If you want a college athletic scholarship, the earlier you start the better. The competition is becoming greater every year and by starting earlier in your high school years, you do give yourself an advantage.

No longer can you wait until your senior year and expect to be in a good position to get an offer if you had a great senior athletic season. While that does help, the competition has been working quietly for years behind you. If you are a senior and are reading this, you still can get an offer, but you really have your work cut out for you and need to start now and do it the right way without wasting any time.

If you are in your sophomore or junior year, you are in great time to start thinking about and putting a recruiting plan into place. Start by looking at your G.P.A. and SAT/ACT tests. Not having the grades is the number one reason why talented athletes don't get any looks from coaches. If you are behind on your grades, make it a priority to do whatever it takes to bring them up to par.

From an athletic standpoint you should attend summer camps and combines the summer before your junior and senior year. Don't attend just any camp in your sport, but attend a camp that will maximize your exposure and increase your recruiting stock.

While sophomores should just focus on developing their athletic ability along with their grades, juniors need to start adding more focus to the actual recruiting process. Begin to develop a game plan for college and begin laying the necessary groundwork and personal assessments that will guide you through your junior and senior year of competition. As a junior it is also important to make sure your games and matches are getting filmed as this is one of the top items used when making contact with colleges.

It is never too early to start working towards a college athletic scholarship. Just be sure you are following a plan that gives you step by step instructions what to do every year of high school.