For a scholar-athlete, absolutely the toughest year of high school will be his last. This is especially true of a runner, who has to “go the distance,” in more ways than one. First—and I mean first--he has to maintain a high standard, both in his grades and his commitment to being a mature, well-respected member of the high school and his own community. Second, if he wishes to compete in college, he must continue to build upon his earlier running successes, so that he can make the transition to the college level of competition, where almost everyone was an all-something—Conference, District, Region or State--in high school. That means there will be “no vacations” from training.
For many high school college-bound leaders, added to this growing list of considerations might be a winter sport, band, club participation, and community engagement. Then there ACTs, SATs, etc., for which he must prepare, and perhaps take more than once if he wants to maximize scholarship potential. The NCAA clearance process, alone, can take several trial-and-error attempts. And somehow, amid all these commitments of time and effort, the college-bound senior must make the single most important decision of his life; where to apply. This should not be simply an athletic choice, as many see it, but one that will affect his career, his future family’s financial situation, but also that of the generations that follow. With luck, you may run for four years, but it will almost be a certainty that your major will determine a +/- 45 year career path. So college visits are a must; the more—and the earlier—the better.
Nervous yet? You should be. Ask yourself these three questions: (a) how soon should I start looking; (b) how far should I look; and (c) how many colleges can I visit in the limited time I have? Answers: (a) well before your senior year; (b) as far as your family is willing to go on these “vacation trips”; and (c) as many as you are willing to give serious thought to. A college is not just a name, or a four year adventure, but life’s superhighway towards success, or failure, depending upon your pre-trip preparations. So before you strap yourself in, make sure you know where you intend to go in life. And ask yourself this one last question: “When I run my last college race, whether it is in the fall of my first year, or the spring of my last, how has this college or that prepared me for challenges of life?” And keep asking it, every day until you graduate.