DyeStat Scholar

A beautiful visit among the falling red and orange leaves in the Midwest

This weekend's visit represents the halfway point in my recruiting process--three visits done and two to go. Some people don't take all five visits allowed by the NCAA. Based on my experience so far, I think it's really important to see as many schools as you can. You learn so much from each visit. You certainly learn how to get around an airport!

This weekend's visit took me to a prestigious Midwestern university. I got to see another incredible football game--I must be good luck--my hosts' teams are 3 for 3 so far! The stadium held 100,000 people--that's about twice as big as the entire population of my hometown. Going to a university during football season is a great time to see a school! The leaves were falling in a beautiful rainbow of colors (big deal to those of you who see this every year, but big news for a Californian!) I forgot my sunscreen and got sunburned again--I thought it would be much colder by now.

One of the things you should consider about a school is how easy or hard your travel back and forth will be. Certainly, you are going to want to come home on occasion, and having an easy route to fly back is important. If you have to make three of four changes in flight plans then it can be quite a drag. I lucked out--by going through Phoenix, I only needed two planes and I missed the mess in LA when their radar went out. Because of the 3-hour time difference, I left on Thursday afternoon and arrived after midnight local time. I stayed in a hotel the first night and in the dorms with some really nice track athletes on the other 2 nights.

The first day, we carved pumpkins for a children's hospital, which was part of the team's community service. I also had a chance to see their track awards banquet. They seem to do a good job of recognizing their athletes. The throws coach was wearing a bunch of conference championship jewelry. This sounds like a small thing, but it is important. My dad said that at his school you didn't get anything unless the team won the NCAA! His ring is nice but how many of those are there? A good school shows their appreciation to their coaches and their athletes in visible ways.

It's really important to see the practices so you know what kinds of things the coach stresses and what they feel is an important part of their program. You, as an athlete, need to determine how well you might function in this new environment. Not all programs work well for everyone. If you don't like aspects of the program, then you need to ask questions. How flexible is the coach? Would they take input from you? Or is it a "one size fits all" approach to training? I look for programs that have good strength coaches and great lifting facilities. Finding the right fit between your needs and what they offer is critical.

Another interesting difference between schools is whether or not the men and women train together. There is a practical side of this for me. Lifting with the men means I don't have to keep taking weights off the bar for the next lifter. Plus, for me it's just a lot of fun lifting and throwing with the guys--you can learn a lot, too. Two of the schools I am looking at divide their teams while in the others men and women train together. I prefer an integrated team, but it's just one of many factors making up a final decision.

One of the funny things I've noticed during all this traveling is that people talk a little differently in other parts of the country. I had to learn the slang. In the Midwest they call soda "pop", they refer to California as "Cali" (we never do that here) and sneakers are "tennis shoes" for them. I am sure I sounded funny to them too. Californians are convinced we don't have an accent--after all, everybody on TV sounds just like us!

I'm starting to get a little tired from all the travel. School doesn't stop, nor do workouts (especially with my dad) just because you're doing recruiting trips. I have a lot to catch up on. Over the last week, my sisters both improved their squat PRs--Kristin (a senior at West Point) went up to 500 plus, and Karla (my little sister) went up to 475! I better get back to work before they pass me up! Plus, all the eating out can pack on the calories, so the evil Stairmaster is definitely going to get a workout.

Next weekend, I'm heading to a very different kind of landscape with its own type of beauty--the desert. Last I heard it was in the 90's in temperature. Their football team lost this weekend, so maybe they can use some extra cheering from me. The throws coach came from the same school as my dad but he's younger. He's brand new to the school, but full of enthusiasm.

My last visit will be with a world-renowned coach in the state of my birth. In this last Olympics, he had quite a few of his athletes there. This is a big plus for me, because I really would like to test myself at the highest possible levels. My dad and I visited the campus once on our own, but there's always more to see and people to meet. This school is different than the others on my list. It's much smaller, private instead of public, and their policy is to put athletes through the admissions process before they take a visit. That makes sense to me--why waste time and money on an athlete who can't get into your school? My friends, who are all suffering through personal statements and letters of recommendation, are really jealous when they hear I've already been admitted to a great school! Maybe it helped that I was born in Texas? Oops, that probably gave it away. I'll bet the Kingwood High coach, who already has nationally ranked teams, probably wouldn't be happy with my parents for moving me from Kingwood to California!

Does it sound like I am looking at a wide variety of schools? I hope you are looking at a variety as well. You'll find that the decision will be easier to make after you make your visits.