To stand-out in college recruiting, you will need to show you are up for the challenge and
have what it takes to compete on a college team. You may have already been on the hunt to find the best competition around, by trying out for and playing on club and travel teams-this is a great start, but there’s more you need to consider.
Finding competition can be complicated
Student-athletes who are involved or at least aware of club and travel teams understand that you can only be as good as the competition you have a chance to face. These athletes know they need to work hard to be the best. They know what college coaches are looking for; therefore, they work hard to make an impact during their recruitment process.
As a potential recruit it is up to you to be a stand-out player and prove to college coaches you have what it takes. Recruits who are able to gain the upper hand and be better than their competition will make waves because they are proven to have a competitive edge.
Recently, I stumbled across two stories about different athletes that were able to take their competition so seriously that they competed on the boys’ leagues/teams to get ahead. This is not unheard of; there is a lot of high school players who compete on the same team with the opposite sex, mainly because they are at smaller schools where there are not enough athletes to play on each team.
The first player, a golfer, loved her sport and grew up competing on boys’ teams. When she reached high school she was glad there was a girls team, but she quickly learned the teams she now faced were not as highly skilled as her former competition was. She became determined to compete in higher levels of golf and to get back on the boys team.
The second female athlete is currently in college competing on a division I ice hockey team. She explained that her recruiting process was tough, but because of her skill and academics, she was able to get to where she had been working so hard to achieve; a division I program. When asked to give advice to up and coming athletes she stated, play on the boy’s teams as long as you can. That is what makes you tough and what will give you an edge. She claims that when she competes she can tell which players grew up playing in the boy’s leagues and which did not. Competing on boys’ teams when she was younger is her secret to making to division I.
It’s going to be difficult to find competitive junior teams. If you claim to be a serious competitor it will be your job to seek out these teams and to become a part of them- you never know where they will lead in your future as a college recruit.
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