Recruiting Plan for Spring/Summer
Tour College Campuses – A great way to determine what you want and do not want in a school is by visiting as many campuses as you can. Most universities offer free guided campus tours to anyone. These tours will allow you to see on-campus areas such as dorms, dining halls, classrooms, student recreation center, etc.
- Division I - If you visit a campus on or after August 1 prior to your junior year of high school and it is not a Dead Period, Division I coaches can meet with you on campus. You are also allowed to take as many Unofficial Visits as you would like while you are limited to five Official Visits, and you can only take one visit per institution.
- Division II - Coaches can have in person contact with a prospective student-athlete starting June 15th after their sophomore year and prospective student-athletes are allowed to starting taking official visits at this time as well including one visit per school, with unlimited total visits to Division 2 institutions.
- Division III – Prospective student-athletes can go on unofficial visits at any point during high school, are not restricted in the number of unofficial visits, and can have on campus contact at any time. Prospective student-athletes can begin taking official visits January 1st of their junior year and are allowed one official visit per college.
- NAIA - There are no recruiting rules for NAIA schools including no dead periods, no recruiting calendars, no contact restrictions, and unofficial/official visits are unlimited.
Be a Spectator at a College Event – There are many opportunities to watch a college event in Florida between our local universities and many out-of-state schools hosting tournaments and post-season events such as Conference Championships and NCAA Championships.
- Division I Women’s Golf Regional, Hosted by Florida State at Seminole Legacy May 9-11th
- Division III Men’s Golf Championship is being held at Mission Inn Resort on May 10-13th
- Division II Women’s Sunshine State Conference Championship at Plantation Bay Golf & CC, April 11-13th
- Division I American Athletic Conference Championship (Men’s Golf) at Southern Hills Plantation, April 22-24th
Plan Your Tournament Schedule for the Spring and Summer – look for competitive events that will allow you to play in a strong field and on yardages that are comparable to college events. USGA qualifiers for the US Open, US Amateur Championships, US Boys’/Girls’, etc. are great opportunities to play top quality courses and compete against collegiate players and pros alike. In addition to FJT events and boys/girls state championships, another option is to look for tournaments hosted at universities you are potentially interested in as this will allow you to spend a few days around campus and the tournament will likely be on the school’s home golf course.
Academics - Being a student-athlete is very challenging and requires discipline and time management skills. Coaches will place a lot of value on your academics and will look closely at what kind of student you are in high school, as they need to be able to trust that you can handle the required demands of balancing school and golf successfully. Finish the spring semester on s strong note! Also, if you are a junior in high school, sign up for either the SAT or ACT if you haven’t already and visit the NCAA Eligibility Center to create an account.
Consistent Contact With Coaches – maintaining steady contact with coaches on your target list is a vital part of the recruiting process. Be sure to:
- Include graduation year in all correspondence as well as contact info
- When sending tournament results be sure to include the tournament name, your scores for each round, and yardage. Include ALL results, not just your good scores
- Share your upcoming tournament schedule
- Follow team social media pages and tournament schedule, and send a message congratulating the coach on a strong finish for example
- Let coaches know what you are working on in your swing and also give them your swing instructor’s contact information
- Share TrackMan/FlightScope numbers – if you have access to a launch monitor, send coaches data points such as carry yardage, swing speed, angle of attack, club path, etc.
