If you are a girl running, jumping or throwing at a high level as a sophomore, your recruiting can move fast. Coaches may be ready to call the first day the rules allow. You could have an offer before your junior cross country season. This lesson is about handling that well.
Girls on average mature physically earlier than boys. A lot of girls run marks at 15 or 16 that are close to what they will run at 18. Coaches have learned that a sophomore girl with a national-class mark is a known quantity, so they recruit her early. With a sophomore boy, most coaches wait.
Members lesson
In the full lesson
- What early attention looks like, and when it starts
- What a verbal commitment is, and what it is not
- Five steps for handling an early offer
- Five questions to ask yourself before saying yes at 16
- What to do in a season where your marks stall
- The plan if you are not getting early attention
Rules, dates and numbers checked October 2026 against NCAA recruiting guides and calendars. They change every year; confirm with each school's compliance office.