College Gymnastics

• Gives the athlete an opportunity to continue the sport they have spent so many hours committing to, in a team environment.

• When arrive at college, there are immediately part of a family of 12-20 women, all of similar ages and ability levels, trying to achieve the same goals – very rewarding experience.

Differences from Club

• Team vs. Individual – emphasis is on the team

• Training hours – Maximum of 20 hours per week during the season and 8 hours out of season.

• 4 hour max in one day

• Competitive season runs from January through April

• 13 competition date max – which usually means meets every weekend – sometimes two meets in a weekend.

• Ability to specialize – most gymnasts continue to train all four events but few will actually compete all-around. Most will focus their time on the events where they have the greatest chance to compete & contribute to the team. Ex – most D1 teams had 2-4 All-Arounders competing on their team at any one time

What does a Student Athlete get at a university?

• Depends on the Division of the Institution

Division 1 (Scholarship)

• Tuition, room, board, books & fees.

• A Scholarship is a 1 year deal with the possibility of renewal after each year – Not a guaranteed 4 year deal.

Division 1 (Everyone)

• All Training and competition, equipment, apparel expenses – grips, leotards, music, etc.

• All medical/rehab expenses – most school’s consider the parent’s insurance to the be primary provider with the school being the secondary provider, which means your insurance kicks in first and then the school picks up the rest so that parents and athletes have no out of pocket expenses.

• Athlete Student Services – every school provides some level of academic and life skills support beyond the normal counseling services offered to students and have separate study areas, computer labs, and tutors available to them.

• Next level of Life skills – student athletes are highly sought after by employers because they have learned critical skills like teamwork, time management, planning, goal setting, etc.

Recruiting – The Rules we (College coaches) follow

• College Coaches generally begin recruiting when athlete enters high school. This has become earlier and earlier over the years.

• We begin by evaluating athletes at competition and coming to gyms to watch practices, in addition to talking with their coaches.

• Once an athlete begins their Junior year in high school, we can begin correspondence with them through mail and email.

• Once July 1st before their Senior year arrives, we can start making phone calls to the prospect and can meet with them in person off campus starting July 15th.

Recruiting – Official vs. Unofficial Visit

• Some of you may already know that recruiting has gotten earlier and earlier in the past few years and many athletes are starting to take un-official visits to colleges they are most interested in.

• An Unofficial visit is when the prospect comes to campus on their own while an official visit is paid for by the University and lasts for 48 hours.

Recruiting What Should Prospects Do

Freshman and Sophomore Years

• Begin evaluating schools and figuring out what things are important to you

• Start considering major options and what sorts of things you would like to study.

• Start to plan for your unofficial visits.

• Contact schools to get an early read on where you stand with their program

• You may call a college coach at any time to talk about recruiting however they are not allowed to call you back until July 1st prior to their senior in year in high school. So if you don't get a hold of them right away, keep trying. In regards to email, you may email them, but they are not allowed to email you back.

• Sometimes but the best way is to go through your coach, as college coaches have no restrictions when it comes to talking or emailing them.

• Go Watch a College Meet – See what it is all about and where you might fit in

• Watch several Divisions if you have a chance.

• Start putting together a video – Colleges rely a great deal on videos as they don’t always have a chance to watch a practice or competition early in the season.

Junior Year

• Sign up for ACT or SAT.

• Register with NCAA Eligibility Center & Amateurism Center.

• Write/phone/email in September to establish contact, let schools know you’re interested.

• Continue or start visit process – there is no limit on unofficial visits so visit as many as you can start to getting an idea of the types of campuses, distance, coaching philosophies, and other factors that are important to you

• Make you list of what is important to you and evaluate each school based on those criteria.

• Be available after July 1 – coaches will start making phone calls on July 1 and will plan to visit you after July 15, so don’t plan any family trips during this time period if possible.

Senior Year

• If you have already committed, you’ll take one official visit to the school you have committed to.

• If you have not committed, there are still options open!

• 1st Signing in November – 2nd in April.

Walk On Possibilities

Most schools will try to make the experience of a walk-on as identical as possible to those on scholarship. They receive all of the same benefits of travel, apparel, medical and rehab services as well as academic help.

Chances of Participating at the Collegiate Level

Division 1

• Approximately 63 Division 1 Schools that offer gymnastics.

• Most of the Division 1 Schools have 12 full scholarships with several that offer less depending on their budget.

• Every differs with the amount of scholarships they have available – some years will be 4, while others they may only have 1.

• Approximately, between 140-170 athletes will receive a scholarship to a Division 1 School, depending on the year, which close to 500 athletes every year graduating.

• Coaches at Division 1 schools, ,will typically look at Elite Athletes, from here in the US as well as other countries, in addition to high level 10s that qualify to Nationals.

Division 2

• Approximately 4 Division 2 schools.

• Level 9 & 10 Athletes.

• Several offer athletic aid.

Division 3

• Approximately 15 Division 3 Schools.

• Level 10, 9 & 8 Athletes.

• Don’t offer any athletic aid but can help with receiving other aid.