The NCAA currently reports that over 1.5 million boys and girls participate in high school track & field and cross country. Of those 1.5 million participants, only 85,000-90,000 will compete in college, or approximately 4-7% depending upon event and gender. A large majority of that 4-7% will be asked to walk-on and not receive any athletic money. As a result, it is imperative that you devise a plan of action early on in your high school career. You will have worked too hard and sacrificed far too much to idly wait for the process to begin. Take control of your destiny in the same way you have your academic and athletic endeavors. The recruiting process will require the same such commitment from you.

Below are four things to do when searching for the college of your dreams.

1. Surround yourself with people who have a global perspective.

Make sure that the people who are advising you truly know what will be required of you to matriculate to your dream school. You should have a training plan that reflects your target school’s recruiting standards and a course load that meets their academic requirements.

2. Create systems not goals, and focus on the process.

You should have a tangible plan in place that will provide you with the best opportunity to obtain your desired outcomes. Your focus should not be on the end goal as much as on the system you have in place. For example, an 800m runner who wants to attend Stanford will most likely have to run sub 2:10 or sub 1:51 and possess a outstanding academic record. Simply saying I want to run a particular time, have a 4.0 and score 34 on the ACT is not enough. Create a plan from the very beginning of your high school career and focus on the day-to day-adherence of that plan.

3. Understand where you fit.

Do your research on the programs and colleges you are considering to determine if your target schools will be viable options for you. If you are a 100m runner with a PR of 11.2 as a boy or 12.7 as a girl and have identified Florida and Texas A&M as your top choices you will be disappointed. In the same light, if you scored 22 on the ACT and are targeting the Ivy League, you will need to reassess. Chase after your goals, stay dedicated to your systems, but also understand what schools are the best potential fits for you to ensure that you have multiple options. Don’t limit yourself, but be realistic.

4. Show up daily for as long as possible.

Start your process as early as possible. Get your system in place and implement it on a daily basis. Imagine the spring of your junior year being asked to do 50 push-ups. If you had waited until being asked then the task at hand would be challenging. However, if you had a system in place and worked toward that end on a daily basis, the process of being able to do 25 as a freshman, 38-40 as a sophomore and 50 as a junior becomes very doable. Oftentimes reaching your goal is a product of just showing up over and over.