Getting Colleges Interested in HS Athletes

My daughter is an outstanding high-school athlete. She would like to play soccer in college. Unfortunately, we don't know how she should go about getting colleges to look at her or to consider her for an athletic scholarship. -- Seeking Information
Answer: Your daughter needs to inform her coach of her interest in playing soccer in college. Because the process of contacting college coaches and following all of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) recruiting rules is not easy, she needs the coach's help in getting her started on the right track. She should also talk to recent high-school graduates who are now playing a sport at the college level to get their advice.
If your daughter is truly an exceptional soccer player, her high-school coach is likely to talk to you about her playing soccer in college, and college scouts will be coming to watch her play. However, you and your daughter must take the ultimate responsibility of handling the recruiting process. Be sure to find out what areas of recruitment her coach is willing to be responsible for.
You are going to need a video highlighting your child's playing skills as well as game statistics to showcase her skills to college coaches. Start to work on this now. You and your daughter also need to find out all the NCAA rules on the recruiting of athletes, academic requirements for playing sports, financial aid and scholarships. You should begin by studying the current Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete. You can find it online at www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=263, or call 800-638-3731.