The college search for athletes has grown complicated and increasingly competitive, especially during the past 10 years. There are countless components that require attention in developing and executing a successful plan of action, along with several “key players” who make-up the team that “run the offense.”
The synergy between social media and college recruiting continues to grow in popularity and is evolving into the primary tool of communication between prospects and college coaches. Student-athletes can offer coaches with instantaneous updates about college recruitment, and if used prudently, these high tech platforms can help streamline evaluations significantly and help college coaches recruit better.
The college search for athletes is an individual and tactical quest that will play out differently across the board. If you happen to be that elite prospect that every college coach has his eye on, your biggest challenge will likely be which college to choose! But if you are among the majority of prospects that are lumped into the next level of recruits, your college journey will be a little more challenging.
College coaches are brilliant recruiters and look for three key components when evaluating prospects. First, they look for strong students who meet and exceed eligibility and admissions standards. Second, they are looking for direct impact athletes who thrive at their events and will drive the team to higher levels. Finally, they want self-aware young men and women who bring a strong character component to the table.
The college experience is, in many cases, the most important four years in our children’s lives and realizing the potential leverage families of prospective student-athletes have in the college recruiting process, will develop increased confidence and clarity as the college quest unfolds. Then, knowing how to close on this opportunity is, without question, essential. My goal with this article is to identify 5 essential initial steps that prospects, families and coaches can use to effectively launch the college search.
Fans and athletes alike can benefit from checking out the new videos and scripts released online by the National Association of Women's Gymnastics Judges (NAWGJ) and the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches - Women (NACGC-W).  "Armchair" judges can test their knowledge of the code, and everyone can benefit by learning more about how routines can be evaluated.
For the 2014 edition of our ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes, we've had to wait until the last minute to make our decision.  "Recruiting" now has an entirely new definition.  Some of the athletes in our rankings originally selected their colleges over three years ago.  But more than few made their decisions within the last six to nine months.  In this age of early recruiting, a lot can change in the three final years of high school and during the first year of competition.  Thus, we're also seeing the emergence of a lively late recruiting period and early entries…
For the past several seasons, we've made an attempt to rank the incoming classes for teams across the nation.  The task is never easy, and this year is no exception.  For the schools, investing in athletes today is a bit like investing in the stock (or precious metals) market.  With recruiting taking place earlier and earlier, coaches have to become experts at detecting the traits, abilities and characteristics that will produce a championship athlete two, three, and four years down the road (or six, seven and eight by the time they are college seniors!).  So who's class is rated to…
For the past several seasons, we've made an attempt to rank the incoming recruiting classes for teams from across the nation.  Each year, the task seems to get tougher (and finalized later) and this year is no exception.  In fact, the depth of this recruiting class has produced a variety of very deep and talented frosh classes.  In particular, a number of elites elected not to defer entry into school and are providing a boost to teams across the nation.  So whose class is rated to be the best?  Read on to find the answer...
For the past several seasons, we've made an attempt to rank the incoming recruiting classes for teams from across the nation. Some teams, in particular the perennial  superpowers, seem to appear in the rankings each season. But as for the others, you've probably noticed new teams appear as the tides of recruiting ebb and flow. With recruiting occuring earlier and earlier, predicting the progress of future recruits is becoming more and more difficult. Unexpected injuries, changes in training pattern and other personal events sometimes impact an athlete's ability to come in and contribute right away. So which school has scored…
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