Prepping for college sports

The crowds are huge at college sporting events, and many high school athletes aim to play on those fields.

 

The NCAA Student Athlete Night is an annual meeting for students interested in joining college athletics. This year’s meeting will be held Thursday at 7 pm at Libertyville High School.

 

“It’s an informational night that the North Suburban Conference has put together,” Rolly Vazquez, athletic director, said. “What they try and do is get speakers from different levels of college – coaches, admission people – to talk about the qualifications and how kids need to go about to get eligible in athletics in the next level.”

 

The meeting can be useful to all ages, but is likely better for the lower grades of high school.

 

“It is probably more valuable to freshmen or sophomores than juniors or seniors,” Carl Krause, college counselor, said. “Most juniors or seniors who are going to play a sport in college should already know it’s a possibility and have already done some of the required actions. Freshmen and sophomores may not know if they have the ability yet but would benefit from learning what they need to take class-wise, their GPA requirements, their test requirements.”

 

The night is definitely valuable if a student wants to be an athlete, Krause said. It gives the students an honest idea of their chances, because many do not go on to play in college.

 

“I think the speakers do a good job of being factual, talking about the reality or possibility of playing a college sport and how small that is,” Krause said. “They are either working with colleges or are college coaches that can be realistic to the students about what their chances are.”
The Student Athlete night falls on the same night as Curriculum Night, which might make attendance complicated for students. However, the conference is annual, so there is always next year.