How to Win an Athletic Scholarship; Take these steps.

If you've always dreamed about competing in college athletics, your dream may be within reach. But, you need more than athletic talent...you need to know how to "connect" with appropriate colleges.

Be realistic. Not many high school athletes can play basketball at Florida or football at USC. To find out where you might be able to play, speak with your coach and other objective adults. Then, take your list to your counselor to see which colleges are a good academic fit for you and to see if there are others you might want to consider as well.

Consider all important factors when building a list of colleges to contact. Don't choose a college for its athletic programs alone. Academics should, in fact, be your first consideration. In addition, location, size, campus environment, co-curricular opportunities, and special programs are among the factors you need to factor in to your decision.

Ruling out colleges because you have not heard of them can be a big mistake. Do you know about Georgia Southern's football program? Do you know that the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has a perennial top ten softball program and has been to the College World Series in baseball? These are just two examples of schools you may know nothing about that have great programs.

There are many kinds of scholarships and financial aid other than athletic scholarships. And, there are lots of good colleges with excellent athletic programs at levels other than NCAA Division I.

Don't forget, even for a minute, that achieving your athletic goals is not nearly as important as leaving college with a good education and a degree. And, leaving college with a degree will not mean you have gotten a good education if you have selected courses only to remain eligible for athletics. Sadly, there are coaches (including some well known names) who appear to be more interested in wins and losses than the welfare of the student-athletes on their teams. Be on the alert for them.

Be sure you learn the rules governing athletic recruiting. And, be certain you and the college coaches with whom you come into contact adhere to them strictly. Go to your high school coach if you have questions or concerns.

Too learn as much as possible about the colleges you are considering, be sure to be in touch with admissions offices. They will provide you with much more comprehensive publications and information than you are likely to get from coaches. Coaches, to nobody's surprise, are very focused on athletics, while good admissions counselors are likely to know far more about academics, campus life, student support services, etc.

Don't make the mistake of ruling out colleges in your initial research because of their listed costs. Frequently, students out-of-pocket costs are far lower.

Of course, some coaches are deluged with email and snail mail from high school athletes, so you may not get a quick response when you contact them. Give them a month, and then try again. You may never hear from some of them. Don't take it personally...it just means they are already talking to the folks they want and that they could use a lesson in etiquette.

Remember, even if a coach swamps you with emails, letters, or brochures, he or she may only be doing so to be polite or may be stringing you along as a possible alternative to the student-athletes he or she really wants. Knowing that, your smartest plan is to continue communicating with any coach who seems to be interested in you until you have accepted a firm offer. Don't close any doors early.

After you do commit to a college or university, be sure you contact and sincerely express your gratitude to the coaches who have been communicating with you. It's the right thing to do, and it might help a coach remember you if you later decide to transfer from the first college you attend.

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Daniel Z. Kane, now a university dean, is a former high school coach. You can find lots of helpful information on his websites about college how to get an athletic scholarship , and online colleges .