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Ask The Experts
Approaching the Official Visit
by TennisRecruiting.net, 8 August 2014
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Visits to colleges and college tennis programs - whether they are unofficial or official - are often make-or-break moments in the college recruiting process. Both junior tennis players and coaches try to learn all they can about each other in a short period of time.
Last month, we featured two roundtable articles with college coaches where we saw what coaches look for during campus visits. Today we put the question to a number of recent college graduates...
Q) If you had it to go over again, how would you approach your official visit? What would most want to learn?
Chris Camillone, Texas
If I could approach my official visit again, I would try to learn as much as possible about all university and city life outside of the athletic community. I grew up in Austin, and there is still so much going on at the University of Texas (on campus), and throughout the city of Austin, of which I had little to no knowledge until late in my college career.
The great thing about being a college athlete, especially at a large university like Texas, is that everything you could ever need to be successful as a student-athlete is at your disposal, whether it is a place to study, tutors, a dining hall, etc. However, the life of a student-athlete can become somewhat redundant and "boxed in" because there really isn't a need to explore the rest of campus and the city around it - because the athletic community covers all the resources you are generally going to need. This is great, but it can also lead to a lack of desire or necessity to genuinely explore your surroundings and really soak in everything that is at your disposal.
If I could redo my visit, I would ask how to achieve the most fulfilling experience as if I was not going to be a student-athlete - because I know that the "student-athlete life" becomes second nature very quickly, and I don't want to miss out on all the other incredible things a university can offer in times when I'm not immersed in "student-athlete life."
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