Traditional college counseling doesn't start seriously speaking with students and their families about college until Junior Year - this is especially true for student-athletes.
Student-athletes have different college timelines. Many will know where they are going sometimes before they formally start meeting with their college counselor.
Sure, there are the top % of recruits whose physical talent is so outrageously good that they could do nothing and still get noticed by major programs. But, for everyone else - especially if they are interested in higher academic schools i.e. Ivy, Patriot, NESCAC or schools like these - the conversation needs to start earlier.
What ensues is usually a game of bureaucratic kickball. Counseling thinks athletics are handling the college journey with the family. But, athletics thinks counseling is spearheading things. Meanwhile, players' and parents' are wondering who is actually running the recruiting show at school. Then, they bring in an outside coach or consultant to get things "going in the right direction" - a writing coach, an admissions counselor, a recruiting guru.
There are plenty of fine people who do great work who are independent consultants in those fields, no question. But, ultimately this lack of vision for what that ideal student-athlete recruiting journey might look like from start to finish, leads to so many people being in charge, that no one's actually in charge.
First, here is a radical idea: ask the player what they want, then ask their parents, then get clear feedback from counseling and athletics on what is academically and athletically feasible.
Second, get boots on the ground at colleges early. College is an abstract concept. It's not reasonable to rule out a Division III school when you've never set foot on one. It's not reasonable to rule out a school in the city before you've set foot on an urban campus. Go there. Turn concept into concrete. Doing an early summer college program can do this, easily.
Thirdly, is this all a bit too much too soon? Don't we want kids to be kids and enjoy their time in high school? Yes, and more yes. But, high schools in America have one goal - it's just more implicit or explicit depending on where you go: prepare kids for college (and life). This notion of high school being a finishing school for college is almost universal in the US. The more you ignore college - what it is actually like, what you might want to study, where, etc - the more stressful this looming end point becomes by the time counseling has their first meeting with you.
When we talk about college, what we actually are talking about is the question of how to help your kid grow up. That's never going to be a clean or neat process. It's emotionally messy. The only advantage a family has on their side is time. Start investigating college early. You don't need to decide when you're a high school freshman what you want to do exactly - but stroll a few campuses, take a mini-college program for a few days at a local college. Go see what a school is like at a recruiting camp.
Having these conversations as a freshman in high school gives you more time to course correct. If you really want a STEM college down the road, you'll be able to load up STEM classes 10th/11th grade, for example. Or, if your freshman grades were not great, going to a camp and "seeing the light" academically because your dream school's coach hounded you for your grades gives you more runway to turn the academic boat around.
Realizing you are outgunned academically and out of runway to course correct by end of Junior Year is disheartening and defeating for a young player. Having college conversations early, and college or college adjacent experiences early, can help spark a kid's ownership over the college process, while there is time to still recalibrate focus, grades and efforts.
Brendan
PS Like this? Check out our new project, The Recruiting Group where we'll help you have better, and earlier college conversations.
Key Takeaways
Start Early: The college conversation for student-athletes should begin before Junior year, giving students time to prepare academically and athletically while reducing last-minute stress.
Establish Clear Leadership: Determine who is actually leading the recruiting process among counselors, coaches, and parents to avoid the "bureaucratic kickball" where no one takes charge.
Experience College Firsthand: Visit various campuses early to transform college from an abstract concept to a concrete experience, helping students make more informed decisions about their future.