College Search Process for Student-Athletes – Importance of Creating an Athletic Profile

Written by: Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

Are you a high school student-athlete who desires to play at the collegiate level? If so, depending on your respective sport, an essential self-marketing tool is to create an Athletic Profile, a website link which you can directly email to college coaches.

If you participate in a “timed sport,” such as swimming or track, you may not necessarily need an Athletic Profile. However, if you play a “subjective sport,” where college coaches need to evaluate your athletic ability, an Athletic Profile could help you stand out.

An Athletic Profile typically includes the following:

· Home Page: Short biography of yourself, including major academic and athletic accomplishments

o   Note: This is just an overview – be sure to make it brief.

· Contact Page: Lists your address, email, cell phone and parent contact information

o   Note:  It is recommended to password protect this particular page so that your contact information remains private. Be sure to let coaches know what that password is.

· Academic Page: Includes GPA, standardized test scores (i.e. SAT and/or ACT), academic honors/awards, and a link to your transcript

o   Note: Uploading your transcript helps college coaches to facilitate the “Early Read” process (if applicable).

· Athletic/Stats Page: Highlights your athletic statistics/honors/awards for both your high school and club teams

o   Note: Be sure to keep accurate records of your athletic achievements as soon as you begin high school.

·  Schedule Page: Links to high school and club team schedules of games/tournaments in which you plan to participate, including individual showcase schedules, too (i.e. Bay State Games)

o   Note: Be sure to indicate which games on your schedule are against your most competitive opponents so that college coaches can best evaluate your play.

· Video Page:  Link to your Hudl highlight video (if applicable) as well as 1-2 full-length games

o   Note: Coaches do not need fancy, music-filled highlight video – raw footage is fine – they just need to see you play. Remember: videos are more of “the hook” to have coaches come see you play live.

· References Page: List contact information for your high school, club, and skills coaches

o   Note:  You should include a quote from each coach – this can add great value especially if your sport is not “stat-driven.”

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of April 15, 2019): What is an "Early Read" in the College Recruitment Process