What are three things student-athletes can do over the holidays to improve their college recruitment chances?

Most students spend the festive season taking full advantage of the holiday spirit but what can you be doing as a prospective student-athlete to fully maximise this free time?

These 3 steps will help to get closer to being recruited to the college of your dreams.

1. ATHLETICS : Refine your athletic skills & stay active

Depending on when your sport is in-season, the holidays can be a prime period to improve your technique, correct any biomechanical imbalances, work on injury prevention and refine any pain points in your performance. Maintaining a level of fitness is also important.

After 2-3 weeks of inactivity, your maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max, the prime measure of your aerobic fitness) will have declined by anything from four to 20 per cent.

2. ACADEMICS : Study for the standardised exams

Being out of school not only means that you’ve got some extra time up your sleeve but that you can put more focus on outside learning. So, why not put that to good use and get the jump on your standardised test preparation? Your candidacy as an athlete has two different layers: athletic and academic.

Believe it or not, it’s just as important to be performing well academically, with one of the main gauges of your ability being the standardised exams, such as the ACT and SAT. Read our blog to see which test is best suited for you.

Studying and tutoring for these exams are relevant strategies to achieve strong scores. Check out here to see how to ace the SAT.

If you need some help getting your grades up you should explore our Online Tutoring options.

3. ADMIN : Get your recruitment admin out of the way

Doing admin is not usually described as a ‘fun’ way to spend your vacation, but when it comes to recruitment, there are some important tasks you need to complete throughout your journey and many of these can be completed during the holidays when you have more time.

Items on your ‘to do list’ you can check off during the holidays include:

• Registering and starting to build your profile on the NCAA Eligibility Center.
• Sourcing in-competition footage for your recruitment video.
• Updating your athletics CV (Your athletics CV needs to tell a compelling story of the competitions you’ve competed in, the results you and/or your team achieved, up-to-date personal best times/distances and any other significant achievements.)
• Getting references from your coaches. (The holidays are a perfect time to start asking for and receiving references from past coaches. References are often a mandatory part of the recruitment process and can make all the difference to your candidacy. For your current coaches, it’s important to get references close to the time of application, so the information is up to date.)

So, in summary, the three A’s - atheltics, academics and admin work - are key to successful recruitment, and all can be progressed during vacation time when you are free from the routine and pressure of school. The main point to remember is that you should pay attention to all three equally. After all, a well-rounded and organised student will stand out above others who appear less ‘prepared’ - and as such less enthusiastic - about the recruitment/application process.

For more information contact Crimson’s athletic team who have had major success in helping athletes gain recruitment to the IVY league and many other sporting schools around the USA.

Good luck!