My college athletes are setting best times and performances all over the place in time trials I have been setting up within the team. We have these time trials taped and in some cases live streamed to parents. Some of my recruits have also sent me video of time trials. It has been especially important in field events.

I love time trials in all events. I get to control all the parameters, weather, pace, attempts, etc. As a coach I love being in control.

nfm

I really appreciate it.

I loved hearing your son's story too... Gymnastics is such an amazing preparation for so many sports. Glad to hear he's doing so well.

Wouldn’t this summer and Junior year be enough time to notch competitive times early enough to be recruited? I also expect that he should improve over the next year, unless he’s an extreme early bloomer. I could see if this were football or basketball and the concern is capturing game film or being seen in action. But track seems pure enough that if you can get on a good track in a competition that pushes you when you’re at or near a peak, and notch a good time before all of the scholarships are given out (still time I would think), you should be okay.

Again, I’m wondering out loud. I was a decent runner but only marginally recruited and not an expert. There may be good reason why I’m wrong and sophomore times are in fact somehow critical.

Counterpoint to the above re traveling concerns - I flew east across the country last week (out of necessity due to family health emergency) and there were about 20 people on the entire plane. I’m pretty extreme in being Covid risk averse, but I double masked and wore a shield and felt safe. Once Spring break hits planes will be more full, but that will be counterbalanced (I hope) by less Covid per capita by that point.

Was that the times from sophomore year were important because the athletic departments at the most academically elite universities wanted her in "athletes of interest" queue very early. So she was fielding a lot of calls and visits early ... Whenever it was that the coaches were allowed to talk to the students.

I'm a former admissions officer, and my take on it at the time was that it was helpful for the athletic department in the relationship with the admissions office. And the coaches all seem pretty keen on fixing her interest early that year. She had a couple universities that asked her to apply early admit with the idea that they would be able to make sure she was admitted. She opted not to do that because it was too much pressure too early. She was a very good student, But I'm guessing admission at the most elite universities would have been a long shot without the athletic talent.

Maybe I'm overthinking the situation based on that... The wonderful thing about track is it's a number in a box.
🙂

Others on here may know more history.

I have a distance-running HS junior. My observation is that recruiting interest for '22s intensified once coaches settled out their '21 commits.

Another observation is that coaches from elite universities want to get a sense early on that they're not wasting their time on athletes who may not have the required academic profile or who want scholarships that are not going to be on offer. However, I don't think formal admissions vetting begins until after junior year concludes. Perhaps this was different back in time.

I agree with many points other posters have made. Additionally, in my view, competing in the east coast invitational holds a lot of appeal. It's probably a well-scouted event that helps coaches find athletes, supplementing a process that requires a lot of outreach from the athletes.

Provided the athlete and a chaperone don't perceive themselves as high-risk for COVID, I would be in favor of competing as long as the athlete can go into the event in good racing form -- not to be taken for granted given the limited opportunities to compete over the past year.

It's been very hard for high school athletes to find competitions for track and field on the west coast for the past 10 months. That may shift now that California and a few other western states have allowed sports to proceed with their Spring track seasons. There will also be USATF (and AAU) youth competitions this summer with good quality talent at a point in time where the travel risk should be lower.

I'm telling my athletes to keep training and focus on the late Spring and Summer competitions. (Note: I am also very risk adverse and not comfortable at the present time with long duration flights...but that's me. They might be less concerned.)

If he's considering competing in college, have him set up his NCAA clearinghouse profile now and keep his Athletic.net or other online results bio up to date. Make sure his best performances are posted online by the competitions and send those to schools of interest. As was mentioned, no college coach will call him during So. year due to recruiting rules.

Suggest he talk with his High School Athletic Conference for some sound common sense advice

What you do as a Sophomore may get you noticed, but it isn't what will get you a scholarship, or partial.

Next year there will be plenty of opportunities to lay down some times.

I would not travel across the country to attend a meet under these conditions. Stay home, stay safe, and focus on training.