Congratulations, senior athlete, for being recruited by a NCAA Division I or II athletic program and being offered an athletic scholarship. It’s quite an honor to be rewarded for all your hard work and effort.
Signing the National Letter of Intent is a huge undertaking for a seventeen or eighteen-year-old. Coach Manning, the head baseball coach at Chaminade High School, makes sure his players do not go through this decision alone. I was lucky enough to talk to several college coaches, thanks to Coach Manning, who gave me crucial advice about this whole process.
If you are unable to have a coach help you throughout this process give beRecruited.com and NCSAsports.org a try. With over thousands of college coaches to connect with, these sites allow you to communicate with coaches and give you tips and tricks about getting recruited.
First off, you should remember that the primary reason you are going to college is to receive a quality education. You should ask yourself: “If I didn’t play a sport here, would I be happy?” If you are not completely satisfied with the school, you may not enjoy living there for the next four years.
If you are satisfied with the school’s social atmosphere, you will then have to review some other factors as well. It is vital to evaluate your financial situation. Which scholarships were you offered and where? Can you afford to attend without a scholarship? This is a decision that weighs heavily on your parents as well.
Don’t forget about your role on the team either. Are you willing to be a bench player, starter, backup, or utility player? You could play at the Division I level, but only be given a chance to play when you become a junior, or you could start as a freshman, but at a Division II school. With offers from different levels of schools, it is best to sign with a school where you fit perfectly.
After you’ve found the university that suits you, it’s time to sign. The early signing period begins on November 13, when student athletes are able to officially commit to their chosen Division I or II institutions.
Many athletes sign the Nation Letter of Intent without ever reading the fine print. When you sign the document, you’re officially guaranteeing that you will attend the institution for one academic year in exchange for the institution awarding financial aid in addition to athletics aid. If you realize you made a bad decision and want to withdraw from the school or transfer elsewhere before finishing one academic year, there will be penalties that will affect your future eligibility to play college sports.
The National Letter of Intent must be accompanied by a financial aid agreement from the university. Be sure that the financial aid agreement lists the same amount of money as the athletic scholarship which was offered during the recruiting process. You don’t want to get tricked into losing money that you were promised from the coach and the school.
Once you have inked your commitment, that’s it. You are officially a college athlete. Your months of hard work and dedication have finally paid off. Go ahead and buy some school gear; you’re officially part of the team.