As the upper school’s fall sports season kicks off, several athletes in the senior class, who have dedicated their high school years to their sport, push their athletic journey forward — past high school and into college. For most athletes, the multi-year commitment to transitioning to collegiate sports remains a grueling, yet eventually, rewarding process.

This process begins with recruiting, in which representatives from colleges from across the country attend games and meets to scout the best high school athletes in their respective sports. These can start as early as an athlete’s sophomore year, which happened with tennis player Emily Novikov (12), who committed to Georgetown University earlier this year, and is a five-star recruit according to Tennis Recruiting Network.  

“I think [recruiting] started in June of my sophomore summer,” Emily said. “That’s when schools really began talking to me, and going to my tournaments.”

When a college looks at an athlete, they begin reaching out, aiming to recruit as many of the best players as possible. Eventually, athletes who receive scholarship or prioritized entry offers consider visits to schools, and they ultimately pick between their offers to find the best fit. 

Track and field runner and jumper Andrew Fu (12) began thinking about college recruiting throughout his high school years, and while the pandemic caused him to miss part of his freshman and sophomore seasons, the time off allowed him to work on his game.

“I thought to myself, maybe I can grind [track and field] over quarantine,” Andrew said. “Maybe I can get recruited to a good college. After my junior season, that’s when I started contacting coaches, seeing a lot of interests and sending transcripts. And now, schools are flying me out to see if I’d be a good fit.”

Each trip to a college campus an athlete takes is referred to as a “visit.” Some of these visits are official, like Andrew’s, and in that case, teams will fly out athletes and pay for their stay. During unofficial visits, athletes can still visit the campus, but nothing will be paid for by the university.

Offers and interests value highly in the athletic community, but sometimes, finding the right fit in a college can be more difficult than receiving the offers themselves. Varsity girls soccer player Lexi Wong (12), who committed to Pitzer College for soccer, agrees with this sentiment.

“It was really hard for me [to settle with a school],” Lexi said. “There’s not a lot of good D-3s on the West Coast. It’s super stressful, but I’m glad that I don’t have to do applications [now].”

After the process, some wish they made different decisions to make the process easier. Looking back, Emily reflects on advice she has for younger athletes. 

“The biggest piece of advice I’d give is to not be afraid to reach out to coaches,” Emily said. “What do you have to lose by sending an email?”

E-mails, along with other forms of communication to coaches, like social media and text, are large parts of recruiting, as are long hours training for one’s sport. Emily highlights that communicating and attending large meets and tournaments can make the difference in recruiting. 

“I was looking at D-3s when Georgetown started talking to me,” Emily said. “The coach told me to go to a big tournament; I went, and that’s where they got their best look at me. It’s just right place, right time.”