Recruit my kid?

no

Again wrote:

My kid is a sophomore. Ran 4:42 relay mile and 445 open mile as a freshman. If he gets to 430's will he be recruitable in division 1 or Ivies?

it all depends on the junior year times. i was running 5:53 as a freshman. but then i hit a growth spurt and was down to 4:18 by junior year. i was recruited by cornell and the university of pennsylvania, but decided to go to the state school down the road from me instead. and this all depends on his grades of course. other division 1s- it depends on the school and conference. some mid-majors are crawling with 430-types. others wont recruit anyone over 420.

-ronnie

For most ivies he'd probably need to be under 4:20, which is possible given those freshman-year times. Keep in mind that ivies don't give athletic scholarships.

Overall, most D1 schools will want 4:25 or better, with some being much more selective than that. A scholarship-earning time would be closer to 4:15. There are probably some mid-majors that take 4:30+ guys, but they won't be on scholarship.

There are some kids who can give it all and die just after crossing the finish line. There are others who cross the finish line 5-8sec later and you don't see any signs of strain on their faces. Who do you think has more potential? Who is going to get injured first?

A good coach looks at what gets that kid there. Is it form and good running economy? Or, is it guts and heart? Some would go with the latter whereas others will take the former. It is good to have a portfolio. The guy who runs on guts alone is definitely the more likely to get injured first.

Get close enough. Demonstrate strength of character, self discipline and willingness to accept a coach's teachings. Try to evidence those things and you will put yourself in a good position to be recruited. In the end, the decision is theirs. As human beings, they too have a right to err. Do that enough and they are out of a job. Even if one errs, there will be others who will not when given the same information. That is why you should pursue more than one direction.

Good info thx. Is it worth creating a soccer or football-type highlight video or something similar, or will it all be based on times?

All based on times. I would have HIM email some coaches during XC next year if he has good times. Some will email him back others will not but try again in at the end of the season.

A back of the back D1 school would let him walk on. I doubt he would get any money. A mid-teir D2 would give him a little money.

I doubt an Ivy league school would touch him with 4:30s for a mile time.

Again wrote:

My kid is a sophomore. Ran 4:42 relay mile and 445 open mile as a freshman. If he gets to 430's will he be recruitable in division 1 or Ivies?

Sub 4:15 is needed to get any decent money from most D1 schools, and those that post times range anywhere from 4:40 to about 4:16 (some slower) as "scholarship standard".

Depaul, for example lists 4:16.

Florida State - 4:10

Harvard - 4:10 (no athletic scholarship money there)

High Point - 4:16 for scholarship standard, 4:12 for target recruits

Illinois State - 4:15

Indiana - 4:10

Kennesaw State - 4:10 (target recruits)

Loyola Chicago - 4:10

Norfolk State - 4:15

North Carolina State - 4:13 scholarship standard, 4:08 target recruits

Northern Arizona - 4:12 scholarship standard, 4:05 target recruits

Northwestern State - 4:20

Purdue - 4:12

Rutgers - 4:13 scholarship standard, 4:05 target recruits

Sam Houston State - 4:15 (large scholarship), 4:22 (partial scholarship)

Texas State - 4:16

Ohio State - 4:10

Troy University - 4:13, 4:10 (Gold Standard)

University of Arizona - 4:12

Cal Berkely - 4:08, 405 (Key Target)

Miami (FL) - 4:12

University of Missouri - 4:12

Missouri (Kansas City) - 4:20

North Carolina - 4:12, 4:08 (target recruits)

North Florida - 4:17

South Florida - 4:10

University of Southern California (USC) - 4:04 (no cross country for men)

Utah Valley - 4:20.51 (Sr.) 4:23.75 (Jr.) 4:27.03 (So.) 4:30.27 (Fr.)

Wake Forest - 4:07.5 (full), 4:14 (partial)

Western Carolina - 4:24

Western Illinois - 4:20

4:42 as a freshman has potential. Some get way faster when starting there and some not. Good luck.

D2 is easier, and NAIA possible too.

Should have read 4:04 to 4:16.

Just a heads up that many of these schools will give you consideration if you're within ~5s of their standard. I know several kids who were either recruited or received significant admissions help as preferred walk ons at several of the ~4:10 - 4:15 schools with PRs closer to 4:20.

I'd concur that 4:42 as a freshman is a very strong starting point.

You are correct. If a school isn't getting any distance runners and wants some, they will bend those times a bit.

I would definitely keep putting pressure on the 15 year old just to make sure they get recruited. At no point should he enjoy running, make sure all his success is outcome based and focused on whether or not his times are potentially good enough for a D1 Ivy. It's never too soon to start thinking about college running.

3.50 wrote:

I would definitely keep putting pressure on the 15 year old just to make sure they get recruited. At no point should he enjoy running, make sure all his success is outcome based and focused on whether or not his times are potentially good enough for a D1 Ivy. It's never too soon to start thinking about college running.

Ah, dude, it's fair for a parent to want to know what times equal recruitment. Doesn't mean any pressure is being put on the kid.

Flagpole wrote:

3.50 wrote:

I would definitely keep putting pressure on the 15 year old just to make sure they get recruited. At no point should he enjoy running, make sure all his success is outcome based and focused on whether or not his times are potentially good enough for a D1 Ivy. It's never too soon to start thinking about college running.

Ah, dude, it's fair for a parent to want to know what times equal recruitment. Doesn't mean any pressure is being put on the kid.

I'm sure if you gave the coach 20 dollars then any problem can be worked out.

3.50 wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

Ah, dude, it's fair for a parent to want to know what times equal recruitment. Doesn't mean any pressure is being put on the kid.

I'm sure if you gave the coach 20 dollars then any problem can be worked out.

No one here needed to be put in their place.

Depending on his marks. His marks will get him more $$$ than his running time.

He only runs the mile?

What about XC?

Schools want athletes who will compete in multiple events and throughout the seasons. A one trick pony will generate minimal interest unless he's breaking 4 min in that mile.

Again wrote:

Good info thx. Is it worth creating a soccer or football-type highlight video or something similar, or will it all be based on times?

It will all be based on times. Instead of a highlight video, a much better recruiting tool would be a series of race results showing consistent improvement over time, and the ability to run fast times at key races.

In other words, imagine a coach is faced with the following athletes:

Runner A: ran 4:45 as a Freshman, 4:35 as a sophomore, then Junior year he ran 4:16 in one race in March, and the rest of his times for the season were in the 4:25 to 4:30 range.

Runner B: ran 4:45 as a Freshman, 4:35 as a sophomore, then Junior year he steadily progressed from 4:30 in his first race to 4:20 in his last race of the season, with a slight improvement almost every year.

Most coaches would choose runner B with his 4:20 PR over Runner A with his 4:16 PR. Coaches are leery of a "flash in the pan" race. Not because they don't believe the time is real, but because you don't know what you will get with that type of runner. Runner B's consistency bodes well for scoring points at multiple invites, conference, regionals, and then maybe nationals as he improves. Also, many runners who had one outlier of a time don't show much improvement in college, as a general rule (there are obviously exceptions).

Likewise, showing a progression of PRs is a positive as well. Again, they would pick Runner B if the two runners had PRs from each year of:

Runner A

Freshman year: 4:40

Sophomore year: 4:24

Junior Year: 4:20

Runner B:

Freshman year: 4:55

Sophomore year: 4:35

Junior Year: 4:22

In this case, Runner B may be slightly slower, but the coaches might fear that Runner A is reaching his peak already, while Runner B shows he is still in that rapid improvement phase.

At any rate, your kid ran 4:45 as a freshman, that shows some solid potential, but it is really impossible to predict his future. Just give him positive encouragement and let him do his best. In a year he can start thinking about if he even still wants to run in college and which schools might be a good fit for him.

Does anyone have a list if girl recruiting times?