College RecruitingFor High School Swimmers

When Should I Seriously Start to look at colleges?Due to new NCAA legislation, college

coaches can now talk to prospective student-athletes after the summer of their sophomore year, going into their junior yearThis is different from the old legislation which

said it was the summer of their junior year, going into their senior year

What I should do during my Junior year?SAT

The best thing to do is to take your SAT. To be NCAA eligible, you only need an 800 composite score of your Reading and Math Scores, however most universities will not accept this The better the score, the better you are getting

accepted into any schoolACT

You should also take the ACT. The ACT is “easier” than the SAT, and many schools in the Midwest and Northeast prefer an ACT score over an SAT score

What Next?NCAA Eligibility Center

Before you even take the SAT or ACT, you should sign up with the NCAA Eligibility Center. If you want to meet with any college coaches, the first thing they will ask is if you are registered with the NCAA. You can always go back and add in your SAT and ACT

scores http://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp

NAIA Eligibility CenterAs a just-in-case, also register with the NAIA

Eligibility Center. http://www.playnaia.org/

How do I put my name out there?Recruiting databases are the best way to put

your name out there, and coaches especially look at 4 servicesCollegeSwimming.comSwimming World MagazineNCSA Athletic Recruitingberecruited.com

CollegeSwimming.comCollegeSwimming.com is the largest source of news, results

and rankings on college swimming. It's also the number one resource for swimmers to learn about colleges and be discovered by college coaches.

Unlike most recruiting services, CollegeSwimming.com is always FREE to parents and swimmers. Your account allows you to: Create your own "Recruiting Resume"

that can be searched by coaches or sent directly to them, read exclusive articles designed to help you navigate the recruiting process, Let Coaches know YOU are interested in THEM, Find the right college that is for you

You're most likely already listed and ranked, but registering a profile can strengthen your recruiting rank, let coaches know what schools you are thinking about, and increase the likelihood of coaches contacting you.

Swimming World MagazineIt is essentially the same thing as

CollegeSwimming.com since it places the recruit on a points scaleThe user keeps up with their best times, and

they are awarded a stars scale from 1-5

NCSA Recruiting ServiceNCSA is a recruiting service used by college

coaches for almost all sportsFeatures:

Get an exclusive ebook with recruiting tips from former college coaches and players 

Access online tools to connect with open roster spots and guide you through the recruiting process

berecruited.comAnother recruiting service used by college

coaches of almost all sportsFeatures:

Able to set up an account through Facebook Rest of the features are the same as NCSA

What’s the Difference?The tricky part of college swimming is all the

different categories that schools are in. However, to swim in college does not mean

you can just go to an NCAA school!

CategoriesEssentially there is 5 categories of college

swimming schoolsThey are:

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I Mid-Major

NCAA Division II NCAA Division III NAIA NJCAA

NCAA Division IDivision I is the highest sanction of a university in

the NCAA system. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic

powers, with larger budgets, more elaborate facilities, and more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition. These smaller schools are called Mid-Majors Examples of D-I schools: University of Florida, Florida State

University, University of Miami Examples of D-I Mid-Major schools: Florida Gulf Coast

University, University of North Florida, Cleveland State University

NCAA Division IIDivision II is an intermediate-level division of

competition in the NCAA. It offers an alternative to both the highly

competitive (and highly expensive) level of intercollegiate sports offered in NCAA Division I and to the no athletic scholarship environment offered in Division III. Examples: Florida Southern College, University of

Tampa, University of West Florida, Saint Leo University, Nova Southeastern University

NCAA Division IIIDivision III is a division of the NCAA that

consists of colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletically related financial aid (athletic scholarships) to their student-athletes.These schools are usually small, prestigious

schools. Examples: MIT, Lake Forrest College, Denison

University, Kenyon College

NAIAThe National Association of Intercollegiate

Athletics (NAIA) is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and

universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA

as members. The NAIA has two members in Canada and at one point

had one in the Bahamas, which made it the only international intercollegiate athletic association in North America until 2009. Examples: Savannah School of Art & Design, Oklahoma Baptist

University

NJCAAThe National Junior College Athletic

Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is an association of community college and junior college athletic departments throughout the United States. It is divided into Divisions and Regions.

Examples: Indian River State College, Darton State College

Recruiting Trips?There is 2 types of Recruiting Trips: an

Official Visit and an Unofficial VisitOfficial Visit is a 48 hour trip to the school that

is paid for by the university You can take up to 5 official visits

Unofficial Visit is where you go visit a school on your own dime, and the school can sponsor a meal for you and your parent/guardian/coach at a dining facility on campus You can take as many unofficial visits as you’d like

When are the signing periods?The Early Signing period is around the second or

third week of November; essentially right after the High School States meetIn the last couple of years, many prospective student-

athletes are signing during the early signing period, mostly due to the new rule changes

The Spring Signing period is around the second or third week of AprilMany internationals sign at this timeA lot of kids from Florida sign during this period

because it is after High School States, Senior Champs, Sectionals, and Junior Nationals

WHOA!I understand that this is a lot of information,

but it’s not as much as it seemsIf you have any questions, ask either Coach

Don, Coach Connie, or Coach Jen and they can answer all of your questions.

GOOD LUCK!The college recruiting process is a very

nerve-wracking time of a prospective student-athlete’s life, but it is also very exciting, and it leads to bigger and better things

Presentation created by:Pieter RitzAssistant Coach of Swimming and Diving at

Henderson State UniversityCell: (239) 560-6077Email: pieterritz@gmail.com