some will be matches, some (maybe Centre, Lawrence and possibly St Lawrence) are more likely but not necessarily safeties.