How to Find the Perfect College (and Compete on their Track Team) Part 3
Based on the last two blog posts, you should now have a good list of schools (10 or so) that are interesting to you and fit your "type." If you need to go back over those two blog posts and videos, please click here for part one:
and click here for part two:
Now you might be thinking that it's time to reach out and contact the track coaches at those schools, introduce yourself, tell the coaches about how awesome you are, how far you throw, and all that fun stuff.
Not so fast.
Here's the deal. Just like in the dating world when you're trying to find a suitable companion, you are going to have a lot better chance of finding someone you will want to spend time with if you are both on the same level. If you're a 7 and there's a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model that you want to ask out...that might not work out for you. Is that harsh? Maybe. But I'm a realist.
You need to realize that if you're a 7 in the throwing world, a school that's a 10 (Oregon, Arizona State, Texas, Penn State, LSU, etc.) probably isn't going to be that interested in you. But if you're a 7 and you want to compete for a college program, you need to find a place that will be compatible with your skill level and throwing ability.
Check out the video below to learn a little more about compatibility and some strategies to see if you will be able to contribute at the schools that are on your list.
So to recap what the video is saying:
1) Find the athletic websites of the schools that are on your short list.
2) Go to the track and field part of those websites and start reading recent articles from the past 2 years.
3) Look at their school records and get the big-picture view of the type of athletes they bring in each year.
4) Make a hard decision whether you can contribute to the team immediately or in the short future.
Then (and only then) is when you should start reaching out to the coaches to see if you would be a good fit. In the next blog post and video next Tuesday we will go over how to reach out to coaches, what information to include when you do reach out to coaches, and other ways to stay on their radar and start making them interested in you!
