Andover High School’s athletes face a vastly different college application process than their peers, navigating the complex world of sports recruitment that involves early outreach, performance assessments, and competitive pressure.

The recruitment process starts early, often around sophomore or junior year, and can be overwhelming, according to Kerry Cashman, the assistant athletic director at Andover High School. “The heaviest amount of recruitment is happening in sophomore and junior years,” Cashman explained. “It really depends on the sport and skill level, and some sports can start as early as middle school.” 

The process itself can be daunting, as senior swimmer Amelia Barron described. “It was a little weird at first because no one really tells you [what to do]… so I just started emailing random coaches,” she said. Athletes are often left to initiate contact with potential schools on their own, attending recruitment camps or sending game footage when campus visits aren’t feasible. Barron will be headed to Pomona College next fall to compete on its swim team. 

The recruitment process also requires resilience, as athletes often face rejection from coaches. “Some schools just didn’t write back, or they’d write back and say no,” said Barron. “But honestly, just don’t get discouraged because there is a place for you somewhere.” 

Senior and lacrosse goalie Addison Glavin, who will be headed to Colby-Sawyer College, also emphasized the pressure of maintaining communication with coaches. “Reaching out to coaches is really difficult… you just think, ‘They’re going to hate me, they’re going to hate me.’” 

But both Glavin and Barron agreed that if they had any advice for students going through the sports recruitment process in the future, it would be to have confidence and reach out to colleges as much as possible. As senior Jed Gallaudet put it, “The worst [colleges] can say is no.” 

For some athletes, the sports recruitment process can reduce stress around traditional application requirements but adds new forms of pressure, both during and after recruitment. “Once you commit, there’s a little more pressure,” said Gallaudet, who will be part of the cross country and track and field programs at Colby College in the fall. “Now everybody knows you have the skill to compete at the next level.” 

Gallaudet also reflected on the pressure of the recruitment process: “[The process] was time-consuming, and it can also put pressure on races that maybe can take away from some of the fun that the sport brings. It sometimes feels like coaches see you as a number.” 

Cashman, who was also on the other side of the recruitment process as a college basketball coach at UMass Lowell, emphasized that coaches look for much more than athletic stats: “How did they handle mistakes that they made or their teammates might have made? What was their demeanor on the bench? How did they interact with their coaches? Those were hugely important,” Cashman explained. “I don’t think high school students necessarily know that… they think it’s about how many points they score or how fast their times are. They want kids who are high-quality, high-caliber, and just really good kids.”

For students like senior and field hockey player Lucy Baker, the school for you might not be the one you first expect. Baker, who is committed to Kenyon College, shared, “I thought the recruitment process was already over when Kenyon reached out. It was exciting, but also a little overwhelming to add another option to my list.” Originally looking for schools on the East Coast, Baker decided on Kenyon after visiting their campus in Ohio. “Their academic programs felt like a good fit for me as someone interested in the liberal arts programs they had.”

While each student-athlete’s journey varies, the thread of persistence, early preparation, and adaptability runs through them all. According to Barron, “It’s about finding the place where you fit, both with the team and in the classroom.” All students interviewed emphasized finding the college that speaks to you. As Baker said, “While the process is daunting, what people should really focus on is finding a community of like-minded people at a school and a place they can be happy at.”