Top 10 questions asked of college coaches.
By
Craig Ross
of
All-Stater Sports
High school student-athletes
seeking scholarships often bombard college coaches with questions. This
article presents the 10 most frequently asked questions.
Give yourself an advantage by studying the answers. Then make sure the
answers work for you as you navigate through the recruiting process.
1. Will participating in multiple sports help or hinder my
scholarship opportunities?
Today, athletes are encouraged to work daily on the skills required for
mastery in their chosen sport. If you ignore this guideline, you risk
falling behind the competition. Nevertheless, participating in other
sports-and also in other activities-often reaps benefits. Darryl Smith,
head women's basketball coach at Wichita State University, encourages high
school athletes to pursue multiple activities, if they desire. "You want
kids to have different coaches so they have different experiences. It's
from these experiences that they will learn. Mentally, this is so
important."
Your key: You're only in high school once. Make your decisions
based on your own personal priorities.
2. What are my options if, when I graduate from high school, I am
academically ineligible to compete at a four-year college?
You have a couple of options. You can still attend a four-year school
without accepting a scholarship. You will not be a member of the team, but
you can work on your grades and prepare yourself academically and
physically for the following year. Or you can attend a junior college,
compete with that team while you improve your academic standing, and then
transfer to a four-year school once you have made satisfactory academic
progress.
Your key: Determine what sort of experiences you want directly
out of high school, and choose accordingly.
3. If I am academically eligible to compete at a four-year school,
should I still consider a junior college?
It is extremely important to keep all of your options open. Choosing a
junior college increases the chances that you will have more options to
choose from two years down the road. Junior colleges provide a window of
opportunity to develop academically, socially, and on the playing field.
You must weigh this against paying your dues-which usually means limited
playing time in the early years-at a four-year school.
Your key: Entertain interest from any school early in the
recruiting process.
4. What are the major differences between Division I, II, and
III?
