B Y M A R I A N N E W E R D E L

1 0 STEPS TO GET STARTED O N THE COLLEGE TENNIS PATHWAY BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO COLLEGE TENNIS RECRUITING B Y M A R I A N N E W E R D E L

Introduction Are you starting the college tennis recruiting process? The college recruiting process can be a stressful and time-consuming experience for many families. If you are organized, follow the right steps, and take the initiative to be proactive, it can be much easier to tackle. Here are 10 steps to help you navigate the college tennis recruiting process more efficiently. 1. Know the NCAA Rules 2. Set Goals 3. Plan Your Academic Schedule 4. Plan Your Tennis Schedule 5. Build Your Resume 6. Clean Up All Your Social Media Platforms 7. Contact Schools 8. Take Visits 9. Ask the Right Questions 10. Find the Right Fit

1. KNOW THE NCAA RULES Knowing the NCAA rules and regulations will help you navigate the process more efficiently. A student-athlete can make phone calls and send emails to coaches but the coach can't always reply. A student-athlete can tour the campus but can't meet with coaches or athletic staff until their Junior year of high school. Coaches can make verbal offers at any point but National Letters of Intent are not signed until designated periods of a recruit's senior year. Click here to go to the NCAA Eligibility Center and register by junior year. Two Important Dates to Know NCAA Eligibility Center 1. September 1st of Junior Year: D 1 coaches may send recruiting emails, make phone calls, send texts and any other electronic communication to contact a student-athlete. (June 15th after Sophomore year for DII coaches). *New policy put into effect April 2018: recruits may take official visits starting on Sept 1 of Junior year with a max of 5 official visits. 2. July 1 after Junior Year: Coaches can make off-campus contact with recruits and their parents, with a maximum of 3 total contacts during senior year. (June 15th after sophomore year for D II coaches)

2. SET GOALS Goals will help you better prioritize your time and stay on track. Set goals and the process steps along the way to help you reach your target. Make Recruiting Plan Goals and Stick to It! 1. Know how many letters you want to send to coaches. 2. Make a schedule to follow up with the coaches. 3. Pick a date to reassess your list of schools. 4. Take ownership of the process! Do Your Homework Know what sectional, national or UTR rankings are needed for a wide variety of schools. Set a target ranking goal for each high school year. Know the Steps to Get There Now that you have your goals, map out the steps you need to do each day to reach your target. Set your goals based on what steps you need to be doing NOW. The outcome will take care of itself if you commit to fully working towards it each day. Set Goals for All Areas Don t just set goals for your tennis. Set goals for academics, the college process, and any extracurriculars. GOAL: Step 1: Step 2: Step 3:

3. PLAN YOUR ACADEMICS Academic planning is a critical part of the college recruiting process. Meet with your high school counselor or advisor early to map out all 4 years of classes. Know the Academic Requirements If you plan on attending a top academic school, know their academic requirements. You don't want to find out too late that you don't have all the required classes. 1. How many AP classes are needed? 2. How rigorous of a class schedule is required? 3. What test scores (SAT/ACT) are required? 4. How many years of math and foreign language are required? Home School If you chose to do a homeschool program, make sure it has the proper accreditation. Many colleges do not accept all the homeschool programs. Test Prep Plan to spend time your junior year on SAT or ACT test prep. There are many options online, local area test prep centers, or private test tutoring. Community Service Many schools have community service hours requirements. Find out if your schools of choice have requirements for the application process.

4. PLAN YOUR TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE Tournament planning is part of your long-term developmental plan. You should have a planning meeting with your coach and parents every six months to plan your tournament schedule. How to Plan Your Tournaments 1. Play a variety of levels of tournaments. You should be winning 60%-65% of your matches. 2. Play the tournaments where the coaches will be able to see you compete. 3. Play a smaller tournament before a national tournament so you are match ready in the bigger event. 4. Make sure you aren't playing too many tournaments. You need breaks in the calendar to continue developing your game. You should have two breaks a year with 3-4 weeks of no tournaments. Think About Academics Make sure you look at your academic schedule before you sign up for tournaments. Don't play a big tournament the weekend before exams when you need to study or the weekend after when you haven't had the time to prepare on the court. Showcase Camps The showcase camps are an excellent way for players to meet coaches and be on a college campus but they do not replace a coach seeing you in action competing in a tournament.

5. Build Your Resume While your tournament results will speak for you as a player, your resume will be the first insight a coach has into you as a student-athlete. Having an online or ONE PAGE pdf version that contains all of the necessary information is extremely important to start this process off on the right foot. The information must be accessible and easy to navigate. You don t want a coach to have to go out of their way to find the information they need to know about you. Their time is very limited and valuable. What to Include in Your Resume 1. Name, Birthdate, Home address 2. High School Name and Grad Year 3. Academic Information, GPA, and any test scores 4. Current Sectional, USTA, UTR, and ITF rankings 5. High School Tennis Stats (if you play HS Tennis) 6. Highlight your past tournament results 7. Upcoming tournament schedule 8. Link to an online video. Be Brief! 9. All extracurricular activities (community service, etc.) 10. Your coach's contact information. 11. Your contact Information with email and cell number, NOT your parent's contact info.

6. Clean Up Your Social Media You may be a top recruit and an honor student with a good heart, but for those who don't know you personally, first impressions are found online. Some high schoolers may not think their online image is a big deal, coaches and colleges DO! 1. Make Sure All Posts Say Something Positive. We know how tempting it can be to post anything and everything on social media. However, a good piece of advice is to make sure every image you post represents something good about you! 2. Stay away from posting anything related to partying, drinking, nudity, profanity and excess negativity. Just don t do it. Literally. Ever. In no way is this ever a good idea. 3. Keep In Mind Private isn't Always Private. Keep in mind that anyone can look at your social media profiles, even when set to private. Many corporations have access to tools and programs that can easily get around privacy settings.

7. Contact Schools The better-ranked players can be more selective in the schools they contact, but the majority of players need to contact as many coaches as possible. 1. NEVER HAVE ONE OF YOUR PARENTS WRITE TO A COACH. You are the one the coach is recruiting, so they want to hear from you directly. (If the relationship develops and it appears that you might be attending that college, your parents will have time to contact the coaching staff.) 2. Make It Personal- DO NOT mass email a bunch of coaches. This comes across as lazy and shows the coach that you didn t take your time to personalize for them. Make sure to address the letter: Dear Coach [[last name]]. 3. Provide Contact Information for Yourself and Your Coaches. Nothing is worse for a college coach than to have to track down your coach s e-mail or phone number. By having both an e-mail address and a phone number listed after his/her name, it allows for the college coach to quickly e-mail or call your private and/or high school coach to follow up. 4. Always Include Basic Information about yourself such as grad year, high school, athletic history, GPA, SAT/ACT scores. 5. BE BRIEF! Coaches at all levels receive dozens and dozens of e-mails/letters from high school-aged players. 6. DETAIL IS IMPORTANT! Be sure to use spell check and PROPER GRAMMAR. Grammarly.com is a great website to begin your edits.

8. Visit Schools College visits are when the recruiting process begins to come together. Make sure to take a campus tour, visit a class, and meet the players on the team. After the visit, you and the coaches will both have a better idea if you and their program are the right fit. Due to an updated NCAA policy on April 2018, college coaches and athletic staff can meet with student-athletes on campus after September 1 of their Junior year. Plan in Advance 1. Plan a trip to see multiple schools. 2. Check the school schedules for the week you want to visit. (Campus isn't all that exciting during exam week.) 3. Keep a journal so you can remember things you liked and disliked about a school. 4. Do your research and find out the academic majors offered in your area of interest. 5. Sign up for a tour through the admissions department if the coach is not able to organize a tour. 6. Research the average ranking and UTR for the players on the team.

9. Ask the Right Questions Tips for Meeting the Coach: 1. Turn off your cell phone and leave it in your purse or backpack. 2. Look the coach in the eye and shake their hand. 3. Sit up straight in the chair. 4. Be enthusiastic 5. Do your research on the school and the tennis program. Come prepared and have questions to ask the coach! 6. Speak for yourself, don't look at your parents for questions or answers. 7. Be gracious. Coaches are very busy so thank them for taking time out of their schedule to meet with you. 8. Send a handwritten thank you note following the visit. Ask the Right Questions: 1. What is a typical week of practice and workouts? 2. What are the admissions requirements? 3. Where do I fit on your recruiting list? 4. How do you see me contributing to your team? 5. Are there common majors for the tennis players? 6. How do you handle tournaments outside of school? 7. Are your players able to do a semester abroad? 8. Do you have summer tennis requirements? 9. I am interested in "XYZ" major, what does that look like here at your school? 10. What information do you need about me to know if I am a right fit for your team? 11. What are your expectations of your team members? 12. Is there academic support for the student-athletes?

10. Find the Right Fit The ultimate goal through the college recruiting process is to find the right fit with both the school and the tennis program. Even if you take a lot of visits, do the research and ask all the right questions, it can still be a tough decision. 1. Am I compatible with the coaches and the team? 2. Will I get playing time? 3. What are the coach's expectations? 4. Does the school have a major in my area of interest? 5. Am I comfortable with the geographic location of the school? 6. Am I comfortable with the size of the school and the size of the classrooms? 7. Will I get the opportunity to play tournaments outside of school? 8. Will I have the ability to do a semester abroad? 9. Am I comfortable with the daily time commitment for the tennis? 10. Lastly- Is this the right school for me even if I end up not playing tennis all four years. Adapted from Brandi Jackson Golf Recruiting 101