Non-stop phone calls. Official visits every week. Mail coming out the door. Just an average day in the life of a college recruit.

High school Seniors are constantly looking for that edge against their competition. One of these avenues for a ticket to college comes from those who excel on the field or on the court. Every year, thousands of athletes across the country receive athletic scholarships or are recruited: they are admitted on the basis they will compete for their respective school’s sports team.

Pine Crest is no stranger to producing star athletes. Senior Stephen Benson played football for the last four years and this year was selected to the Sun- Sentinel All-County first team. He will be playing for Lenoir Rhyne next year.

Benson explained to me how his recruitment process worked:

“I was having different coaches calling me every week or two and we would talk for about 30 minutes. Then as the time came for the official visits they talked about getting the application in.”

Another Pine Crest athletic recruit is senior Ben Arkin. Ben has been playing baseball for seven years at Pine Crest and will play Division I baseball for Davidson College next year. Ben, like many other athletes, went on many official visits throughout the country.

What’s the difference between an official visit and a regular college visit you ask?

Ben has the answers:

“On an official visit they pay for your trip and you stay on campus with the kids on the team as well as meeting with the coaches and getting to see the facilities and everything and experience the actual atmosphere of the college.”

When asked why he chose Davidson, Ben says “I knew that none of the other schools I was talking to could offer the same combination of academics/division 1 baseball, so accepting their offer was an easy choice.”

Many other students are being recruited for crew, swimming, cross country, and basketball among others. If you want to be recruited by schools, you should talk with your coaches and college counselors about the best steps for you. Make sure to send your information to all schools you’re interested in, because you never know who might be on the other end of that phone call.