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By: Daniel Z. Kane

Are you a high school athlete interested in intercollegiate athletics? If so, here are a few things you should know.

Be realistic. Not many high school athletes can play basketball at Florida or football at USC. To find out where you might be able to play, speak with your coach and other objective adults. Then, take your list to your counselor to see which colleges are a good academic fit for you and to see if there are others you might want to consider as well.

Consider all important factors when building a list of colleges to contact. Don't choose a college for its athletic programs alone. Academics should, in fact, be your first consideration. In addition, location, size, campus environment, co-curricular opportunities, and special programs are among the factors you need to factor in to your decision.

Don't rule out colleges simply because you have not heard much about them. Mount Union, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Kenyon are three colleges you may not have heard of, but all have distinguished themselves in athletics. There are dozens more like them in every sport you can name.

There are many kinds of scholarships and financial aid other than athletic scholarships. And, there are lots of good colleges with excellent athletic programs at levels other than NCAA Division I.

Don't forget, even for a minute, that achieving your athletic goals is not nearly as important as leaving college with a good education and a degree. And, leaving college with a degree will not mean you have gotten a good education if you have selected courses only to remain eligible for athletics. Sadly, there are coaches (including some well known names) who appear to be more interested in wins and losses than the welfare of the student-athletes on their teams. Be on the alert for them.

Be sure you learn the rules governing athletic recruiting. And, be certain you and the college coaches with whom you come into contact adhere to them strictly. Go to your high school coach if you have questions or concerns.

Too learn as much as possible about the colleges you are considering, be sure to be in touch with admissions offices. They will provide you with much more comprehensive publications and information than you are likely to get from coaches. Coaches, to nobody's surprise, are very focused on athletics, while good admissions counselors are likely to know far more about academics, campus life, student support services, etc.

Don't worry to much about listed college costs. What it will actually cost you may be far less.

Coaches receive lots of inquiries, so you may not receive an immediate reply to your letter or email. Thus, don't be too impatient. However, if you've not heard from a coach you contacted within a month, try again. Be aware that some coaches will not be interested in you and may therefore never respond.

Even if a coach does respond to you, it does not mean his/her level of interest in you is high. Some coaches (or their secretaries) put everybody who contacts them on a list to receive communication in the interest of being polite or because they feel they have nothing to lose. Many coaches even have a list of student-athletes that are second third, and lower choices; students to be recruited only until those higher on their lists sign a letter of intent. With that in mind, your best bet is to keep all options open by communicating with every coach who may be interested in you until you have a firm, final offer.

After you do commit to a college or university, be sure you contact and sincerely express your gratitude to the coaches who have been communicating with you. It's the right thing to do, and it might help a coach remember you if you later decide to transfer from the first college you attend.

Article Source: http://www.yesparenting.com/articles

Daniel Z. Kane, now a university dean, is a former high school coach. You can find lots of helpful information on his websites about college how to get recruited by college coaches , and online colleges . Click here to get your own unique version of this article.

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