Junior athletes, the Quarter Back and Tight End from Wood River High School after their year-end game.

It’s the end of your high school football season. You’ve trained hard, put in countless hours on the field and in the weight room, not to mention the classroom. It’s a natural time to let your guard down – or is it?

The high school athletic recruiting business is extremely competitive and as the number of student-athletes participating in high school sports grows, so does the competition for a spot on college rosters.

According to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), Participation in high school sports increased for the 24th consecutive year in 2012-13 and passed the 7.7 million mark for the first time and football is leading the way.

Keep this in mind, no matter what your sport, the off-season is a critical time for you to continue to improve your game. Sure you deserve a break, but after the holidays it’s time to get back in the classroom, and the weight room. Strength conditioning should be the cornerstone of all off season workouts until spring workouts begin, and the season starts.

High School is the most critical time in an athlete’s life which is an amazing opportunity to get bigger, faster and stronger. Nevertheless, there’s a delicate balance between working to develop stronger student athletes, and avoiding injury causing setbacks from repetitive workouts or improper training techniques.

Get Your Profile Ready

Both on and off the field, preparation is mandatory if you want to take your athletic career to the next level. The days of waiting for the phone to ring or having your dream college coach showing up at your door is rare. With modern technology more student athletes have developed online profiles.

• Having quality game-film of your chosen sport is critical, and be sure to have all your stats in one place. This makes it easy for coaches to evaluate your skills.
• Working with third parties that help bridge the gap between high school to universities is a great way to getting to the next level. As you prepare for your senior year be sure to check out companies like NCSA that are working with athletes, finding the right college and scholarship opportunities. National Collegiate Scouting Association® (NCSA) was founded in 2000 to help student athletes and their families navigate the cutthroat, competitive, and often confusing world of college recruiting.

Today college coaches are spending countless hours evaluating top prospects from around the country with the high hopes of landing as many 5 star recruits. Working closely with top recruiters gives colleges an advantage in the recruiting wars.

Ironically, neither of the 2015 Superbowl teams had any 5 star athletes.  This proves that talent isn’t the only ingredient to success, it also takes heart and determination.

Check out the top recruiting classes below and how they ranked. Be sure you take advantage of all the tools available in the recruiting process.