Contributor Rick Paine is an expert on the college recruiting process. He is also the Director of Swimming at American College Connection (ACC). AAC is a SwimSwam Partner.
Scenario:
You are just starting your junior year in high school and on September 1 you received tons of emails from college coaches. Its all fun and games until they start pressing you to take an official visit.
A few days before all you had to worry about was what you were going to wear on your first day at school and now you have to make some life changing decisions. This is the reality in the new age of recruiting for swimming and diving.
You only get 5 official visits to D-I schools (unlimited for D-II, D-III and NAIA) so you have to choose wisely.
Before you commit to a trip, try to get an idea if the school will be affordable for your parents. Some coaches will be forthcoming and some won’t, but at least ask the question.
So, how do you NOT commit to an official visit without turning off the coaches?
This is the perfect time for you to sell them on your potential. Let them know what your goals are for the year and that you are training very seriously to reach those goals so you have to meet with your coach to go over your training and meet schedule before you commit to a visit.
Remind them what you like about their school and swim program and that you are seriously interested, but you have to talk with your coach first.
When you go on official visits be sure to take some workouts with you and let the coaches know that you will need to find some pool time while you are there. This reiterates how serious you are about achieving you goals.
Be sure and keep ACC informed of your official visits.
Remember, it is far better to be overwhelmed than underwhelmed. Enjoy all of the attention….you will never be this popular again.
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