If You Want to Play Sports in College
Participating in a varsity sport at the college level can be a life-changing experience. You’ll build lifelong
friendships, develop key non-academic skills (e.g., leadership, teamwork, etc.) that will help you succeed
in the real world, and you’ll have a ton of fun. But getting to college-level athletics is not easy.
Even if you are your high school’s star athlete, you should not expect to be pursued by a college coach
unless you’re making newspaper headlines. Being on the cover of
Sports Illustrated wouldn’t hurt either.
If you’re serious about playing college sports, you will most likely
need a strong offense – that is, you will need to go actively after
the coaches / colleges. Let’s talk about some steps you can take
to put yourself on a track towards college athletics.
1.
Get a second opinion
Find out if you have a realistic shot of making it at the
next level. You can do this by talking to your coaches
and/or by asking someone who plays your sport in
college. As you’re seeking others’ opinions, remember
that there are different levels of college athletics. For
example, maybe you can’t play basketball at the
University of Texas but maybe you can cut it at a school
with a less competitive program.
2.
Make sure you’re in compliance with NCAA eligibility requirements
How good you are at your sport means nothing if you don’t meet the NCAA’s requirements.
Depending on the athletic division that the college you want to attend is a part of, you will have
to meet certain GPA and SAT/ACT standards. You will also have to take the required high school
courses. Find out more at www.ncaa.org.
3.
Register online with the NCAA Eligibility Center
Serious athletes should register with the NCAA Eligibility Center at the beginning of their junior
year of high school. You cannot play college sports or receive an athletic scholarship without
registering.
4.
Attend a sports camp
Summer sports camps can be a great way to sharpen your game. College coaches sometimes
attend these camps to check out the talent. Just be aware that they can be expensive.
5.
Take stock of what you’ve done
Keep a sports resume (see “Take Stock of What You’ve Done – Athlete Edition”). Keep your
resume up-to-date. You will send this resume along with a letter of interest to coaches.
6.
Get in touch with coaches
Once you’ve identified which schools / athletic programs you are interested in, mail the coach (or
coaches) a letter of interest along with your sports resume. You can also follow up by email so
that there is a better chance the coach actually responds to you. See the next page for a sample
letter. Another way to get in contact with coaches is to fill out a recruitment questionnaire on
the team’s website.
7.
Create a highlight and/or skills video
Go on YouTube to see examples. See if you can enlist the support of a friend, peer, teacher, etc.
who knows how to properly shoot and edit a video. The video can be a combination of in-game
If You Want to Play Sports in College
highlights as well as you doing drills on your own or with teammates. Talk to a coach or someone
else with experience to find out what you should include.
8.
Get on a sports recruitment website
There are numerous websites that help high school athletes showcase their talents and abilities.
College coaches utilize these sites to find and communicate with prospects. Do your homework
and ask around to find out which ones are the most legit.
9.
Be responsive
If you receive any communication from coaches, make sure you respond quickly with any
information that is being requested of you.
10. Make sure you understand strings attached to college scholarships
As with any scholarship, you need to know what strings are attached if a college is offering you
money to come there. If you get injured, do you lose your scholarship? Athletic scholarships can
be the easiest to lose.
11. Don’t let athletics cloud your judgment
You have a less than 1% chance of playing professional sports. For some sports, your odds are
less than one tenth of a percent. Choose a college because it’s a good fit for you as a person and
a student. If you let sports alone drive your decision, you might sacrifice your education, which is
the whole point of going to college.
Letter of Interest to College Coaches
These days, college coaches are using email for the most part. You can easily find their email addresses by
visiting the team’s website. It doesn’t hurt, however, to send both an email and a physical letter. If
anything, it demonstrates your sincere interest and increases the likelihood that the coach will actually
get your note. You can send the same letter of interest to coaches at all the colleges you’re interested in.
Just make sure you don’t accidently mix up names of colleges and coaches. That would be bad.
Send your letters as early in your junior year as possible! You want to get on these coaches’ radars. If they
like you, they might even fly you in for an official visit.
Important Note
o The letter on the next page is just a generic template. You should feel free to share (brief)
personal information such as your history with and love of the sport, and why you believe you
are a good candidate for an athletic scholarship. You may also want to share a few sentences
about your interest in the school as a whole. It’s okay to show a bit of personality to distinguish
yourself. The coaches don’t just want great student-athletes, but also people who are solid on
their teams.
If You Want to Play Sports in College
Your name
Street address
City, state, zip
Today’s date
Full name of college coach
Name of college
Address
City, state, zip
Dear Coach (last name of coach),
I hope this finds you well. My name is
and I am a (sophomore/junior) at (name
of your high school). I am writing to express my strong interest in attending (name of college) and
being a member of your (basketball, football, etc.) team.
Here are my current academic stats: (including anything else you think would be impressive / relevant)
o GPA:
o Class Rank (if available):
o SAT/ACT:
o Expected Graduation Date:
Here is an overview of my athletic accomplishments (Include name of your current team as well as any
stats and other info that are appropriate for your sport. You can list them out in bullet points like the
academic info above. Don’t worry if any of the information in this section overlaps with what’s on your
athletic resume. Talk to your coach to make sure you are including the right information).
If you would like to contact my high school coach, (include coach’s name), (he/she) can be reached by
email at (include email) and by phone (include phone number).
I have enclosed for your review my athletic resume, a letter of recommendation from my coach and
my upcoming competition schedule. Finally, here is a link to my highlight / skills video (Once you
create your highlight/skills video, upload it to YouTube and/or a sports recruiting website so you can
easily share the video link with coaches and others.)
I would appreciate if, at your convenience, you could send me any information about the team you
think I should have. I would also love to know if you think there is a possibility of me earning an
athletic scholarship. In general, I would love to know any suggestions you may have that could
increase my chances of playing on your team.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter. I very much hope to hear from you.
Sincerely,
(put your real signature here once you print the letter)
Your Name