The unfortunate facts concerning high school football recruiting is that only about 3% to 4% of all those athletes will get the opportunity to play in college. The majority, 96% or so, will see their football playing days end when their last high school game is over.
If you want to be among the 3% to 4% who does make it to the college level, there are a few things you must know about high school football recruiting that can give you a big advantage over the average player. Here are five keys that you should know:
1 - Coaches Don’t Care About YOU
I know it sounds harsh, but it’s true. When college coaches are looking for players to bring into their program the next year, they don’t really care about your dream of playing college football or even your goal of playing in their program. They are initially only concerned about filling the needs of their program. They won’t recruit you because you are a nice kid or you come from a great family, they will only become interested in you if they think you can help their program be successful.
2 - Size And Athleticism Are Key
In high school football recruiting, probably more than any other sport, the size and athleticism of the player being evaluated for possible recruitment is key. Football is a physical sport. One of the first observations a coach will make about you is whether or not you have the size and athleticism to play at his level of competition. It doesn’t matter if the level is Division I or Junior College, you must have the required size and athleticism to play.
3 - The Right Talent And Skills
Once the coach determines that you do have the necessary size and athleticism to play at the level he coaches at, he will then start looking at your specific talents and skills.
Start the recruiting process early: While it is never too late to start technically, those football players who start before their Senior year have a much higher success rate.
Get good grades: Even though the NCAA Clearinghouse minimum can be met by anyone with a high school diploma, 50% of DI programs can’t get you past admissions without a 3.0 GPA.
Get great film: Make sure you get a copy of every game tape. Even if your coach films the games, give him a blank tape to make a copy. You will need these when making your personal recruiting packet.
Take the extra steps: Are you lifting extra during the off-season and in-season? Are you doing extra conditioning and speed work outside of practice? Putting in a few extra hours a week will show during games and is what separates scholarship from walk-on.
Communicate: Tell your high school coach you want to play in college. Call college coaches and tell them you want to play for their program. If college coaches don’t know about you and don’t know you are a player, they can’t recruit you.
To play college football you need to put in effort, both on and off the field. Off the field in the classroom and towards football recruiting. With a solid recruiting plan you can beat out the competition and find a great college football program to play at.
High School Football Recruiting - 5 Keys to Being Recruited For Football Scholarships, College Football Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances of Signing, Get Recruited to Row in College
