So you wanna get recruited, huh? Many high school track and field/cross country athletes dream of competing on the collegiate level, but few believe they can actually do it. The truth is, you do not have to be a Footlocker finalist, an All-American, or even the best runner/jumper/thrower on your team to get recruited. However, unless you are a Footlocker finalist/All-American most coaches and schools outside of Florida have absolutely no idea who you are. So let them know who you are by becoming your own recruiter. Contact is one of the most crucial parts of recruiting as well as developing relationships with the coaches who you come into contact with.
The best way to get yourself recruited is to get your name out there by creating an athletic resume (See: attached). Send it an envelope with a cover letter from preferably your coach (or college counselor) to as many schools as possible that you are interested in. Have the cover letter highlight you as a student/athlete/person if possible. While doing this, you must be realistic and realize that if you have not broken 5 for the mile and you are a guy, fewer schools will respond to you. Have no fear, potential for improvement can appear. If a coach believes you have potential in an event based off of another event then his interest will probably rise. For instance, I have kept in contact with an asst. coach from a "powerhouse" school since the summer. I was really interested in competing for the program so I had my college counselor send out my resume/cover letter to the Track and Field coach, and decided to see what would happen. This was one of 30 schools I sent letters to hoping some would reply. After an email here and an email there contact began! The coach believes I have potential to improve in my main event, the 800, based off of my speed displayed in the 400 (50). It is instances like this which keep a coaches' interest in you as your senior year progresses. Coaches are not allowed to contact you by phone until July 1st of the summer before your senior year. So if you have not received any phone calls yet and you're a sophomore or junior be patient. After you begin to develop a strong relationship with a coach they will most likely invite you up for an "official visit."
These visits are the best part of getting recruited! You are allowed to make 5 official visits you senior year so choose wisely. However, you can make as many unofficial visits as you want. An official visit begins by the school flying you out, or covering your travel expenses, to the campus. Next, you are picked up from the airport/terminal/whatever by an athlete from the team or the coach himself. You are taken back to the campus and meet up with the athlete you are staying with. Throughout your 48 hour visit you attend a practice, go out to dinner, hang out with the team, attend a class, and get a feel for the school. By the end of the visit, you feel as if you are collegiate student-athlete. It also does not hurt to ask your host as many questions as possible about the school, campus life, etc. Another thing to keep in mind when contacting schools and speaking with coaches is the school itself because academics come first of course. Learn as much as possible as the schools you are interested in, and make sure they could ultimately be the ideal place the spend four years of your life.
Finally, in making a decision to attend a school it will most likely come down to that wonderful thing we all know and love called money. The NCAA maximum allowed scholarships on cross country and track teams for women is 18 (thank you Title IX) and for men, 12.6. However, the number of scholarships that any college has available at any given time depends on funding available at the college for scholarships, the number of athletes on scholarship and the needs of the college track team.. What this means for you is that you may receive anything from a full scholarship, which happens few and far between, to receiving "books", to receiving nothing and running as a "recruited walk on." Athletic scholarships can be full or partial awards. Some colleges break up scholarships into two or more scholarships and may combine the partials with academic scholarships. For example, if a scholarship at a given college is worth $12,000, a college could award 12 partial scholarships of $1,000 each. In the end you may decide that competing at the next level is simply not for you. However, if you believe the opposite then use this knowledge to your advantage. Run fast, jump high, throw far, and get recruited.