College Recruiting Timeline for Lacrosse DI Sophomore (10th Grade) D1 College coach primary attention is end of Freshman Summer into September of Junior Year Building Your List Top rising Sophomores may have a strong idea of any DI interest by end of freshman year summer. Interest will build through summer after sophomore year. Be prepared if you are pursuing a competitive DI program. For various reasons, high academic, mid, and lower level D1 programs may be moving at a slower pace *New rule changes prohibit offers before Sept 1 of Jr Year Start to narrow down your top schools. Make sure list includes reach schools and safe schools from athletic and academic standpoint. *Talk to your recruiting coordinator to come up with realistic lists Your Lacrosse Recruits account should be active and edited by adding and removing schools based on feedback at camps/clinics/tournaments and conversations with the T3 Coach and Recruiting Coordinators On Lacrosse Recruits, continue to update/edit your list of "favorite" schools, update your academic info and videos. Talk to your T3 coach, recruiting coordinators, and director for guidance, especailly if there is early interest involved. We can help adjust college lists as well, be sure to reach out to us to hear what reach, target, and safe options are Most D1 programs will be narrowing down lists to prepare for Sept. 1 Continue to think about location and size of schools that may appeal to you Get serious about college research. Consider what each level of college lacrosse entails (Division I, II, and III). What is the difference in commitment of time? Begin to think harder about academics. What are your academic strengths and weaknesses? How do they relate to possible career goals? What types of things might you study to achieve them? Talk to your parents, guidance counselors, teachers, coaches, siblings, and older teammates to get information.
Continue to modify your top 20 schools list and email coaches of any additions. Modify list and expectations based on fall/winter feedback. If you have not had any DI interest at all, reconsider lower level DI or DII & DIII option If you are in consideration of top level Division I play, you must be prepared. You may be asked to VERBALLY COMMIT Sept 1 or just after. Speak to your directors, club coaches, advisors, and parents regarding your choices before making final decisions. If you have not had any interest from DI programs by mid-summer, consider adding DII & DIII schools to your college list. Competitive DII & DIII s will start watching rising Juniors at end of Summer. Many will wait untill Fall of Junior year to start Contacting / Visiting Schools and Coaches If you are pursuing DI programs, email all coaches (including assistants) to let them know of your interest and pass along game schedules no later than 1 week prior to the tournament. Make sure to include your club team information and jersey number! Maintain email contact with the schools on your list as you attend events. Remember that coaches cannot email or call you back but still VERY important to maintain contact Fill out general questionnaires and request camp information form the colleges on your list Get in a habit of checking your email often. Recruiting directors may be forwarding along interest from college coaches. Respond to all coaches regardless of level of interest- be honest. Respond to all college coaches who have expressed interest in you. As T3 Staff passes along interest, acknowledge you recieved the email. Return all questionnaires and requested info to the schools you might consider. If you know you are definitely not considering a particular school, let that coach know. Honesty is important. You are allowed to contact them, but they cannot contact you this year. This includes phone calls, e-mails, letters, instant messages and text messages.
Be proactive if you are very interested in a particular school, make sure they know it! Visit schools to get an idea what your likes vs dislikes are. Look for opportunities to drive by college campuses during family trips, trips to tourneys etc. Gathering some info now will help you move faster in years to come. If possible, visit schools while classes are in session. *With new recruiting rules you can no longer meet with coaches Schedule College campus visits and admissions tours to schools who have expressed any interest in you and take a tour. *Due to new recruiting rules you can not meet with coaches unitl after Sept 1 of junior year Attend college games for your top schools to get a feel of level and style of play Prepare in advance for Sept 1st timeline. Try to squeeze in every first visit to your top choice schools BEFORE September 1st! Try to visit all schools who have expressed interest if you see potential fit after researching online. Visiting while school is in session will help you make decisions on offer you may receive after Sept 1 of junior year On Sept 1 of junior year, call any coaches who have requested that you call them. Respond to all coaches who have expressed interest in you. Player Development / Tournaments and Showcases Play in the Summer and Fall tournaments. Competitive DI s will still be looking at Sophomores in the Summer. Coaches will have their "target list" going into Sept 1st. With the new recruting rules, D1 schools will possibly be recruiting this class early into the fall of junior year. Look into playing in a winter league, skills classes, strength, speed, and agility work. Odds of committing increase as your level of play increases each season. 1-Sep
Look for Sophomore Days, clinics, camps, 3v3's, 5v5's, 7v7's etc year round at colleges that are on your list of schools. Consider college camp/clinic as a great way to see a campus, get to know coaches from different schools and meet players on the college team. *If you have questions or need advice, call/email your recruiting coordinator Showcases and recruiting camps; consider attending if you are pursuing high level DI, or even just for experience (i.e. The ATL, Elite 120, Under Armour, Brine, Etc). *Do your research on which to attend. Check the college coach lists! If you have questions or need advice, call/email your recruiting coordinator Continute to collect film for highlights. Consider getting film to make highlight tape, add to account before fall tourneys. Make sure to have live game footage so they can see how effective you are in a given amount of time. IWLCA now has full game tapes available to all coaches from their events. Academics and Finances Stay focused academically. NCAA eligibility standards keep getting tougher. The grades you earn now will determine admission to college, initial NCAA eligibility, and your future success. Academics are ETREMELY IMPORTANT! Coaches will only likely see your freshman and sophomore grades when they get admissions early read for an athlete! Fall is a huge recruiting period that should not be overlooked Get a PSAT score to demonstrate your likely potential on standardized tests Consider early SAT or ACT if you are getting DI interest from schools that need scores early. Get scores by summer after sophomore year. Consider tutoring to improve scores due to early testing necessary for athletes Parents: Understand your finances and what is possible in your price range. Remember not all athletes get scholarships, even if they are highly recruited Get a a solid SAT or ACT score before September 1st. Most schools will need an indication of test scores before offering. It helps to have a score. Some schools will even guide you on where to focus (they know it will go up) after September 1st.
Upload transcripts and test scores to SportsRecruits and send to any school that request this info. Most coaches want to see the scores first, do not send direct to admissions. Explore options of academic aid at your target list Explore options of financial aid at yoru target list