There are tons of colleges who would take an athlete of this caliber. But I think there is a huge misconception that they will always come find you. Athletes and their coach need to be very proactive.
Great little story on a very good student athlete. I have had the opportunity to know Carl and most of his teamates at Varela and I can truely say this kid is a very hard worker and an amazing athlete. Probably the most humble Top 3 State finisher in the entire state. He talks more about the 4X800 TEAM then his individual event. All about "Team"..
I don't know his academic story but there will be one lucky coach next Fall to have this kid in their roster. Sub 1:54 talent does not grow on tree's.. Wish you all the best!
I agree with being proactive. As long as he has above average grades, build a simple one page resume and email to 50 schools directed to the track coach and I guarantee this athlete will have more choices than he knows what to do with. The track coaches right now are busy with indoor championships so you may not get a great response for another 2 - 3 weeks. But with this athletes credentials he will be competing at the next level as long as he is proactive.
A) Develop a list of schools you would like to run for. Many good schools also have a posting on their web-site of the standards they are looking for.
B) Visit their web-site and fill out the prospective athlete questionaire. Most schools have one.
C) If they don't find the fax number or email address for the head coach and send them a one page bio (you can cut and paste your flrunners page as a start).
D) Do all of your finicial aide paper work. When you cost a coach less money, they like you more. FOr example if I have two 1:54 800 runners and one has about half of his school cost covered with academic or other (grant/Govt.)money v. an athlete that is looking for more money from athletics...well you can do the math.
E) Keep expanding your list of potential schools.
F) Repeat the process
G) Don't stop. I have had runners that didn't know where they were going until mid-July.
H) Relax...get your workouts in...win lots of races while doing all of your homework.
Coaches will find a 1:49 800 runner...the 1:54 is going to have to do more to be found.
Good luck!
Mostly Retired Coach Woodbury
Sadly, T&F is a self promotional type of sport, which we found out a few years ago. There are a ton of schools in Georgia and North and South Carolina. Florida is pretty good for runners and jumpers but not great for field athletes like throwers. Check conferences and contact coaches. We found most coaches are very receptive to athletes interested in their schools. Most schools have an athletic website with a questionaire and standards listed. The drawback is there just isn't a lot of scholarship money in T&F.
