5 College Recruiting Tips For Girls Lacrosse Players

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​The recruiting process can be a fun, exciting, and enjoyable journey, as long as you are prepared, work hard, have realistic expectations, and have the right tools to guide you along the process. These 5 recruiting tips will help you get started on your recruiting journey and help you navigate the recruiting process.

Top 5 college recruiting tips to get you started in the process:

   1. Start the recruiting process early

• It’s never too early to put your name out there to college coaches or to let them know that you are interested in their program.  If you wait until the summer after your junior year of high school, you will be in “panic mode” your entire senior year. It’s never too early to start thinking about where you would like to play, and which colleges are the most appropriate for you.

    2. NCAA Division I is not the only option

• There are plenty of options when it comes to recruiting and it's important to explore all options whether it be DI, DII, DIII, or NAIA.  You can find an athletic scholarship at the NCAA Division II and NAIA levels. These schools offer a quality education, an opportunity for a high school athlete to continue their athletic career, and a scholarship to help cover the costs. Don’t rule out NCAA Division III schools, either.  These schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, but they do offer grants, loans, and other financial aid, and the athletic department generally can be a big help in finding sources of money to help with the cost of tuition.

    3. Don’t rely on someone else to find your scholarship

• It is important to take initiative when it comes to recruiting.  You can not rely on anyone else to find the right fit in a school, so it is key to visit as many schools as you can  While college coaches like hearing from your current coach endorsing your abilities, being in contact with college coaches is your responsibility. If you want that scholarship, you need to be the primary contact for the college coaches. They love to see athletes taking initiative to reach out to them.  Be the driver, not the passenger!

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    4. Academics matter

• Academics are imperative in the recruiting process.  Your GPA can affect what colleges recruit you and at what level you can compete at depending on your GPA and SAT/ACT score.  The minimum GPA you can have and still be NCAA eligible for DI is a 2.3 GPA and a 900 SAT or 75 ACT sum score. You will need a 2.2 GPA and a 840 SAT or 70 ACT sum score to be eligible at the Division II level. Ultimately, the minimum GPA you will need is dependent on where you fall on the NCAA sliding scale. 

Here is a simple formula:  ATHLETICS + ACADEMICS = COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP

   5. Develop a game plan and be persistent

• It is important to stay organized in your recruiting process and keep track of all the interactions you have with college coaches, what schools you are visiting, and what schools have offered you.  Persistence is a key role in your game plan. You need to stay on top of the communication piece with coaches to ensure that you are finding and being recruited by the school that is the best fit for you both academically and athletically.

           (1) Identify realistic colleges
           (2) Get your coach involved as a reference
           (3) Rach out to the schools on your list. Being persistent means contacting multiple realistic schools, multiple times. You have to understand that your initial contact with a coach is an introduction and you aren’t going to land a roster spot with one email. Be prepared to hear nothing from many of the schools you contact, but don’t take it personally.

Getting to the next level can be a daunting process,but it is worth every second. Every step you take, every college coach you email, and every college tour you go on is getting you that much closer to finding your dream school! 

Prepare to Perform

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